Hearty Minestrone

Hearty Minestrone
makes 8 generous servings
1 can chick peas drained and rinsed
1 can red beans drained and rinsed
1 can italian style stewed tomatoes
3 carrots diced
2 ribs celery diced
1 small onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 zucchini diced
about 1 c cherry tomatoes
1/2 green pepper diced
1 t dried oregano
1 T kosher salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
8 c water OR chicken stock OR equivalent (aka Better than Bullion)
1 c V8 vegetable juice
2 T olive oil
4 oz cooked ditalini pasta

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat.  Once hot add the onions, carrots & celery.  Sautee vegetables for 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.  Add garlic, stir well and sautee 1-2 minutes longer.  Once garlic is very fragrant  just before it starts to brown, add the tomatoes, juice & all.  Stir well to get the garlic up off the bottom of the pan.  Add everything else and bring up to a boil.  Once it boils reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 1 hour.  Taste for season before serving, adjust salt & pepper if needed.  When ready to serve place a small portion of cooked ditalini or other small shape pasta in the bowl and ladle the soup over top.  Garnish with grated parmesean cheese if desired.



Nutrition Facts calculated at Spark People recipe calculator 8 Servings Amount Per Serving Calories 188.3 Total Fat 4.5 g Saturated Fat 0.5 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g Monounsaturated Fat 2.6 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 1,029.1 mg Potassium 491.5 mg Total Carbohydrate 31.9 g Dietary Fiber 5.8 g Sugars 4.3 g Protein 6.8 g

Pasta e Fagioli

 I'm going to date myself for a moment;  I remember when the first Olive Garden came to our town, close to 25 years ago!  I had never heard of it, but the food looked amazing on the commercials, so upscale and different than anything our town had to offer.  We went there shortly after opening and I had pasta e fagioli soup for the first time.  The menu described it as Italian chili, I figured how could it be bad and ordered a bowl.  It's been my all time favorite Olive Garden soup ever since.  Every time we go there I look forward to the soup.  The few times I've gotten salad instead of soup, I regret it every time.  Oh sure, the salad IS delicious, but the pasta e fagioli...I love it!  Tomato broth, loaded with beans and pasta tubes, lightly seasoned but so very flavorful.  It's really just so good!  And yet I never tried to make it at home.  Until now!

Knowing that I wanted Olive Garden pasta e fagioli I decided to just search for a recipe online rather than try to recreate it from memory.  Sadly it's been years since I've enjoyed the soup at the restaurant - so a recipe was in order.  Todd Wilbur of Top Secret Recipes usually does a pretty darn good job of imitating the original restaurant recipes.  A quick look through the ingredients list and I knew this was the recipe for me.   It had the veggies that are in the soup and most importantly of all (in this Witches' opinion) he used the correct pasta.  So many recipes out there call for shells or elbows, all fine substitutions but come on, if you're  recreating the recipe use the right pasta for crying out loud!  The recipe is very easy and pantry friendly, I had everything on hand except the V-8.  No problem, a quick trip to the store fixed that and we were on our way to pasta e fagioli heaven!

What can I say?  This soup is every bit as good as the Olive Garden's.  Better, actually, because I know what I put in it.  It's perfect on chilly fall days, paired with traditional breadsticks and salad it makes a great meal.  The entire family loved this soup.  So much that I made a second pot 3 days later for us to eat for lunches.   Pasta e fagioli is a budget friendly, kid friendly, yummy and easy to put together meal that the entire family will enjoy.  I hope you make a pot of it soon!

Pasta e Fagioli
makes 8 generous servings
source:  Olive Garden, Top Secret Recipes
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion diced fine (1 cup)
3 stalks celery chopped (1 cup)
3 carrots grated (1 cup)
3 cloves garlic minced fine
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz V-8 vegetable juice blend
1 T white wine vinegar
1 can cannolini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 t dried oregano
.5 t dried thyme
1 T  kosher salt OR 1.5 t table salt
2 cans water (I use the tomato sauce and diced tomato cans, that way I rinse out the tomato residue into my soup)
1/2 lb (1/2 box) ditalini pasta (short round tubes)

In a large dutch oven or soup pot brown the beef.  Drain off any excess fat.  Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.  Sautee about 10 minutes or until the veggies are starting to soften.  Add everything EXCEPT the pasta to the pot.  Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring 2-3 times during the cooking process.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and reserve.

Put about 1/3 c cooked pasta in each bowl and ladle hot soup over top.  Serve with grated cheese if desired.

Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator 8 Servings Amount Per Serving Calories 369.0 Total Fat 12.7 g Saturated Fat 4.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7 g Monounsaturated Fat 5.2 g Cholesterol 42.5 mg Sodium 599.0 mg Potassium 872.9 mg Total Carbohydrate 45.2 g Dietary Fiber 7.3 g Sugars 6.5 g Protein 19.7 g

Roasted Garlic

My local grocery store had a pound of garlic for $1.50 - a fantastic price and a LOT of garlic.  After getting home I looked at that garlic and thought What am I gonna do with all this garlic??  Chicken with 40 cloves came to mind immediately, it's delicious no doubt, but we were having a heat streak and it just didn't seem seasonally appropriate.  That's when I thought I'd roast it!  Roasted garlic had it's hayday back in the early 90's.  It may not be the uber hot flavor anymore but roasted garlic is still delicious and deserves to be known about.  And because I like to use my blog as my own cookbook/reference tool, I thought it was high time I posted this easy yet very important recipe.

Here's a few ideas of where you can use your roasted garlic:  

hummus 

smear on toast for flavorful bruschetta

add to soups & stews

add to mashed potatoes

vinaigrette and salad dressings

marinades

add to rice for a light garlicky scent

Roasted Garlic 

whole garlic heads (as many as you want, there's about 15 cloves in each head on average)

drizzle of olive oil

sprinkle of kosher salt

aluminum foil for making a roasting pan to hold garlic

Cut the tops off the garlic heads, going down about 1/3 of the way to expose the garlic cloves.  Discard or compost the cut off tops.

