EZ’s Recipes is officially getting a makeover. Starting with a new name: Granny Franny’s Kitchen. My mother is going to help contribute recipes to the blog, as she is an amazing cook with much to share. Please stay tuned for new recipes! 
Changes are Coming…
Filed under Emily
Long Time, No See…
Hello, readers and friends! Merry Christmas!
I am so very sorry for the long silence here on my blog. It’s been a rough year, dealing with realities such as divorce. Arthur, Libby and I moved in with my parents a few months ago; we’re enjoying the safe haven that they have provided for us (not to mention the extra Dachshunds… my mom has 2 as well!) while I’ve been figuring things out and have been getting back on my feet financially and emotionally. I’ve come a long way in a short period of time!
This has been a time of growth and reflection while I am trying to make some major life decisions. There’s a lot to look forward to in the New Year, including getting back in the kitchen and rediscovering my love for writing about it. In the meantime, I appreciate your understanding and patience this holiday season. I am sorry that I am not posting fun new recipes this holiday season, but hopefully last year’s recipes will tide you over!
My goal for 2012 is to start posting regularly again. I look forward to it.
Again, Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year. See you soon!
Xoxo,
Emily R.
(My last name no longer begins with “Z”… I am trying to decide if I should just keep the blog name as is, or come up with something different… I am open to suggestions!)
Filed under Emily
Fettuccine with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce
This is something I have made twice now in recent history for our dinners with Cory. He, actually, gave me the recipe, which he got from his mom. This is delicious. I mean, who doesn’t love the flavor combination of tomato and basil?!? I highly recommend this!
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces fettuccine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (or to make this vegetarian, I have used vegetable broth)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 pound tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1/3 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
- 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. In large skillet, combine cream, broth, and oil. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat and simmer vigorously for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and basil and continue to simmer for 1 minute more.
2. While sauce is simmering, cook fettuccine. Drain well and toss in skillet with Parmesan cheese and sauce to coat well.
Filed under Basil, Fettuccine, Pasta, Tomato, Vegetarian
Italian Meatloaf
Is it July already? Wow. So much for my goal to post more recipes in June. Please forgive me!
I’ve made this dish twice now… once for the Handsome Husband and our friend Cory, and a second time for a recent party with an Italian food theme. I am glad I made this twice before posting about it because the second time, it came out so much better. The first time, the cheese burned. So the second time I made this, I waited until about 10 or 15 minutes before it was to be taken out of the oven and added the cheese at that point. It worked out so much better that way, the cheese was just slightly browned and was ooey gooey deliciousness. Mmmm.
I also didn’t shape it in a roasting pan, I just used my small Pyrex dish I always use for meatloaf. Either way this is fantastic and it was a huge hit at the party. I was pleased that there was nothing left to take home at the end of the night!
I got this from Reeni over at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice.
Ingredients:
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 fire roasted red pepper, diced
- olive oil, for sauteing
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 vine-ripened tomato, diced
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 + 1/4 pounds ground beef or turkey
- 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 + 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1. Heat a skillet with enough oil to cover bottom of pan over medium-low heat, add onion and pepper, saute until tender. Add garlic, saute until fragrant; add tomato and Italian seasoning, saute 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl whisk together egg, 1/3 cup tomato sauce and Worcestershire. Add ground meat, bread crumbs, black pepper, Parmesan and sautéed vegetables. Combine with a fork; mix in 1 cup of mozzarella.
3. In a large, greased roasting pan form the meat into a loaf (or a meatloaf-sized Pyrex dish like I use). Spread the remaining 1/2 cup sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella (however, remember, this is where I’ve opted to wait to add the cheese until 10-15 minutes toward the end of baking!). Bake about 45 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle. Let set five minutes before serving.
Spaghetti with Stir Fried Veggies
As I mentioned not too long ago, my new next door neighbors have been giving me their excess produce. He works for a local produce company that distributes to restaurants and businesses in the local areas. He brings home so much, that they have twice now passed their extras on to me. This last go around, the extras consisted of TWO BOXES of delicious produce. And me, wanting to waste as little of it as possible, has been doing some fun and creative cooking without the use of a cookbook.
Some of this produce is things that it just somehow does not occur to me to get at the grocery store… fresh green beans and broccoli, for example. In my mind I always think I hate broccoli. But maybe my taste buds have changed, because I have really been enjoying it as of late.
While sometimes I like the guidance of a cookbook, I have also discovered how fun it can be to just use my brain and be creative. I have made stir fried chicken and green beans with orzo. I’ve made pasta with spinach. I’ve made Asian-esque stir fry with chicken, broccoli, bell peppers, and brown rice. I throw in whatever spices sound good (a lot of red pepper flakes in some of these meals!).
