Knottie Recipes

beef stroganoff

Adapted from Jax Peters Lowell's The Gluten-Free Gourmet. Serves four or five.
This was a great dinner--surprisingly good, really--and came together really quickly, especially given that we had precooked pasta (whole-wheat spaghetti for Smartboy, gluten-free penne for me).

1 lb. beef sirloin
1 + 2 T. rice flour
1/2 t. salt
2 T. vegetable oil + a little extra
4.5-oz. jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1 chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. ketchup
1.25 c. organic broth or stock
1 c. Organic Valley sour cream
2 T. rice wine
gluten-free pasta, cooked

Cut beef into 1/4" strips. Combine 1 T. flour and salt in a bowl. Coat the meat. Heat a skillet, add the oil, and ease in the coated meat away from you. Brown quickly. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Cook 3-4 minutes, until onion is crisp but tender.
Remove meat and mushrooms from pan. Add a bit more oil to pan drippings and blend 2 remaining T. flour. Put ketchup in broth and stir into pan. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
Return browned meat and mushrooms to skillet. Stir in sour cream and wine. Cook slowly until heated through. Do not boil. Serve sauce over cooked pasta.

confetti and pasta with chicken

Adapted from The Everything Gluten-Free Cookbook. Serves four.

• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1/2 c. finely chopped sweet red pepper
• 1/2 c. finely chopped yellow summer squash
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 1/2 c. rice or corn flour
• 1t.salt
• 1/2 t. pepper or to taste
• 1/2 t. dried thyme
• 3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 c. chicken broth
• 8 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 1 t. dried basil
• 1 T. red pepper flakes or to taste
• 1 lb. gluten-free pasta, cooked
• 1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil and add the pepper, squash, scallions,and garlic. Saute over medium heat, stirring frequently. While the vegetables are sauteing, mix the flour, salt, pepper, and thyme on a piece of waxed paper.

redge the chicken in the flour mixture and saute along with the vegetables. Add the broth, tomatoes, oregano, basil, and plenty of red pepper flakes. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until chicken is done.

Add the pasta to the pan of sauce and mix. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

LASAGNE

24 oz. Ricotta cheese
12 oz.shredded Mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated Romano cheese
8 oz. lasagne noodles
Spaghetti sauce
In a 9 x 13 pan, layer ingredients as follows:
Sauce
lasagne noodles
Ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Romano cheese

Repeat all ingredients and top with sauce and Romano cheese.  Bake ~30 minutes covered and ~30 minutes uncovered at 350 degrees.  Let sit 15 minutes before serving.

fettuccine alfredo

I LOVE fettuccine alfredo, so when I found this version in Cooking Light, I was ecstatic. It's really very good! It has 345 calories, less than 10 grams of fat, and more than two grams of fiber per one-cup serving. Plus 25 percent of a woman's daily calcium needs. :) And nearly 17 grams of protein!

1 T. margarine
2 small cloves garlic, minced (yes, I use it from a jar)
1 T. all-purpose flour (even more fiber if you use a whole-grain flour)
1-1/3 c. skim milk (or use soy if you prefer)
2 T. light process cream cheese product
1.25 c. (2.5 oz.) grated Parmesan cheese, divided into 1 c. + .25 c.
4 c. hot cooked fettuccine cooked without salt or fat
2 t. chopped fresh parsley
freshly ground pepper

Melt margarine in a ssaucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute one minute. Stir in flour. Gradually add milk, stirring with a wire whisk until blended. Cook eight minutes or until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly. Stir in cream cheese and cook two minutes. Add 1 c. Parmesan, stirring constantly until it melts. Pour over hot cooked fettuccine. Toss well to coat. Top with remaining Parmesan, fresh parsley, and pepper.

baked macaroni and cheese

I don't know who doesn't love macaroni and cheese (well, I guess if you're lactose-intolerant, maybe, but you could use soy milk and cheese!). This is Alton Brown's version.