Make a small bowl that will hold the garlic heads upright out of aluminum foil.  Crumple the sides to support the garlic.  Place on a sheet pan and put the garlic heads in your foil boat.

Drizzle tops with 1/2 t oil, allowing it to soak into the cloves.  Repeat with another 1/2 t oil on each head (1t each total).  Sprinkle the oiled heads with kosher salt.

Place sheet tray in a preheated 350F oven.  Roast garlic until it's turned golden and smells roasted & sweet.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Squeeze garlic head to remove cloves.  Use where ever you would use fresh garlic for a softer more mellow garlic flavor, or store in fridge until ready for use (good for up to 1 month).

  

Zucchini Cakes

It seems that the Kitchen Witch has a love/hate relationship with zucchini.  If you've read this blog for any length of time you'll know that zucchini is something that is a staple in the Witches' garden.  Every year I say I won't worry or over plant, and yet every year I have a mini freak out -  will they grow?  Will they produce?  Will I have beautiful zucchini this year? And because it's me, every single year I over plant, too, just in case one or 2 of the plants don't do well.  In 3 years, I've never had an unsuccessful zucchini crop.  They're always TOO successful!  Despite my fretting over the wee plants in the early days they grow and become big time producers.  Before I know it I've gone from "oh my I hope they grow" to "holy shit someone needs to come get some of this zucchini!!" If you remotely like zucchini I highly recommend growing them yourself.  It's SO easy, they're very low maintenance plants, and have never failed to produce.  Oh, and the love/hate thing is because I absolutely love zucchini but as the season wanes on I grow to hate it...after all zucchini for 3 meals a day is only awesome for a few days.

Now that you've been informed about the trials and tribulations of zucchini growing, let's get to the point of today's post, shall we?  Zucchini cakes!  Oh sure they've been done before but boy, are they good!  A few weeks ago my girlfriends and I were out to lunch.  I spotted zucchini cake sliders on the menu and thought now that sounds good!  I ordered them and indeed, I was right, they WERE good!  So promptly I went to the store to buy zucchini (it's not zucchini season in Colorado currently, much to my dismay) so I could recreate these babies.  They seemed pretty basic in their ingredients, zucchini, red bell pepper and feta cheese, with some binders to hold it together.

The Witch decided to use an egg as one of the binders along with some panko breadcrumbs.  Not much, I wanted the veggie to be the star of this cake, but enough to hold it together.  The panko is very light in texture, not dense like traditional bread crumbs can be.  It helped the cakes have a nice firmness to them with out being dense or heavy.  The crunch of the red onions provided a nice contrast to the soft zucchini.  As the cakes brown the zucchini takes on a fantastic flavor, browned zucchini is the only way to eat it in this Witches' opinion!  As the cakes cook the feta softens and melts, adding it's salty flavor to each bite.  These zucchini cakes are a taste sensation, low in calories and vegetarian!   Sounds like a great lunch or side dish idea to me!


Zucchini Cakes
makes 4 cakes, 2 cakes per serving
1 medium zucchini (about 7-8 inches long) shredded
about 2T diced roasted red bell pepper
scant 1T fine diced red onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c panko bread crumbs
1/4 c feta cheese
approximately 1/2 t kosher salt
a pinch pepper, or to taste
about 1-2T olive oil for cooking

Shred zuccini using large holes on a box grater.  Squeeze zucchini to remove excess liquid.  Put squeezed zucchini into a small work bowl.  Add the diced roasted red peppers, garlic, onion, panko, feta and S&P.   Pour the beaten egg over top and using a fork, gently mix.  You'll want a cohesive mixture with no obvious pockets of dry bread crumbs or uncoated veggies.

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Once hot scoop zucchini mix into 4 patties, about 1/4 c each.  Make about 1/2 inch thick by 3-4 inches diameter.  Cover skillet and fry cakes on first side until golden browned, about 5 minutes.  Cakes will still be very fragile so be careful when you flip them.  Gently flip and continue cooking covered on second side, until browned and cakes hold together.   Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator Amount Per Serving Calories 223.8   Total Fat 16.8 g Saturated Fat 4.9 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g Monounsaturated Fat 9.3 g Cholesterol 109.2 mg Sodium 562.1 mg Potassium 339.6 mg Total Carbohydrate 11.4 g Dietary Fiber 1.6 g Sugars 2.4 g Protein 7.3 g

Stuffed Pumpkin with Cheese, Bacon and Chipotles

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a FREE copy of A Cook's book for Cooks! Click HERE to enter!

Halloween may be over but that's no reason to say good bye to the beloved pumpkin. The orange squash is king of Autumn and until December 21, it's still Autumn, so bring on the pumpkin recipes! Today I happily share with you a pumpkin stuffed with cheese, bacon and chipotle chilies. Holy cow, this thing is good! And rich! And delicious!! This gorgeous dish was found at the Homesick Texan's site. I'm not from Texas (I'm from Michigan!) but this dish makes me homesick for Texas as well!!

The stuffing in this pumpkin is filled with all sorts of deliciousness: French bread cubes, Gruyere and white cheddar cheeses, thick cut bacon and spicy smoky chipotles. A touch of garlic, cumin and cream crown the already rich and flavorful filling. After a long 2 hour baking time the pumpkin is tender and easily scrapes out of it's shell. The sweet and yet bland squash play perfectly with the spicy and rich filling.

