Orzo Salad

4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups red and yellow teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved (I used grape tomatoes)
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

About 3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Pour the broth into a heavy large saucepan. Cover the pan and bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the orzo. Cover partially and cook until the orzo is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes.

Drain the orzo through a strainer. Transfer the orzo to a large wide bowl and toss until the orzo cools slightly. Set aside to cool completely.

Toss the orzo with the beans, tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature.

Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Yield: 1 3/4 cups (Like it says up above, only use about 3/4 cup of this on the salad)
This recipe serves six.

Chicken Scallopini

This tastes very close to Macaroni Grill version, which I love! I actually halved the recipe and it was plenty. Rob and I both had good sized helpings for dinner and Luke ate a ton of the pasta and there was still enough left over for me for lunch. I made quite a few changes and it still turned out really well.

4 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. white wine (I substituted chicken broth)
4 oz. heavy cream (I substituted half and half)
1 lb. butter (I couldn't bring myself to use this much butter, I used about 3/4 the amt it called for)
6-8 chicken breasts, pounded thin (I used chicken tenders)
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS butter
1/2 c.-3/4 c. flour for dredging chicken
salt and pepper to taste
6 oz. pancetta (My store didn't have it, so I used regular bacon)
12 oz. mushrooms
12 oz. artichoke hearts
1 TBS capers (I did add these, but my capers didn't taste anything like capers I have had at restaurants, so I wouldn't add them next time)
1 lb. angel hair pasta

For chicken:
Heat 2 TBS olive oil and 2 TBS butter in pan. Dredge chicken in flour and saute until done. Remove chicken from pan and add bacon (I had cooked mine separately), mushrooms, artichoke hearts and capers. Saute until mushrooms are tender. Add chicken back to the pan. (I kept the chicken in tender sized pieces, but next time I might cut it up to make it easier to mix it all together.)

For sauce:
Heat lemon juice and wine (broth) in saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce by 1/3. Add cream, simmer until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Slowly add butter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over pasta and chicken mixture.

Pumpkin Bars

Bars:

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 15-ounce can pumpkin

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Icing:
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
Milk-to desired consistency

Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour batter in greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35minutes. Cool completely.

For icing, mix all ingredients together until smooth. Add milk to achieve desired consistency.

Remember to keep these refrigerated 'cus of all the dairy in the topping:)

Spaghetti Sauce

2 pounds lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine (I use same amt. of apple juice or skip it)
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 (4.5 ounce) can canned mushrooms, drained
2 teaspoons dried basil leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground allspice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 cup water

In a large skillet, brown the meat with the garlic over medium heat. Stir in the wine; simmer, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
Mix in dry onion soup mix, mushrooms, basil, salt and pepper, cinnamon, allspice, parsley, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and water. Cover pan almost completely, allowing space for steam to escape, and simmer 1 hour. Add additional water if needed to prevent sticking.

This is our new favorite spaghetti sauce!