Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi recipe

Ohmigawd! The most amazing gnocchi I've ever had and so super easy to make. I actually hadn't intended on blogging about this recipe. It was the first time I had ever tried making anything like gnocchi. I've never homemade pasta or anything. But it was so easy and so good, I had to share. I wouldn't say it was a quick recipe, but it is worth the effort.

A friend and I enjoy cooking together. We try to make creative, fun, and interesting things. For the day after Christmas, gnocchi sounded like a good afternoon's entertainment. (We also made some amazing key lime pies. I'll have to save that recipe for some other time.) I don't have a potato ricer which seemed important to making light, fluffy potato gnocchi, so ricotta gnocchi was a good alternative.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI
INGREDIENTS
16 oz container ricotta
1 cup finely ground Parmesan
2 eggs
2 cups flour
Salt to taste (I didn't add any and it was fine)

SAUCE:
2 Italian sausages
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1) Put a large pot full of salted water on to boil. If you use the sauce recipe here (following), make it first so it will be ready for the gnocchi.
2) Mix the first three ingredients well. (I used my hands. No better utensil.) Add 1 cup of flour. Then continue to add flour a little at a time until a stick ball of dough forms. You don't want it to be dry, but it should hold together in a ball.
3) Flour a clean work surface. Divide out 1/4 of the dough and roll it into a long snake (just like you did with playdough as a kid). Cut it into little 1/2 inch dumplings. Place the little dumplings on a floured pan, not touching. Repeat the step until all of the dough is cut into gnocchi. Flour the top of the gnocchi and toss lightly. 
4) At this point decide how much you want to cook. This recipe makes about six good servings. If you don't want all of it, freeze the portion you don't want right on the pan. When they are frozen, seal them into a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
5) Gently drop the gnocchi one at a time into the boiling water. They will rise to the surface when they are almost done cooking. I found mine weren't done as soon as they started floating; they needed about another minute or two to be cooked through.
6) Scoop them out of the boiling water and drop them right into the sauce. Toss gently.

There are tons of other sauce choices to pair with gnocchi. The one here is just one suggestion.


SUPER EASY SAUCE
1) Crumble two spicy Italian sausages into a pan, brown, and cook through.
2) Pour in frozen peas. Cook until defrosted.
3) Pour in can of diced tomatoes juice and all. Heat thoroughly.

Christmas photos

I'm not a big holiday person. I know that's almost an un-human thing to say. But there is a long and complex explanation for it. I as 20 when my son was born. The first few years of his life, we did some basic Christmas things at home, but we had to split our holidays between Christmas Eve at the in-laws and Christmas day at my parents', so we never really developed our own holiday traditions. When my son was about five, I started sharing custody with my now ex-husband. This meant every-other-Christmas I didn't even have my only baby with me. So I got accustomed to traveling over the holidays. The years I did have him, we went to my family's Christmases. When The Boy was about 10 or 11, I had him full-time but I still liked the holiday travelling. So, even if we had did have Christmas at home, it was usually a simple low-key affair because we had either just traveled to somewhere or we were going somewhere in the next day or two. 

The first holiday season I owned my own home, my son was a freshman in high school. I actually did up a nice Christmas with decorations, a tree, Christmas cookie and presents. My family came to my house for Christmas meal. It was really the first time I had had my own traditional-type Christmas.

Our Christmas tree when we first put it up

This year when I asked The Boy what he wanted to do about Christmas, he said he would like to have a nice Christmas at home, with all the decorations, a nice meal, and not travelling anywhere. So in early December, we bought a tree and decorated the house. We made Christmas cookies I gave to my staff as Christmas gifts. The house looks so cute and festive. It makes me wonder why I don't do this every year.

The tree on Christmas Eve

My immediate family is pretty small. Besides The Boy and myself, there's my parents. I have one brother who lives in the Midwest. I have some aunts and uncles and cousins. Everyone always seems so spread out. They all have their own families and things to do. For holidays it's usually just a small group.

On Christmas Eve my parents came to stay the night and spend Christmas together as a little family. They filled under my tree with gifts and my frig with foods and snacks. We had a really nice Christmas Eve with pizza, and The Big Bang Theory, and card games. It was one of the nicest times I've spent with my parents.

Maxwell

Abigail

The Boy in a new gift

My new coat

Yes, that's me in the picture. I know I haven't posted one of myself until now. Christmas day we opened gifts, hung out, ate too much good food, and generally just enjoyed ourselves. It was very nice and relaxed. My mom and I did lots and lots of cooking. She made breakfast. I had a whole french menu planned for our Christmas meal at The Boy's request. For appetizers we had mini-quiches, crudites, and baked brie. Dinner was slow roast duck with a port wine and cherry sauce, potato gratin dauphinois, roasted carrots with herbs de Provence, and braised green beans. Dessert was bittersweet chocolate and orange pots de creme with real whipped cream. This was the first time I have ever cooked duck. I've eaten it several times, but never roasted one myself before. It was all a huge hit. 