Stuffed pumpkin makes a great lunch on its own or would be perfect as a side dish. It'd also be very welcome on the Thanksgiving table. Imagine if you will, the beautiful turkey, golden brown and fragrant, the bowl of red glistening cranberry sauce, fluffy white mashed potatoes, rich brown gravy and this, amazing orange whole baked pumpkin stuffed with cheesy spicy goodness. It's truly a vision of delicious loveliness!

Stuffed Pumpkin with Cheese, Bacon and Chipotles
Source: Homesick Texan
Makes: 4 servings

One 3-to-4 pound pie pumpkin
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 ounces French bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 pound Gruyere, shredded (1 cup)
1/4 pound white cheddar, shredded (1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 chipotle chiles en adobo, diced (depending on how fiery you want it)
1/4 pound cooked bacon, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Small pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8x8 pan or baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

With a sharp knife, cut a circle around the pumpkin stem about 1 inch away from the stem. Remove the top and clean out the seeds and stringy bits from inside the pumpkin. (You can save the seeds for roasting, if you like.) Lightly salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin.

Toss together the bread cubes, shredded Gruyere, shredded cheddar, garlic, diced chipotle chiles and cooked bacon, and stuff into the pumpkin. Stir the cumin and nutmeg into the cream, adding a bit of salt and black pepper to taste. Pour cream mixture into pumpkin over bread and cheese.

Place the top back on the pumpkin, and place the pumpkin into the baking pan. Bake for 2 hours or until filling is brown and bubbling.

To serve, remove the top and spoon out portions of the filling along with bits of the cooked pumpkin. You can either leave it in the pan, or by using the foil or parchment paper, you can carefully lift it out of the pan and place it on a platter. Serve warm.



Nutrition Facts calculated at SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 497.3
Total Fat 30.4 g
Saturated Fat 18.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.4 g
Cholesterol 101.9 mg
Sodium 1,691.2 mg
Potassium 1,004.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 37.5 g
Dietary Fiber 4.9 g
Sugars 4.2 g
Protein 21.9 g

Pasta with Garlic scapes, peas and Asiago cream sauce

Ever heard of a garlic scape? Wondering what the heck it is? Well, garlic and its relatives in the allium family, (leeks, chives, onions) grow underground, where the bulb begins its journey, soft and onion-like. As the bulb gets harder (and more like the garlic we know), a shoot pokes its way through the ground, its long and thin and very pliable and spins itself into a curled tendril. This stage of growth is the garlic scape. If the shoot is left attached to the bulb it will fade in color, becoming papery and whitish like we know garlic to be and it will stop the growth of the bulb below the surface. Farmers who want to keep the garlic growing snip off these scapes and sell them, a double whammy for the garlic farmer, sell the scapes and the bigger bulbs, win/win!

Yesterday the Husband suggested we take a trip to Whole Foods to see 'what looked good'. He's a smart man, that Husband! The Witch of course never turns down a trip to Whole Foods and was pretty darn jazzed about the whole idea.

Kitchen Witch: "Holy cow, garlic scapes! I thought I'd never see those here in Colorado!"
Husband: "What the hell are those?"
Kitchen Witch: "Garlic scapes, the shoot of the garlic plant. Its supposed to be lightly garlic flavored and delicious"
Husband: "So, you're getting them, right?"
Kitchen Witch: "Yes. However what I'll do with them is up for debate as I've never laid hands to them before, muchless cooked with them! Research is in order!!"

And it was then that I remembered that Yenta Mary, the Food Floozie, had just posted a delightful sounding recipe for Garlic Scapes, peas and pasta. It sounded amazing at the time and now that I had my own curled tendrils of garlic goodness in hand it was time to make it! Before I get on with the recipe let me take a moment to say that if you haven't checked out Yenta Mary's site yet, please do! She's a fabulous writer, awesome cook and filled with all sorts of interesting facts - as well as pronunciations of hard to say Yiddish words which will make us gentiles feel like we're kosher. Its a fun and informative site!

Back to the scapes! When I got home I realized I was out of peas. But I did have snow pea pods, so that's what I used. I also didn't have heavy cream and used half and half. The half & half did kinda curdle when it hit the white wine reduction, it wasn't pretty, but once the cheese was added it all came together in a cohesive sauce. However when making this again, and I will be making this again, I'll use heavy cream. Normally when making a cream sauce I'd use a fettuccine pasta but I was out, so fusilli filled in nicely. The spirals of the pasta helped trap some of the yummy garlic sauce in each bite.



Ok Witch, you've told us about how these scapes grow, how you got them and how you didn't have the correct ingredients but made due. Get on with the good part already: How did it taste?? Well my dear readers the taste was amazing! Garlic scapes are defiantly garlic flavored but its more mellow, not as sharp or hot as the garlic bulbs. The flavor of this dish was very reminiscent of chicken with 40 cloves, rich, mellow, carmalized and almost smoky. All that in 10 minutes. If you're lucky enough to run across garlic scapes GET THEM! Try this dish. I promise the garlic lover in your family will thank you!

Pasta with Garlic Scapes, Peas and Asiago cream sauce
Makes 2 servings
8 oz long pasta of your choice (fettuchini)
4 garlic scapes
about 20 snow pea pods OR 1/2 c fresh peas
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1/4 c white wine
1/4 c cream
1 sprig fresh oregano
1/2 c fresh grated Asiago cheese (parmesen would be fine, too)
kosher salt
pepper

Slice garlic scapes into 1/2 inch pieces, trimming off any tough or woody ends. Slice snow pea pods into 1/4 inch slices. Rough chop the herbs.

Bring a pot of water to boil for pasta. Cook pasta according to instructions on box in well salted water. While pasta cooks prepare sauce.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add butter and oil, once butter has melted add the garlic scapes. Toss to coat in fat and cook about 1 minute, until the scapes smell fragrent and are barely brown. Add the pea pods and cook 1 minute longer, garlic scapes will start to brown.

