Rustic Puglia Pasta Bake

Oh my goodness, this is a fabulous dish that is perfect for a family style dinner as well as a phenomenal offering for guests with a Caesar salad, old town rustic bread and a bottle of house red.

Why Puglia?  There is an area in Italy, Puglia, where some of the most incredible tomatoes are grown and in late summer you can walk the streets and find strings and racks of only the perfect tomatoes drying in the Italian sun.  Why Rustic?  This dish is meant to be enjoyed with family and friends around a table with good conversation, a comfortable atmosphere and a great bottle of red.  It's our kind of comfort food - nothing pretentious or fancy but superior in taste and definitely comforting.

I absolutely LOVE creating recipes but what I love even more is seeing (and hearing) the guys in the house absolutely fall in love with the dish.  Punk kid refuses to eat mushrooms - um, I didn't tell him they were in there and he never said a word - he ate them!  I chose the sun-dried tomatoes that were NOT marinated in oil.  Different people have different preferences but for this dish in particular I wanted to add my own seasoning and I didn't want the additional oil.  You can certainly experiment with oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes but just remember, you may have different results than I did. 

This pasta bake has a rich and creamy cheese sauce so you want to choose your pasta wisely.  I have found that the best pasta for cheese dishes is ridged pasta.  For this recipe I chose Ridged Ziti but you can certainly use what you like or easily find in your market.

First things first, right?  Grab your pasta pot and get that pasta cooking.  Please, SALT your water!  So many people neglect putting salt in their pasta water and it really does make a difference.  Cook your pasta according to package directions.

Season your chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.  Again, it's the little seasonings here and there that really make a difference in a dish.  Heat GOOD olive oil in a large sauce pan then cook your chicken breasts for appx 3 -4 minutes on each side.  The thickness of your chicken breast will determine how long you need to cook on each side.  After you remove the chicken from your pan add your fresh mushrooms and saute.

After the chicken breasts have "rested" slice thinly.  Now is the time you want to get your roux started.

Once your roux has thickened add the sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms and remove from heat.  Add your cheese and stir until melted and well combined.  Add your chicken and pasta to your sauce and then pour into your casserole dish.  Bake for 20 - 30 mins until nice and brown on top.

Rustic Puglia Pasta Bake

• 8oz pasta such as ridged ziti, ridged penne, ridged jumbo elbows
• 2 fresh chicken breasts
• 6oz fresh musrooms such as cremini or baby portabellos, sliced
• 4 oz package sundried tomatoes, rough chopped
• 3 tbs butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tbs AP flour
• 3 c milk
• 2 c shredded italian blend cheese
• 1 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp course ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray your casserole dish with non-stick spray.

Cook your pasta according to package directions.  SALT your water!

While pasta is cooking, heat appx 2 tbls of GOOD olive oil in a large saucepan.  Season your chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and then cook in heated sauce pan approximately 3-4 mins on each side.  Once cooked, remove from pan and let rest on a cutting board.  Add your sliced mushrooms to your sauce pan and saute for appx 4 mins.  You may need to add a tad more olive oil to your pan for the mushrooms.  Once your mushrooms have a deep, rich color remove from heat.  

Once your chicken breasts have rested slice thinly and set aside. 

In a separate heavy duty pot melt your 3 tbls of butter.  Add flour and continuosly whisk for about 2 - 3 mins.  Add your minced garlic and slowly pour in your milk continuing to whisk.  Allow your roux to simmer (NOT boil) for appx 4-5 mins CONTINUALLY whisking until the sauce has thickened.

Add the sundried tomatoes and mushrooms to your sauce and mix well.  Remove your sauce from heat and add in the italian cheese blend and stir until cheese has melted.  Add your chicken and pasta to your sauce and mix well.  Pour into prepared casserole dish and bake in preheated oven for approximately 20 - 30 mins until brown and bubbly.

I hope you give this recipe a try!  We are positive that you will love it and want to share with friends and family.
    

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Crappy Tomatoes Call For Shortcuts! House Salsa

I LOVE homemade salsa!  It is always best in the summer time with fresh, ripe, juicy tomatoes from the garden.  I don't know about the rest of you but my summer crop of tomatoes was the absolute WORST ever!  It didn't matter what I tried I just couldn't get them to grow and if the did they rotted on the vine before they were even close to being picked.  :(

I have been dying to experiment with some salsas that didn't use fresh tomatoes (I know, sacrilege) and I think I have finally come up with a fantastic one by mixing some canned tomatoes with some top notch fresh ingredients.  Check it out and let me know what you think!