Christmas buffet, small family style

Christmas dinner: roast duck, port wine cherry sauce, gratin dauphinois,  roasted carrots, and braised green beans. All very yummy.

After all of this rich, high calorie, fatty food and desserts, I go back on my diet. Holidays are a time for indulging. I have definitely indulged my stomach. I've done fair with keeping my goal of not gaining weight over the holiday season. As of yesterday morning, I'm still the weight I've been since November 1st. Another week of maintaining and then back to an actual weight-loss plan. My next goal will be down another 14 pounds by April.

Friends with babies (Creamy Chicken Enchiladas recipe)

A friend of mine had a baby on 12-12-12. How cool is that! That is one birthday I will never forget. I'm sure the boy's lucky number will have to be 12 for the rest of his life.

As most of us know, being a new mom is a lot of work, a lot more work than we think it'll be. So, like all good friends, I decided to bring her a dish. The problem always is, what do you make someone else that is generally liked by all, is easy to cook, and can be frozen if need be? The answer, creamy chicken enchiladas. So good, so easy, just bake and serve. It's also very freezer friendly. I've made one recipe into two smaller casserole dishes and frozen one for several months. Works great. Just defrost in the refrigerator overnight, and bake like regular.


To round out the meal and keep it simple, I made sure everything was in dishes that didn't need to be returned. I cooked a batch of caramel brownies, threw in a bag of salad mix with dressing and toppings, and added some chips and salsa. A family pleasing meal.

CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
Note: If you want a quicker easier recipe, you can use rotisserie chicken from the store. Dice it into bite sizes. Use the liquid in the container in place of the poaching liquid.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
1/4 cup red taco sauce
1/4 cup Pepper Plant hot sauce
2 cups water
salt and pepper
(You can also add other Mexican type spices to the poaching liquid. Things like 1/2 teaspoon cumin or oregano would be good.)

1 16 oz container sour cream 
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can sliced olives, drain
1 small can diced green chilies, drain
2 1/2 cups shredded cheese
10 flour tortillas

1) Place the first six ingredients together in a stock pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and poach for about 1 hour.

2) Break up chicken into chunks with a spoon. If chicken does not break apart easily, continue to poach. If it does come apart easily and is cooked all the way through, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3) When chicken has cooled to warm, start the creamy filling. Remove the chicken from the liquid. Save the liquid. Dice the chicken into bite sizes.

4) Stir together the sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and poaching liquid. 
5) Reserve one cup of the cream sauce to the side. Spread another cup around the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.
6) In the rest of the cream sauce, stir in the olives, green chilies  and chicken.

7) Fill each tortilla with 1/2 cup of filling and some cheese. Roll the tortilla and place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with all the tortillas. (Use 1 1/2 cups of the cheese inside the enchiladas.)
8) Spread the reserved cup of cream sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
9) At this point, if you are bringing it to a friend, cover it with foil and include baking instructions. If you are fixing it for your family to eat, bake for 30-45 minutes at 375 degrees. The enchiladas are done with the cheese is all melted and the top if gold and bubbly. If you are freezing it, wrap tightly in foil and freeze for up to three months. Defrost in the frig overnight and bake as normal. It may take a little longer to bake if it isn't completely thawed.

Cauliflower Gratin recipe

This recipe is for JAZ. She loved my cooking. She would have loved this recipe. She loved my gratin potatoes and she loved cauliflower. She'da been all over this melding of the two. (I'm sure she would have wanted the full fat version, but I don't think you can tell.) JAZ passed away a month ago after a very long illness. She fought it for years and was determined to get her health in order. But her body gave out before her will. She will be missed every day.

CAULIFLOWER GRATIN

INGREDIENTS

1 small cauliflower head, cut into florets

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup Asiago cheese

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon Dijon or coarse-grain mustard

1 tablespoon chives or parsley

2-3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

nonstick cooking spray

salt and pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) In an oven-proof pan, simmer cauliflower in 1 cup of milk, nutmeg, and salt for 7 or 8 minutes, until the cauliflower is fork tender. (I started with a lid on the pan and removed it about halfway.) 

3) Stir the flour into the other 1/2 cup milk. Stir the mixture into the cauliflower. 

4) Add half of each of the cheeses, mustard, and herb. Let the mixture simmer until thickened.

5) Sprinkle breadcrumbs, garlic powder, and the remaining cheese over the cauliflower. Do not stir. Spray with a little nonstick cooking spray.

6) Place the pan in the oven. Bake for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and breadcrumbs are toasted.

Serve. Great cold weather side-dish. It might take the place higher calorie mac 'n cheese for me.