Last night I made spaghetti with broccoli, bell pepper, red onion, and garlic. Threw in some Lawry salt and crushed red pepper. It came out spicy and delicious. I was quite proud of myself! And while I realize that this is not necessarily an original creation, it is to me… so I thought I would share my recipe! Bear in mind, I used my discretion as to how much I thought would work for two people. So I didn’t use exact measurements. But anyone can do the same!
I have to admit, I am quite proud of my creative cooking as of late! And I would think that at least some of these delicious dishes that I have been throwing together fit well into the “heart healthy” category as well!
Ingredients:
- Spaghetti
- Broccoli florets (smaller ones)
- Red pepper, diced
- Red onion, diced
- Garlic, minced (2 or 3 cloves)
- A few sprinkles of Lawry salt
- A few pinches of crushed red pepper
1. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.
2. While waiting for the water to boil and the pasta to cook, stir fry the vegetables. I started with the onions and garlic, until the onions softened. Then I added the red bell pepper, and finally the broccoli. Stir fry on medium high until the pasta is finished. Then, toss the cooked pasta in with the vegetables, so it gets coated and everything is mixed in well.
3. Serve.
Filed under Broccoli, Health, Pasta, Spaghetti, Vegetarian
Upstate Minestrone Soup
I realize that summertime is not an ideal time to be making hearty soups. I made this a few weeks ago; as I mention quite a bit, our friend Cory comes over and has dinner with us frequently. He’d been telling me about this minestrone recipe that his mom makes for months. Between the two of us, he kept forgetting to send me the recipe, and I kept forgetting to remind him to send it to me. Well, he finally remembered to send it to me, and we agreed that while it was out of season, it would still be delicious. And it was.
At least in May it was still a little cooler than it is turning out to be in June… but this could be easily bookmarked for a cool fall day. I will definitely be making it again!
While also out of season, if you like this, you might also like my Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini (click on the link). This is definitely one reason to look forward to cooler weather!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 teaspoon crumbled basil
- 2 small zucchini, sliced
- 1 can (1 pound) Italian pear tomatoes, chopped, undrained
- 2 cans (10 3/4 oz) beef broth
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 can (1 pound) great northern beans, undrained
Slice sausage about 1/2 inch thick; brown in oil in saucepan. Add onion, garlic, carrots, and basil; cook for 5 minutes. Add zucchini, tomatoes, bouillon, cabbage, salt and pepper. Bring soup to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Add beans; cook another 20 minutes. Garnish with parsley.
Filed under Italian Sausage, Minestrone, Soup, Tomato, Zucchini
Chicken Paprika
I am sorry that I have not been posting much. As every month begins, I feel hopeful that this fresh month will be the month I get back into gear with my writing and start posting more. But each month goes by quicker than I expect it to, and at the end of each month, I realize I’ve been slacking. Badly. I know it’s bad when readers of mine that I exchange comments with are starting to worry about me due to my silence.
I am not ready to talk about why I’ve been in such a funk this year. But rest assured, the Handsome Husband and I are healthy and are trying to stay optimistic in light of some unexpected challenges that have come up for us this year. I hope someday soon we will have some happy news that snaps me out of things and I am back to posting several recipes a week. In the meantime though, I thank you for your patience, and I am thankful for those of you who care enough to check in on me, even without knowing what is going on. It is so nice to know that you have people out there who care about you, even people you’ve never even met.
I didn’t want May to end without posting at least one more recipe. So here you go. This is something my mother-in-law gave me to try. We ate this with our friend Cory, and we all liked it. I served it with orzo and a healthy salad.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into strips
- 2 1/2 teaspoons paprika, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium chopped onion
- 1 – 14.5 oz can undrained, no salt added or regular, diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- Chopped fresh parsley, if desired
1. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the paprika, salt, and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes per side, or until browned. Remove chicken from skillet.
3. Add onion to skillet; cook and stir 6 minutes or until softened. Stir in tomatoes and remaining paprika. Bring to a boil.
4. Return chicken and accumulated liquid to skillet. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Stir in half-and-half until well-blended. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.
BLT Pasta Revisited
The first recipe I posted for BLT Pasta was such a hit that when I saw this one posted on another blog, I wanted to try it out and compare.
The biggest difference, is in the other recipe, “L” is for “Linguine”, which was a clever move. But in this one, the spinach fits as the “Lettuce” in “BLT”. This version seems a little lighter, perhaps more summery, than the other version, which is a little heavier with the creamy texture of it. This recipe requires a little more cleanup as you use more than one pot/pan. The other one, part of the draw to it was also the “one-pot” concept, less muss and fuss.
For having the same name, these recipes are just different enough that they’re unique. And they’re both delicious. What stands out in both of them is the bacon flavor in the pasta. Yum! My Handsome Husband liked this version better… although, we both agreed that it seemed like it could use a little bit more something, more of a kick. We added some salt for flavor this time, but next time, I think I will throw in some garlic, or red pepper flakes. It just needed a little bit more “zazz”, as he put it. I am a little bit partial to the first recipe because I love the creaminess of it. But don’t get me wrong, both are delicious!
