A Little Bit of Italy Even in an Apple Pie

Last week was VBS (vacation bible school), I didn't get a whole lot of cooking done last week, after we moved the stove and fridge back into the kitchen. Two nights I did cook, but the rest of the time we ate out again. It wasn't until Monday that I started cooking, for real, again.

My recipes this week range from Stromboli to Lodi Apples.

Monday night we had what I call a smorgasbord: beanie-weanies, Stromboli (made by a friend and given to us during our kitchen renovation), home-made salsa, chips and salad. There were five of us eating, and I wasn't sure if I really had enough of one thing to feed us all. I needed to make the salsa because this was made from fresh tomatoes and I needed to get them used up before they went bad. Same thing for the weanies in the beans.

However, Tuesday night and tonight are nights of cooking that I really want to brag about!!! Last night I made lasagna. Okay, you might be saying, "What's so big about making lasagna?" Nothing really, only this lasagna ended up being yummy!!! I used the no boil lasagna noodles, Paul Neuman's spaghetti sauce (never had used it before, sorry I haven't ever tried it before now because it was great), ricotta, plain Greek yogurt, tomato-basil feta cheese, mozzarella, ground turkey, egg-plant, spinach and broccoli. I cut up the egg-plant in small pieces and combines this with the browned ground turkey and spaghetti sauce. Next, in a large bowl I combined 12 oz. of ricotta with about 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, an 8 oz. container of tomato-basil feta, and 1 egg. I mixed this altogether until it was well blended. Next I added chopped fresh spinach and broccoli to this mixture. Then I layered the lasagna with meat, noodle, ricotta mixture and then about a 1/2 cup mozzarella, and then repeat until I was through all the ingredients, making sure the last layer is mozzarella. You bake this covered for approximately
1 hour at 350 degrees. After lasagna is done baking, let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes a 9 x 13 x 3 pan.

Tonight I made Olive Garden's Chicken and Gnocchi Soup. Sunday we went out to eat at Olive Garden, after church. Catfish'n ordered this for his meal. He liked it so much that he wanted to know if he thought I could make something like that. Those who know me and recipes, know that I immediately looked at it as a challenge!!! Actually, I got right on the computer when I got home and looked up the copy cat website for this recipe, and, low and behold I found it!!! So, I will share this with you all, and share how I changed the recipe.

Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (you can use a rotisserie chicken)

4 T. butter

4 T. flour

1 quart half and half

1 - 14 oz. can chicken broth

1/2 c. celery, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 c. carrots, finely shredded

1 c. onion, finely diced

1 c. fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 t. thyme

1/2 t. parsley

Freshly grated parmesan cheese - optional

1 lb. potato gnocchi - (can buy this in the gourmet section of many supermarkets)

Saute the onion and garlic in the butter, when the onion becomes translucent, add the flour, and make a roux (a roux is a substance that is used to thicken soups), let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 quart of half and half. Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Into the roux add in the carrots, celery, and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasonings. Let cook for approximately 5 more minutes until heated through and ingredients are well blended. Top with fresh parmesan and enjoy!!!

Comments about this recipe: You can add more chicken if you like. While you could use left over cooked chicken breasts, using rotisserie chicken that can be found in many supermarkets is the best way to get the optimal flavor of this soup. If you want to make the soup lower in calories use milk instead of half and half. Half and half, does taste better, and it also reheats better than milk does.

Sonflower's comments about this recipe: I used chicken breasts. I diced the meat and then cooked them in the extra virgin olive oil on medium heat. The seasoning I put on the meat was garlic salt, paprika and black pepper. I cooked the chicken until it was not pink in the center. I used a 50/50 mixture of flour (half bleached flour and half whole wheat flour). I used 2% milk instead of half and half - decreasing the amount from 1 quart (4 cups) to 3 cups. I omitted the celery, but used minced onion instead of a fresh onion. I purchased whole wheat gnocchi, rather than white flour gnocchi. Catfish'n liked!!! That's all that mattered to me, and he said that my recipe was a keeper!!!

The apple pies were made because my folks had 5 extra pounds of Lodi apples they weren't going to use. So, I made 2 apple pies for dessert for tonight!!! Apparently, these are the types of apples my Grandma Virginia used to purchase from Reeses Fruit Farm to make her apple pies and applesauce. Lodi Apples originated in Italy in the 1600s.

I don't know if iced coffee and foaming soap have anything to do with Italy, but I just wanted to share these two things with you also.

A friend of mine had shared some iced coffee she made last week during VBS. It was sooooo good. She used a local coffee companies coffee beans that are hazelnut flavored(she has a brand new coffee maker that grinds the beans and then brews the coffee), and then she puts a cinnamon stick in the brewed coffee. Next, she adds a little milk and some Splenda, and WOW!!! it's almost like having dessert!!! I tried sort of the same thing tonight. I made coffee using a blend that another friend had given me for Christmas or something. It was the Ghirardelli blend Chocolate/Almond/Cinnamon. Oh yeah!!! This was almost as good!!!

This same friend has taught me how to make my own foaming soap too!!! All you need is an empty foaming soup container, your favorite soap in gel form and some distilled water. This is the recipe that my friend gave me:

2/3 c. distilled water

4 T. green tea + aloe (Method hand wash - purchased at HyVee)

warm the distilled water in microwave

(I actually boiled mine on the stove)

Then add the 4 tablespoons of hand soap

Stir gently - you don't want bubbles

Allow to sit for 5 minutes

Next, slowly pour into foaming soap bottle

Use this same recipe for any scent of gel hand soap you want - sweet pea, lavender, mango-peach. You name it, whatever scent of gel soap you can find, it will work!!!

Another little secret I am going to let you in on involves Greek yogurt!!! I remember Musician thinking a fruit selection at a restaurant in Paris was vanilla pudding and fruit, when in reality it was Greek yogurt and fruit. It was an odd flavor to us then, but now I really like it. My friend that brought me the iced coffee, and taught me the little secret with the foaming hand soap, also taught me this little secret. I have a favorite blueberry Greek yogurt that I like and can purchase at Dillons. However, it is a little pricey. My friend suggested that I use the plain Greek yogurt, add some fresh blueberries, and then use sugar free blueberry preserves.

I tried her idea this morning, and it was fabulous!!!