Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Manicotti

I intended on boiling the handy dandy boxed noodles but I felt compelled to make the noodles. The last time I did that I just made some simple pasta noodles. When I went to the Googles to find some inspo I saw a technique that I’d never heard of which meant that I obviously have to try it.

Additionally the supermarket only had an insanely large container of ricotta. The Googles said it was easy so I said ‘what the hell?”

And it was!

I’m not writing up a lengthy post. I think the pictures are largely self explanatory. I didn’t use any precise measurements aside from the manicotti and the ricotta, which I’ll link to if anyone feels adventurous.

Fresh ricotta

Fresh manicotti

I winged this meal. I didn’t know what was happening until I was basically ready to assemble.

The following are the components:

I cooked up ground chicken thighs. I seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and a bit of chopped garlic and shallots.

Chopped spinach (frozen) and chopped artichoke hearts

I used a can of crushed tomatoes. I seasoned it up with the usual suspects and my personal tricks. Season your sauce as you like or use your usual.

Shredded mozzarella.

I mixed the ricotta with the spinach and artichokes. I seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, parmesan and crushed red pepper.The rest is just assembly. Make sure you place them seam side down. Bake at 350 until nice and bubbly then make sure your cheese gets nice and melty 😍

This was my first time using this crepe-pasta technique. I did an amazing job with the flavors. I think it’s more suitable for a light recipe. This is hearty. I think I would have preferred an ordinary noodle. Either way this was amazingly yummy!

Worth every step!

🐷.

 

 

 

© 2020 by Alexa Mason. All Rights Reserved

Spiced Chicken and Cilantro-Lime Rice

Garlic. Cumin. Smoked paprika. Sazon. Can you really go wrong here? I think not.

 

This is my quick way of whipping up some super yummy, spiced chicken thighs. You can toss these in a salad, make tacos, make burritos or burrito bowls, etc. Great for meal prep and an easy go to when you’re running out of ideas.

 

As a side, I made some lightly scented lime and cilantro rice. It’s mostly hands off and pairs very well with the chicken. Top this with a corn salad and you’ve got a bright and flavorful dinner!

 

 

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced

Oil

Salt and pepper

1-2 tbsp of cumin

1 tbsp of chili powder

Tsp (each) garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika

½ packet of sazon

½ tsp of cayenne (optional)

1-2 chipotles in adobo, chopped (optional- more smoke and heat)

Chicken broth

 

Rice:

Rice

Water

Oil

Lime juice and zest

3-4 garilc cloves, chopped

 

1. Heat your pan over medium- high heat
2. Slice your chicken
3. Add oil
4. Add chicken
5. Add salt and pepper
6. Cook until browning and mostly cooked through
7. Add spices
8. Stir, toasting the spices
9. Add a few splashes of chicken broth to deglaze the pan
10. Stir
11. Remove from heat

 

Lime and Cilantro Rice:

1. I cook my rice like pasta so bring water to a boil and pour in however much rice you need
2. Allow it to boil
3. Check for doneness and drain
4. Chop the garlic and cilantro
5. In the now empty pot, sweat the garlic in a little bit of oil
6. Turn off heat
7. Add the rice back to the pot
8. Add the cilantro, lime zest and juice and salt and pepper
9. Stir to combine

 

Pile up that rice, top with chicken and this yummy corn salad. Look at what you did. Look at it. It’s good, isn’t it?

 

© 2018 by Alexa Mason. All Rights Reserved

Mason’s Dragon Noodles

Tonight my kiddo said he wanted spicy, saucy noodles so Mason’s Dragon Noodles became a thing and I will absolutely be duplicating this in the future.

A super easy recipe. Bold flavors make it difficult to mess this up. It’s also easily adjustable to suit your tastes. My family likes food spicy (hello “dragon” noodles), so feel free to tinker with the spice level.

I was gifted a wok for Christmas. Mommy’s first wok. Seasoning it was an adventure but it was successful! So, this was my first time breaking it in.

If you don’t have a wok, use a cast iron skillet because they hold heat really well and they get super hot. If you don’t have either of those, use a pan large enough to hold what you’re working with. High heat is important, so be mindful of that.

