Cacio e Pepe Ham and White Bean Soup

Cacio e Pepe Ham and White Bean Soup

adapted from Food & Wine

This soups takes a but of time but it is well worth the effort. Always save your cheese rinds and ham bones in your freezer for just such occassions as this. 

My husband cuts up my ham bones with a santized saw. No ham bone use ham hocks and chop a few ounces of a ham steak.

Need to save a little time, replace the dried, cooked beans with a 15 oz. can of cannellini beans.

Makes 3 servings                                                                5 WW pts / serving

Cooking spray
2/3 yellow onions, chopped divided
1 1/3 large celery stalks, chopped, divided
1 1/3 carrots (about 1/3 pound), peeled, chopped, divided
4 garlic cloves, peeled, 2 smashed and 2 chopped, divided
1/3 (2/3-1 lb.) smoked ham bone, preferably with meat
2 2/3 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rinds or pecorino Romano cheese rinds 
3 thyme sprigs
4 cups water, plus more if soup is getting too thick
1 tsp.coarsely ground black pepper, plus more for serving
1/3 cup dried cannellini beans or other dried white beans, soaked overnight, drained
1/3 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely shredded, plus more for serving

Kosher salt

1. To a pot coated with cooking spray add half of the onion, celery, carrot and smashed garlic cloves;  Cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. 
2. Add ham bone, cheese rinds, thyme sprigs, and water; bring to a boil over high. 
3. Reduce heat to low; simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally until broth is cloudy and tastes strongly like Parmesan and ham, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer set over a large measuring cup or bowl, pressing vegetables and cheese rinds to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. 
5. Reserve ham bone. Wipe pot clean.
6. Coat the pot with cooking spray; Add the remaining chopped vegetables and pepper.
7. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables start to soften,  about 5 minutes. 
8. Stir in the minced garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
9. Add ham bone, drained beans, and strained broth; bring to a boil over high. 
10. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until beans are creamy and tender and ham meat easily pulls away from bone, 2 hours; Add a little water if the soup is getting too thick.
11. Transfer 1/3 cup of soup to the bowl of a mini food processor, removing any ham pieces, process until smooth; Stir mashed soup back into pot.
12. Remove ham bone from soup, and shred meat (about 1/3 cup); Return meat to soup, and discard bone. Add cheese and stir until melted; Season to taste with salt. 
13. Ladle soup into individual bowls; Sprinkle with additional black pepper and cheese.

Enjoy!

Tuscan Bean Dip

Tuscan Bean Dip 

We are becoming avid fans of bean dips. Olives could easily replace the capers if you have them on hand or even better make it a combination of the two.

Serve with baked tortilla, pita chips, crackers or vegetable dippers.

The next time I think I would rather mix the copped veggies into the bean base rather than just have them on top.

Makes 2 servings                                                               0 WW pp / serving

1/2 can (19 oz.) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp. shredded fat free mozzarella cheese
1 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. roasted red peppers, chopped
1 Tbsp. capers
2 Tbsp. chopped onions
1/8 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning

1. In a bowl, mash beans with masher until smooth. 
2. Add the cheese, garlic, salt and vinegar. Mix well. 
3. Spread bean mixture over bottom of a small oven proof container.
4. In a small bowl, mix the roasted red peppers, capers, onions and lemon pepper seasoning.
5. Spread the pepper mixture evenly over bean mixture. 
6. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.
7. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

Roasted Drumsticks with Butternut Squash and Cannellini Beans

Roasted Drumsticks with Butternut Squash and Cannellini Beans

adapted from Food Network

When you are cooking for two, a sheet pan meal is really just a baking pan meal. Although you could use a sheet pan, since we are adding chicken stock part way through cooking I didn't want it to spread out too much.

If you do not have cannellini beans substitute any canned beans you have on hand.

Makes 2 servings                                                            10 WW points / serving

6 oz butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1/2 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 lemon, zest removed in large strips

1/2 small red onion, sliced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

4 chicken drumsticks

1 tsp. Dan-O's Original Seasoning™ or your favorite chicken seasoning

2 Tbsp. golden raisins

1/2 cup Homemade Chicken Stock or canned broth

Fresh snipped parsley or cilantro for serving (optional)

1. Place your baking pan on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500F.
2. In a medium bowl combine the squash, beans, lemon zest, lemon, onion, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste; Toss to coat.
3. Season the chicken with Dan-O's Original Seasoning™; set aside.
4. Coat the heated pan with cooking spray and spread the squash mixture out evenly.
5. Nestle the chicken into the vegetables; return the pan to the oven and bake 20 minutes.
6. Add the chicken stock and raisins to the pan; Continue cooking until the chicken is browned and cooked to an internal temperature of 165F, about 10 more minutes.
7. When you remove the pan from the oven, use tongs to squeeze the roasted lemon juice over everything.
8. Serve the chicken with the vegetables and a garnish of parsley.