The recipe really couldn't be easier as everything is just thrown into a food processor.  Fresh garlic, fresh cilantro, fresh jalapenos, fresh lime juice, fresh onions and a few more little things added in.

We like our salsa HOT in this house so adjust the jalapenos accordingly. By now, I think most everyone knows that the "heat" of a jalapeno comes from the seeds.  We chose NOT to remove the seeds.  If you are not as bold and daring remove the seeds from your jalapenos.  Oh, and WEAR gloves when you do it - trust me, that jalapeno "acid" can reek havoc on your hands and anything you may touch for HOURS afterwards!  We also wanted a salsa that was "restaurant" consistency and not a chunky kind.  You may want to change yours up a bit to suit your taste.  Hey, it's your homemade salsa so do what you want!  I won't show up at your house to taste it and critique!  Unless you are inviting me to dinner. ;)

House Salsa  

• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 10 oz can RoTel tomatoes with lime and cliantro
• 1/2 large onion cut up into chunks
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
• 2 jalapenos, stems removed and cut into chunks
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• One healthy handful of fresh cilantro
• Juice of one lime

Here comes the really hard part - pay attention!  Um, put it all in the food processor and blend away!

And for my next trick.......  ;)

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Cold and Drizzling So It Feels Like England - English Muffins!

It's cold (which I freaking LOVE) and it's drizzling outside (which I also freaking LOVE) so I got to work planning out my menu for the next two weeks.  I wanted a piece of toast but guess what?  The Finley's are out of bread!  Punk kid ended up eating about half a loaf of bread last night (toasted) with my now famous (at least in this house) Apple Butter!

Now, I realize that baking fresh bread won't get me close to satisfying my craving right now but I just had to break out the bread machine.  Then I saw all the flour I had on hand and REALLY went to town.

First up?  Homemade English Muffins!  Oh, Yeah!  I have a super simple recipe that turns out the most delicious English Muffins.

First, ya need a bread machine.  At least for my recipe you do.  This bread machine was a freebie about 14 years ago.   Maybe even a little older.  One of the people that Mr. Funley works with was giving it away.  Really?  Like for free?  Yes, FOR FREE.  We LOVE, love, love it and it still works beautifully!

There may be variations from bread machine to bread machine as to the order in which you put your ingredients in so check your manufacturer's instructions.  For mine, it's always liquids first, then dry ingredients, then butter (if there is any in the recipe) and last in goes the yeast.  Anyhoo, once you get all that stuff in the machine set your machine for the DOUGH cycle.  Mine takes about an hour and 30 mins.

When the dough is done you want to turn it out onto a cutting board dusted with cornmeal.  The cool part?  There is no kneading or rolling!  Just pat your dough out into a rectangle that is about an inch thick.  The dough will be slightly wet and you want it that way.  Sprinkle some cornmeal on the top side of the dough as well.  

Next, cut out about 10 rounds.  Place your rounds on a baking sheet and let them rise for about 20 minutes. 

While your rounds are rising heat a stove top griddle pan to 350 degrees.  You can also use a cast iron skillet (which I did) heated first on med high heat.  Place your rounds on the pan (or griddle) for about 6 - 8 minutes.  Flip the english muffins and cook another 6 - 8 minutes or until you reach desired brown on each side.  

English Muffins

• 1 c milk
• 3 tbs butter
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 c AP flour
• 1 1/2 tsp dry yeast 
• Cornmeal for dusting

Place the ingredients into your bread machine according to manufacturer's directions.  Choose the dough cycle, grab some coffee and just wait......

Once the dough cycle is done, turn your dough out onto a cutting board that has been dusted with cornmeal.  Don't freak out - the dough will be slightly wet and you want that.

Pat your dough out until it is an even 1" thickness. Sprinkle the top side of the dough with cornmeal.  Using biscuit cutters (or a glass) cut out about 10 rounds.  Place the rounds on a baking sheet, COVER with plastic wrap and let rise for about 20 minutes.

While your rounds are rising preheat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat or an electric griddle pan to 350 degrees.  Cook your english muffins for approximately 6 - 8 minutes on each side or until you reach YOUR desired browness.  (Yes, that is a word!)

Wow, are these babies good or what and E A S Y!!!!!  Enjoy!  

I LOVE comments! Let me know what you think......