Greek Chicken Pasta

This skillet pasta dish is light and delicious. I usually keep quart bags of diced chicken pieces in the freezer so it comes together quickly.

Ingredients

1/2 lb ziti/penne, cooked per package directions in salted water and drained (reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water)

1 Tbsp each of olive oil and butter
2 cloves minced garlic
2-4 diced pepperonici peppers (more if you like it spicy)
salt and pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" chunks
1 Tbsp Symeons/Greek seasoning (or 1 tsp each oregano and paprika, plus 1/2 tsp garlic and a pinch of red/hot pepper)
1/4 cup white wine
2 tbsp juice/brine from jar of Kalamata olives in vinegar brine

1/4 to 1/2 cup sliced Kalamata olives (to taste)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Chopped spinach/baby greens to taste
Feta cheese to serve (optional)


Start cooking the pasta first.

Heat oil and butter in a high sided saute pan (preferably one with a lid) over medium low heat. Add garlic and pepperoncini, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on low for about a minute until fragrant, stirring to prevent garlic from burning. Add chicken pieces, sprinkling a little more salt on them, along with the Greek seasoning. Turn heat to medium and cook until the bottom of the chicken turns light golden, flip the chicken pieces over and add the wine and olive juice.

Turn heat down to simmer on medium low until the chicken is cooked through, adding more wine if necessary to keep pan from drying out.

Meanwhile, prepare the olives, tomatoes, and greens.

When the chicken is cooked through and the pasta is ready, add pasta and vegetables to the pan with chicken. Gently toss to coat the greens with broth. adding the reserved pasta water if necessary to have enough liquid to coat the greens and pasta. Put the lid on the pan and steam on low for a couple minutes until the greens are wilted to your liking. Sprinkle on a little more salt and pepper to taste before serving, as well as feta cheese if desired.

Distracted Dish © 2013-2017

Spicy Gingerbread Muffins

These muffins are spongy, spicy, not too sweet, and best with coffee or tea. They make a nice breakfast treat or snack.

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
pinch ground black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper

Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled to warm
1/2 cup dark molasses (can sub out a couple tbsp for maple syrup if available)
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (any milk will work)
1 egg


Heat oven to 350 and grease 12 cup muffin tin.

Sift flour and spices together in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

In a large bowl whisk butter, molasses, vanilla, fresh ginger, yogurt, milk and egg until smooth.

Use a spatula to gently fold flour into the wet ingredients in the large bowl just until combined. It will seem very wet and lumpy at first but will thicken up in a minute or two of gently mixing. Don't over mix, some lumps are fine.

Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until a knife inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Remove from muffin tin when cool enough to touch.

Distracted Dish © 2013-2017

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

I concocted this recipe based on my recollection of the sausage and peppers served at local Italian festivals. I have played around with it a bit and this is exactly what I was looking for. Add a cup of house red or a can of cheap beer and this is what summer tastes like to me!

Ingredients
1 lb Italian rope sausage (sausages usually come in hot or sweet, I usually go with hot because the spice is half the fun of this sandwich)
Water for boiling
1-2 tbsp olive oil (enough to thinly cover the bottom of your skillet)
2-3 cubanelle peppers (or other thin frying pepper, green peppers are too thick and don't have the right texture)
1-2 Italian long hot peppers (to taste, these peppers can be very spicy, see notes below on choosing and preparing peppers to control the heat*)
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
Dry Sherry or wine
4 Italian rolls

Bring water to a boil on high in a medium pot. Prick sausage all over with fork and boil in the water for 10 minutes. You should see fat starting to leak out of the holes.

Meanwhile slice peppers into thin strips.

Heat olive oil in a non stick skillet. Using tongs, remove sausage from boiling water to a cutting board. Cut sausage into desired size chunks to fit the rolls. Transfer sausage links to skillet and brown on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, rotating them to brown on all sides.

Once sausages are starting to brown add the peppers, salt, and pepper, stirring to coat in the oil. Cook until peppers soften and sausages are cooked to 160 in the center.

Turn heat down, add garlic and herbs, saute for a minute to just color the garlic, then add sherry/wine to deglace the pan, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan.

