One quick food note – if you’re not a connessuer of black-eyed peas (aka you are not from the South!), do not get confused when you go shopping for them. The sell them ‘seasoned’, like the Glory Brand. They are also sold plain:

See!? That doesn’t say anything but ‘black eyed peas’. They’re plain. That’s the kind you want. If you accidentally buy the seasoned kind, it’s ok, you can still use them, but leave the paprika out or you’ll have a giant smoky bowl of chili!

Also, if you’ve never cooked with andouille, do not be afraid!! I bought Aidells brand and they are sold in my store near the hot dogs and kielbasa. They’re fully cooked, so I just quartered them. There are 4 in the pack. You can use all 4 for sure, or save one to fry up with some eggs and potatoes (yum!).

Hope you enjoy!

Green Bean Spaghetti Carbonara

Source: Adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine
Yield: 6 servings

1 lb. spaghetti
1 lb. green beans, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 lb. bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1) Cook pasta according to package directions, adding beans halfway through cooking time; drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water.

2) Brown bacon in large skillet over medium heat; add onion and sautee until soft; deglaze with reserved cooking water. (or if you’re like me and forget to reserve it, regular tap water will be ok!)

3) Whisk eggs with cheese. Off heat, add pasta, beans, eggs and cheese to skillet and toss; season with salt and pepper.

Sweet & Spicy Chicken Thighs

2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking spray
6 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients (garlic powder through red pepper) in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 7 minutes on each side.

3. Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

Summer Squash & White Bean Sauté

Source: Adapted from Eating Well
Yield: 4 servings – about 1 1/4 cup each (very filling!!)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried (I used dried)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 15- or 19-ounce can cannellini or great northern beans, rinsed (see Tip)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini, summer squash, oregano, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring once, until the vegetables are tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Stir in beans, tomatoes and vinegar; increase heat to medium and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in Parmesan.

I have a 7 lb cabbage. Yes, SEVEN POUNDS. The cabbage is almost as big as my 1 month old baby!! I think I’m going to make a ‘stuffed cabbage’ casserole with part of it and coleslaw with part of it and lord knows what else?! My game plan so far:

- Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, Biscuits
- Big salads with chicken tenders
- Grilled chicken breasts, Cheesy Polenta with Swiss Chard (love this stuff!)
- BBQ Pork in the crockpot, slaw, roasted potatoes

I have cabbage, lettuce, chard, and potatoes all from my CSA box, so the grocery list is pretty short for the week, which I love! I need to get more adventurous and find a few other cabbage and chard recipes, but we have sickness in our house coupled with lack of sleep (new baby), well, I’m sticking to what I know! What’s cooking at your house!?

Homestyle Chicken Pot Pie

Yield: 6 servings

3 cups chicken broth
1 pound potatoes, diced (white, red, whatever your heart desires!)
1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) sliced carrot
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup frozen corn
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 refrigerated pie crust
1 Tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 400°.

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add potatoes and carrots; cook 2 minutes. Drain mixture in a strainer over a bowl, reserving cooking liquid.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft and fragrant (about 3-4 minutes). Spoon 1/2 cup flour into a measuring cup. Combine flour and 1/2 cup chicken broth, stirring with a whisk. Add to the onions in the skillet. Whisk in the reserved chicken broth until smoothed out. Stir in potato mixture, chicken, peas, corn, salt, thyme, and pepper. Cook 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Spoon chicken mixture into a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish (I used an 8×8 glass pan) coated with cooking spray. Place dough on top of chicken mixture, pressing to edge of dish. Don’t worry, it really doesn’t have to be pretty!! Cut 5 slits in top of crust to allow steam to escape. Gently brush crust with milk.

Bake at 400° for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes. This will be the longest 10 minutes of your life because it will look and smell GLORIOUS and you will want to dive right in!!

Along comes my friend Jill. Two facts about Jill – (1) She’s a fantastic cook and (2) she actually introduced me to goat cheese! I had never eaten goat cheese before that fateful day eating lunch at the Church Brew Works restaurant in Pittsburgh. That was maybe 7 years ago? I’ve lost track. But ever since then, I’ve loved it!! Anyway, Jill suggested that I try this recipe from Cooking Light and boy am I glad she did!

