Penne Pasta with Vegetables and Ground Chicken

This is a very easy recipe and has a lot of room for modifications to fit your tastes.  That is what truly makes this recipe fun.

Ingredients:
1 lb Penne Pasta
1 lb Ground Chicken
1/2 bag Baby Spinach
1 lb Sweet Peppers (your choice of pepper)
5 Roma Tomatoes - diced
1 pint Mushrooms
1 can Tomato Paste
2 tbsp Minced Garlic
1 tbsp Dried Oregano
1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper

Brown the ground chicken in a skillet over a medium high heat along with the minced garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper.  Remove the chicken, but do not remove the drippings.  Add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add the sliced sweet peppers and stir occasionally until the peppers begin to soften.  Add the coarsely sliced mushrooms and diced tomatoes along with the oregano.  Stir frequently until the tomatoes begin to break down.

Lightly chop the spinach and place it into the sauce and let it begin to sweat down.  Stir it in and add more as you continue.  The sauce will appear soupy at this time.  Add some or all of the tomato sauce into the sauce along with the ground chicken.  Continue this process until you achieve the consistency that you desire is achieved. 

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir.  Serve the pasta topped with some Parmesan Cheese.  Enjoy!

Turkey Habanero Quesadillas

Looking for  a quick, simple and inexpensive lunch?  Try these.

Ingredients:

Flour Tortillas
Olive Oil
Shredded  Cheddar Cheese
Diced Turkey

Heat a skillet and add a small amount of olive oil.  This helps to crisp the outside of the tortilla.  Place a tortilla in the pan and add a tablespoon each of diced turkey, habanero salsa, and cheddar cheese onto one half of the tortilla.  Fold the tortilla over and let it warm until the bottom of the tortilla begins to crisp, approximately 2-3 minutes.  Turn tortilla over and repeat for the second side.

Serve with additional salsa, sour cream or guacamole. 

A great dish to let the kids help with!

Grilled Asparagus

Asparagus is coming into our local markets and what a great idea it is to put it out on the grill.  Simple and easy to make, it is an awesome dish to add life to your meal.

The trick to asparagus on the grill is to skewer it using 2 skewers.  Using 5-10 spears per group makes it easy to turn them and quick to grill.  These were skewered, drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of lemon juice.  Place them over a medium heat and cook until a desired tenderness is achieved.

Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash

This is a simple and easy recipe to make.  Cut a butternut squash in half and remove the seeds.  Remove the skin from the outside of the squash.  Cut the squash into about 1/2 inch cubes.  When completed, place into a bowl and add in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp hot sauce per cup of squash.  Add salt and black pepper to taste and combine to coat the squash.

Place the squash onto a baking sheet and place into a preheated oven at about 350 degrees.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until the squash is tender.  Enjoy!

International Hot and Spicy Food Day

What does hot and spicy mean to you?  Often times, people people think of assorted peppers to add heat to their favorite recipes.  Jalapenos, Habaneros, Pablanos, Serranos, etc.  All good choices and quite popular to use, but there are other ways to add a bit of heat to your creations.

Horseradish was named the 2011 Herb of the year by the International Herb Association.  It has a very unique flavor and texture.  This root has roots back as far as 1500 BC.  Having been commercially produced in the US since about 1860, it makes it one of the first convenience foods produced in the US.

The next time you are looking for a bit of spice to add to a dish, consider adding a spoonful or two to some of your favorites:

• Cole Slaw
• Potato Salad
• Baked Beans
• Deviled Eggs
• Soups
• Meat Loaf
• Hamburgers
• BBQ Sauce
• Steamed Veggies
• Roasts

These are a few things you can add a new flavor to.  Feel free to come up with your own and add your suggestions below!

Hot Pan Noodles and Dumplings

If you are in the Joliet, IL area and looking for something different, stop and visit Hot Pan Noodles and Dumplings.  It is a small restaurant in a strip mall that offers fresh made noodles and dumplings with an Asian flair.

We have been there twice recently.  On our first visit, we had lunch.  We shared an order of the Pork Dumplings and an order of the Dan Dan Noodles with chicken.  The dumplings were tender and tasty and came with a fresh made sauce for them.  The noodles were pleasantly spicy and full of flavor.  A generous portion made it a very satisfying lunch indeed.

Saturday evening, we had the opportunity to go there for dinner.  We met another couple and agreed to try an option they refer to as "Hot Pot", which was compared to a fondue.  The Hot Pot is an all you care to enjoy dining experience that you have two hours to complete. At this time, the menu price is $15.99 for adults.  

You can have a normal broth, a spicy broth or both.  We opted for the spicy broth.  Once you have selected the broth, and you can begin selecting what you will enjoy with the broth.  Meats included lamb, chicken, beef, pork and for an additional fee, shrimp.  Veggie options were also plentiful.  They included spinach, broccoli, bok choy, wood ears and many others.  If that is not enough, you also have a choice of noodles and sauces to choose from as well.

All items to be prepared were brought to the table to be prepared.  There was no questions asked when we requested more of anything.  All of the items appeared to be prepared to order.  The noodles for the Hot Pot are not their homemade noodles, but were just fine for the meal.

Come hungry, be adventurous and enjoy the experience.

Winter Markets

Do you miss your local Farmer's Market?  Do you feel the winter blues and can't wait for summer to arrive again?  You may be surprised to find that their is a growing trend in many cold weather areas to hold Winter Farmer's Markets.

While many crops are only grown locally during peak growing seasons, there are a number of products that can be produced year round.  Green houses, hydroponics and other methods provide access to the products in the areas that are unable to grow fresh products year round.  While you most likely cannot find locally grown sweet corn in the midwest, you may be amazed at what produce might be available.

We are participating in a  Winter Farmer's Market in Kankakee, IL this season.  It is held indoors at the Majestic Center which is located at 150 N. Schuyler in downtown Kankakee.  The market runs from 9-1 on Saturday Mornings through the end of January and most likely through February.

Explore your own community and you may be able to find a local market right in your own back yard.