Get Baked on a Friday Night

It's Friday. No one wants to cook on Friday. The work week is over and you just want to hang out, or maybe go out. Here's a really easy (but still healthy) dish that's kid-friendly and time-sensitive. Sensitive to your valuable time, that is...

Friday Night Pasta Bake
--2 cups uncooked penne
--2 links of pre-cooked sausage (I used this one)
--1 28oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes (still in the juice)
--2 oz. grated asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, sear sausages (they are pre-cooked but you'll want to give 'em a good searing and warm up).  Remove them to a cutting board and slice into 1/4" thick rounds.  (You'll notice four sausages above in the picture because I kept the other two for other dishes).

Pour the can of whole peeled tomatoes and sauce into the same skillet used for the sausages.  Add the sausage slices and the cooked pasta. Mix together until all the pasta and sausage is coated with the tomato liquid.

Pour into an oven-safe dish.  Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top and cook for 10 minutes until dish is warmed through and the cheese is melted.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor:

Friday Night Pasta Bake
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4
Calories: 365 per serving

Easy Peasy Chicken Roaster

One of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to feed a lot of people is with a whole chicken. It's great if you have a group to feed or are trying to stretch your budget. It's also a quick way to make healthy meals throughout the course of the week. Chicken tastes good as a leftover and is simple to store.

When I roast a chicken I add herbs and spices based on my mood and the season. The recipe below is a pretty standard year-round way to prepare a roast chicken, though you may want to experiment with your favorite spice. You can also easily substitute the wine with orange juice or the honey with maple syrup to further tweak the flavor profile.

Roast Chicken:
--1 whole chicken (ours was 2 lbs)
--1/4 cup honey
--1/4 cup white wine
--garlic, minced
--black pepper
--cumin
--oregano
--paprika
--lemon juice
--garlic, whole cloves
--onion, quartered

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the giblets and neck from inside the chicken. Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat it dry. Use your fingers to loosen the skin around the neck, bottom, and underside of the chicken.

Combine all other ingredients (except the onion and whole garlic pieces).  Rub the mixture into the chicken by pouring it into the space you've created between the skin and the bird. Use all of the mixture and alternate between pouring the mixture into the crevasses and using your fingers to rub the mixture in and around to ensure as much of the chicken directly under the skin is coated.

Place the onion and garlic pieces inside the cavity of the chicken. Arrange the chicken breast-side up on a foil-lined roasting pan.

Cover the bird loosely with a tent made of foil and bake for 30 minutes. After that time, remove the foil and bake uncovered another 30-45 minutes (depending upon the size of the bird). Please note that the skin will blacken due to the honey, but when you peel back the skin you'll have a beautiful moist chicken. Let it stand 10-ish minutes to rest before carving the bird. Carve, discard the skin and the onion/garlic pieces, and serve!

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook not a doctor...
Time: 90 minutes (including prep)
Serves: 6 (with a chicken of above size)
Calories: 214 per serving

Rapini On The Ready

Rapini--also known as broccoli raab, raap, or rabe--is a green similar to kale or turnip greens that adds beautiful color and texture to dishes. It melds well with the flavors it is combined with and is a great source of vitamins and minerals. You could easily substitute kale, turnip greens, collards, or another hearty green.

Today's dish can be used as a side or a main dish and can be made for a carnivore easily by adding meat. As the season shapes up and your garden becomes overwhelmed with fresh tomatoes, substitute the canned tomatoes for a fresh look and taste!
Garlic Rapini with White Beans and Tomatoes

--2 Tbsp olive oil

--garlic, minced

--1 bunch rapini, roughly chopped

--red pepper flakes

--1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes

--1 can (14.5oz) white/cannelini/great northern beans, rinsed and drained
Heat the oil in a wok or skillet with deep sides over medium heat. Saute garlic for a few minutes before adding the rapini and a few shakes of red pepper flakes. Saute for 5-ish minutes until the rapini is wilted. Remove to a plate.

Add the can of diced tomatoes and the beans and stir together to mix. Turn heat up to medium-high and cook for 10-ish minutes or until tomato sauce begins to reduce.

You can serve the dish either by spooning the bean/tomato mixture over the rapini, or by dishing up the beans and tomatoes and then placing the wilted garlicky rapini on top.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook not a doctor...
Serves: 2 as a meal; 4 as a side dish
Cook time: 15 minutes
Calories: 378 as a meal for 2; 189 if serving 4 as a side dish

One Hot Sweet Mess

Jalapeno poppers are pretty standard bar food to be sure. But I can distinctly recall the very first time a barmaid planted a basket of them in front of me with a side of jam. Yes, jam. Ranch dressing be damned! Nothing can beat that delicious feeling of hot and spicy combined with melted cheese in the sweet sticky dip of jam.

Nothing that is except this baked version.  All the flavors, none of the frying!

Oh, and, uh, bacon. Clearly.

Bacon-Wrapped Baked Jalapeno Poppers
--1 dozen small jalapenos
--1/2 block of light cream cheese
--1 jar delicious fruit jam
--6 raw bacon pieces, sliced in half
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Lop the tops off the jalapenos. Slice open lengthwise to de-seed. Scoop out seeds with a spoon.

Take the block of cream cheese and slice off 12 small chunks. Stuff each pepper with one spoonful of jam and one small chunk of cream cheese.

Take each "popper" and wrap it in bacon. Place inside an oven safe dish and cook for 15 minutes or until bacon is crispy.

(Please forgive the non-bacon eaters. They were vegetarian. It's not their fault.)

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves : 6
Calories/Serving : 278

Pantry Pasta

Every now and again I go on grocery strike. It usually happens after I open the cupboards and several somethings fall out onto my head. After a flurry of Turret's, I vow to do some cooking with the items in my pantry and not add anything new until I've depleted some of the old stashes.

This recipe is one such recipe--created after almonds binged me on the top of my pretty little head.  All the items used were ones I had on hand in the pantry (or the freezer in the case of the sausage).

Chickpeas Pasta
--4 servings dried pasta--1/4 cup of chicken broth
--1/4 cup of raw almonds
--2 links of pre-cooked sausage (I used this one)
--1 can (15 oz) of chickpeas, rinsed & drained--1/4 cup of white wine
--salt & pepper
--crushed red pepper flakes
--1 can (14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes

Cook the pasta according to package directions. (Note: the servings will vary from brand to brand and type to type, so be sure to read the nutritional facts to determine how much dried pasta you need to cook).  When the pasta is al dente, strain and return to the pan.  Add 1/4 cup chicken broth and allow the noodles to finish cooking, soaking up the chicken broth.

While the pasta cooks, heat a medium-sized skillet with deep sides over medium-high heat. Roast the almonds, stirring or flipping the pan constantly so that they brown but do not burn.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In the same pan, sear the sausages on each side. The sausages are pre-cooked so they just need to be heated and have a little brown added to each side. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the canned chickpeas. You won't need to add any liquid or oil as the chickpeas will still have moisture on them from being rinsed.  Add salt & pepper to taste and a healthy shake of red pepper flakes.

Slice the sausage and add it to the mix. Stir to combine. Pour in 1/4 cup of wine and combine s'more.

Add in the pasta (including any remaining chicken broth that hasn't yet been soaked up. Mix up the pasta and cover with a lid for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve!

*New*
We'll be adding some nutritional info to our recipes. But please remember, we're cooks, not nutritionists!

Chickpeas Pasta
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves : 4
Calories/Serving : 260