Lemon Garlic Pasta with Paulie O's Spicy Italian Sausage

The month is not over yet and we some more dishes coming your way. It is amazing what you can do with a little creativity and even less money. This dish is amazingly simple, packed full of flavor, healthier than Olive Garden, and is cheap to make. I know most of you would not be able to get a hold of the sausage I use as its a local delight so use the best you find. Quality ingredients may cost a bit more but its worth it to your taste buds and you health. So there are a few ground rules for this dish. Do not use garlic powder. Use fresh garlic and you will see why. Garlic powder just can not deliver on this occasion. The last thing is do not over do it with the butter. A little goes a long way. Now to show you how easy and inexpensive this dish is. I did not have anything extra to spruce up this dish with some color but here are some suggestions: sauted butternut squash, fresh chopped parsley, green or red bell pepper, roasted zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, etc.

Serves 4 people
Total cost: about $20.00

Ingredients:
5 large cloves garlic minced
1 large yellow onion diced
12 oz mushrooms of your choice. I used sliced white shrooms this time around.
1.5 lemons squeezed
2 tbsp clarified non-salted butter
4 Spicy Italian sausage links, casing removed
EVOO
1/2 a regular box of whole grain or whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles cooked till al dente
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter and add the onions. Let them sweat for about 4-5 minutes or until lightly golden.
2. Brown your sausage in a little bit of EVOO (about 1/2 tbsp). Make sure you try to buy a lean sausage. You can tell if its lean or not by looking at it raw. If you see a lot of large specs of white throughout that's fat. So choose wisely.
3. While all this is going on you noodles should be put on to cook. It takes them about 6 minutes to cook till al dente for me. Drain well.
4. Now for the fun part. Add the garlic to the onions, saute until aromatic. Then immediately add the noodles and sausage to the veggies and make sure to toss well. Trust me there is enough butter as the onions and mushrooms soak it up so there will be plenty of flavor. Now squeeze 1/2 a lemon, salt, pepper and continue this until you have reached your desired levels. Use just enough lemon to give a zing and just enough salt to subdue the harsh bite of the lemon. Now you are ready to serve a jaw dropping dish. Simple and packed full of flavor. Enjoy!

Cooking up a storm!

It has been an amazing flavor ride lately. With keeping to our theme for the month we have whipped up some amazing dishes. Some of the creations we owe a great deal of credit to Jared, Allison, and Josh for inspiring great food at a budget price. Now to the food!

Our first meal was a group collaboration. Simply Stir Fry!
Jared, Allison, Josh, Mandi, and I all went to the store and pitched in for a meal that was light, hearty, and satisfying. Bok choy, bell pepper, onion, garlic, gave us our veggies all cooked to a light crisp. We could not decide on one meat so we used shaved pork loin, shaved chicken thighs, and shaved beef all marinated in a light garlic, ginger, and soy sauce marinade. For those who wanted some starch we had some rice noodles cooked to perfection to add to the mix. Of course all this was prepared using Chao technique. For those of you who do not know stir fry is just a general term used to describe two methods Bao (rapid, very high heat, each ingredient is put in the wok one after the other) and Chao (high heat, similar to sauteing, where each ingredient is cooked separately and then added back in at the end). Jared and Allison put together a simple, yet zingy ginger salad as a side dish that was to die for.

Our next dish combined simple Mediterranean inspired pasta and a Cajun flared chicken. We started off with a whole wheat thin spaghetti pasta tossed in a lemon garlic butter topped with sauteed cremini mushrooms, onion, zucchini, and sweet orange bell pepper. Now to make this a bit different we seared some chicken breast cutlets to lock in flavor and moisture. Reducing the heat and covering the skillet will also make sure your bird is juicy and succulent in each bite. Some say 170 degrees for breast but in my opinion that is overcooked. I cook my chicken breast to to temp at 160F and no higher than 165F. The last ingredient we used was Applegate brand bacon cooked to a crisp, chopped, and sprinkled over the top.

