Mix it Up! VIII

Chicken Sausage Florentine Rigatoni
I was disappointed because I was planning to make this, but only had time to go to one grocery store before dinner and I couldn’t find any chicken sausage. I don’t like pork, but really wanted to try this recipe so I bought pork sausage. I halved the recipe and didn’t cook the spinach much. We liked it even with the pork and I will make it again, but hopefully with chicken sausage. I found this recipe at Picky Palate .

2 t. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 c. fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 lb. ground chicken sausage
½ t. salt
1 (26-oz.) can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 (15-oz.) can fire-roasted tomatoes
8 leaves fresh basil, chopped
1 lb. dry rigatoni noodles
2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted down. Add chicken sausage and salt; cook until cooked through.

Place both cans of tomatoes into a food processor and process until nearly smooth. Add to skillet along with fresh basil. Reduce heat to low and simmer.

Cook rigatoni according to packaging directions. Drain and transfer to sauce. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Rosemary Focaccia
I only tried this one yeast recipe this week, but it turned out great. It is so flavorful. Thanks to Prudence Pennywise for the recipe. I used half whole wheat flour and half unbleached white flour and I will do that again.
2 t. rapid rise yeast
1 t. sugar
1 c. plus 2 T. warm water
1 T. olive oil
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. salt
1 t. dried rosemary, chopped, or 1 T. fresh
3 cups flour Topping:
2-6 T. olive oil
1/4 c. to 3/4 c. parmesan cheese
Additional chopped dried or fresh rosemary
Black pepper

In a large bowl, combine yeast, sugar, water, olive oil, pepper, salt, rosemary and half of the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon. (Alternately, if you have a free standing mixer, put in all of the flour and let the machine do the work.) Work in the remaining flour, using your hands and kneading when necessary. Knead dough for five minutes. Cover and let rise for one hour. (The dough can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and store in fridge.)

Preheat oven to 425°. Press dough into a 12 inch circle. Don't worry about being perfect; you're going for rustic Italian here. Press the dough all over with your fingertips to make indentations. Cover dough with olive oil, cheese, rosemary and black pepper. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve.

Sopa de Pollo con Fideos (Chicken Noodle Soup)
I made this recipe up this week when my husband was sick since he loves soup to help him feel better. He told me it was the best soup he’s ever had, probably because the mixture made in the blender (minus the enchilada sauce) is called aliño and is used in a variety of dishes in Ecuador, where he is from. The amounts in the ingredients list are estimates and you can use more or less, depending on your taste. You can use the veggies you prefer too. Next time I think I’ll sauté carrots along with the garlic and onion. I used “homemade style” egg noodles which took a bit longer to cook, but tasted great.
1 tomato, quartered
1 small green pepper, quartered
½ onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
½ c. fresh cilantro
1 t. cumin
1 (10-oz.) can green chile enchilada sauce
Olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ onion, chopped
3 Boneless, skinless Chicken breasts, chopped
1 (14-oz.) can chicken broth
1 potato, chopped in small pieces
Egg noodles
½ c. frozen corn
1/3 c. frozen peas
Salt & pepper to taste

Place first 7 ingredients in blender; blend until mostly liquid. Set aside.
In bottom of large saucepan or pot, add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and sauté the chicken and onion, adding garlic when the chicken is almost done. When chicken is cooked, add mixture from blender and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook until noodles and potatoes are done.

RASPBERRY CRUMB CAKE
This is a buttery cake with a great crumb topping. I just love raspberries! I don't have mace so I've never used it. (I don't know why I can't get the ingredients to do single line spacing. Sorry.)

FILLING:

2/3 c. sugar

1/4 c. cornstarch

3/4 c. water

2 c. fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries

1 T. lemon juice

CRUST:

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground mace

1 c. cold butter or margarine

2 eggs

1 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

TOPPING:

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. cold butter or margarine

1/4 c. sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350°. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water & raspberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat, boil for 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice. Cool.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine first six crust ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat eggs, milk & vanilla, add to crumb mixture & mix well. Spread 2/3 of mixture into greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Spoon raspberry filling over crust to within 1 in. of edges. Top with remaining crust mixture. For topping, combine flour & sugar, cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in almonds. Sprinkle over top. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until lightly browned.

Symphony Cookies
The Sisters' Cafe had this great recipe. I made two batches of this, one with a regular Symphony bar and one that had toffee & almonds. They keep their shape beautifully and are so soft and chewy. I used vanilla pudding, but you can use chocolate if you like. Maybe I’ll try that next.

1 c. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 small box of instant vanilla pudding
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 large Symphony bar, chopped

Preheat oven to 375°. Cream butter, sugar, pudding mix, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until creamy. Combine flour and baking soda. Add to butter mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in chopped chocolate. Drop by spoonful on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Cool on rack.