Luau’s Leftover Casserole

So a friend of mine recently said to me that she wished she had the time to cook up all the things I put up on Facebook.  Some of the stuff does take a while, but others are quick and easy.  Tonight I picked up some takeout for the kids and the wife, but I wondered if I would be able to throw something together with some of the leftovers I had in the ‘fridge into something edible and appetizing.  The entire process took me just under 20 minutes (19:47 to be exact).  I wasn’t going to post something here, but my friend Molly asked so here it is:

Ingredients:
Leftover Penne
Leftover Broiled Salmon Fillet
Broccoli Rabe, chopped
Green Pepper, chopped
Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil
Mince Garlic
Red Pepper Flakes

1. Set Oven on bake at 350°F. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add garlic, pepper flakes and some salt.

2. Add Broccoli Rabe and sauté for a few minutes.

3. Add the penne and mix.

4. Add salmon, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon.  Thoroughly mix in the pan.

5. Add peppers and mix.  Salt to taste.  Once warmed, place contents of pan in a baking dish.  Spread evenly and cover with parmesan cheese.

6. Bake for 10 minutes.

7.  Broil on high for 5 minutes or until the top of the casserole begins to brown.

8. Plate and serve.

In less than 20 minutes you have a tasty, satisfying meal.

Sautéed Mushrooms & Broccoli Rabe

At the request of my pal Sheila, here is the recipe for the Sautéed Mushroom & Broccoli Rabe Rapini I posted yesterday on the Facebook Page.  This was the result of playing around in the kitchen with a few things I found in the refrigerator.

It’s quick and easy.  Probably took me 20 minutes from refrigerator to dining table.

Ingredients:
12 ounces of thickly sliced mushrooms
4-5 cups of Broccoli Rabe Rapini, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt

1. Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat, covering the bottom of the pan with olive oil.

2. Once hot, saute the garlic for about a minute, stirring with a wooden spoon to keep it from burning.

3. Put in the sliced mushrooms, tossing the garlic and the mushrooms so that the mushrooms are covered in oil.  Sprinkle a pinch or two of kosher salt.  Turn heat up slightly.  You want the heat to be high enough to slightly burn the mushrooms without overcooking them.  Stir occasionally.  Once the edge of the mushrooms begin to brown, remove and place on a plate.

4. Turn heat back to medium-high.  Add a touch of olive oil if necessary and then place the broccoli rabe in the pan.  Sprinkle with a pinch or two of kosher salt.  Toss to cover in oil and then cover for no more than a minute.  Uncover, toss again.  If the broccoli rabe has reached your desired tenderness, add mushrooms, toss, cook for another couple of minutes at medium heat to allow flavors to blend.

5.  Plate and serve.  Probably better used as a side dish, but I ate it as my main meal last night

Garlic Sautéed Mushrooms and Broccoli Rabe Rapini

Garlic, Chickpea and Spinach Soup

Taken from “The Best-Ever Vegetarian Cookbook” by Nicola Graimes.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
5 cups vegetable stock
12 ounces potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons light tahini
7 ounces spinach, shredded
cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

I usually use larger portions of the ingredients, but at roughly the same ratio – try it once at the prescribed measurements and then experiment.

1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan and cook the garlic and onion for five minutes, or until they are softened and golden brown.

2. Stir in the cumin and coriander and cook for another minute.

3. Pour in the stock and add the chopped potatoes to the pan. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas and simmer for five minutes more, or until the potatoes and chickpeas are just tender when pierced.

4. Blend together the cornstarch, cream, tahini and plenty of seasoning. Stir into the soup with the spinach. Bring to a boil, stirring, and simmer for another two minutes. Season with cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Serve immediately, sprinkled with a little cayenne pepper.

This soup is absolutely delicious and as with almost all soups, gets better on the second and third day…that is, if there is any left.

Chicken & Artichokes with Garlic Sauce

Another Social Media request, though I cannot take credit for this one – the recipe comes from Mark Sisson’s PRIMAL BLUEPRINT – Quick & Easy Meals, page 111.

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
3 Tbs Butter
6 Preserved anchovy fillets
4 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
Zest of 2 Lemons
2 Pounds Chicken Breast, cut into 1/2″ – 1″ chunks
2 14-Ounce Cans of Artichoke Hearts, drained and quartered
1/3 Cup Parsley, roughly chopped

In a small skillet over medium heat combine the olive oil, butter and anchovies.  As the butter melts, smash the anchovies into a paste with a wooden spoon.  When the anchovies have dissolved and the butter and oil are bubbling, turn off the heat and mix in the garlic and lemon zest.

Turn the over broiler on high.

Combine the chicken and artichokes in a rimmed baking pan.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Drizzle the oil mixture on top and mix well to coat.

Cook the chicken for 10 – 15 minutes, stirring several times until done.

Garnish with parsley and serve.

Personally I like to cook it a little longer to get a little of that burnt look, but that is just personal preference.