Add the wine and oregano and deglaze pan. Reduce wine by half. Add the cream, salt & pepper and Asiago cheese. Stir to melt and incorporate cheese into sauce. Add cooked and drained pasta, toss with sauce and serve.



Nutrition Factsprovided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 703.7
Total Fat 43.0 g
Saturated Fat 23.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.6 g
Cholesterol 87.9 mg
Sodium 1,043.0 mg
Potassium 124.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 47.8 g
Dietary Fiber 2.6 g
Sugars 2.1 g
Protein 29.5 g

Gyros with Tzatiziki sauce

Gyros is one of my all time favorite foods, ever. When I was pregnant with the Little Witch we had to pass 2 gyros places weekly on our way to Lamaze class. Needless to say we had gyros for dinner at least once a week! I love love love it!!!!

While the Witch has a well stocked and equipped kitchen, I do not have a spit or a rotisserie, which would make making gyros hard. After all its a cone shaped loaf of meat, with a large skewer through the middle that is grilled on a vertical rotisserie. Not exactly standard home kitchen equipment. So what does a Kitchen Witch do when she wants to make gyros but has no gyros rotisserie?

I decided to make the gyros meat into a loaf, much like a meatloaf, seasoned gyros style. That means lots and lots of garlic, Mediterranean herbs and spices and a blend of beef and lamb. I used a 50/50 mix of ground beef and ground lamb for cost savings as the lamb is expensive, and most gyros is a lamb/beef blend. Because it is a meatloaf I added some basic binders, 1 egg and a bit of cracker crumbs, to help hold it all together. The Witch then chucked all the ingredients into the food processor and let it all blend together well, which helps it to bind and form a cohesive loaf that won't fall apart when sliced.

When you order a gyros sandwich they shave the meat off the spit so each piece of meat is browned. Its so good, and something I didn't want to forgo in my homemade version. After the loaf cooked I removed it from the oven and allowed it to rest for about 20 minutes. I then sliced the loaf into thin (1/8 inch thick) slices and pan fried them in a bit of olive oil. The meat slices browned up nicely and got crusty and browned on the edges, just like a good gyros should be. Pile the meat onto a hot pita bread, top with tzatiziki sauce, lettuce, tomato and feta and feast!! The final browning step is optional but I'd not forgo it, the seared edges really helped transform the gyro loaf from a meatloaf to a gyro sandwich.

Gyros
makes 8 servings
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
6 cloves garlic minced
1 medium onion minced
1.5 t kosher salt
1/8 t pepper
1 sprig fresh rosemary minced
3 sprigs fresh oregano minced
1/2 t cumin, ground
1/8 t coriander seed, ground
1 egg
2 T milk
6 saltine crackers OR 1/4 c bread crumbs
3 T olive oil

Pita bread (click here for a homemade version)
Tzaiziki sauce
shredded lettuce
feta cheese
diced tomatoes

Tzatziki
makes 8 servings, 2 T each
1 cup greek yogurt plain (Greek Gods Traditional Greek Yogurt is what the Witch used and recommends)
1/2 cucumber, grated and squeezed dry
1/2 t dried dill weed
about 6 leaves each mint and oregano, chiffonade
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 t kosher salt
1/8 t ground pepper

Combine everything into a bowl and stir well. Allow to sit for at least 1 hour before eating so the flavors can blend.



Preheat oven to 375F

Finely mince the herbs and press garlic thru a garlic press (or finely mince, your choice). Combine everything BUT the olive oil into the work bowl of a food processor. Run for 30 seconds or until the mixture forms a ball and is throughly mixed.



Form the meat into a long rectangle, (about 8 inches wide and 2 inches tall, 14 inches long) making it slightly thinner in the middle. Drizzle 1 T olive oil over the top of the loaf and bake for 35-45 minutes or until it reads 160F internally. Remove from oven and allow to rest before slicing.

OPTIONAL: Slice meat into thin (1/8 in) slices. Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add 1 T of olive oil. Once oil is hot fry the slices of gyros until they are golden browned. Flip and brown on 2nd side. Remove from pan and allow grease to drain off.



Assemble the gyros sandwiches with 3-4 slices of gyro meat, lettuce, tomato, feta cheese and tzatizki sauce wrapped in a warmed pita bread. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe Calculator
Gyro meat ONLY
8 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 371.8
Total Fat 30.3 g
Saturated Fat 11.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 14.2 g
Cholesterol 107.4 mg
Sodium 467.7 mg
Potassium 295.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 2.6 g
Dietary Fiber 0.1 g
Sugars 0.2 g
Protein 20.7 g

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Tzatiziki sauce ONLY

8 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 35.2
Total Fat 2.8 g
Saturated Fat 1.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 7.5 mg
Sodium 77.9 mg
Potassium 25.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 1.8 g
Dietary Fiber 0.1 g
Sugars 1.5 g
Protein 1.1 g

Lemon & garlic scented rice

If you own a rice cooker you're about 30 minutes away from one of the tastiest and easiest side dishes ever. If you don't own a rice cooker, well you can still have this delicious side dish, it'll just take a little bit longer. This rice was served with the Greek grilled chicken thighs and it was amazing! Lightly scented, perfumed with garlic and lemon zest. Simplicity at its finest and darn good eats, too.

Lemon and garlic scented rice
makes 4 servings
zest of 3/4 lemon
2 cloves garlic whole, smashed with the back of a knife but left whole still
1/2 t kosher salt
1 cup basmati rice
1 3/4 c water
drizzle olive oil

Rinse the rice well until water runs clear. In the bowl of a rice cooker combine all the ingredients. Cook according to manufacture instructions.

If cooking on the stove top follow the rice instructions, adding the lemon zest, garlic and salt to the water.

Remove garlic cloves and fluff with a fork just before serving.