Enjoy!

Super Bowl Sunday !!!

What is on your menu for this year's Super Bowl Feast?

 

I am going pretty traditional this year since we are having friends over who I have never cooked for before. My usual rule is that I have to prepare 3 tried and true meals for you before you are fair game for experimentation. I did venture out a little and tried a new dip and caprese skewers... all in all pretty safe.

On the menu we have ......

Caprese Skewers

A grape tomato cut in half with a small fresh mozzarella ball wrapped in basil skewered in the middle.

Veggie Platter with Assorted Dips

We went to the PA Food and Wine Show back in November and pick up some yummy dip mixes from Sensational Dips. 

So we mixed up some Crabby Crab, Luscious Lobster and Loaded Baked Potato. 

1 Tbsp of the seasoning mix added to 1/4 cup light mayonnaise and 1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt.

Bourbon Onion Dip

adapted from Maker's Mark Cookbook
1/4 cup bourbon , plus 1 1/2 tsp

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 large sweet onions sliced thinly 

1/2 teaspoon salt

 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
6 oz Greek yogurt

1/4 cup sour cream

Few drops lemon juice

Pinch sugar substitute

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook with onions in the oil and 1/2 tsp of salt over high heat until they begin to soften,about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to stir and cook the onions until they begin to color, about another 15 minutes. Add 1/4 cup bourbon to the pan and stir in. Reduce the heat to low and cook the onions for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions have colored and caramelized. Remove the onions from the pan and spread on a plate to cool .

Using a food processor combine the ricotta, yogurt and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoon bourbon, and process until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Fold in the sour cream. Once the onions have cooled, rough chop them briefly. Fold into the mixture and season to taste with lemon juice, sugar substitute, salt and pepper.

Tortilla Chips with Layered Mexican Dip

Layer  1 can  fat-free re-fried beans, 1 cup reduced fat sour cream,1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise with 1 packet of taco seasoning, 2 avocados mashed with the juice of 1 lime, 1 bunch of chopped scallions, 2 large tomatoes - chopped, a large can of pitted black olives - chopped (optional) and top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Cannellini Hummus with Pita Chips

Follow the link to a previous post

Roasted Sausages with Onions and Peppers

Meatballs with Pasta Sauce

Mild Hot Buffalo Wings from Arooga's

Sausage, Fennel and White Bean Soup - A Charest Family Favorite

I can't  believe I have never posted a favorite soup recipe. I have been making this for many years. This is how we were first introduced to fennel. It makes a lot of soup but trust me it will go quickly. If you think you are going to have leftovers, do NOT put all of the pasta in the soup. Store it separately or it will soak up all of the broth and get very soggy. You can also freeze this soup without the pasta.

Sausage, Fennel and White Bean Soup

1 tsp olive oil

1 lb. Italian sausage (pork or turkey), without casing

1/2 lb fennel bulbs, chopped

2 medium onions,chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ c. coarsely chopped fresh basil

6 cups homemade or canned stock,

One 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes and their juice

1 15.5 oz can white beans, rinsed and drained

1 c. cooked elbow macaroni

Salt and pepper

In large saucepan coated with cooking spray, heat oil. Crumble and cook over high heat until well browned. Drain the fat. Lower heat to moderate and add fennel, onion, garlic and parsley. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add the stock and tomatoes with the juice. Bring to boil over high heat. Lower heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. When ready to serve add beans and pasta and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.

Adapted from The Best of Food and Wine 1994 p.52

The First Post From the New Kitchen - Cannellini Hummus with Pita Chips

I have not posted in a while given the craziness of the move and ending of a job. We are semi - settled in our new home. I still have not found many of my gadgets or my flatware but I am cooking none the less.

A little hummus and homemade pita chips! But I did not have chickpeas so i used cannellini beans and we like it even better!

1 can (~15.5 oz) cannellini beans (white kidney beans)

1/3 cup olive oil

2 peeled garlic cloves

2 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Chips

2 whole wheat pita breads (unsplit)

olive oil

oregano

salt and freshly ground pepper

Tastefully Simple Onion Onion Seasoning

Blend the first 6 ingredients together in a food processor until smooth.

For the pita chips, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut each pita bread into 8 wedges. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle half of the wedges with oregano, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the other half with Onion Onion Seasoning. Bake for about 5 minutes or until crisp. Serve warm with hummus.