Now for a little thinking outside the box. We were able to get a hold of some ultra fresh Dover sole fillets. What to do with sole? Its fish taco time. The firm flesh and delicate flavor make this dish an awesome catch. Mandi gave me this great idea. Marinate the sole in the amazing pineapple/habanero jelly we bought from the fresh market. So I took the jelly smeared the whole jar on about 1.5lbs of delectable catch, a pinch of salt, a dash of black pepper and let it sit for several hours. The jelly infused the fish with a great tangy depth. The bite of hellish habanero softended by the sweet acidity of the pineapple finish off the flavor. Seared to perfection the fish was combined with a fresh jalapeno pico de gallo, creamy salsa refried beans, all on a crunchy corn tortilla shell.

As a side note I always try to buy hook and line caught fish as I do not support commercial fishing operations. The fishmonger at the local market knows me well and is always poised to answer my questions on origin, freshness, and the like.

There is more to come for this month's theme and if you like what you see here let me know and I will post the recipe for the dish you would like to prepare. Food is life, bon appetit!

Tuscan Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Hey there foodies thanks for stopping by to check out our next creation. Following our theme this month we constructed a flavor monster that will delight the senses. It is versatile and can be eaten by itself or compliment other dishes. We chose to eat this dish as a meal served up with some tangy sweet salad that Mandi made for us. Salad is something I do not do much because my wife does it better. She can put together some killer salads that even the most die hard carnivore would be begging for more. Ok so about the food already come on we are hungry.

Ingredients:
Serves 5 people
Cost per person about $6.00

Fresh french or cuban bread loaf cut into fourths
1/2 large yellow onion diced
8 cloves garlic minced
3 tbsp non-salted butter
4 tbsp Parmigiano-Reggiano
About 2 tbsp of Tuscan goat cheese per bread slice- contains, red bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes, and Italian herbs so if you can't find exactly Tuscan then find something similar.
2 plum tomatoes diced
1 cup diced cherry tomatoes
1/4 tsp fresh oregano chopped
Two slices of Applegate Genoa salami or equivalent
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaf
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper

1. In a skillet melt 1 tbsp butter, add onions, saute until lightly golden, add 6 cloves minced garlic, saute until garlic is golden (be careful not to burn the garlic= bitter). Let the onions and garlic cool and mix with tomatoes, Parmigiano-Reggiano, oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Preheat your oven to 375. Melt 2 tbsp butter, add the remaining garlic, a pinch of salt, and rosemary. Let this sit for about 5 minutes to soak up some flavor. Lightly brush your bread with the savory butter. Put the bread on a cookie sheet or pizza sheet and toast until lightly golden.
3. Plate the bread, spread the goat cheese on top, add salami, and then top off with the tomato salad.

Serve with a simple salad with mixed baby greens, gold raisins, shredded carrot, red onion, and a fruity vinaigrette. We used a pomegranate and raspberry dressing.

Make it and let me know what ya think! Enjoy!

Coconut and Basil Beef Stir Fry

We start our budget month off with this dish that is packed full of exotic flavors bringing something different to the table. If you like Thai and Vietnamese cuisine then this will satisfy your craving.

Ingredients:
Yields enough for 5
Cost per person about $6.00

1 lb top sirloin cutlets sliced thin, or something similar that you can find on sale
Marinate overnight in: 3-4 tbsp basil chili paste, 1.5 tbsp fs, 1 tbsp lime juice, 4 tbsp agave nectar, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1 Thai chili diced or more if you can handle the heat
About 2 tsp Three Crab brand fish sauce
1 regular size package of rice noodles
1/8 cup Nuoc cham per dish, use more if you want more, the recipe for nuoc cham will yield quite a bit and is very concentrated.
1 yellow onion cut into strips
2 red bell pepper cut into strips
Whole package of asparagus

Nuoc cham (awesomeness, fish sauce based condiment)
This sauce is balances, sweet, salty, and spicy and pushes the stir fry into another realm of flavor.