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 190.5
Total Fat 1.1 g
Saturated Fat 0.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.8 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 242.9 mg
Potassium 9.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 40.3 g
Dietary Fiber 0.1 g
Sugars 0.0 g
Protein 3.5 g

Italian style stuffed Pork Chops

We love stuffed pork chops. There's just something delightful about cutting into a piece of meat & discovering a surprise tasty filling stuffed inside. And when that filling is creamy cheese with tart sun dried tomatoes and zesty garlic, that just makes things even tastier.

This recipe was created for a few reasons:
1. I had some awesome thick cut pork chops that were just begging to be stuffed!
2. I've done a few stuffed chop recipes before & they've been fruit & nut stuffings, delicious but been there, done that
3. I was making polenta as my side dish so I wanted an Italian flair to the chops

So the Witch put her Witchcraft hat on & went to work. Cream cheese is always a good start as far as I'm concerned so it made the cut. Sun dried tomatoes, another natural choice, in they go. I have a bag of frozen spinach in the freezer but only wanted a touch of it, too much spinach and all you can taste is SPINACH - so a few nuggets of the green stuff thawed out was perfect! Garlic and herbs only made sense given the Italian direction we were heading, and a touch of Asiago gave the sharpness I was looking for.

Stuffing the chops is an easy process, simply take a sharp thin knife and create a pocket in the chop. Using your finger open up the pocket more, leaving the sides intact to hold the filling. All that's left then is to stuff the chop then cook it and before you know it, a delicious and impressive dinner is done. Enjoy!

Italian style stuffed pork chops
makes 3 chops
3 thick cut boneless pork loin chops
4 oz cream cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
handful of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
1/4 c julienne cut sun dried tomatoes
2 T fresh grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
3/4 t dried Italian herbs
kosher salt & pepper
drizzle of oil

preheat oven to 300F
In a small bowl mix the cream cheese, Asiago, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, herbs with a pinch of salt & pepper. Divide this cheese mixture into thirds.

Create a pocket in the pork chops and stuff one portion of the cheese mixture in it. Sprinkle stuffed chops with salt & pepper.

Heat an oven safe skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil, once pan is hot add the chops. Sear chops on 1 side, once they're nicely browned flip and put pan in the oven, cook about 5-10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160F. Remove from oven and hot pan, allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 361.0
Total Fat 26.0 g
Saturated Fat 13.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.7 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.7 g
Cholesterol 104.1 mg
Sodium 678.6 mg
Potassium 701.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 5.7 g
Dietary Fiber 0.9 g
Sugars 2.7 g
Protein 26.2 g

Caesar Salad

Recently a good friend of mine made the long trek to Colorado for a visit. We feasted while she was here!! This was one of the many delicious things we made. It was so much fun to share good food, good friendship and good company! She also took the photos for me, which was great, and she used her super fantastic Nikon DSLR, and now I'm beyond jealous. If anyone's looking for a good gift idea for the Kitchen Witch, a DSLR would be great. Just sayin' :)

Caesar salad is so good, and so simple now that I've learned a few tricks from Pam Anderson and the Pioneer Woman! They make this delightful salad using the hearts of romaine and leaving them in large spears, to be eaten with the hands. The Kitchen Witch loves to eat with her hands so this had to be made. Let me tell you, this Caesar salad is indeed scrumptious.

Garlic is pureed with olive oil which draws the bitterness out of the garlic, leaving wonderfully garlicy oil for the croutons and milder garlic for the dressing. The Pioneer Woman uses her food processor for this process but we soon discovered that mine was too large for such a small amount of oil and garlic: the blender was much better suited. Please use whichever you have at your disposal.

We doubled the dressing, making an even easier and quicker lunch the following day. Adding some grilled chicken or shrimp would be amazing as well. The dressing will last for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. The croutons are really only good for a day or 2 max before they get too stale.


Caesar Salad
Adapted from Pioneer Woman: Pam's Simple, Scrumptious Caesar Salad
makes 4-6 servings

Garlic Croutons
4 cloves garlic
A generous 1/4 cup pure olive oil
2 packed cups 3/4″ bread cubes, cut from a good-quality baguette or homemade loaf
Large pinch of salt

Salad
3 romaine hearts, separated into whole leaves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire
4 tablespoon pure olive oil - optional
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese or Asiago cheese, plus extra for sprinkling.

Heat a skillet over low heat. With motor running, drop garlic cloves through feeder tube of a food processor fitted with the steel blade to mince. (A blender works as well.) Scrape down sides of bowl and add olive oil through feeder tube as well. Continue to process so that garlic releases its flavor into the oil, about 30 seconds. Strain garlic from oil through a fine-mesh strainer; reserve half of the garlic for dressing.



Increase skillet heat to medium. Place bread cubes in medium bowl. Drizzle garlic oil evenly over bread, along with big pinch of salt; toss to coat.

Add bread cubes to hot skillet and toast, turning the cubes and shaking the pan often, until crisp and golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Return croutons to bowl and set aside to cool while preparing salad.



Place lettuce leaves in a large bowl.

Whisk lemon juice, mayonnaise, half the reserved garlic, and Worcestershire in a small bowl.



Drizzle lettuce with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and toss lightly and carefully. (Clean hands work well.)
*~*Kitchen Witch Note: After making this salad a few times with out this additional olive oil step I have to say that I do NOT think it's necessary. The dressing provides ample flavor and if you're counting calories, the additional oil isn't needed, or missed honestly. I'm also providing nutritional info for both versions, with and with out the extra oil.*~*

Drizzle lemon mixture over lettuce; toss again.

Sprinkle Parmesan over greens; toss again.