The recipe starts out with chopping of the chard. My chard was slightly soft because, well, I’m 9 months pregnant. I meant to make this recipe days ago and my body protested, so the chard got soft. Really, that’s not a big deal because you’re going to wilt it anyway!  You want to cut the tough stems off and then take the ribs out. The easiest way to do that is by folding the leaves in half and cutting the rib out. Save them, though, and finely chop then throw them in with the leaves! Nice little crunch!

Two bunches of chard = a TON of chopped leaves, but never fear, they cook down into not much at all!

As the greens are wilting, whip up the polenta and then layer it all in an 8×8 glass dish. While it bakes in the oven, you have time to make your main dish (if you’re having some meat) or sit and have a cocktail if this is all you’re making. Ahhh!!! Our meat of choice tonight was this amazing Balsamic Rosemary Pork Tenderloin.

The casserole will come out of the oven looking bubbly and delicious.

The Cooking Light version was firm, while mine was softer. (hypothesis – their pan was slightly bigger than mine. I didn’t care to measure!) Either way is fine – it will be so tasty that you won’t care!! MMM cheesy, veggie filled goodness that even my 2 year old liked!! I hope you’ll try it!

Cheesy Polenta with Swiss Chard

Adapted from a Cooking Light recipe
Serves 6 (about 1 cup per serving)

Chard:
2 bunches Swiss chard (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons water

Polenta:
1 3/4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable broth
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3 ounces crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare chard, remove stems and center ribs. Discard stems. Finely chop the ribs and coarsely chop the leaves. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add chopped swiss chard and saute until slightly soft. Add 2 Tbsp water and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until wilted.

To prepare polenta, place 1 3/4 cups water, salt, and broth into a large saucepan over high heat. Gradually add the cornmeal, stirring constantly with a whisk. Allow the mixture to boil and immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Cook the polenta for 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheeses, stirring constantly with a whisk. Spoon half the polenta into an 8×8″ baking dish coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly. Top with the chard mixture. Spoon sour cream over chard, spreading evenly. Add remaining polenta, spreading evenly.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

I’ve been cooking here and there – mostly the old standards that have either been posted here before or that I don’t even have a recipe for. I did make a killer Italian Wedding Soup that my friend Jill gave me a loose recipe for. I will have to firm that one up to share at a later date. it was Soooooooooo good!

In other news – our CSA started back up about a month ago. I’ve been doing fairly decently at cooking the food we get. Today I got the most gorgeous box and on top was this baby:

The world’s largest Napa Cabbage. Seriously. This thing is GIGANTIC. Nearly as tall as the 2-liter and at least double the width. WHAT THE HECK DO I DO WITH IT?! This is not a vegetable that I buy and when I do, it’s for a recipe that specifically calls for it. So what’s your favorite thing to do with Napa Cabbage!? I won’t be able to cook it until the weekend – there is some rainbow chard that needs a home tomorrow night and then a chicken pot pie on the roster for the end of the week. BUT I want to do something exciting with this thing!! Suggestions welcome. Please and thank you!

PS: I also have 2 lovely heads of win-win choy (similar to bok choy) that need to be cooked. If you have any favorite recipes for that, I’d love those as well! Thank you!

I saw this recipe in the October issue of Cooking Light and knew that I had to try it! I adjusted it slightly as I had no desire to cut up my own chicken. I also used a bit more spinach than called for and quite honestly, it could have used even more! This was a delicious, hearty, and truly comforting meal! My husband couldn’t stop raving. For a minute, I thought it was because he was tired of eating tacos but then I tasted and realized what the ooh and aah was about! Try this one out – you won’t be disappointed!

PS: You could just use all breasts, but you need them to be bone-in to maintain the moisture. Don’t be afraid of the bone!!

Tuscan Chicken and White Beans

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
Yield: 4 hearty servings

1 cut up chicken (about 4 lbs)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 thick slices bacon
1 cup chopped onion
5 ounces baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 (16-ounce) cans cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Season chicken pieces with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook bacon in a large ovenproof pan (I used my big Le Creuset dish) over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble and set aside, leaving drippings in pan. Add chicken pieces to reserved drippings in pan; cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; set aside.

3. Add onion and 1/8 teaspoon salt to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Stir in bacon, spinach, rosemary, beans, and tomatoes; remove from heat. Arrange chicken pieces on top; bake, uncovered, at 350° for 50 minutes.