Pesto Chicken and Parmesan Noodles

Here's a quick and tasty summer meal.
*1 lb. angel hair pasta
*2 carrots, peeled and sliced in small disks
*3 TBSP. salted butter, divided
*1/2 of a rotisserie chicken, shredded
*1/4 c. pesto (store-bought is great, too)
*1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded

Cook pasta according to package.  Meanwhile, melt 1 TBSP. butter over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add carrots and cook a few minutes more.  Add chicken and stir to combine and warm.  Add pesto and toss to coat.  Drain pasta and return to pot.  Add remaining 2 TBSP. butter and Parmesan cheese and toss.  Season with fresh-ground black pepper if desired. Serve pasta topped with chicken mixture. Top with fresh basil and drizzle with olive oil.

Orzo with Cilantro-Lime Pesto

We've been trying to cut back a bit on dairy and have been 'forced' to get creative in what we eat. Seriously, 90% of our meals have some form of cheese in them. Turns out people who don't eat dairy still eat great food. Here's one that we loved.

1/4 c. (2 ounces) uncooked whole-grain orzo (rice-shaped pasta)

1 c. fresh cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp. olive oil
1 TBSP. pine nuts
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. canned black beans, rinsed, drained (or 2-oz. cooked salmon or tuna)
1/4 c. chopped roasted red peppers (in a jar packed with water)
1/4 c. corn kernels (I had frozen and just thawed them with no heat)

Cook orzo according to package directions. In a food processor, puree cilantro, lime juice, oil, pine nuts and garlic to make pesto. Toss cooked orzo with pesto and remaining ingredients and serve.

I first ate this warm and loved it, but it was yummy the next day as a cold lunch salad.

Rosemary Foccacia Bread

Today my 10-year-old nephew and I made some Rosemary Foccacia Bread. I got the basic recipe from one of those copy-cat recipe pages (Macaroni Grill Foccacia Bread) several years ago and have altered it a bit for an easy bread that goes great with a good Italian soup or some pasta. I’ve even been known to consume an entire loaf with just a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This whole recipe, start to eat takes about 2 ½ hours, but is pretty easy.

Rosemary Foccacia Bread

1 TBSP. yeast
1 TBSP. sugar
1 c. warm water (appx. 110˚)
2 ½ c. all-purpose flour
1 TBSP. ground flaxseed (optional)
1 tsp. salt, plus more for baking
1 tsp. canola oil or cooking spray
2 TBSP. melted butter
2 TBSP. dried rosemary (I like to chop mine up a bit)
Place yeast, sugar and water in a glass bowl and allow the mixture to proof (it will get super bubbly and the bubbles should be about as thick as the water). This will take about 10 minutes.

Mix in 2 c. flour, the flaxseed and the salt (I have determined this works better to add 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP rosemary at this point). Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary (usually takes the full 2 ½ c. for me). You can also do the kneading in your food processor, but the dough doesn’t seem to develop as well, but if you don’t like to knead, put the yeast mixture and dry ingredients in and process for about 15 sec. or until the dough comes together. (I use the food processor for about 10 seconds and then knead by hand for 3-5 minutes more.)

Oil a bowl, put the dough in it and turn the dough ball to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rice in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled.

Punch dough down (this means take 3 fingers and lightly press out the air bubbles, you don't want to hurt the dough) and divide (I use a pizza cutter to cut it) in half or fourths. Let the dough rest for about five minutes. Meanwhile spray a jellyroll pan with cooking spray or lightly coat with oil. Gently shape the dough pieces into loose circles/balls about 8-10in in diameter (I am now using the pull sides and tuck into the bottom technique used for rolls to make 2 loaves). Brush the tops with 1 TBSP. melted butter mixed with remaining 1 TBSP rosemary. Cover with towel and let rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375˚ (if you’ve got a convection oven, this is a great time to use this setting). Lightly sprinkle salt over the loaves. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Serve with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a tasty treat!