Sprinkle croutons over the salad; toss and serve, sprinkling each portion with a little more Parmesan cheese.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
6 Servings
Amount Per Serving - with additional olive oil on lettuce
Calories 377.3
Total Fat 26.7 g
Saturated Fat 5.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 14.9 g
Cholesterol 8.8 mg
Sodium 828.5 mg
Potassium 214.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 27.3 g
Dietary Fiber 2.4 g
Sugars 0.3 g
Protein 7.9 g

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving - with out additional olive oil
Calories 297.8
Total Fat 17.7 g
Saturated Fat 4.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 8.3 g
Cholesterol 8.8 mg
Sodium 828.5 mg
Potassium 214.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 27.3 g
Dietary Fiber 2.4 g
Sugars 0.3 g
Protein 7.9 g

Parmesean Garlic Mashed potatoes

Mashed potatoes are what many consider the quintessential comfort food, but they can be bland, lumpy, gluey and generally lackluster if not done right. The Kitchen Witch is here to show you how to make not only fluffy mash, but flavorful fluffy mash.

Here's a few common mistakes that people make when it comes to mashed potatoes
1. Cooking potatoes too long
~~This results in watery potatoes, since the spuds absorb the cooking liquid, cooking them until they fall apart is bad, you'll end up with nasty wet watery mash. Cook until they are tender enough to easily split open with a fork and no crunch is left in the center.

2. Adding raw garlic to the cooked potatoes
~~This results in a overpowering sharp garlic taste, not a gentle perfume. Too much garlic can overpower your pallet rendering it useless to taste anything but garlic. Cooking the garlic cloves with the potatoes allows the scent of the garlic to infuse in the potatoes, leaving you a definite garlic flavor, but not one that everyone in a 2 block radius can smell as well.

3. Bland mashed potatoes
~~This is the easiest one to correct. Salt! Add a bit more salt & taste again. Still bland? Add more salt! Salt enhances foods flavors, adding more won't make your food taste salty, it'll just make it taste good. I salt the water the potatoes cook in and I salt again when mashing. Taste often to determine correct seasoning level.

4. Cold mashed potatoes
~~With mashed potatoes you really want to smash them minutes before serving dinner. As soon as you break the tubers open they start to lose precious heat. As you mash, whip & stir the heat is escaping quickly. Have your meal ready to go THEN mash the potatoes and serve. If you HAVE to mash them before you're ready to put the meal on the table, keep them covered and turn your heat on LOW/KEEP WARM. If worst comes to worse, you can microwave cold mashed, but be warned that the microwave can alter the texture of the potatoes.

Parmesean Garlic Mashed Potatoes
serves 4-6 as a side dish
4 medium/large potatoes (I used russets because thats what I had)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 T butter
1/2 c milk
1/2 c shredded parmesean cheese (I have used the green can as well as real Parmesean, both were delicious)
S&P

Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. Put potato pieces and garlic cloves into a large pot of cold water. Bring water and potatoes up to a boil. Once it boils reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are fork tender all the way through, about 15-20 minutes at my altitude.

~*~Kitchen Witch Tips: put cut potatoes into a pot of cold water and bring it up to a boil together. Starting the potatoes in cold water helps them not absorb as much water, keeping your mash nice & fluffy and not watery or gluey.~*~

Drain potatoes well and put them back into the cooking pot. Cover the potatoes with a clean tea towel (or paper towels) and allow them to steam for about 5 min with the towel on. This process of steaming the potatoes allows the surface moisture to evaporate resulting in a smooth fluffy potato that doesn't get gummy. You'll know your potatoes are ready to mash when they are white and fluffy looking on the outside. They may appear dusty, this is GOOD, its the starches coming out, in insuring that you'll have fluffy mash.

Heat the butter and milk together in a microwave until its hot (about 1 min 30 seconds).

With a potato masher smash the potatoes and garlic BEFORE adding the liquids. this breaks up the potatoes but the gluten is not activated in the potato. What that means is that you can go to town on these babies and get them nice & mashed with out worrying about them turning gluey.

Once the potatoes are nicely mashed add the liquids. Switch to a wooden spoon and start to whip them up.

Add the cheese, stir it in well and allow it to melt a bit, like 1 minute. Stir it once more after cheese has melted and serve.

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 253.5
Total Fat 8.1 g
Saturated Fat 5.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.8 g
Cholesterol 18.0 mg
Sodium 682.8 mg
Potassium 907.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 39.4 g
Dietary Fiber 4.7 g
Sugars 3.1 g
Protein 7.5 g

Chicken with 40 cloves

O.M.G. This is quite possibly the best chicken dish I've cooked. Ever. I know, that's a pretty strong statement, considering I make a lot of chicken dishes. Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic may become my signature dish. Its that good.

Now, I'm an honest Witch, I won't lie to you. I was afraid of this dish. Terrified even. 40 cloves of garlic? I don't know, that seems awfully potent. Oh sure, I'd heard that the garlic mellows and sweetens as it cooks but 40 cloves? Really?!

Really. Mellow is a great word to describe this dish. The garlic becomes a complex flavor, sweet, caramelized, smoky, pungent, delicious. The touch of heavy cream at the end adds richness. Thyme plays its herbal qualities to its finest, perfuming the dish with flavor and the wine becomes the most flavorful savory sauce you can imagine. A touch of cognac adds to the sweet smoky qualities.

I wasn't expecting much out of this dish. I'd actually avoided it for years. A good friend of mine suggested that I make it and that was the push that I needed. For that I have to say thank you Kelly, thank you for suggesting it! Thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone because I have a new love. And its chicken with 40 cloves. Next time I see you I'm making this for you!

Chicken with 40 cloves
serves 6
1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces (2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 wings, 2 breasts)
S&P
2 T EVOO
40 cloves of garlic peeled (about 2.5 heads)
1 1/2 c white wine
3 T cognac
2 T heavy cream
1 t dry thyme or 4 fresh sprigs
2 T flour

Pat the chicken dry. Cover pieces with salt & pepper.

Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot add the EVOO and 4 pieces of chicken. Once browned flip and brown on 2nd side. Remove from pan & set aside. Brown remaining chicken and reserve with the rest.

Add garlic to the pan and stir well to coat in oil. Cook garlic until its evenly browned on all sides. Take care to move the garlic often and flip it to avoid burning. If you burn any remove it, this will bitter the dish.

~*~Kitchen Witch Tip: To peel garlic blanch in boiling water for 60 seconds. Remove from the water and peel, the skins will slip right off. If you see any green shoots in your garlic cloves be sure to remove them! I cut them in half and pull out the shoot. If you leave the green shoots in the garlic will bitter, which is not a flavor component we're trying to add here. I had to de-shoot all 40 cloves of my garlic. While it was a pain, it was 100% worth it.~*~

Once garlic is browned add the cognac (remove pan from open flame if cooking over gas) and wine, scraping bottom to loosen cooked on bits. Bring to a boil then add chicken back to pan, along with any juices that have collected on the bottom. Place the chicken in the pan in this order: thighs, legs, wings, boneless breasts on top. The placement will ensure even cooking for all pieces. Sprinkle thyme over top, cover and reduce heat to very low.



Cook over very low heat for 30-45 minutes or until chicken is done through. Remove chicken to a plate, cover with foil and allow to rest while sauce is prepared.

Remove 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the flour to this, whisk well to make a thick paste. Pour the thickened liquid into the pot, whisking well to incorporate. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Add 1 T cognac and 2 T heavy cream, stir to incorporate and simmer for 1 minute. Serve sauce with chicken and enjoy.



Nutrition Facts
6 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 279.1
Total Fat 7.2 g
Saturated Fat 2.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.0 g
Cholesterol 93.0 mg
Sodium 492.7 mg
Potassium 406.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 10.4 g
Dietary Fiber 0.5 g
Sugars 0.6 g
Protein 30.7 g

Sissy's Shrimp Scampi with pasta

One of my Sissy's favorite dishes is shrimp scampi. Since its her birthday today I made it for her for lunch. This is a quick and easy meal, it literally takes 20 minutes from start to finish.

Happy birthday Sissy, I hope you enjoyed lunch :-)

Sissy's Shrimp Scampi with Angle Hair pasta
serves 2
16 large shrimp (21-28 count)
1 cup dry white wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t lemon juice
S&P
2 t EVOO
4 oz angel hair pasta
1 T fresh chopped parsley
1/8 t dry Italian seasonings
1 tomato diced
2 T butter

Marinate peeled and deveined shrimp in 1/4 c white wine, lemon juice, garlic, a few pinches salt and pepper, and dry herbs for 15 minutes.

While shrimp marinate bring water to boil for pasta and heat a large stainless sautee pan over med high heat. The angle hair pasta takes 5 minutes to cook so once you put the pasta in the water start your shrimp.

Once sautee pan is hot add EVOO, swirl pan to coat bottom. Add shrimp to pan. Cook 1-2 min on 1st side then flip over, starting with the 1st shrimp you put in the pan for even cooking. Cook 1 min longer. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

Add the tomatoes and remaining wine to the pan, bring to a boil and allow to reduce by half. Add the shrimp back to the pan and remove from heat.

Drain pasta, add it to the shrimp wine sauce, stirring to coat pasta. Top with parsley.

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
Shrimp Scampi with angel hair pasta
2 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 474.4
Total Fat 18.2 g
Saturated Fat 8.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.8 g
Cholesterol 104.1 mg
Sodium 161.8 mg
Potassium 244.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 51.5 g
Dietary Fiber 6.8 g
Sugars 1.9 g
Protein 16.6 g

Caramelized Chicken with Garlic Rice

Here's a quick and easy dinner for you all. I found this gem on one of my favorite blogs, Jenn's food journey. Other friends of mine have suggested variations of this recipe as well, so I figured it was time that the Kitchen Witch tried it out. Boy was I glad I did!

I didn't have any honey so I used agave nectar. I liked the results, it gave sweetness and helped the sauce glaze nicely. The best way I could describe the flavor of this glaze is a sweet and sour BBQ sauce. It was really tasty and will become a staple in our household for sure!

I had to take a slight liberty with the rice dish, all I had on hand was minute rice. It worked pretty good, though I bet the flavor of a Basmati would be way better. Next time I'll use 'real' rice.

In 30 minutes I had a gorgeous piece of glazed chicken on flavorful garlic rice and steamed asparagus. Its a flavorful, healthy meal for busy days. Who doesn't love that?

Caramelized Chicken
serves 2-3
2 chicken breasts boneless skinless
3 T ketchup
2 T soy sauce
2 T agave nectar (could use 3T honey)
1/2 t hot sauce (Franks Red Hot)
S&P

Mix the everything but the chicken and S&P in a small sauce pan. Stir it all together, bring to a boil - boil for 1 minute and remove sauce to a small bowl.

Spray a baking pan (I used an 8x8 pan). Place chicken breasts in the pan and pour 1/2 the sauce over top. Put into a 375 oven and cook 15 min.

After 15 min of cooking, spread remaining half of sauce over chicken and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160* F. (I had to add about 1/4 c water to the pan here as well, my sauce was starting to burn, I blame the cooking vessel)

Remove from oven, allow to rest 5 minutes before serving with garlic rice. Spoon any remaining glaze over chicken.



Garlic Rice
makes 2-3 servings
1 cup instant white rice
1 cup water
1 T butter
1 t EVOO
2 cloves garlic minced
kosher salt

Heat butter and oil in a small sauce pan. Once hot add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring well to coat each grain with oil. Cook rice about 2 minutes then add the water. Bring to a boil, once it boils remove from heat, cover and allow to sit 5 min. Fluff with fork before serving.



