Dinners for a Year and Beyond: 06.2011

Pesto Gnocchi with Shrimp and Broccoli

I thought our home life could not be much busier than it was during the school year. I was wrong. The last week of school and the following week were jammed with state high school softball games and a championship, two graduations, numerous parties, packing for a trip to Costa Rica for My Middle One, visiting the grandparents at the Jersey Shore, and planning and cooking for my EAT! clients. Needless to say, dinner prep for my own family fell be the wayside.

I threw together a quick dinner one night after work, and I must say a tasty one too. Gnocchi, a bag of frozen wild shrimp, a few cups of fresh broccoli florets, a couple tablespoons of pesto and a handful of Parmesan cheese all came together for a satisfying dinner in all of about 15 minutes.

Even if your schedule has your family running in many different directions, a nutritious and pleasing dinner is only minutes away.

Skip the drive thru. Make dinner at home tonight.

Pesto Gnocchi with Shrimp and Broccoli

serves 4

1 pound gnocchi, I like De Cecco Potato Gnocchi
1 1/2 pounds extra large (21 - 25 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups broccoli florets
2 - 3 tablespoons pesto, I like De Cecco Pesto alla Genovese
Parmesan cheese, for serving

Cook gnocchi according to the package directions. Drain and and place in a large bowl.

Fill the same pot with 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and broccoli and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, until the shrimp is just cooked through and the broccoli is tender crisp. Drain and pour into bowl with gnocchi.

Add 2 tablespoons of pesto to the gnocchi, shrimp and broccoli and toss to coat. Taste and add more pesto if desired. To serve sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Lite Pasta Alfredo with Chicken, Kielbasa and Broccoli

Sometimes I stumble upon a dish that is so easy to prepare and loaded with flavors that I make it for all my EAT! clients in one week as well as for my family. Lite Pasta Alfredo with Chicken, Kielbasa and Broccoli was the Dish du Jour last week and it will be showing up on our family dinner table very soon.

My Oldest loves pasta alfredo with chicken. She requests it frequently for dinner and orders the cheesy entree when it appears on a restaurant menu when we are dining out. Since it is a dish that is typically very high in calories and loaded with cheese and butter, I do not make it as often as she would like. I have been searching and testing different versions of her favorite dish as I tried to hit upon the creamy, cheesy flavor without all the fat and calories.

Lo and behold! I have found just such a recipe. A multitude of flavors abound in this one dish entree loaded with chicken, smoky kielbasa, sauteed onions, mushrooms, and red peppers and just barely cooked broccoli. Tossed with bowtie pasta and a just enough Parmesan sauce to hold everything together, this dinner will be a hit every time you serve it.

Lite Pasta Alfredo with Chicken, Kielbasa and Broccoli

serves 4

2 cups bowtie pasta
1/2 cup low-fat evaporated milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 egg yolk
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
3/4 pound chicken tenderloins, cut in small chunks
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup diced red pepper
2 chopped garlic cloves
1/2 pound kielbasa, sliced in half moons
2 tablespoons white wine
2 cups broccoli florets, blanched
salt and pepper
extra Parmesan cheese for serving
thinly sliced scallions for serving

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together evaporated milk, cheese, and egg yolk. Set aside.

In a saute pan over medium high, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and saute the chicken until cooked through and lightly browned, about 4 - 5 minutes. Remove from pan.

In the same saute pan over medium high heat, add the remaining olive oil, mushrooms, onion, red pepper, and garlic. Saute for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the kielbasa and continue to saute for an additional 3 - 4 minutes. Add the wine and cook until it almost evaporates. Add the evaporated milk mixture and stir until it begins to thicken. Add bowtie pasta, chicken, and broccoli and toss gently to coat. Season with salt and pepper and serve with extra Parmesan cheese and scallions sprinkled on top.

Grilled Steak with Mango Watermelon Relish

After a busy Memorial Day weekend loaded with eating and drinking and parties, I was on the hunt for an easy dinner for Monday evening. I don't like to shop at the last minute for dinner so I hit the grocery store early on Friday morning so I wouldn't be fighting the crowds loading up on hotdogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and red, white and blue sprinkled sugar cookies on Saturday and Sunday. I filled my refrigerator with chicken, ground beef, and steaks and a variety of fruits and vegetables ensuring that I would have the ingredients needed to come up with with meals throughout the weekend.

A few items I picked up at my newly renovated Shoprite were flank steak, a whole watermelon, a couple mangoes, asparagus, and a half dozen ears of corn. The sweet and savory food combinations are a favorite of mine so I set about developing a recipe to use the meats and fruits and vegetables I had on hand and which was easy to throw together.

Grilled Steak with Mango Watermelon Relish is a marriage of a slightly salty and savory grilled steak and a cool, sweet relish with a bite from diced red onion. My family is not a fan of what they call "sweet meat" (meats combined with fruit) so I was the only one who enjoyed the steak with the fruit relish. No worries as many of my dinners can be suited to the tastes of the diners. Since my family opted out of the mango relish, they were able to have the grilled steak which benefited from the soy sauce and bourbon marinade. With sides of steamed asparagus, corn on the cob, and some pasta salad leftover from a party on Sunday, dinner was a success.

If you are on the lookout for a new way to serve a grilled steak, give Grilled Steak with Mango Watermelon Relish a try.

Grilled Steak with Mango Watermelon Relish

serves 4

for marinade --

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 flank steak, about 1 3/4 pounds

for relish --

1 mango, diced
1/4 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup watermelon, diced
2 tablespoons red onion, diced

In a large resealable bag, combine the soy sauce, bourbon, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and garlic. Add the steak, seal bag and marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or 2 - 4 hours in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, combine the mango, cucumber, watermelon and red onion in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat grill to medium high heat. Grill the steak for 3 - 5 minutes per side. Do not overcook the steak or it will be tough. Flank steak is best served medium rare. Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain and serve topped with the relish.