Makes six to eight servings.
Prep time: 20 minutes; cook time: 45 minutes

1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1 T. powdered mustard
3 c. milk
1/2 c. yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 t. paprika
1 large egg
12 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded
1 t. kosher salt
fresh black ppeper

topping:
3 T. butter
1 c. panko bread crumbs (yes, you can use other kinds)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove the bay leaf.
Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a two-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

pasta with pumpkin and sausage

We love this great fall pasta dish and so does everyone for whom I've made it. So unusual and so easy. By changing the kind of sausage you put in it, you can accommodate lots of kinds of eaters--regular sausage, turkey sausage, chicken sausage, veggie sausage. From Rachael Ray--who doesn't love her?? Serve this up with a simple salad and you have a fabulous healthy meal (pumpkin is loaded with nutrients and high in fiber--get a penne that's high in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids and use a healthier sausage, and you've got a real winner).

Prep time: 10 minutes; cook time: 15 minutes

1 T. extra virgin olive oil, + 1 T.
1 lb. bulk sweet Italian sausage (or if I can't find that, which I often can't, I buy the links and just take them out of the casings)
4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped (yep, I cheat and have a jar of minced garlic in my fridge)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (I bet you could use frozen)
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4-6 sprigs sage leafs, cut into chiffonade, about 2 T.
1 c. dry white wine (if you're not a wine drinker or don't have any handy, try apple cider!)
1 c. chicken stock
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. heavy cream (make it low-fat by using fat-free half-and-half or soy milk)
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
coarse salt and black pepper
1 lb. penne, cooked al dente
Romano or Parmigiano for grating

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 T. olive oil to the pan (I never use this much, actually) and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add teh remaining T. oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3-5 minutes until the onions are tender.
Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5-10 minutes to thicken sauce.
Return drained pasta to the pot in which you cooked it. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage-pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

classic bolognese-style lasagne

There are so many ways to make this and we love it. Takes a few hours to make if you do the original recipe, but I shorten that time by a lot, I'm afraid. It still takes time, but who has all afternoon to make anything very often? It's based on a Martha Stewart recipe. In theory it serves six.

at least 5 qt. water
1 pkg. lasagne noodles (use dried that you have to cook if you prefer to follow the original recipe, or I've taken to cheating and using the no-cook ones to save time--the texture is different, but the time, arms, and counter space saved is often worth it to me)
3.5 T. butter
1.5 T. flour
1-1.5 c. milk (I use skim, as that's all we ever keep around, though I'm sure Martha intends whole)
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced (I never peel)
1 celery stalk, minced
1/4 c. minced bacon or pancetta (I use turkey bacon, as that's all we ever keep around; make this vegetarian by using veggie bacon)
1 lb. lean ground beef or 1/2 lb. with 1/2 lb. lean ground pork; make this no-red-meat by using ground turkey or chicken, or vegetarian by using veggie crumbles--just adjust the cooking times accordingly!
3/4 c. dry white wine
28-35=oz. can whole plum tomatoes, drained
1 c. chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 c. cream, half-and-half, or milk (I usually use soy milk or fat-free half-and-half here, because that's what I prefer to keep in the house, though for company we can buy a cup of cream :) )
1.5 c. freshly grated Parmesan

