White chicken lasagna

white lasagna

We had planned to make a meat and cheese lasagna but the rain kept us indoors last Saturday. We had chicken and a few other vegetables so made this new lasagna recipe. I don’t like a strong tomato flavor with chicken so we experimented with this new white lasagna. You could put a small amount of tomato sauce on the top to make it more liquid. Feel free to experiment with other vegetables. I imagine mushrooms and spinach would also be really good.

• 1 pound (400+ gr.) chicken breast diced
• 1 half cauliflower chopped
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 red pepper
• lasagna noodles
• half pound mozzarella cheese (250 gr)
• cream sauce (800 gr)
• diced dried tomatoes (optional)
• salt/pepper

Saute onion and garlic in large frying pan. After 5 minutes add peppers and chicken. Chop cauliflower and add. Let cook for 15-20 minutes while you make the cream sauce and prepare the lasagna pan. Grease lasagna pan and layer with noodles. Add 1 layer of chicken mixture. Use the juice that has been accumulated. Add a layer of cream sauce. Repeat noodles and chicken. Add dried tomatoes if using and 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Add noodles and top with last of cream sauce and tomato sauce if using. Cook for 30-40 minutes covered with tin foil (or until noodles are done). Add remaining cheese and bake uncovered until melted.

Serve with a salad and garlic bread.

Special Chicken Pesto Pasta

Ok, so between Carlos and I tonight we made a great meal! It was great! I was also inspired by a conversation this morning with a Filipino women who had lived in China and was talking about Asian noodles. Anyway, Carlos wanted to cook chicken and then cook the noodles in the broth (an oriental idea). We also want to thank Karl for letting Carlos try his vegetarian pasta one day with dried tomatoes and capers. We have added them to our seasonings thanks to that! Originally we were going to have the noodles with tomato sauce but we decided that would take too long, besides it was a bit boring.  I’m telling you this is good and easy! It is easy, just remember when reading the directions that you are constantly moving between two pans: a noodle/broth pan and saute pan. Ask if you have any questions.

Special Chicken Pesto Pasta

Special Chicken Pesto Pasta

• 1/4 chicken with some skin on it
• 1/4 pound whole wheat spaghetti noodles
• 1 small/medium cauliflower chopped
• 1 medium onion
• 3 medium cloves garlic
• 1/2-1 tablespoon pesto
• 3-4 dried tomatoes (i used the ones in oil)
• olive oil
• capers to taste
• freshly ground pepper
• salt
• fresh basil leaves
• a big squirt of soy sauce 

First, place 1/4 of a small chicken (one thigh, part of a breast) into a small/medium sized sauce pan. This will now be referred to as pan 1.  The chicken should have a little skin on it. Add water to fill about 1/3 of the pan.  Add salt and boil for about 10 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, chop onion and saute in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium/high heat in pan 2. Prepare pressed garlic and cauliflower.  When the chicken is mostly cooked remove it. Add the noodles to the chicken broth in pan 1 and stir. The broth should cover noodles by only a little. Stir to prevent them from sticking.

In pan 2, add 2 crushed garlic cloves and another 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the onions. Stir and reduce heat to medium. Take the chicken meat off the bones and add to the onion and garlic with a tablespoon of pesto concentrate in pan 2. Add 3-4 chopped dried tomatoes. Mix.  

After the noodles have cooked for about half their cooking time (4-5 minutes) add the cauliflower and add a bit of salt to pan 1. Cook for another 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Then, as the water evaporates more, turn the heat off and leave covered. Any remaining water will continue to be evaporated. While the noodles/cauliflower are finishing cooking, turn off the chicken and finish it by adding any salt, a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, capers and fresh basil. The noodles should have absorbed the water by now so finish them by adding a splash of soy sauce, 1 clove crushed garlic, a dash of pepper and salt to taste.  Top the noodles with the chicken pesto mix! It was a winner!

Mixed Bean Chili with Chicken

This is a five star meal. When we lived in Texas, our friend Eric prepared a chili like this. We tried to emulate him, and we think we came up with a good combination. We found this white bean chili from the new homemaker, and Sarah thought that adding cream would be good to thicken it. The challenge here is to make an American recipe with European products.  

Every time we do beans, Carlos has the idea of making a typical Spanish, Judias Pintas con Chorizo (recipe by Peepa - spanish). But Sarah, can only think about American-Mexican Chili. The main difference is the spiciness. Meals in Spain are like the rest of the Europeans, mild and not spicy, while Mexican dishes, can be quite hot. Carlos asked his Spanish grandma to cook these beans for Sarah the last last time we where there. She liked them, but Sarah still doesn’t think its necessary to put chorizo in the pinto beans just like Carlos wouldn’t dream of puting tortilla chips in the beans. So, Carlos drops in some slices of chorizo and Sarah makes sure the dish is topped off with tortilla chips.

We where helping some friends move, so we thought it would be good to do a crockpot meal. We brought the crockpot from the U.S.  We have never seen crockpots, or slow-cookers in Europe. We have theories about that, but we will stick this time to the recipe. We are convinced though, that the best way to make any kind of stew is using a crockpot. Not only because you can achieve a great flavor, as all the ingredients mix very well during the hours, but it is really easy to prepare.

You just basically throw all the ingredients in the pot:

• White beans (in this recipe we use a higher percentage of white beans) 1+ cups
• Pinto Beans (one cup dry)
• Garbanzo Beans (one cup dry)
• 1 big onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• Chili peppers/jalapenos (to taste) we used 3 or 4 slices from a jar. It was mild but had just a hint of spice.
• 1 cup of cream
• 1/4 or 1/2 chicken* or a chicken breast (with the bones) and a few legs. Take off most of (85%) the skin.
• Chorizo (about 200 gr. or 1/4 pound or less)
• Salt & Pepper
• Cummin (1 tsp approx)
• Paprika (1/2 tbs approx)
• Oregano (1tbs approx)
• Water to cover the beans by about 1 inch 

Top with:

• fresh Cilantro
• tortilla chips
• cheese (cheddar where available)
• sour cream/creme freche

*you can use chicken breasts, but you will not have the enhanced flavor of the bones. For stews it is always better to add some bones. In Europe is easier to find whole chickens, so just use a half/quarter. In the US sometimes it’s hard to get meat with bones, you can always use some yummy chemicals (like dried bouillons or canned prepared soups).

Mix it a little bit, and... ready to cook in the crockpot

We left the food cooking for about 8 hours. When we came back, we were hungry and the house smelled delicious. Another trick when using the crockpot is to cover it with a couple of rags, so the heat and the smell don’t get lost around the house… This is Carlos’s invention on how to save electricity because he says it keeps the heat in the crockpot. I thought it was ridiculous at first, but i have to admit that it cooks faster.

For the beans use about a handful and a half for every person. We recommend adding a few more just in case just in case you want leftovers or its really yummy and you have seconds or thirds!