Today’s post is for The Secret Recipe Club, created by Amanda of Amanda’s Cookin’. This is how it works: Every month, you get to scour the blog of another member of the club (assigned to you by Amanda), and pick out and cook or bake any recipe from that person’s blog. And of course, it’s a Secret. Until the big reveal, that is.

My assignment this month, was to choose a recipe from This Chick Cooks. Kate features lots of quick and easy recipes that are great for family meals and desserts, mostly using ingredients that you’re likely to already have in your pantry. The recipe choice was easy: “Mini Italian Dumplings, a/k/a Gnocchi,” adapted from Healthy Cooking magazine. Kate promises that you can have gnocchi on the table in 30 minutes. The secret? This recipe uses instant potato flakes instead of boiling and mashing fresh potatoes.

Now, my husband will tell you that I am a gnocchi freak from way back. In fact, I judge Italian restaurants on the basis of their gnocchi. So, how could I resist a quickie gnocchi? And get your minds out of the gutter, people.

This was definitely quick and easy. I omitted the dried basil called for in the recipe, but changed nothing else, and dressed the gnocchi in my own quickie pasta sauce. Hey, a quickie gnocchi calls for a quickie sauce, right?

Quickie Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 – 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 14 oz. cans chopped tomatoes (I used organic, but I don’t judge)
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Heat the oil on medium-high heat in a 2 – 3 quart saucepan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sweat until the onion is translucent. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Partially cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and allow to simmer briskly until the liquid is reduced by about half, stirring occasionally. This generally takes about the same amount of time it takes to boil a pot of water and cook your pasta.

This is just the basics. You can saute some chopped bell pepper and/or mushrooms along with the onions and garlic, if you like. You can also add your favorite fresh or dried herbs along with the tomatoes. Whatever you have handy and feel like. Make it your own!

It was really fun, searching through another blogger’s recipe posts for inspiration and a different point of view. Wanna play? Join the Secret Recipe Club here.

Now follow along and see who got who – I can’t wait to see who got me and what they chose to make from my eclectic collection. Will it be a dessert? A main course? A 30-minute family meal? Let’s find out together!

Eggs are a hot topic, lately. You’d think that cooking an egg would be the simplest thing in the world, but it’s not so easy to get over-easy every time. We love soft-cooked eggs for breakfast (and sometimes even supper) at our house, and even now, I keep looking for a formula to make the perfect breakfast eggs – soft, fluffy whites, yolks that ooze without running all over the plate. I think I finally got it.

I was watching one of those ubiquitous food/travel shows on TV, not too long ago, and saw someone making something called a “basted egg”. When I looked up the process, I ran across several different methods, one of which called for cooking the egg in the bacon grease left from frying bacon, then basting it with the grease while cooking. Definitely not for me.

I needed a method that’s quick and fairly fuss-free. I’m calling this “Basted Eggs”, but I think it’s really a hybrid of frying and poaching, and the best part? No flipping and no busted yolks!

Light Basted Eggs
(I make these 2 at a time)

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp butter or margarine
2 eggs
salt & pepper
2 Tbs. water

Special equipment: Small non-stick omelet or sauté pan with a tight-fitting lid, a toothpick or sharp paring knife.

Method:

Heat the butter or margarine in the pan over medium-high heat, till just sizzling. Break the eggs into the pan gently (or into a dish, then slide into the pan). Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Poke each egg yolk just once with the toothpick or knife tip, add the water to the pan around the edge of the whites, and immediately cover the pan with the lid. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until your desired doneness – about 2 minutes for soft and runny, 3 minutes for medium, 4 minutes for firm.

Remove from heat and uncover. Give the pan a bit of a shake, then slide the eggs out of the pan onto your plate. Here, I’m serving them over a bed of buttered white rice (which is my husband’s thing, lately), but of course, you can serve them accompanied by whatever you like.

Wait for it…

Wait for it…

I’m thinkin’ E.T. or that alien, Paul, in that new Area 51 movie…

I’m starting to warm up to kale. It took awhile, and some peer pressure. And guilt.

One of my favorite ways to disguise ->ahem!<- incorporate kale in meals, is to add it to pasta. We do love pasta around here, and I’ve got to admit that – aside from calling out for pizza – it’s my favorite “fallback” position when it comes to supper. Perfect for “Meatless Monday” (today is Monday, right?), 30-Minute Meals, or whatever category you’d like to put it in, we just call it “Delicious.” We’re totally going Italian, here!

Pasta Fagioli e Cavolo
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti
1 bunch kale
1/4 cup olive oil
4 Tbs. butter
4 – 5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 19 oz. can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
Salt and pepper
Balsamic vinegar & parmesan cheese to finish

Preparation:

Cook and drain the pasta according to the package directions and set aside.

While you’re waiting for the pasta water to boil, rinse the kale under cold water, blot fairly dry, and, using just your hands, strip the leafy parts off of the ribs. Discard the ribs. Roll up the leafy bits and slice into thin strips.

Using the same pot you cooked the pasta in, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add salt and pepper, and continue to poach the garlic until it just starts to turn golden, about 4 – 5 minutes. Add the kale strips and toss until it’s completely coated with the hot garlic oil and wilts. Add the beans, followed by the cooked pasta, and toss it all together until the kale and beans are well-distributed.

Serve in individual bowls and finish by drizzling some balsamic vinegar over each serving and grating some parmesan cheese on top. If you want to make it look really fancy, shave the cheese on top with a vegetable peeler. You can also serve it family-style, and let everyone do their own drizzling and grating (or shaving). Add some nice crusty Italian-style bread, and ->poof!<- supper’s ready!

