Scrumptious Oatmeal Bread for Bread Machines

HT: Bread Machine Cookbook

Place into the pan of your bread machine, in this order:

1 cup of old-fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
1 1/2 cup water
3 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut up
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
3 cups of bread flour
6 tbsp. powdered buttermilk
2 tsp. dry yeast (I use RedStar brand)

If you have fresh buttermilk, substitute equal amount for the water and omit powdered buttermilk, of course.
Close lid; Cycle-Normal; Loaf-1.5 lbs, Crust-Medium. Press Start.
During the first kneading cycle, check dough consistency--depending on time of the year, altitude or humidity levels, you might have to either add some more water or sprinkle a bit of bread flour on top, but do not overdo it, this is a fairly wet dough. It bakes up nice and tall, very soft, and tastes awesome with butter and jam as a breakfast alongside some fresh cafe au lait...

I cannot thank our good friend Phelonius (of the blog Sciolist Salmagundi) and his lovely wife enough for gifting me a bread machine two years ago! Yay!

Ash Wednesday Dinner in a Pinch

Take 1 package of Barilla ricotta-spinach raviolis, prepare according to package directions;drain. Do not rinse.
Mix in same pot it was cooked with 2-3 tablespoons of fresh butter; couple of generous grindings of black pepper, 1-2 dashes od garlilc granules and 1-2 pinches of hot Aleppo peppers. Mix.
Shave some good hard Parmeggiano-Reggiano on top when serving and dot with some more butter. Serve piping hot so shavings and butter melts.

Spinach-Tomato Bowtie Pasta with Poultry

Adjust as needed, this is for a generous four. Very good for using leftovers.

Saute 2 tbsp garlic in sunflower oil (I used pureed garlic from a jar I picked up ages ago at a Middle Eastern market, it lasts forever and SO economical). Add 1 box of chopped frozen spinach, lightly thawed. Stir and saute for about 5-8 minutes on medium heat until soft. Add 1 tsp. curry powder and 1 generous pinch of ginger. Stir. Add 1/2 of a box of cherry or grape tomatoes, whatever you have. Stir and saute a bit more. If to dry, add 1 slosh of white wine.
Cube up about 1/2 lbs cooked chicken or turkey (I had some rotisserie turkey courtesy of The Marmot, aka The Rotisserie God, bless him) and toss in. Heat through until it sizzles merrily. Add 1/2 lbs cooked bowtie pasta (I had this already in the fridge as a leftover), stir, season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, more curry or ginger if so desired and some more wine if it's still dry. Cook for about 5 more minutes and serve in pasta bowls with grated Parmeggiano on top.

Seared Chicken Tenderloin with Creamy Mushroom-Goat Cheese Sauce

Adjust amounts as needed; I made this for two.

1.Mix about 2-3 tbsp. all-purpose flour with freshly ground black pepper and any spice mix that strikes your fancy (today I used Penzeys’4S Seasoned Salt). Pat 5-6 chicken tenderloins dry and coat with the flour mixture.

2. Melt 2 tbs. butter and add 2 tbsp olive oil in a heavy skillet (I used my 9-inch new Chef’s skillet from Calphalon’s Hard-Anodized Professional line…mmm). When butter is sizzling, on medium-high heat, plop tenderloins into skillet, nicely arranged. You’ll most likely need to do this in 2 batches, as I could only fit 3 ion the skillet if I wanted them to sear-sauté properly. They will need about 3 minutes per side: check to see if they are nice and rosy before taking them out of the skillet. Place on plate; keep warm. Repeat with remaining tenderloins.

3. Keep skillet on medium heat. Add in 1 small box of sliced mushrooms (I used normal white buttons). Sprinkle with fresh garlic or garlic powder, whatever you find in your pantry (I had the powder only this week). Sauté mushrooms down until almost all the liquid is gone. Pour in a slosh of red wine or Marsala, cook it down again: with medium-high it will take about am minute. Now toss in some fresh parsley, coarsely chopped. Pour in some heavy cream to form a semi-runny sauce, wait until bubbly, and then add 1-2 teaspoons of fresh soft goat cheese. Cook until starts to thicken, about 1 minute more.

4. Add the tenderloins and heat through.

Serve over rice or steamed vegetables. I actually had it with leftover coleslaw and sopped up the juices with some pita bread; The Husband just ate it out of the skillet…