Ingredients:

• 1 large chicken breast, or a few boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• ¼-1/2 bell pepper, sliced
• 2-3 scallions, whites and greens (reserve some greens)
• Handful of chopped cilantro, (reserve some)
• ½ red onion, sliced
• ½-1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 habanero pepper, chopped
• 1 lb angel hair or spaghetti (you can use your preferred Asian noodles but we usually have these in the house and they work just fine)
• Canola or vegetable oil
• 1/3-1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• 2 tbsp Huy Fong sriracha (the REAL kind with the green cap and rooster)
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp sambal oelek
• 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
• ~1/4 c light brown sugar
• 1/3-1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce

 

1. Boil and drain your noodles.
2. Prep your veg
3. In a bowl, mix up the garlic, ginger, habanero, sugar, and liquid ingredients and whisk together.
4. With your wok or pan on high heat, add some oil and cook your chicken breast. Remove and set to the side.
5. Working quickly, cook your veggies. You want them to keep some texture so don’t cook them to death. Remove and set to the side.
6. Still on high heat, add the liquid to the pan. Bring to a boil and add your chicken and simmer for a bit then add your veggies. Shortly after, add your drained noodles.
7. Using tongs, toss your noodles, cilantro and other ingredients. You want to incorporate them all together as well as you can. This can be annoying but toss in different directions to incorporate. Turn off your heat, your noodles will sop up any extra liquid.
8. Top with reserved cilantro and scallion.

This can be served hot, warm or cold.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

© 2018 by Alexa Mason. All Rights Reserved

Zucchini Ricotta Pizza with Shaved Brussel Sprouts, Tomato and Feta

This pizza is packed with veggies, herbs and several different kinds of cheeses. You can find a simple pizza dough recipe here. If you have a pizza stone, by all means use that. I do not have one so I tend to just use my cast iron griddle and cast iron pans to make my pizzas.

Please be careful as there is a lot of putting in and taking out of the oven. You need to move pretty fast once you start the baking process so I strongly recommend prepping everything before you begin.

 

Balsamic reduction is a favorite of mine when it comes to tomatoes and Brussel sprouts, so I whipped up a small amount to drizzle over the pizza. That seriously took the whole dish to the next level. You can adapt this to use up whatever veg you have on hand. Season and adjust ingredients to suit your taste! At the base, it’s a simple dough and a simple ricotta mixture, feel free to customize and build upon it.

 

Ingredients:

 

Simple Pizza Dough

Ricotta Cheese

Milk

Parmesan

Italian Cheese Blend

Feta Cheese

Garlic cloves

Mint

Basil

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Thinly sliced, or shaved Brussel sprouts

Shaved zuchinni

Sliced tomato

Balsamic vinaigrette

Sugar

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat your cast iron (or pizza stone) in the oven at 500 degrees
2. Slice and shave your vegetables
3. In a small bowl, mix the shaved brussels with a little bit of oil (and s&p)
4. In another small bowl, toss the zuchinni with a little bit of oil (and s&p)
5. Slice tomatoes, set aside.
   

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6. In a small bowl, mix ricotta, herbs, salt, pepper, parmesan and grate fresh garlic into the mixture.
7. Slowly add milk a bit at a time and whisk until it is smooth and spreadable

• Taste and adjust seasonings (including herbs) to suit your taste.
• I used a fair amount of dried herbs in this. You can absolutely use fresh if you have them on hand.
  • Set aside.

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8. Prepare your dough.
9. Roll out the dough to suit your baking vehicle (cast iron skillet, griddle, pizza stone, etc).
10. Carefully remove baking vehicle from the oven, sprinkle with flour or corn meal.
11. Carefully place your dough onto it.
12. If you have ‘extra’ dough hanging, carefully roll it up and make a ‘border’ and brush it with oil
13. Gently pierce the bottom of the dough with a fork to ensure it doesn’t bubble up too much when in the oven.
14. Pre-bake the dough for about 3-4 minutes.

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15. Remove from oven.
16. Spread ricotta mixture and make sure you leave about ½” space
17. Sprinkle a bit of the shredded cheese
18. Arrange the zucchini
19. Bake for about 5 minutes

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20. Remove from oven.
21. Sprinkle more cheese.
22. Arrange tomatoes and distribute the shredded Brussel sprouts
23. Bake for about 5-10 minutes.

