Chicken and Spatzle with Herb Butter

There are so many ways you can change this up a bit, but just make sure if you do, that you still crisp the vegetables, that's where a lot of the flavor comes from.

Cook a half pound of bacon reserving the drippings. Use half drippings and half butter. Sprinkle the bacon over the top right before you serve it

Skip the chicken and add a can of white beans for a vegetarian dish

Leave the chicken breasts whole when you cook them, serve over a bed of the spatzle and veggeies or just use the spatzle and veggies as a side dish to something else

The next day serve as a chicken spatzle soup, just boil some chicken broth and add the mix, heat until warm throughout.

Add a little milk for a creamy soup

It freezes great in broth too

I really like the spatzle here, but any small pasta would do

Presto Pasta Nights 224 is going to held at Truth Personified


1 stick unsalted butter (yup, the whole thing)
1 lb skinless chicken breasts,cut into small cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. granulated garlic
7 oz frozen petite green beans, thawed
1 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 large carrot, diced
8 oz dried spatzle

Cook spatzle in boiling salted water until tender.

Place the carrot in a bowl and cover with water, microwave until tender, about 3 minutes.

Melt half the stick of butter in a large skillet. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until cooked through. Turn the heat up to high and continue to cook until starting to brown. Add the onion, celery, basil, rosemary, celery seed, and granulated garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add the carrots, green beans, corn, and remaining half of the stick of butter. Cook over medium high heat until the veggies are starting to brown a little bit on the bottom and get crisp. The key is to brown the vegetables, but not so uch they taste charred. Add the cooked and drained spatzle and toss to mix.

Serve immediately

I only used half the bag, so a little over 8 oz.

Confit Byaldi aka Ratatouille

For something so simply seasoned, this has an excellent flavor. I just happened to have the sundried tomatoes in my fridge, but if you don't have them don't worry about it. Just add a tablespoon of olive oil or butter to the tomato sauce before baking.

I started my recipe by looking at Smitten Kitchens version, she uses the red pepper instead of tomatoes, then I made a few changes of my own. For another tasty looking twist check out her Ratatouille Tart.

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes, drained really well

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

3 sundried tomatoes packed in oil and herbs,

plus about 1 Tbsp of the oil they are packed in

1/4 tsp dried thyme

I added the diced tomatoes, garlic, onion, sundried tomatoes, and the oil from the tomatoes to a food processor and processed until smooth. Stir that into the tomato sauce and add the thyme.

Pour into the bottom of two 9x9 inch casserole dishes

2 large zucchini

2 large yellow squash

1 large bell pepper

2 thin eggplants

Slice all the vegetables thin and layer over the tomato layer alternating vegetables. I only placed a bell pepper slice every few layers. My eggplant was a lot bigger around than my zucchini and squash so I cut the slices in half and put the cut side down, so the rounded purple outside shows.

1/4 c. olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

I used a spray bottle and misted the top of the vegetables.

Sprinkle with

salt

a dash of freshly cracked black pepper

and a little bit of dried thyme

Cover with parchment paper and bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until the vegetables look tender and the sauce is bubbling up around the vegetables. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes

Tourtiere

John lived in Quebec for 2 years and while there learned to love tourtiere, a French Canadian Thanksgiving dish. I've made several different versions, but this is my favorite. I suspect every cook has her own version, there is no "right" way to make tourtiere.

2 round pie crusts
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 Tbsp Canadian steak seasoning
1/2 onions
4 medium potatoes
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. real bacon bits
1 tsp JD's Bacon salt

Peel the potatoes and cut into small chunks. Cover with water and boil or microwave until tender. Drain and mash but no not add anything, butter, milk, etc...Set aside

Combine the beef, pork and Canadian steak seasoning. Cook in a large skillet until the meat is cooked. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the potatoes and mix well. Add the cheese, bacon bits, and bacon salt. Stir to combine again.

Lay one of the crusts in the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. fill with meat mixtures and top with remaining crust. Crimp the edges to seal. I find that this is easier if I roll the bottom crust out a bit to stretch it before I put it in the pie pan. Prick the top a few times to let the steam escape. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20 - 30 minutes until top crust is browned.

Serve hot.

After you put the top crust on, but before you bake it, It can be covered in saran wrap and put in the fridge until ready to bake. I made this in the morning and then just baked when we wanted dinner

French Onion Pasta

So, so, simple, and so, so tasty.

Presto Pasta Nights #223 is at Debbi Does Dinner


1 large yellow onion, sliced
4 Tbsp butter
2 tsp. sugar
salt
1 can beef broth
5 oz penna rigate
1/4 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Heat butter in a large skillet. Add the onions, and cook over low heat until translucent. Add the sugar and salt and continue to cook over low heat until caramelized, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the beef broth and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until the pasta is tender.

Pour the pasta to a small casserole dish or two 6-in ramekins (or other small oven safe dish) along with any remaining liquid. Top with both cheeses and broil until golden.

This was a small batch, really just enough to test. If you are serving more than 2 double the recipe

Miriams Room

We finally got Miriams room finished. I still haven't quite gotten the hang of my camera yet so the pictures are a little blurry. The spots on the wall are fish stickers

Broccoli Salad

You only want to blanch the broccoli, not cook it. Feel free to add whatever you want cauliflower and sunflower seeds are good. And I have a friend that loves raisins in hers.

1 bunch broccoli florets, chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 lb bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
1 small red onion, chopped
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
3 or 4 green onions, sliced
1 carrot, grated

3/4 c. mayonnaise
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Boil a large pot of water. Add broccoli and cook 30 seconds. Drain well and rinse with cold water.

Whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar.

Toss broccoli with dressing and remaining ingredients except bacon. Cover and chill several hours. When ready to serve top with crumbled bacon and stir once to mix the bacon in slightly.

Coconut Rice

2 cans coconut milk
1 can size of rice (once the coconut milk is in the dish, use the empty can to measure the amount of rice to use)
1/4 c. sugar
dash nutmeg
pinch salt

Combine all in a 9x9 inch baking dish. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 1 hour, stirring a couple times during baking. Remove from oven and serve with mango.