Put olive oil in a large, deep skillet or saucepan.
Turn the heat to medium low and wait a minute.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, and bacon.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender.
Add the ground meat and cook, stirring and breaking up any clumps, until cooked through.
Add the wine, raise the heat a bit, and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is evaporated.
Crush the tomatoes with a fork and add them to the pot (I use my hands while wearing an apron as I'm putting them into the pot).
Stir, then add the stock.
Turn the heat to low and cook at a slow simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes and any clumps of meat that remain.
After an hour or so, add salt and pepper. (Yeah. Here's where I don't wait an hour. I wait until everything's heated together and season.)
Cook for at least another hour, until much of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is very thick. (My sauce is typically very thick long before an hour has passed, so again: I don't wait an hour. If Martha has an hour, I'm happy for her. I usually don't.)
Add the cream, half-and-half, or milk, and cook for another 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (I cook until everything is warm and creamy and I'm finished with the Bechamel sauce that comes next.)
While the meat sauce finishes cooking, in a small saucepan, heat 1.5 T. butter over medium-low heat.
If you're using cooked noodles, set at least 5 qts. water in a large pot over high heat.
Set the rest of the butter aside to soften. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
When the foam in the little saucepan begins to subside, stir in the flour. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring with a wire whisk almost constantly, until the flour-butter mixture darkens to your liking. The darker the mixture, the nuttier the flavor. (You're making a roux.)
Stir in the milk, a little bit at a time, still using the whisk. When you have stirred in about a cup of the milk, the mixture will be fairly thick.
Add more milk, a little at a time, until the consistency is just a little thinner than you like, then cook, still over low heat, until the mixture is the thickness you want.
Season both sauces to taste (you now have a bolognese sauce--good over pasta--and a bechamel sauce) and set aside all of the bechamel sauce and three cups of the bolognese sauce (refrigerate the rest of the meat sauce for another night). (I never have any bolognese sauce, so this part of the recipe is a big fat lie in our house.)
If you're using cooked noodles, when the water comes to a boil, salt it. Cook the noodles a few at a time, keeping them underdone. Drain them carefully in a colander and allow them to rest on towels.
Smear the bottom of your baking pan with the softened butter, then place a layer of noodles, touching but not overlapping. Trim any overhanging edges. Cover the noodles with about 1/4 each of the bechamel, the bolognese, and the Parmesan, then with a little black pepper.
Make four layers ending with a sprinkling of Parmesan. Bake 20-30 minutes until the lasagne is bubbly. Remove from the oven and let rest for five minutes before cutting and serving.

Farmer Kretschmann's Pesto

We subscribe to one of those services where you pay a local farm a flat fee for the season and they drop off their weekly harvest at your neighbor's house, and you get to figure out what to do with it. Fortunately, Farmer Don Kretschman and his wife provide us with some fabulous recipes each week to make with the things they bring us. This pesto is one that Andrew has mastered for the huge stalks of basil they brought us for weeks this summer.

2 c. fresh basil leaves
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1-2 t. finely chopped garlic
2-4 T. pine nuts or walnuts
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Combine in blender or food processor until texture is slightly grainy. Mix well with your favorite pasta.

Pesto can be frozen in ice cube trays then removed to a plastic bag for storage or spread on a slightly oiled pie pan and cut into cubes when frozen. (Those are Farmer Don's notes. My notes? Your family will eat pesto on pasta every night until it's gone because it's so good! It also makes a good base for pizza beneath sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella one night, or mixed in with a little EVOO for salad dressing with some sliced grilled chicken breast another night. Way to have five minutes one night go a long way all week!)

pasta with sausage and spinach

When I asked my husband what his favorite dish is that I've ever made, this was his answer. Funny, because I have made some seriously gourmet dishes, and this is so easy!
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves four unless you're feeding Andrew (in which case it feeds you and him)
Source: not sure--probably Mark Bittman; maybe the Food Network? Rachael Ray or Alton Brown?

3/4 lb. gemelli or penne
salt
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced across
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (can be any kind--pork, turkey, or veggie--just adjust the cooking time accordingly)
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
2 c. coarsely chopped baby spinach (4 oz.)
1/2 pt. red grape tomatoes
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 c. of the cooking water.
Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add the sausage and crushed red pepper and cook, breaking up the sausage with the pack of a spoon, until cooked through. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until just softened (if you don't like your spinach too cooked, add the tomatoes first, then put the spinach in at the last second, after the tomatoes are finished).
Add the pasta and reserved cooking water to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, lightly crushing the tomatoes, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt. Transfer the pasta to bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan, and serve.
For the healthiest way to serve this, get one of the new high-fiber pastas with omega-3 fatty acids in it, use turkey or other low-fat sausage, and maybe go light on or even omit the Parmesan. So good!