Turn the heat back to medium and cook until the liquid cooks off a bit and the sauce is more oily and less watery.

Meanwhile, lightly toast the buns. Serve sausage and peppers in the buns with a generous drizzle of the pan juices.


* When choosing long hot peppers, look for dark, shiny, deeply twisted or wrinkled, striated peppers if you want very hot, otherwise stick to smoother, lighter green, straighter peppers without the twists for less heat.


To remove a lot of the heat when preparing peppers, make sure to cut off and discard the top 1/2" or so to avoid the hottest part, then carefully slice out all white pithy parts and remove all seeds. Leave some pith and seeds behind to keep them hotter.

When cutting these peppers up, avoid touching them as much as possible (you can use a fork to manage them or wear gloves),. If you do touch them wash your hands immediately with lots of soap, rinse thoroughly and DO NOT touch your face or eyes. The pepper oil can really burn.

Berry Pie Crumb Bars

This is an excellent recipe for when you need to use up a bunch of berries, want a special yet portable dessert, or just want juicy pie filling but don't feel like making crust.

I like to use part oat flour in the crumb mixture because it gives the topping a nice chewy texture and slightly rustic flavor, but it's fine without that. I make oat flour by running oatmeal through a kitchen mill, but a blender, spice grinder, or food processor would do the trick. The oat flour doesn't have to be super fine.

I'm guessing you could use more berries because this was nowhere near too juicy. You'd need to proportionally increase the other filling ingredients to compensate for any extra berries but crumbs could remain the same.

Crumbs
2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 cup oat flour (or 3 cups all-purpose flour would work fine)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
dash of coriander (optional, but it tastes good)
2 sticks cold salted butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

Berry Filling
5 cups fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, or a mix (I used all blueberries)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup white sugar (to taste, use less for sweeter berries and more for tart berries. I used wild blueberries that were a little on the tart side and 1/3 cup sugar was perfect for my not too sweet taste)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
dash of salt


Preheat oven to 375. Grease 9x13 pan.Whisk flour, sugars, baking powder, spices, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs form and butter is well incorporated. Stir in vanilla and egg with a fork until evenly distributed. Dough will be crumbly.

Pat half the dough into the prepared pan, pressing it down a bit to even it out and stick it together, creating a solid bottom crust.

In another bowl, toss berries with lemon juice, then sugar, salt and flour. Gently toss or mix until flour coats all the berries. Pour berries over the bottom crust, sprinkling any excess flour, sugar, or juices from the bowl evenly across the surface.

Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top of the berries, spreading them as evenly as you can. If a few berries peek through, that's fine.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until berries are bubbling and the top is slightly browned.

Allow to cool completely before cutting or the bars will not be set. Keeps very well in the fridge.

Spicy Tropical Peanut Butter Granola

I conceived this granola as a way to use up an oversupply of The Heat is On, which is peanut butter made with hot peppers. The warm spices and lime blend really well with the hot pepper in the peanut butter.

I do not recommend using more of the spicy PB than 1/4 cup. It packs a punch. I like things to be spicy and it's just right for me. You might want to start with less spicy PB or even just use regular PB with a pinch of red pepper if you're not a big fan of heat. Try it with yogurt!

Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup, golden syrup, or light corn syrup
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup spicy peanut butter (2 Tbsp for less spicy granola)
1/4 cup regular creamy peanut butter (6 Tbsp for less spicy granola)
zest and juice from one lime

Dry Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
1 cup crisp rice cereal
1/2 cup chopped dried/candied tropical fruit (I used a mix of papaya, pineapple, sultana raisins, and ginger)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Melt the sweeteners and peanut butter in a large microwave safe dish or in a large pot on the stove over low heat, stirring often to mix them together. When melted, take off heat and stir in lime zest and juice.

Stir oats, peanuts, coconut, spices, crisp rice, and dried fruit into the melted syrup and peanut butter mixture. Mix until thoroughly blended and spread on prepared cookie sheets. Bake at 250 until browned to taste, 30-45 minutes. Stir the granola and rotate the cookie sheets every 15 minutes to ensure that it doesn't burn.

