Garlic Parmesan Green Beans

This is easy recipe, I added chicken bacon on it, yumm.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter (I often use Organic Valley butter) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced 4 cups of fresh (or frozen) green beans, cut into pieces Fresh lemon juice to taste (carb count above assumes 2 tablespoons) 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese Sea salt and pepper Instructions: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the extra virgin olive oil added Add the garlic and saute until lightly browned, stirring frequently (2-3 minutes) Add the green beans and toss to coat Season with a little sea salt and pepper Add the lemon juice Saute until the green beans are done to your preference or tenderness Transfer the beans to a serving bowl and toss with the freshly shredded Parmesan Cheese.

Pesto

It's nice to have a small garden of herb, so any time you needed , you can have a fresh herb.
I have picked some fresh Basil from my small garden to make Pesto.
You can eat pesto with linguine. I found a good recipe from Jamie oliver.
I used walnut instead of pine nuts.

ingredients

• ½ a clove of garlic, chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 good handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped
• a handful of pine nuts, very lightly toasted
• a good handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• extra virgin olive oil
optional
• a small squeeze of lemon juice

Pound the garlic with a little pinch of salt and the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar, or pulse in a food processor. Add a bit more garlic if you like, but I usually stick to ½ a clove. Add the pine nuts to the mixture and pound again. Turn out into a bowl and add half the Parmesan. Stir gently and add olive oil – you need just enough to bind the sauce and get it to an oozy consistency.

Season to taste, then add most of the remaining cheese. Pour in some more oil and taste again. Keep adding a bit more cheese or oil until you are happy with the taste and consistency. You may like to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to give it a little twang, but it’s not essential. Try it with and without and see which you prefer.

Betty’s Chicken Cacciatore

I forget from where in the internet I found this recipe, but it is so delicious.

Ingredients:
14 fresh button mushrooms
2 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil
7-8 chicken thighs
3/4 cup flour
sea salt
pepper
Herbes de provence
1 tbsp margarine or butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large can (796 ml/28 oz) chopped tomatoes
1 can (398 ml/14 oz) chicken broth
1/2 cup red wine (we used a mini bottle of French Cross Dry Red Wine)
2 tbsp parsley
A sprinkle of oregano or marjoram
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
A few fresh basil leaves torn up by hand
A handful of cherry tomatoes

Instructions:

Roast the mushrooms. Place them caps down on a non-stick baking pan.
Sprinkle them with 2 tbsp olive oil, pepper and sea salt and bake at
375° F for 20 minutes.

While the mushrooms are baking, roll the chicken thighs in a mix of
flour with salt, pepper & oregano. Brown them in margarine or butter
to seal in the juices.

Chicken browning crop

As the chicken is browning, sprinkle with Herbes de Provence. Take the
meat out when browned, and stir the chopped onion in the meat
drippings with 2 tsp of olive oil. Fry them for 4-5 minutes, until
they are soft and clear, then stir in the chopped garlic and cook for
1 minute. The garlic gets a shorter time as you don’t want it browned.

Add the wine to the onions & garlic and stir making sure to stir up
the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Then add the can of chopped
tomatoes followed by the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the
temperature and cook for 10 minutes.

Onion-wine sauce

Return the chicken to the wine-tomato sauce adding the parsley and the
oregano or marjoram and the mushrooms. A few of the basil leaves can
be added at this time too. Bring the entire mix to a boil then reduce
to a simmer and let cook for 20 – 25 minutes until the chicken is
tender. If all goes well, it will be beautifully tender.

Simmering pot

After transferring the cacciatore to a serving bowl, place cherry
tomatoes loosely and sprinkle the basil leaf pieces on top.

We served it on pasta sprinkled with fresh parmesan,
but it works well on rice or on a bed of fresh spinach leaves.

Note: This recipe can be prepared a little healthier by substituting
chicken breasts for the thighs and baking the chicken instead of
frying it. Some may prefer substituting white wine (more
traditionally combined with chicken) instead of the red.

Sicilian Anchovy Pasta with Toasted Breadcrumbs

The recipe from here.
I added Cherry tomatoes cut in half.

Sicilian Anchovy Pasta with Toasted Breadcrumbs
(Serves 2)

2 room temperature eggs
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1/4 - 1/2 tsp of dried chili flakes
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
8-10 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
1/2 Tbsp of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Angel hair pasta for 2 (about 200g)
Good quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
Salt for pasta water

Method:

1. Poach the eggs. Place poached eggs in a bowl of cool water until needed.
   Bring salted water to the boil in a large saucepan. The water to pasta ratio is 10:1.
2. Meanwhile, in a large frying-pan, sweat the onions in 1/4 cup of olive oil over a medium heat. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes or until they are translucent.
3. Add the chili flakes and garlic and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Next, add the chopped anchovies and stir to combine.
4. Fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring occasionally and then add the chopped parsley. Stir well then remove frying-pan from heat and set aside.
5. In a separate, dry toast the bread crumbs over a medium heat. Shake the pan around to toast the crumbs evenly and keep your eye on them as they burn easily. After about 30 seconds, remove from heat and set aside.
6. Boil the pasta according to pasta instructions and drain.
7. Transfer pasta to the frying pan with the anchovy mixture in it and toss well to coat. Sprinkle on a little sea salt and toss again.
8. Remove poached eggs from water with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper towels.
9. Divide pasta equally amongst two serving bowls. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle on bread crumbs and then top with a poached egg.
10. Serve immediately.