Mostaccioli or Baked "Spaghetti"

How many of us added a twist to an old school recipe; and I literally mean an old SCHOOL recipe...Remember those baked mostaccioli or spaghetti you would eat at lunch on hot lunch days well I took the recipe to the next level...

When I decided to go on this health kick a few years back and was only allowed 1 cheat day this was one of items on the menu. I start with chopping 1-2 cups of green peppers, onions, and set them to the side. Next I brown 1.5lbs of ground turkey (truthfully you could use any type of ground meat) and remove the casing and brown some Italian sausage either turkey or combo meat sweet and hot. While that is browning I then start the boil on the noodles (Penne, Fusilli, Farfalle, Rotini which are defined later),  no I am not that fancy that I make my own pasta I will get there one day VERY VERY soon. After the pasta is created and the meat is brown with the grease and a tablespoon of butter you add the green peppers and onions to the skillet. All the while I take tomatoes and dice them and also puree some to make my sauce along with adding 2 tablespoons of basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage, garlic powder, seasoning salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and the secret ingredient to tone down the bitterness of the tomatoes a pinch of sugar. In a pan combine ALL ingredients: sauce, meat, pasta, vegetable into a pan along with shredded mild cheese and cube Colby cheese and top it off with shredded Mozzarella then baked for 45mins to 1 hour and let chill enough to spoon onto serving dish and enjoy.

Now I know there is no way that any one's cafeteria actually did ALL of this which is why it's an old SCHOOL recipe with a twist called Ari's Mostaccioli. *takes bow I hope you enjoy this recipe and add your own twist to make it your own. 

The different types of pasta, descriptions and literal translations if applicable:

Fusilli

Three-edged spiral, usually in mixed colors, many vendors and brands sold as Fusilli are two-edged

From the diminutive of fuso (spindle), relating to the idea of a cylindrical rotating object Little spindles.

Penne

Medium length tubes with ridges, cut diagonally at both ends

Pens (after a quill pen)

Ziti	Long, narrow hose-like tubes

Farfalle

Bow tie or butterfly shaped

Butterflies

Rotini

2-edged spiral, tightly wound, some vendors and brands are 3-edged and sold as Rotini

UGLY Sweater Run

 7

*sighs Where do I begin well I guess from the beginning.............THIS RUN WAS NO JOKE for me but apparently to others it served as a reason to come out with family and friends to just enjoy every one's company.  It all began with a lonely road...LOL let me stop it began with a plethora of people. Here's the VIDEO http://youtu.be/GzeNA66SGvo The run was approximately 3.1 miles long on city streets.  Runners and walkers dress up in their worst holiday sweaters, maybe have some holiday drinks before lining up at the start line.   It started in waves because of the amount of people participating, I was in the 3rd wave so my start was a little bit later than a expected. So I started out VERY VERY strong doing my best time ever 12:57 Mile 1 marker 13:17 Mile 2 marker cause I decided to stop and grab a cup of warm cocoa and 13:00 Mile 3...actually finishing really strong. I am glad that I did the run and actually am signing up for another run which is the Shamrock Shuffle....110 days n counting for training...

But back to the ugly Sweater Run I did the race with my best Buddy Tyree of course he finished WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY before me but did an excellent job at encouraging me along the way. The weather was also a challenge but thank goodness for thermal running clothes. It was a beautiful 31 F.  After finishing I treated myself to some well deserved Chipotle!!! 

Full Circle

Its been approximately a year since I started this Blog and unfortunately I haven't given it the justice that I was suppose to.  Partly because I deviated from the plan and got a promotion which eliminated a lot of the free time I would have had for the Fit/EatRight/CookBetter Challenge that I set for myself a year ago. However I did accomplish somethings that I normally would not have for example applying to appear on Food Network: Chopped or going to the casting call for Master Chef and Hell's Kitchen; although nothing resulted from those without trying to take my cooking to the next level I would have never had the guts to even try. I  might not get out as much as would like working out but when I do I go hard and challenge myself even more. For example I plan to do the Ugly Sweater Run 5K on November 24 and I would love the support of my family and friends there to cheer me on.   



I have also perfected some recipes that I originally started cooking that need a little fine tuning which are pictured here:  

Beef with Broccoli 
Chicken with Broccoli 






Most people order either of these when they go to a Chinese restaurant and with me its one of the only things I will order from ChiTung restaurant in Chicago on 95th and Kedzie.

For the Beef I used a Flank Steak, trimmed and thinly sliced against the grain and for the Chicken I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced against the grain. Now for a long time I questioned what it meant to cut against the grain and as I started working with different types of meat I found out how important it was to cut against the grain. Some cuts of meat have distinct lines in them. Flank steak, skirt steak, brisket and London broil are good examples. These long lines are fibers running through the meat, and they are difficult to chew through. These cuts of meat are usually sliced (before or after cooking) in a way that fibers are cut through. In this way, the meat becomes more tender and easy to eat. Lines are running from right to left down the length of the steak. If you slice this steak in the same direction as those lines, you'll have to chew through the fibers. Whereas if you cut across the lines, the knife will have already done that work. Think of it similarly to slicing a stalk of celery. The strings are less likely to get caught in your teeth if you cut those strings into smaller lengths. In case you were ever wondering about that. 

One other key item that I had to search for and actually order online was Chinese Rice Wine it is not something that is carried in any stores here in Chicago (specialty or regular grocery store) what I was using originally would be Rice Wine Vinegar which would add a lot of bitterness to the dish. I also experimented with the different sauces clear and brown. Well here are the recipes for you all to try at home just remember the few little tweaks I had to go through in order to get it the proper way....

For the Marinate:
Whisk 1 egg white, 1 tablespoon Chinese Rice Wine and 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Toss with your protein; cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Prep 3 cups of Vegetables
Baby Corn
Water Chestnuts
Broccoli Florets
Quartered Mushroom Caps

For the Clear Sauce
Mix 3/4 cup chicken broth, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons Chinese Rice Wine, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the Brown Sauce
Mix 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, soy sauce,  hoisin sauce, and Chinese Rice Wine

Drain the excess marinade from the protein. Place sauce, vegetables and protein near the stove. Heat peanut or vegetable oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the protein; slowly stir until almost opaque (about 1 minute). Add 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 2 minced scallions and a pinch of salt and sugar. Add the vegetable starting with the ones that take the longest to cook and stir until crisp tender. Add the sauce and stir until the sauce thickens and the vegetables and protein are cooked thoroughly. 

Its been a Minute...Sprouts and Chops

Although I have cooked so infrequently thanks to the advance in my position I now have 2 FT jobs and therefore any free time that I do have goes towards sleep. Over the last 3 weeks however I have come across some very interesting recipes that I will definitely give a try. The most recent recipe that I came across and actually attempted was a recipe for Brussels Sprouts. Now I know what you're thinking WHY IN THE WORLD would I want to eat that it gross. Well that's cause you haven't learned about the secret ingredient...BACON... I swear bacon makes everything taste so much better.

So I started with seasoning the pork chop with Italian Seasoning Lemon Pepper and cayenne pepper and then placed it in a cast iron skillet with a little bit of olive oil with a mixture of canola oil so that it wont stick to the pan and placed them in the oven to get it that overall crunchy taste.

Then a skillet I started with sliced thick bacon with the rind on in the skillet from there I removed the bacon and left the grease and fat behind. I then washed and cut the sprouts in half and basically seared them in the bacon fat and oil. While I was preparing that I also put some white rice on with Chicken broth and butter. After about 15 minutes the sprouts and the  rice were done. I had put the chicken on for about 45 minutes or so.