If you have unsalted macadamia nuts or pecans, they would be a good substitute for half of the peanuts.

Other dried fruits to try include kiwi, mango, or possibly even candied citrus rind.

Banana chips could be used to replace the coconut shreds.

Green Soup

This recipe is flexible, simple, comforting, and delicious with cheese and crackers, similar to tomato soup. If you don't have broth, just make it with water and it'll come out fine. That's what I often do.

If you want more protein, use lentils, chick peas or white beans to thicken it up rather than the potatoes. With the beans it makes a good warm savory substitute for a protein and greens smoothie.

 

Ingredients 

5-6 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, and/or water

1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt (only if not using salted broth)
1/4 tsp black pepper or peppercorns

2-3 cubed potatoes or 1 can lentils, or white beans (1.5 - 2 cups cooked beans)

1 cup chopped celery  (can add onions or garlic too, if desired, but I prefer a milder flavor)

1.5-2 lbs various chopped fresh or frozen greens and herbs (parsley, escarole, romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, swiss chard, etc)

Lemon zest and juice from one lemon, or 1/4 diced preserved lemon (optional)
1/4 cup white wine (optional)

Dash of nutmeg (optional)

1/4 tsp of white pepper (optional)

Hot pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Salt to taste (less salt if using preserved lemon - they are very salty)

Lots of black pepper

Olive oil and/or Romano cheese to serve (optional)

In a large pot heat the broth/water and seasonings on high until boiling, then add the potatoes or beans and celery. Lower the heat to medium and cook until vegetables are tender.

Add the greens and lemon juice (or optional white wine) and lower the temperature to a low simmer for about 5 minutes. It might take longer for tougher greens like kale. yet less time for baby spinach. The greens should be just wilted.

Once the greens are wilted, remove from the heat, remove the bay leaf, and (carefully) use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Season to taste with nutmeg, white pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt. 

Serve hot in bowls with a drizzle of nice grassy olive oil and a generous sprinkling of Romano cheese. Pesto is also good with this soup. I have been known to drink it straight out of mason jars like a smoothie in a pinch. It is even good at room temp or just slightly warm.

This soup keeps in the fridge for about a week if using vegetarian broth, freeze leftovers within 4 or 5 days if using chicken broth.

Distracted Dish © 2013-2017

Xocolatl Fried Plantain Pfannkuchen

Ingredients:

For Fried Plantain Filling
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 large black ripe plantain
Splash of rum (white, dark, or spiced)
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne to taste

For Xocolatl Pfannkuchen
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (used special dark cocoa powder)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional) 
2 tbsp vanilla sugar  (or normal sugar, brown sugar, or even molasses)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
dash cloves
dash cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup black coffee
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Extra coconut oil, if necessary, to grease the pan
Powdered sugar and cinnamon for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

On the stovetop, heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Dice the plantain by peeling it, cutting it into thirds, cutting each third into quarter spears lengthwise and then dicing the spears into 1/4 inch chunks. When the oil is hot, toss the plantains in the pan, coating them evenly with the oil, and let them caramelize for a couple minutes. Once they have turned a golden yellow, add a splash of rum to deglaze the pan and stir the plantains around a bit while it boils off. Turn the heat to low and let the plantains cook down.

Meanwhile, whisk flour, cocoa, chocolate chips, sugar, spices, and salt in a bowl. Whisk in the yogurt, coffee, eggs, and extract until smooth. Add more coffee if the batter is too thick. It should be pourable like pancake batter.

Remove the skillet with the plantains from the heat, adding another tbsp of coconut oil if the pan looks dried out. Dust the plantains with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne. Pour the Xocolatl batter into the skillet over the fried plantains, distributing it evenly around the pan.

Put the skillet in the oven and bake 20 - 30 minutes or until the pfannkuchen puffs up and is set in the middle.

Once out of the oven, pfannkuchen will collapse as it cools. Run a knife around the edge, carefully lift it with a large spatula, and turn it out onto a plate for serving. Dust with cinnamon and powdered sugar, cut it into wedges or squares, and serve at room temperature.

You could also replace the vanilla with orange liquor/juice and zest or use bananas in place of the plantain.