Pappa al Pomodoro

Pure tomatoey goodness...  If you've never had Pappa al Pomodoro, you are missing out.  It's hearty, it's flavorful, and it's so simple to make.

My recipe is from Rachael Ray, and you know she's queen of all things classically Italian, yet simple.

Here's what you need.  There's a good chance you'll have all this in your cupboards already!

Start by mincing 4-6 cloves of garlic.

Yep, some of my pieces are probably a little large.

Then, finely chop a medium-sized onion.

I had to take a Kleenex break.

Heat a medium-sized soup pot over medium-low heat.  Add about 3 Tbsp. olive oil and your onions and garlic.

Welcome home, honey!  Ha ha...

Let those cook for 7-8 minutes and enjoy the tantalizing aromas that begin to fill the air... and your clothes and your hair and your furniture...  But still, it'll be delicious and completely worth it.

Tear or chop about 4 cups of day-old bread.  Mine wasn't old, so I stuck it in the oven to dry it out a bit.  You may have noticed that I tried a bit of the bread.  Atkins and I will never mix company.

Rinse and drain two cans of small white beans (I used white northern beans).

That smelly mixture on the stove is smelling just heavenly.  Isn't this a romantic, soft-focus picture?

It's now time to add 1 can of petite diced tomatoes and 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir it all up and take a deep whiff of that fresh, tomatoey fragrance.  Can you believe that canned tomatoes smell so good?!



All right, now pour in 1 quart of chicken broth.  In taking a picture while doing this, I'll have you know I unfortunately made a little mess.  Still, I like the action shot.

Heat until boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.

Add beans and bread.

Simmer until you've got a souplike consistency.

Then, grate some fresh Parmesan.  Ladle your Pappa al Pomodoro into a shallow bowl and top with grated Parmesan (and if you've got it, fresh basil).

If you really want to carb out, like me, have a piece of toasted bread with Italian seasoning and Parmesan on top.

Yummmmm.....

Peanut Butter-Stuffed Milk Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

This was a recipe I tore out of an old Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine, so it's gotta be good!  I'm making these for Thanksgiving because my grandpa loooooves peanut butter and my husband looooooves chocolate.  It's a twofer.

You just need the usual cooking suspects.  I'll buy the generic brand of almost every ingredient I need, including spices (which some would say is very bad, for lack of a better word).  But I draw the line at vanilla.  Buy the good stuff.  I like Red Rooster Mexican vanilla (pictured), available at any fine grocer's establishment.

You'll need three bowls for this recipe.  Yes, it's a pain.  But it's true.  Although I suppose you could cheat and not mix the flour in the small bowl...

In your largest bowl, put 1/2 c. white sugar, two room-temperature eggs, and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Using your hand mixer, beat on high until thickened and fluffy, about five minutes.  You won't believe the transformation.  And you'll be so glad you don't have to do it by hand.

From this:



To this:

Then, put your 2 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips in a bowl with 2 Tbsp. room-temperature butter.  Microwave until partly melted.

Stir gently to finish melting it all together.  Delicious if you want to taste just a tiny bit...

Put your chocolate mixture into your egg/sugar mixture.

Mix on medium until well blended.

Then add (theoretically, you would first put the following ingredients in their own small bowl and whisk them together!) 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Mix until well blended; stick the batter in the fridge so it's easy to scoop onto your baking sheets.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (important!  don't skip the parchment paper!  it will keep the cookies from sticking!) and drop dough onto sheets - 12 drops per sheet.

It's a thick batter, almost fudgy.  And delicious, too, though it's not recommended you eat it because it has raw eggs.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, turning baking sheet halfway through cooking time.  When mine were done, I gently lifted the parchment paper from the baking sheet, and then started removing the cookies.

Yummmmm... but I can't eat any because then I won't have enough for the fam....  Oh the sacrifice!

Now you can start mixing your peanut butter stuffing.  I messed up this step.  You're supposed to blend together the butter and peanut butter, then add the powdered sugar.  But I got all excited about sifting...

And I have to say, it worked anyway.  Doesn't that look pretty?

Then blend on high until light and fluffy.  PS, I'd do this in your largest bowl, too, since powdered sugar likes to drift up!

Wait until your milk chocolate cookies are completely cooled, then frost them.

Perfection.

Sweet Potato Quesadillas: An Adventure in Mashing

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  Poor imitation, then, must be even more gratifying to the one being imitated.  Pioneer Woman, this one is dedicated to you.  I don't know if you were the first blogger to include step-by-step photos in your recipes, but you are certainly one of those who does it best.

Shout out completed, I will procede to the task at hand: dinner.  What do you feed a hungry man returning from a long day at the office, when you want to be a little creative but not spend too much time or money to get there?  Why, sweet potato-chicken quesadillas, of course!

I'd like to give credit where credit is due, of course.  The basic version of this recipe originally appeared in EveryDay with Rachael Ray, so you can find the unadultered recipe by Sarah Ellis there.

Anywho, to begin, you will need:
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
4 10" flour tortillas
1 1/2 c. shredded, cooked chicken breast
2 c. shredded colby jack cheese
assorted favorite "Mexican flair" spices
Serves 2

First, cook the sweet potato in a pot of boiling water until softened, about 10 minutes.

While the pot's a-boilin', drain and rinse your black beans.

Sure, they don't look nearly as pretty as the orangey potatoes in a fog of steam, but they're magical in their own right (wink wink).

Since I know you're speedy with that, go ahead and chop your cilantro and toss it in with the black beans.  Add more if you like!

I sauteed two chicken breasts ahead of time and kept them in the fridge so they'd be cool enough to handle.  Nope, it doesn't look like a regular pale chicken breast.  That's because I used plenty of those Mexican-flair spices!  Chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne... even a little oregano!

Shredding chicken: neither as labor-intensive or as messy as you might think.  Simply use one fork to hold the chicken, the other fork to pull the meat toward you.  Work with the grain, if chicken has a grain.

Ah yes, my little sweet potatoes are nice n' tender.  Use a wooden spoon to mash up those cute little sweet potatoes.  Mash them pretty well - nobody wants a chunk of that in their quesadilla.

 

Dump the black beans and cilantro in with the mashed sweet potatoes.

Mash the beans up with the sweet potatoes.  You're really getting good at this!  Sure, add some more Mexican flair if you want to.

  

Now we're moving to the topping-your-quesadilla part.  I'm not going to insult your obvious intelligence here with detailed instructions.

I will point out that if you are better than me at mashing, your sweet potato-bean mixture might spread a little easier across your tortilla.  Put your toppings on two of the tortillas and then press the other two tortillas on top of them.  I didn't measure out two cups of cheese.  Just sprinkle (or dump) it to your little heart's content!

This is my ingenious device, which helps things cook faster in the skillet.  Can you tell I am an impatient individual?

Finished product!



Top with salsa and/or sour cream and enjoy!  We liked these quesadillas almost better cold.  You can taste the chicken and cheese a little more clearly then.