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For simple balsamic reduction:

• Pour about a quarter cup of balsamic vinegar into a pot over medium heat
• Add about 2 tsp of sugar
• Whisk to combine
• Bring to a boil and then reduce heat
• The liquid will reduce and coat the back of a spoon)

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24. Remove from the oven, sprinkle feta.
25. Turn on broiler and broil until crust browns a bit. Be careful. Your pizza will burn. And you will cry.

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26. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
27. Drizzle with reduction and enjoy!

© 2017 by Alexa Mason. All Rights Reserved

Crispy Ginger Lime Sticky Wings

Tonight is Saturday night and mama really did not feel like cooking. I was pleased to hear a simple request of “asiany wings with the ginger and stuff”. This is a simple recipe with simple methods that can be applied to any flavor wings you’re going for.

 

This sauce is packed full of flavor and super easy to make. It’s easily adjustable; if it’s too sweet, use less sugar. If it’s not spicy enough, add more sambal (or peppers). More or less ginger? Easy fix.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

For the chicken:

Chicken wings

Water

 

For the sauce:

¼ cup soy Sauce

2 tbsp of oyster sauce

2 tsp sambal oelek

3 cloves of garlic, grated

Thumb of ginger (about 1.5”) grated

3-4 tbsp of light brown sugar

juice and zest of one lime, a pinch of zest reserved

 

For the chicken:

 

1. Using kitchen shears, cut your wings into flats and drums
2. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
3. You’re going to boil water like you’re making pasta aka heavily salted and a rolling boil.
4. Boil the chicken for 8-10 minutes.
5. Drain thoroughly.
6. Pat dry with paper towel.
7. Place the chicken pieces directly onto a cookie sheet (no added oil, no foil).
8. Bake for about 30 minutes.
9. While your chicken is in the oven, start your sauce.
   • Grate the garlic and the ginger
   • In a sauce pan, over medium heat, add all of the ingredients and stir.
   • Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
   • Keep an eye, the sauce will bubble and start to reduce.
   • Taste and adjust as you see fit.
   • When it’s perfect, remove from the heat.
10. The wings will begin to turn golden brown.
11. Flip the wings and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
12. Toss the wings in the sauce.
13. Sprinkle reserved lime zest over sauced chicken.

One word. BOOM!

 

 

 

© 2017 by Alexa Mason. All Rights Reserved

Quick Pork and Cabbage Gyoza

I am madly in love with any type of dumpling. Gyoza, potstickers, shumai. You name it, I’ll eat it. Little pockets of love, if you ask me.

 

I usually make my dough from scratch….until I bought my first pack of wrappers and well, work smarter and not harder.

 

For this recipe you will want to use your seasoned cast iron skillet for the traditional steam-fry-steam technique that yields a simultaneously crispy yet soft exterior.

 

I cooked this tonight on the fly so the measurements are not exact but you can freeze any leftover wrappers or leftover filling and use it another night. I do this all of the time.

Also, the lovely thing about making dumplings is that you really don’t have to stay true to any one recipe. Use what you have on hand!

 

Gyoza

Pack of gyoza (or wonton) skins

¼ to ½ lb of ground pork (you can substitute finely chopped shrimp, ground chicken, etc)

1-2 cup of finely shredded cabbage

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 in knob of ginger, grated

1 tbsp of sesame oil

1 tsp of low sodium soy sauce

Splash of fish sauce

 

Dipping Sauce

½ c low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp light brown sugar

½ tsp sesame oil

1 tsp of water

chopped scallion, crushed red pepper (optional)

 

• Combine these ingredients
• Scoop a scant tsp onto the skin
• Dampen your finger with water and moisten the lip of the wrapper
• Fold up the dumpling and seal. (Visit Lizzie Tilchin and check out different ways to seal these babies!)
• Heat your cast iron skillet and using a napkin wipe it down with your preferred cooking oil and a bit of sesame oil.
• Place your dumplings onto the hot skillet for about 10-15 seconds until the bottoms begin to crisp up
• Then pour about 2/3 cup of water into the skillet and cover tightly
• Let this cook for about 4-5 minutes.

© 2016 by Alexa Mason. All Rights Reserved