Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli and Mushrooms

Blueberry was over for walking tonight. After we took to the kitchen. I actually let her in the kitchen with me today. Not sure why yet, but it still worked out just fine.

A couple of years ago I bought this massive cookbook called Cover and Bake. It's full of casserole type dishes. I'm not a big casserole fan so I'm unsure why I bought it. Still, the recipe I picked from the bowl today was this one. It was bomb-diggity.

Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli and Mushrooms
Serves 6-8 - Um yah it does. I have 14 gallons of left overs. Anyone hungry?

• 4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into quarters
• 2 T Unsalted butter, melted
• 1 bunch broccoli, stalks discarded, florets trimmed into 1-inch pieced
• 3/4 pound penne
• 3 T olive oil
• 1 1/4 pounds cremini Mushrooms, stemmed, sliced thin
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 8 cloves Garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 T minced fresh thyme
• 1/4 c flour
• 1 c white wine
• 2 c low sodium chicken broth
• 1 c heavy cream
• 1 1/2 pounds Boneless chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 ounces Asiago Cheese, shredded
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

For the topping: process the bread and butter in a food processor until coarsely ground, about six 1 second pulses.

For the filling: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400F. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a dutch oven over high heat.

Add pasta and cook to al dente. Do not over cook. Drain and toss with 1 T olive oil; leave in the colander and set aside.

Wipe the pot dry. Add the remaining 2 T oil and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add the cremini and 3/4 tsp salt; cook until the mushrooms have released their juices and are brown around the edges; about 10 minutes.

Add the onion and cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in wine and cook until liquid is almost evaporated, about 1 minute.

Slowly whisk in the broth and cream; bring to a simmer, whisking often. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Off the heat stir in broccoli, asiago and pepper.

Add the cooked pasta; stir to combine. Transfer to 9X13 baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake until casserole is bubbling and the crumbs are lightly brown, about 15 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss

Rachael Ray...oh how she sometimes comes up with a quick, simple, and delicious recipe.

I picked this recipe out of the bowl and made it last night. Naturally I couldn't just follow the recipe. I had to "enhance" it. But I only enhanced it by adding mushrooms. I had them and they needed to be used.

Piccata is a meal with a quick cooking time, but there are a lot of stages to get to that quick cooking time. This recipe took out some of those steps. It also a bit lighter. Traditional piccata is done with butter and is quite heavy. This is done with chicken stock and makes it lighter.

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss
Courtesy of Rachael Ray
Serves 4

• 1 lb penne - cooked al dente
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 lb chicken tenders, cut into 1 inch pieces
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 T butter
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 medium shallots, chopped
• 2 T flour
• 1/2 c white wine (if you don't cook with wine, just use chicken stock)
• The juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup chicken stock (add another 1/2 cup if you're not using the wine)
• 3 T capers (I didn't have capers so I substituted green olives)
• 1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
• Chives for garnish.

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat.

I switched up the recipe here. I browned and sauteed some mushrooms in oil before this next step. Took them out and added them to the bowl of chicken before the next step.

Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Sauté garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes.

Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

Beef Bolognese

Last week I got 4 new cookbooks from Cuisine at Home. I heart Cuisine at Home. It's my favorite magazine ever and they do some damn good cookbooks.

I'm a huge fan of Bolognese. Whenever I get a chance, I try a new recipe. Tonight I tried a speedy Bolognese. I wasn't sure it would have that all day taste that I love in standard Bolognese. But I was pleasantly surprised that it did have that taste and then some.

Beef Bolognese
Makes 6 cups

Brown in 1 T Olive oil:

• 1 lb ground chuck
• 1/2 lb Italian sausage

Add and saute:

• 1/2 cup each onion, carrot, and celery - all grated or diced finely
• 3 T tomato paste
• 1 T garlic, minced
• 1 Bay leaf

Deglaze and reduce; Stir in:

• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
• 1 cup Heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with:
Chopped fresh parsley
Grated parmesan

Brown ground beef and sausage in oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.

Add onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, garlic and bay leaf. Sauté until onions soften, about 5 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with wine; bring to a boil and simmer until almost evaporated. Stir in tomatoes and cream and simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve over spaghetti.

Garnish with parmesan and parsley.