Notes:

Okay, I made up the name. It means pasta with beans and kale. But if I called it that, would you look at it twice? And now you’ve got a fancy Italian name when the family looks at it, looks at you, and says, “What’s that?“

If you don’t want to use butter, just add another 1/4 cup of olive oil. I know it sounds like a lot of oil, but it really isn’t when you consider that it has to coat all of that pasta and greenery. You can also substitute 4 Tbs. of Smart Balance Light spread (my favorite non-dairy butter substitute), but it will take a bit longer to melt.

Make it even healthier by using wholegrain pasta. Many of the newer ones are very very good.

If you’re in a really fancy mood, or serving this to company, adding a small drizzle of truffle oil at the end will really send this over the moon. You know, if you happen to have some around.

This dish is fast, it’s easy, and it’s completely open to change-ups. No kale? Try some Swiss chard. No cannellini beans? How about some navy beans or great northerns? Kidney beans would add a real pop of color, and make it the same colors as the Italian flag!

*Name change at suggestion of two actual Italian-speakers. LOL! And just when I was getting the hang of typing Ravizzone.

It’s quite embarrassing that I haven’t posted anything in nearly two whole weeks, so let me break the ice a bit with this quickie one-pan meal. It uses fresh vegetables and another fun pasta shape – orzo.

Orzo is a small pasta, shaped rather like large rice grains, and particularly well-suited to my favorite one-pan meal concoctions. Basically, you can just toss it into the pan with everything else, and it will cook itself! One less pot to wash!

This dish is also very versatile – don’t limit yourself to the vegetables I used here. You can use whatever’s on hand or even (ack! don’t tell anyone!) frozen mixed vegetables of your choice! And it takes about 30 minutes or less from fridge to table. No excuses, now!

Orzo Pasta & Veggie Skillet

(makes about 4 servings as a main dish)

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped coarsely

3-4 cloves garlic (or more if you like), chopped coarsely

approx. 3 cups broccoli florets

2 large yellow summer squash, chopped coarsely

1 large (or 2 medium) tomatoes, chopped coarsely

1 32 oz. container of vegetable stock or broth (preferably organic)

1 box orzo pasta

salt & pepper to taste

Shredded parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Preparation:

In a large pan, heat the olive oil on medium-high, then add the onions and garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 3-5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the broccoli and squash, stir and cook briefly, or till the broccoli starts to turn a bright green. Add the tomatoes and stir to combine.

Pour in the vegetable stock, turn the heat up to high, and bring to a boil. Now add the orzo, stir to combine, cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, and reduce the heat to medium. Allow to cook for about 12-15 minutes.

Sprinkle individual servings with parmesan cheese, if desired.

It’s still Monday, right?

I really wanted to come up with a sexier name for this, but it was either that, or Soccer Mom Chicken. Which one do you like better?

What it really comes down to, is the ability to put a healthy and delicious meal on the table in a limited amount of time and on a budget. Because, who’s got time these days? Or money. With a little bit of forethought, though, you can do this. Okay, first the recipe, then we’ll chat.

Middle Eastern Style Freezer Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup orange juice
Juice of one lemon
4 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

1 cut-up chicken or parts of your choice, equalling 2 – 3 pounds

Ready? You’re going to love this.

Combine all ingredients, except the chicken, in a gallon-size zip-top freezer bag. Zip the bag closed and swish it all around to evenly mix. Open the bag and put in the chicken. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Label the bag with the contents, throw it in your freezer.

Either the night before, or the morning of the day you want to use it, take the bag out of the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator. If you take it out the same morning, you may want to take it out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 375º. Empty the contents of the zip bag into a roasting pan or large casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.

Seriously. That’s it. Moist, juicy and some rockin’ flavors. Serve this with maybe some jasmine rice (put a few drops of sesame oil in the cooking water), or couscous, or the roasted brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes, pictured (recipe follows).

Ready for version two?

Italian Style Freezer Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup white wine
4 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil

1 cut-up chicken or parts of your choice, equalling 2 – 3 pounds

Combine all ingredients, except the chicken, in a gallon-size zip-top freezer bag. Zip the bag closed and swish it all around to evenly mix. Open the bag and put in the chicken. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Label the bag with the contents, throw it in your freezer.

Beginning to sound familiar?

Either the night before, or the morning of the day you want to use it, take the bag out of the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator. If you take it out the same morning, you may want to take it out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 375º. Empty the contents of the zip bag into a roasting pan or large casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.

Serve with the roasted veg below, or maybe some orzo or farfalle (bow-tie) pasta dressed with a little butter and chopped parsley.

Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Fingerling Potatoes

1 to 1-1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes (I get them at Costco. Way cheaper than the grocery store)
1 lb. fresh brussels sprouts with the ends and any bruised leaves trimmed (Ditto.)
2 – 3 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Wash, but don’t dry the potatoes and brussels sprouts. Place them on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil.

Drizzle the oil and sprinkle the seasonings over the veg and toss with your hands until everything is well-coated. Put the pan in your preheated (375ºF) oven for about 30 minutes, or till the potatoes are cooked through (easily pierced with a fork).

*Notes*

These chicken marinades will work with any chicken parts – dark meat, breasts, mixed parts – so buy what’s on sale, bag up a few of these, and toss ‘em in the freezer.

I am reminded to remind you: Never ever ever EVER ever re-freeze chicken that has been frozen and thawed! Use only fresh, just purchased chicken for these recipes, OR if using thawed chicken, put it in the marinade, and put it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours (you could throw it together in the morning), and cook the same day as directed.

The nice thing about the roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts, is that you can put them in the oven to cook at the same time as the chicken. Everything done at once!

Tasty enough to serve company, this is one of my go-to recipes. I keep a couple of bags of this in the freezer at all times, and for good reason. You should, too!