Ingredients:
1/2-1cup cup palm sugar
1 cup boiling hot water
1/4-1/2 cup Three Crab brand fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
5 garlic cloves diced
1 shallot diced
2-5 Thai green or red chilis or jalapeno if you can not handle the heat

Mix all ingredients together and allow the sugar to dissolve. You might have to simmer the sauce on the stove if your water was not hot enough. Once the sugar has dissolved let it sit for at least one hour. Strain out the pieces of veggies and you are set. Make sure you build the salt (fish sauce) and the sweet (palm sugar) as noted above. Take your time and adjust the sauce to your liking. Do not add to much fish sauce or it will be too salty.


The dish
1. Make your nuoc cham
2. Stir fry the beef in 1 tbsp of canola oil, do not overcook
3. Remove beef and set to the side. Add 1 cup water to the wok, bring to a boil and blanch the asparagus for 2 minutes. Remove water and asparagus, place asparagus in cool water to keep from cooking further.
4. While stir frying Cook your rice noodles until tender, about 6-7 minutes, drain. Make sure you time your noodles to be done at the same time your stir fry is done so you have hot noodles to plate.
5. Heat wok back up, add 1/2 tbsp oil, stir fry a hand full of veggies for 2-3 minutes, add fish sauce, add about 3oz of beef and stir fry for 20 more seconds, remove from heat and plate on top of hot noodles. Poor nuoc cham over dish and be prepared for some crazy taste bud action.

The theme for August is.....

This month's theme: Blissful bites on a budget

Lets save some money and make some really awesome food! I use to think that making yummy dishes required me to spend good money on the best ingredients. I have found that I can make amazing food with fresh ingredients and still have enough money left over for a trip to the movies. This month we will be creating dishes that will excite and will be easy on your wallets.

If you have grocery shopping tips, recipe ideas, or any other related information please share it with us.

Cardamom Agave Chicken

Wake up folks its time to read about an awesome creation we came up with. Cardamom and something sweet is not a new concept but we wanted to try something different. There are plenty of honey and cardamom seasoned dishes around so we wanted to try Agave nectar instead. We use the black cardamom seeds as it has a hint of smokiness and is cool on the tongue like mint. So how do you make it?

Ingredients

Marinade:
1/8 cup light agave nectar
4 Tbsp cream sherry
1-2 teaspoons black cardamom seeds, ground depending on your taste
1-2 teaspoon mixed peppercorns, ground again depending on your taste

Sauce:
1/4 cup light agave nectar
4 tbsp cream dry sherry
1-2 teaspoons black cardamom seeds, ground depending on your taste
1-2 teaspoon mixed peppercorns, ground again depending on your taste
Just a pinch of lemon zest

Chicken:
6 Chicken drumsticks skins removed
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Sea salt and black pepper

1. Marinate chicken for at least one hour. I did mine for 3. The flavor will be better the longer you let it marinate.
2. Line a baking dish with foil and oil it down a little. Place the lemon slices evenly on the bottom.
3. Take out the chicken from the marinade and let excess juices drip off. Add a little sea salt and black pepper to accent your flavors. Heat up a skillet and add the olive oil. Let the oil heat up (do not overheat the olive oil!) Place the chicken in the heated oil and sear evenly on all sides until golden. Once you are done searing place the chicken on top of the lemon slices. Preheat oven to 390.
4. Now just let that chicken sit for a few minutes. Place the sauce mixture in a skillet, on medium high heat until it boils, turn the heat down to medium, and reduce until a light glaze is formed (about 15 minutes). Drizzle over the chicken and bake for 20 minutes, pull it out and let it sit for 10 minutes to let it finish cooking. Make sure to temp your food before you eat it. Legs need to be 165F. Enjoy with some roasted potatoes or whatever you fancy!

CONTEST WINNER

Hey there everyone we have a winner for the gift basket. Before we announce who the person is we want to take a moment to extend our thanks. We are on a journey to create some awesome food. Now that we have a descent group put together we want to hear from you. Recipes, pictures, experiences are all appreciated. We want everyone to participate with us in creating awesome cuisine. Now for the winner, congratulations to Ernie Hanna you have won the gift basket we have put together. We hope you enjoy the contents and the recipe we have included.

Contents:
Jello chocolate pudding
Cup cake tin
Cake mix
Piping bags for frosting
24 baking cups
Mandi's recipe for simple but yummy cup cakes!