Nutrition Facts Caramelized Chicken provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
2 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 360.3
Total Fat 2.9 g
Saturated Fat 0.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.7 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.7 g
Cholesterol 136.9 mg
Sodium 1,370.6 mg
Potassium 642.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 23.7 g
Dietary Fiber 1.2 g
Sugars 21.3 g
Protein 55.6 g

Nutrition Facts Garlic Rice
3 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 83.6
Total Fat 0.1 g
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 52.0 mg
Potassium 26.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 18.4 g
Dietary Fiber 0.2 g
Sugars 0.0 g

Protein 1.6 g

Steak with Red Wine Garlic marinade

New York bone in strip steaks were on sale last week, BOGO so of course I had to get some! I hadn't made steaks since last summer so my husband was pretty happy to see the steaks. What I was looking for was a flavorful marinade that would enhance the steaks great flavor. The inspiration for this marinade came from Jenn at Jenn's Food Journey, a great blog that I throughly enjoy. Jenn made an awesome steak sandwich but it was the marinade that caught my eye most of all.

Simple on hand ingredients turned an ordinary steak into a special occasion meal. I was very pleased with this marinade, the steak turned a beautiful brown, not sickly grey as some home cooked steaks can do. The red wine caramelized in my screamin' hot cast iron pan which enhanced the steak flavor. Mmmm is really all I can say about this one. It'll be used on many more steaks from here on out!

Red wine marinade
enough for 2 large steaks
1/2 c red wine
2 cloves garlic sliced thin
1 t dry Italian herbs
1 T EVOO
1/2 t kosher salt
1/8 t black pepper
1 T Worstershire sauce
1 t soy sauce

2 steaks (NY bone in strip is pictured, about 8 oz each)

Mix everything together in a large zip top bag. Add your steaks and allow to marinate at room temperature for 2 hours.

Scrape off garlic slices and pat meat dry before cooking.

To cook steaks:
1. Open a window and a door, its about to get smoky in here!
2. Preheat oven to 400*
3. Heat a cast iron (or heavy bottomed skillet, NO TEFLON PLEASE!) over high heat until it smokes.
4. Place dried off steak in the pan, cover with a splatter screen to mitigate mess and cook about 5 minutes on 1st side or until deeply browned. The wine will caramelize the meat and help you get a deep brown which translates to deliciousness.
5. Flip steaks and transfer to the oven until cooked to your desired level of doneness. For me that was about 4 minutes to get to medium.

That's it!



Nutrition Facts
2 Servings (8 oz NY Strip steak each, only 55 calories are from the marinade)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 552.5
Total Fat 25.7 g
Saturated Fat 9.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.0 g
Cholesterol 130.7 mg
Sodium 576.9 mg
Potassium 5.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 5.5 g
Dietary Fiber 0.0 g
Sugars 4.0 g
Protein 66.8 g

Chicken Cannelloni

I loved stuffed pasta. I also hate stuffing said pasta. Its really hard to do with out either burning yourself or splitting the pasta wide open. There's got to be an easier way!!!

Have no fear, the Kitchen Witch is here, to ease all of your stuffed (and rolled) pasta needs! All it takes is a little know how and a box of oven ready lasagna sheets. Lasagna? I thought you said we were having cannelloni. I did, you did read right but the secret to the Witches' cannelloni starts with no boil pasta.

No boil pasta sheets, or oven ready lasagna noodles, are designed to absorb the liquid they are cooked in and come out of the oven tender and perfect. I figured that I could pre soften them and voila, I have ready to go pasta sheets!

All it takes then is 'stuffing' them with chicken. That's easy, make a pastry bag out of a zip top bag, squeeze a roll of chicken onto the pasta sheets, roll it up and voila, instant cannelloni.

I top it off with a alfredo type sauce made out of chicken stock and milk, along with garlic and parmesean cheese. This helps save on calories and keep an otherwise heavy dish light.

Chicken Cannelloni
makes 5 servings of 2 rolls each
10 (about 1 box) barilla no boil lasagna pasta sheets
1 lb ground chicken
8 oz mozerella cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 c + 2 T parmesean cheese, divided
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup milk
2 T flour
5 cloves garlic, divided
2 T butter
1 t Italian herb seaoning blend

Boil a pot of water and then pour it into a 13x9 pan. Put the pasta sheets into the hot water and allow to soak for about 5-7 minutes or until soft enough to roll. Drain pasta sheets.

While pasta soaks mix chicken with 1/2 the mozerella cheese and 2 T parmesean, 2 cloves of garlic (minced) and the herbs. Add some S&P to your taste.



Put the chicken mixture into a large zip top bag, squish it all down to 1 end and cut the end off leaving a 1.5 in opening (approx, I'm not that anal LOL).



Take a pasta sheet, pipe a rope of chicken mixture on the short end of the pasta and roll. Put the roll seam side down in a sprayed casserole pan. Roll remaining sheets with chicken and put in the pan. Sprinkle top with remaining mozerella cheese.



Make a roux out of the butter and flour. Cook about 4 minutes until it starts to brown and smells nutty. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock and milk. Add garlic and allow to thicken. Stir in the 1/2 cup parmesean cheese, stirring well to mix.



Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta rolls and cheese. It WILL look like you have way too much sauce, this is OK as the pasta will absorb a lot and you do want a sauce to spoon over top. Bake at 375* for about 45 minutes, uncovered or until its bubbly and browned on the edges.





Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
5 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 511.2
Total Fat 21.4 g
Saturated Fat 9.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.9 g
Cholesterol 144.6 mg
Sodium 927.0 mg
Potassium 261.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 36.0 g
Dietary Fiber 1.7 g
Sugars 3.2 g
Protein 46.8 g