For those of you who have tried the first recipe… I would be curious to hear your thoughts and comparisons about this one!
I got this version from Baking Serendipity.
Ingredients:
- 1 box whole wheat penne pasta
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 8 slices turkey bacon
- big handful of spinach, destemmed
- drizzle of olive oil
- parmesan cheese
Fry turkey bacon. Set aside. Chop tomatoes into bite sized pieces. Chop spinach finely (I did not chop mine, I just de-stemmed and left the leaves whole). Set aside. Cook and drain pasta. Toss with olive oil, bacon, tomatoes, spinach and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Greek-Style Pasta with Ground Beef
I am so excited. We have new neighbors next door and the husband works for a local produce company. He brings produce home for his wife, but they get so much, she never knows what to do with it all. So, she brought a bunch over to me! I now have a drawer full of spinach, broccoli, bell peppers, avocados, an artichoke, cucumbers, tomatoes, and jalapeno peppers. This is great because, in order to not waste all of these wonderful vegetables, I need to be creative, and I need to cook them ASAP! This is yet another kick-start I needed in order to do some more cooking… that, and, my painting projects around the house are mostly finished. So I have a little more time.
In spite of how it looks between this and my last recipe, I am not constantly eating Greek food right now. This recipe that I am posting is something else that I cooked a few weeks ago, but am just now getting around to posting. But, same as the last recipe that I posted, this was so good, I have already made it twice. And will make it again in the near future. And I strongly recommend this to anyone! While I cannot say whether this is authentically Greek, it has enough Greek touches to it that I will pretend that it is. The cinnamon makes the kitchen smell so wonderful as it is cooking, and it also adds such fantastic flavor. I had enough left over that I got to have this for lunch the next day as well… and even reheating in the microwave, the room was again filled with the smell of the cinnamon.
My Handsome Husband and our friend Cory both loved this as well. I’d say this was a huge hit all around!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 14.5 ounces reduced sodium beef broth
- 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta
- 1 1/2 cups frozen leaf spinach
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
1. Cook the ground beef and onion in a large skillet on medium-high heat until the beef is no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Drain fat. Add oregano, cinnamon, and garlic powder; mix well.
2. Stir in broth, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook for 10 minutes or until pasta is nearly tender. Stir in spinach and 1/2 cup of the feta cheese. Cover. Cook for 5 minutes longer or until pasta is tender.
3. Sprinkle with remaining feta cheese. Cover. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve.
Greek Chicken and Spinach Casserole
I am sorry that I still have not been posting very much. Remember a month or so ago when I said that some personal stuff was going on that was distracting me from my love of cooking? Well, that stuff is still going on. And probably will be for a while. And to keep my unemployed self busy while this stuff is going on, I have also taken on some home improvement projects, such as repainting my kitchen and bathrooms, which is taking away from my cooking as well. We’ve been getting a lot of repeat meals since I’ve been too preoccupied to try new stuff!
I will be done with that, soon, at least, so hopefully will get to posting some more recipes in the near future. Hopefully May will be a more productive month blog-wise. But, I can’t guarantee anything seeing as I have no idea what the next few months have in store. This has been a very challenging year for my Handsome Husband and myself. Hopefully some good news is in store for us… we need it!
I wanted to at least finish the month of April off with a recipe. This is something I made a few weeks ago (yes, and I am just now posting it… see what I mean?!?). I found it in a newspaper and thought it sounded delicious. I was right! I’ve actually made it twice now and plan to make it again soon. It’s pretty simple and easy, and so delicious. Fits right in with all of that heart health stuff, too!
I was a lot more liberal with the almonds and the feta than the recipe called for. And I am glad I was! They add a lot of flavor!
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms – which, as always, I had to omit because of my mushroom-hating husband. Grrr!
- 1 cup frozen, chopped spinach
- 1 cup quick-cooking brown rice, uncooked
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 1/4 cup unsalted chicken broth or stock
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup reduced-fat feta cheese
- 2 Tablespoons slivered almonds – however, I did not measure these out. I just sprinkled a liberal handful… it made sense to do so!
1. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are wilted, about three minutes. Stir in mushrooms and cook until vegetables are tender, about 3 to 5 minutes more. Stir in spinach and cook until spinach is thawed and wilted and any moisture evaporates. Remove from heat and pour into prepared casserole dish. Stir in rice, and seasonings.
3. Return skillet to medium-high heat and add remaining teaspoon of olive oil. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, 5 to 6 minutes, or until chicken is lightly browned. Spoon chicken into rice mixture in casserole and stir. Pour chicken stock over all.
4. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
5. After 30 minutes, uncover. Drizzle with the lemon juice and sprinkle top with feta and almonds. Bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes, or until fully cooked and almonds are toasted. (although for me, after more than 10 minutes, and my almonds were still barely toasted, I went ahead and took it out!)
