Tag Archives: pasta sauce

Italian Inspired Recipes, Pork, Poultry, Recipes

Italian Flavors in this Chicken & Sausage Dish

Photo of Chicken & Sausage Italiano dish

I wanted to use up a little pasta sauce I’d opened for a pizza a few nights earlier, so I came up with this variation on Chicken Parmesan. I use the extra Italian sausage in it along with two cheeses. Simple to make and delicious. You can use a premade pasta sauce or your own recipe.

I had a bear of a time getting the nutrition information for this. The website with the calculator I’ve been using shut down and the others I’ve found aren’t as robust. I finally located one that calculated about what I estimated the carbs to be, but it didn’t include the fiber, cholesterol, or potassium counts in it, so I had to hunt those down individually. I believe the final result is accurate, depending on which pasta sauce you use. I used Prego’s plain sauce. If you use a dry red wine in it, the count may be about 1 net carb higher.

Chicken & Sausage Italiano

2 chicken breasts
1/2 pound Italian Sausage
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/3 cup sliced Mushrooms
1 cup Pasta Sauce
1/4 cup Water or Red Wine
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese

In a medium skillet over medium-high burner, heat the olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then add to the skillet. Brown chicken on both sides. Set aside on a plate. Add sausage to the pan and use a spatula to separate the meat. Cook and stir for about three to five minutes until the sausage is browned. Push to one side.

Add mushrooms and cook about two minutes. Add pasta sauce and water or wine and stir sausage and mushrooms until mixed. Return chicken to the pan and spoon sauce over the top. Cover pan and reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 20 minutes until chicken is tender. Sprinkle Parmesan over the chicken and sauce, then cover with mozzarella cheese. Cover the pan again for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Makes two servings.

Image: Nutrition Information

Short Non-Cooking Message:

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Italian Inspired Recipes, Recipes

It’s Gnudi Time!

Photo: Gnudi with meatballs and pasta sauce

Sometimes I learn about something and wish that I had known about it sooner in my life. Gnudi (pronounced nudee) fit in that category. I saw Giada Di Laurentis make these on television and decided I had to try them. They are similar to the filling in gnocchi, but really, it tastes like the center ricotta layer in lasagna. So delicious!

And they are easy to make. I adapted them only slightly to be low carb, which meant swapping out the regular wheat flour for low carb flour. I used Dixie Diner’s All Purpose Flour. I expect that coconut flour might work well in this also. I plan to try that the next time I make them. Since coconut flour absorbs more liquid, use only 1/4 cup in the ricotta mixture. If the dough gets too stiff, add a little egg white or water.

Use freshly grated Parmesan cheese, not the canned variety that’s been sitting in the cupboard for two months. It’s worth it. This recipe is adapted from one I found at thekitchn.com.

Ricotta Gnudi

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 cups Whole-milk Ricotta Cheese
1 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Garlic and Herb Seasoning
1 cups Low Carb All-purpose Flour, divided
1-1/2 cups Marinara or Pasta sauce, store-bought or homemade
Fresh Baby Spinach

Place freshly grated Parmesan cheese in a large bowl then add ricotta cheese, eggs, salt, pepper and seasoning salt. Stir together, then add 1/2 cup low carb flour and stir until combined.

Put parchment paper or aluminum foil on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Dust with 1/3 cup flour. Using a 1-1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop or an over-filled tablespoon, scoop out golf-ball sized gnudi and place on the baking sheet. You can shape them into balls with your hands if they aren’t rounded. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Sprinkle the remaining flour over the tops of the dough. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill for 20 to 30 minutes. The more chilled they are, the better since the low carb flour breaks down in the boiling water more than regular flour.

Fill a large pot with water, add about a teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil. While waiting, get out the spinach and cut or tear into pieces for garnish. Warm the pasta sauce in a pan.

Use a slotted spoon to lower five or six gnudi into the water, one or two at a time. Try not to get too much extra flour with each one. Boil until the gnudi float and are firm to a light touch, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the water with the slotted spoon and put on a serving bowl or plate. Repeat until all the gnudi are cooked.

Spoon warmed pasta sauce over the top, garnish with additional Parmesan Cheese and the spinach leaves.

If you wish, you can add a couple of meat balls to the plate as I did.

Image: Gnudi in pan with butter and spinach

The other way you can serve gnudi is with a melted butter sauce. I heated my day-old gnudi up in the butter, lightly browning them. Melt a stick of butter, add 1 teaspoon minced garlic and let the butter get slightly browned. If you wish, you can add 1/2 to 1 cup of baby spinach while you’re stirring the butter. Spoon over the gnudi to serve.

This is great with roast chicken or pork chops as well as the meatballs.

Makes 24 gnudi. I used 4 gnudi per serving.

Leftovers can be put in plastic bags with the air gently pushed out as you seal it, or you can put them in a flat plastic container with a tight lid. They will keep up to three days in the refrigerator.

Image: Nutrition

 

Beef, Italian Inspired Recipes, Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

A Twist on an old favorite comfort food

1 Comment

This has been one of those months when too many things kept me from the kitchen to do anything more than reheat something or, for a few days when I had a stomach bug, just have soup. So not much posted for the month, but I did make this fabulous meatloaf yesterday and wanted to share the recipe with you.

You’ll also notice in the photo that I have a serving of cauli-rice and sweet potato on the side. I put a little of the pan juices from the meatloaf over the top for flavoring and moisture. The cauli-rice is a new product from Green Giant Foods, one of several cauliflower dishes they’ve put on the market. Look for a post in a few days with my product review on them. I can say that this was very tasty although I think a little extra seasoning kicks the flavor up a notch.

Most people don’t integrate the pasta sauce into the meatloaf, but put it over the top. I mixed mine in and it makes a delicious and moist meatloaf. Keeping it to low carb, I didn’t put any bread crumbs in it. This means it is more delicate than your regular meatloaf, but it will hold together.

Italian Style Meatloaf

1 pound lean Ground Beef (15% fat)
1 pound Ground Sausage
1 cup Pasta Sauce – (I used Pumpkin Pasta Sauce)
1 cup Onions, chopped
3 mini Sweet Peppers, chopped
2 Green Onions, finely sliced
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 large Egg
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F.)

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef and the sausage together. Add the onions, peppers, seasonings, and Parmesan cheese and mix together. Add the pasta sauce and stir in completely.

Place meat mixture in an oven safe pan, skillet, or large glass pan. Shape the meat into a loaf about 4 inches in depth and 6 inches wide. It should not touch the sides of the pan so that it will cook and brown around all exposed sides.

Meatloaf just out of the oven. I love my copper-clad square pan for making this and stews. It easily goes from stove to oven.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the meat loaf is browned and the internal temperature is about 155 degrees. Remove from the oven and let sit 10 minutes before cutting. The meatloaf will cook a little more while sitting and will set up.

Use a sturdy pancake turner to cut and serve the slices. Makes about 8 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 341 Fat: 22.8 g Net Carbs: 3.8 g Protein: 28.7 g

Note: This meatloaf can be stored in a container and frozen for up to three months, so if you have leftovers, that’s an option. It also makes a delicious sandwich filling.