Springtime Eats: Orzo Salad

As spring comes into town, I crave a nice and light pasta salad. My orzo salad is perfect with your favorite burger or sandwich. You can adjust the measurements easily to feed a bigger crowd. This suits my small fam of three just fine.

I like to top mine with a little feta, but it works just as well cheeseless.

This tastes great at room temp or chilled. Enjoy!

Orzo Salad
Makes 6 side dish servings

1 cup orzo
1 15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 cup red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
2 Tbsp. fresh basil minced
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
To serve: Crumbled feta cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook orzo according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cool water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine chickpeas, bell pepper, grape tomatoes.

In a liquid measuring cup, add red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously to emulsify.

Add cooled orzo to bowl with veggies. Add the dressing to the bowl. Toss lightly with a spoon. Add basil and parsley. Toss again. Adjust seasonings if desired.

Serve with a sprinkle of crumbled feta cheese if you like.

Menu Mashup: Chicken Piccata Meatballs

I love to try a classic dish with a twist. Here it is with this little keeper I found on Pinterest: Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata Meatballs by Spend with Pennies. It's totally delish.

I make chicken piccata on the reg, but this little identity transformation is a yummy keeper.

Things I love it about it are as follows: I always have all the ingredients stashed in my pantry: Lemons, capers, breadcrumbs, garlic, broth and pasta. Parsley is always in my fridge or garden, and a package of ground chicken is often chilling in the freezer. Also, if you know you will be up against the clock at dinner time, mix the meatballs the night before. Fabulous.

So when you have no time to hit the store, fire up the stove and make this.

The sauce is so yummy. I use half and half instead of cream just for the sake of calories and heaviness. Gots to keep my girlish figure.

I served this over spaghettini, but I think it would work well with some orrechiette or fusilli action, too. Also, I always rock a salad on the side. Gotta eat that veg.

Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata Meatballs
By Spend with Pennies
Makes 4 servings

Meatballs
1 pound ground chicken
1 egg
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Sauce
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/4-1/3 lemon juice

1/4 cup capers, drained

Chopped parsley, to garnish

Salt and pepper

Place meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. If it's too wet to form balls, add a touch of extra breadcrumbs or refrigerate. Scoop up a heaped Tablespoon of meat and with slightly wet hands, roll into balls.

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add half the meatballs and cook for 4 minutes, browning all over by still raw inside. Remove onto a plate, repeat with remaining meatballs.

Wipe skillet clean with paper towel. Reduce heat to medium.

Melt butter in skillet, then add flour. Mix and cook for 1 minute, then add lemon juice, chicken broth and cream.

Bring to simmer then add meatballs. Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens and meatballs are cooked through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir through parsley and capers. I like serving this with pasta and with more parmesan cheese.

Please note: The Jersey Girl served this with a half pound  to three/fourths of a pound of spaghettini cooked to instructions per the box.  Sauce was thinned out with a ladle or two of pasta water. She used half and half in lieu of heavy cream.

The Perfect Side: Roasted Potatoes with Red Onions

My Fabulous Roasted Potatoes with Red Onions are the perfect partner to any roast or meat you may be feasting on. I often cook these while the meat is resting. You may also do it ahead of time and then reheat them before serving.

The potatoes, red onions, garlic and rosemary are a perfect combo. And they smell heavenly while cooking. My son always requests these. They are nice as the weather warms up as they are not as heavy as the beloved mashed potato.

The last time I made these, I also whipped up a vat of chicken cacciatore. So delish, and it freezes well. My recipe is here.

Fabulous Roasted Potatoes with Red Onions
(Serves 6)

5-6 medium russet or white potatoes, peeled and quartered into 1 ½-inch pieces
6-8 garlic cloves, skins removed
1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 ½ tsp. dried rosemary or 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.

Note: You may peel and quarter the potatoes ahead of time. Place in a large bowl of cold water to prevent potatoes from discoloring. Dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel before cooking.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place butter and olive oil in a large rectangular baking dish. Place dish in oven for about 5-6 minutes so that butter melts. The butter-oil mixture should start to bubble.

Remove dish from oven.

Carefully place potatoes, onion, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in pan. Toss so that mixture is evenly coated in butter, oil and seasonings. Be careful, since the dish is hot!

Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove every 15 minutes or so, to toss mixture.

Homemade Pretzel Bites

If you find yourself at home for a day looking for a delicious project, these homemade Pretzel Bites are just what you need.

Convenience is really not a factor in this recipe. Sure, you can easily buy a sack of frozen pretzel bites and zap them in the microwave or toaster oven for a few minutes. But if your taste buds want an elevated pretzel taste and experience like mine do, then make this recipe.

Soft pretzel production is interesting. You do the whole yeast thing - just like making bread. But then you boil the pretzels in a baking soda-water mixture before baking them off in the oven.

I found the whole process to be fascinating, as did my son aka the sous chef of this operation.

This recipe comes from an awesome site called platingsandpairings.com. Be sure to check it out! The site lists a bunch of yummy homemade sauces for the bites, but I just kept it simple with some storebought mustard.

I will note here as well as at the end of the recipe, that my baking time took longer than the recommended baking time  of 12-15 minutes. Mine took more like 20 minutes. If they do not have that amber pretzel color that you know and love, they aren't ready yet! Just keep an eye on your oven.

Homemade Pretzel Bites
From Platings and Pairings

PRETZEL BITES

1 1/2 cups water lukewarm

2 1/4 teaspoons instant rise yeast (1/4 ounce packet) 

2 Tablespoons butter melted

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups flour

1/2 cup baking soda

1 egg beaten

Coarse salt for sprinkling

PRETZEL BITES

Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water. Whisk well until combined, about 1 minute.

To a mixing bowl, add the butter, brown sugar, salt and yeast mixture. Stir until combined. Slowly add in 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix by hand or use mixer fitted with dough hook, until dough is thick. Add 3/4 cup more flour and stir. If dough is still sticky, add flour, an additional 1/4 cup at a time, until no longer sticky and dough bounces back when poked with your finger.

  

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes and shape into a ball. Place in a large mixing bowl that has been lightly coated with nonstick spray. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil with the baking soda, preheat oven to 425 degrees, and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Section dough into six equal parts and roll each section into long ropes. Then, cut into 1-1/2 inch bites.

Once water is boiling, drop 10 pretzel bites into water and boil 20 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto prepared baking sheets, making sure that pretzel bites do not touch. Repeat with remaining pretzel bites.

Brush beaten egg over each pretzel bite and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown, rotating the sheet pans once halfway through cooking. 

Please note: The Jersey Girl baked her pretzel bites closer to 20 minutes.