Let me know what you think!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers and Luau’s Brussels Sprouts

A couple of people who saw these two on Instagram last night asked for the recipe, so here it is:

QUINOA STUFFED PEPPERS:
Ingredients:
4-6 Green Peppers – tops cut off, deseeded
2 lbs ground beef
1 Cup Quinoa
2 Cups of Chicken Broth

Prepare quinoa per instructions on the package it came in (usually 2 cups of water for 1 cup of quinoa) but use chicken broth instead of water.

While the quinoa is simmering, set the oven to roast at 350°F.  Then saute the ground beef in a large pan until cooked through.  Turn off heat.  Once the quinoa is done, mix into the pan with the ground beef, adding the amount of quinoa you would prefer.  I generally add about a little under 1/2 of the pot and save the rest to add to a salad the next day.

Place the peppers in a baking dish and overfill each pepper with the hamburger/quinoa mixture.  I will place the rest of the mixture in another baking dish without the peppers and roast that as well.

Roast for 30 – 40 minutes until the peppers are a desired tenderness and the tops are crispy.  Plate and serve.  You can sprinkle shredded cheese on at the end and then broil on high for a nice, burnt cheesy effect.  I prefer to skip the cheese and top with sour cream.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

LUAU’S BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Ingredients:
1 pound of brussels sprouts – halved lengthwise
Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Lime or Lemon
Kosher Salt

Place halved brussels sprouts in a mixing bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil to lightly cover the sprouts.  Add juice and two to three pinches of salt, mix, cover and let stand for at least 20 minutes.

Heat a large pan on medium high.  After the pan is heated, add enough Olive oil to thinly cover the bottom of the pan.  Pour the sprouts into the pan.  Use either tongs or chopsticks to turn every sprouts face down.  Cover and let cook until the faces of the sprouts are browned/burnt to desired color.  Cover and turn off heat and let stand for five minutes.

Plate and serve.

Luau’s Brussels Sprouts

Frozen Grapes

With warmer days on the way, I thought I’d share what is probably one of the easiest and most addictive snacks you will ever come across – Frozen Grapes.

It’s easy, take a bunch of red seedless grapes; wash them; pat dry, put in a container; place in freezer for 6-8 hours.

Pull them out on a hot afternoon and it’s like having little grape Popsicle balls.

…but I’m warning you, they are very, very addictive!

Teriyaki Tofu Kabob

Ingredients:
Kabobs:
2 packages of extra firm tofu (drained, pressed and cut into 6-8 cubes)
2 plum tomatoes
1 green pepper
1/2 red onion

Marinade:
1/4 cup Sesame oil
1 bottle Kikkoman teriyaki marinade
Sesame seeds
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
Juice of one lime or lemon (optional)

Coleslaw:
1 head of Savoy cabbage
2 carrots
1 cucumber
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
Soy sauce to taste

Mix marinade in shallow baking dish and place cubed tofu in dish, turn to make sure it is covered. Cover and refrigerate for an hour, turning once after 30 minutes.

Skewer tofu with the vegetables while either heating the grill or broiler on high.

Cook until desired doneness – I broiled in the high shelf for about 12 minutes total.

For coleslaw, shred the vegetables, mix well with other ingredients, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (tossing before presenting).

Luau’s Fast & Easy Caprese Salad

The recipe for this salad is easy and takes only a few minutes to prepare.

1/2 of 3 different colored heirloom tomatoes and 1/2 of 1 ugly tomato, sliced into wedges and then halved.

A handful of fresh basil, ripped or cut with a serrated knife (I find it brings out the flavor in fresh basil vs slicing with a sharp knife)

8 – 10 mini mozzerella balls, cut in half.

Olive oil, balsamic vinegar and kosher salt to taste.

Mix well, chill, eat…though you don’t need to chill it if you don’t want to wait.

Serves 4

Broiled Baby Bak Choy

This one is quick and easy in addition to being healthful.

Ingredients:
4 heads of baby bak choy (cut in half lengthwise)
1 lemon or lime, cut in half
kosher salt
extra virgin olive oil

Set oven to Broil

Arrange in a baking dish alternating direction with each one.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Squeeze juice over the bak choy.

Sprinkle with salt.

Place on the second from the top rack and broil for 10 minutes or until the leave start to blacken and the base has started to soften.

Plate alone or over a bed of rice.

Grandma’s Egg Omlette

My grandma used to make this for my sister and me every morning when we would come visit her for the summer.  She had a very specific way of preparing them that.  Whenever I have strayed too much, I find the eggs do not have the same texture or flavor.

Ingredients:

1 Egg

1 Tsp. butter

half an egg shell of cold water

a pinch of kosher salt

Heat a 9-inch pan over medium heat.  Place butter in the pan.  While the butter melts, crack egg open into a small mixing bowl.  Use 1/2 the eggshell, pour in cold water from the tap and pour into the bowl.  Add a pinch of salt.  Use a small whisk to beat the eggs.  Roll the butter around in the pan.  When the butter starts to sizzle, pour in the egg.  As the egg starts to cook, use a small spatula to pull the egg towards the middle and then lean the pan to get the still raw part of the egg onto the pan.  Once the egg seems nearly cooked through, pick up the pan and with a flick of the wrist, flip the egg over.

Allow it to cook for another 20 seconds and then fold the egg in thirds.  Slide onto a place and serve.