Turkey and dumplings recipe

Turkey and dumplings is another of The Boy's favorite meals. I made it with leftover turkey while he was home for Thanksgiving. I'm a little late in writing about this recipe. But, I figure, some families have turkey for Christmas too, so it's still timely.

This is not a quickie dinner recipe. You can cut back on the cooking time by using pre-made chicken stock instead of the homemade. In my version, I make my own stock base from the leftovers and build the soup from there. I also tend to make my soup thin. If you like a thicker turkey and dumplings, you can thicken the soup before adding the dumplings by stirring 2 to 4 tablespoons of corn starch or flour into some of the broth. Then slowly pour it back into the simmering soup while stirring. Let it thicken. Add more if needed.

TURKEY AND DUMPLINGS

INGREDIENT

leftover turkey, can be bones and all, about 1/4 of a whole 

      turkey, can be cooked or raw

1 large carrot, quartered

1/2 medium onion, quartered

1 tomatoes, halved

1 apple, quartered and cored

8 cups water

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup butter, very cold

1 cup milk

1) Place first seven ingredients in a large stock pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for two hours. After the first hour, add salt and pepper to taste. It's better to under-salt the stock because it will become concentrated as it evaporates.

2) After two hours, remove from heat and cool thoroughly. Strain the liquid stock to be used as the base for the soup. Separate the edible turkey meat from the rest of the ingredients. 

3) In another large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onions and cook until slightly softened.

4) Pour in the reserved stock and turkey meat into a large pot. Cook until the carrots, celery, and onions are soft. (You can add other vegetables if you wish. Green beans, cabbage, or tomatoes would be good.)

5) Add in the peas and corn. Season the soup to taste.

6) While the peas and corn are heating, make the dumpling dough. Mix the flour and baking powder together. Cut the butter up into small cubes. 

7) Using a pastry cutter, or two forks or knives, cut butter into flour until it is the size of small peas. (I use a fork and a knife, the crumble the bits using my fingers. If you use this method, just be careful to try to keep the butter as cold as possible.)

8) Stir with a fork while pouring the milk into the flour and butter mixture. You might not need to use all the milk, or you might need a little more. Stop adding milk when the dough is still thick but sticky. Do not over stir.

9) Reduce the heat on the soup until it is just simmering. Gently, gently place scoops of dumpling dough onto the soup. I have the most success with placing the dough on the vegetables. If the dough falls too hard into the liquid, or it is boiling, the dough can disintegrate into the soup.

10) Place a lid on the pot immediately, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Do not take the lid off the whole time. The dumplings will steam.

11) All done! Time to serve. I like to serve it with leftover cranberry jelly. It's really good together.

Cozy Food (Shepherd's Pie recipe)

California winter this year has been far from cold. I know that's our reputation, but even so, this year seems unusually warm. Still, my brain has been in winter hibernation mode. I've been craving hearty stews and casseroles. Salads, my spring and summer staples, are even appealing. So I've been cooking turkey and dumplings (recipe to in a following post), vegetable stew, and last night, Shepherd's Pie. I love Shepherd's Pie. It's one of those things I have to make at least once every winter. The Boy loves it too. He requested it has his final home-cooked meal before heading off to college. 

So this weekend,The Boy and I are decorating for the holidays: tree, lights, angels, and poinsettias; the whole kit and caboodle. We baked batches of Christmas cookies to give as gifts to my staff. Shepherd's Pie seemed to the ideal dinner.

SHEPHERD'S PIE
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 celery stalk
1 carrot
1 medium onion
1 pound ground turkey
4 oz mushrooms, finely diced
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon Worcestershire        
      sauce
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup water
1 beef bouillon cube 
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
1/4 cup fat free yogurt
1/4 cup low calorie butter flavored spread
salt and pepper to taste

1) Preheat over to 350 degrees.

2) Peel and dice potatoes. Place in a large pot of cold water with the two chicken bouillon cubes. Boil the potatoes until cooked.

3) In the meantime, dice the onion, celery and carrots. Saute vegetables in a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.






4) When they are soft add ground turkey and cook until done.
5) Add mushrooms, corn, and peas. (You can add other vegetables if so desired. This time I added two small diced tomatoes leftover from my garden. Green beans, lima beans, spinach are all good possibilities.) Heat through.

6) Sprinkle flour all over top and stir in. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, water, beef bouillon cube, and thyme. Cook until the bouillon cube is completely dissolved and mixed in. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7) When the potatoes are soft when stabled with a fork, drain and mash them with chicken broth, yogurt, and low calorie butter spread. (I really don't know how much chicken broth I use. I just keep adding until the potatoes are the consistency I want. 1/2 cup is just a guess.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

8) Spread the ground turkey and vegetable mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Spoon mashed potatoes over the top and spread out evenly. 
9) Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. 

It sounds like a lot of steps but it's worth it all. So good.


The Christmas decorating went well too.