Pasta with Chicken, Kale & Mushrooms
Pasta, chicken, kale, mushrooms and whatever else is in the fridge. The other day I found a recipe for chicken soup with mushrooms. It sounded delicious and I was planning on making it. However, Scott only eats soup on a cold blustery day (yes, this is true!) and it happened to be a nice sunny day.
I’m not one to waste ingredients, so I wondered, what else could I make? I’ve been trying to use up tons of my veggies in the fridge and so I decided to whip up a quick pasta! This is so easy and filling. You can easily make it on the boat for a crowd! Enjoy!
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Pasta with Chicken, Kale & Mushrooms
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There is a lot more in this pasta than chicken, kale and mushrooms. In fact, you could add any of your favorite veggies too! This is a very rich and hearty dish, perfect for cold boating season.
Instructions
Cook pasta according to the directions, drain and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add onions and mushrooms. Saute' until tender, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic, bacon and kale. Season with Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Add chicken stock and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add whipping cream and chicken and blend well. Cook for another 5 minutes until thickened. To make the sauce thicker, in a small bowl, whisk corn starch with 2 tbsp. of water and add to skillet. Add cooked pasta to the mixture and mix in parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Butternut Squash is a Fall Favorite Dish
It has been so hot and dry this summer in Seattle that everyone is just waiting for the changing of seasons. Finally it got into the 50’s yesterday and I was ready to make a Fall dish. I grow lots of sage, so I decided it was time for my roasted butternut squash ravioli.
Normally, this isn’t a recipe you would prepare on a boat. You could though, since you only need two burners, so I decided to share it with everyone. At home, we have a Cuisinart SmartPower Duet Blender
& Processor which is much smaller than a regular food processor. It would work great on a boat, based on it’s size. I also don’t make the raviolis from scratch, I use won ton wrappers. They are much easier and lighter than traditional pasta dough.
I like to pair this with my super greens roasted beet, walnut & blue cheese salad for a elegant meal.
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Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce
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This ravioli dish is rich and elegant for any dinner party. The butternut squash has a light sweetness to it and topped with the brown butter sauce this is a great comfort food dish.
Instructions
Roasted Butternut Squash
Pre-heat oven to 375º. Spread squash evenly on a foiled cooking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place 3 garlic cloves (peel on) on the same cookie sheet. Bake for about 35 minutes until tender.
Ravioli
Place roasted squash & garlic cloves with remaining filling ingredients (except won ton wrappers) in food processor and puree until smooth. You may have to do this step in two batches, depending on the size of your food processor. Line a cookie sheet with non-stick foil. Place one won ton wrapper on a non stick surface. Brush edges with water and place a heaping teaspoon of puree in the center. Take another wrapper, brush the edges with water and place carefully on top of the wrapper with the puree. Seal edges tightly using your fingers and then crimp edges with a fork.
Line a cookie sheet with non-stick foil. Place prepared raviolis and repeat until you make 16 or more raviolis. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a subtle boil. Boil raviolis for about 4-5 minutes on medium. (You want the raviolis to boil gently so they do not break open). Carefully drain by removing the individual raviolis with a strainer onto serving plates (do not dump into a colander).
Sage Brown Butter Sauce
Once raviolis begin to boil, begin making the butter sauce. Place the stick of butter in the center of a 12" saute' pan and melt on medium high. Once the butter starts to get frothy, stir in sage leaves (they will fry in the butter), nutmeg, salt and pepper. Continue cooking for about 1-2 minutes until it is caramel in color and nutty. Pour sauce over raviolis, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and serve immediately.
Skillet Baked Eggs – The perfect boat breakfast
Anyone who knows me (Ally), knows I love to cook and breakfast is one of my favorite meals. At home, I can easily have three skillets going during breakfast. On a boat that’s impossible and so over the past few weeks I have been experimenting with different breakfast dishes.
I also love eggs and have to throw in my opinion on the best eggs you can find in a grocery store. Honestly, I brag so much about these eggs, they should hire me! What are they? Happy Eggs! Yes, they are more expensive than regular store brand eggs, but they are worth every penny! These eggs taste just like the eggs we used to have growing up. We raised our own chickens and over the years I have had a hard time finding those same eggs. Try a dozen and you will never go back!
This skillet baked egg recipe is simple and easy to prepare at home or on a boat. Mix in your favorite meat and garnish with cheese and an avocado. The perfect breakfast!
Another favorite breakfast recipe of mine is homemade English Muffins! When you are cruising long distances, items like bread are limited. This easy recipe makes twelve plus muffins to feed your hungry boaters.
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Skillet Baked Eggs with Potato Hash
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Mix in your favorite meat and garnish with cheese and an avocado. I love to buy the mini avocados, as they are the perfect serving size. It's the perfect breakfast!
Instructions
Heat olive oil in an 8" skillet and pour in potatoes and sausage slices. Season with salt and pepper. Allow potatoes and sausage to brown on all sides and cook for about 6 minutes. Make two small wells in the potatoes and crack each egg into the well. Let cook for about 2 minutes and cover with a lid. Cook for about another 2 minutes for medium well eggs. Garnish with shredded cheese and sliced avocado.
This Greek bruschetta recipe is very easy, elegant and perfect for serving as an appetizer. Garnish it with your favorite olives (Whole Foods has a great olive bar) and marinated artichoke hearts for an elegant dish.
I will make it ahead of time and after boating I’ll serve it with pita bread or crackers. It’s the perfect hot summer day treat and pairs great with a chilled glass of Rosé.
We recently had friends on the boat after work and ended up enjoying this as dinner.
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Greek Bruschetta
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This Greek bruschetta is very flavorful and you can make it ahead of time. Perfect for boating or an elegant cocktail party.
Instructions
Carefully combine tomatoes, onion, cucumber, feta with olive oil. Season with salt & pepper. Place bruschetta in center of serving platter and garnish on both sides with olives and artichoke hearts. Serve with warm pita bread or pita crackers.
Leek & Potato Frittata
Leek & Potato Frittata is great for any mea. We use our Xpress Redi Set Go Oven (which is now called Xpress Platinum Countertop Cooker
) on the boat for many different dishes. It works great for egg dishes like omelets and frittatas. This hearty frittata has Yukon gold potatoes in it and so it’s great for any meal including dinner.
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Leek & Potato Frittata
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This hearty frittata is great for breakfast or dinner (or lunch!). You will need to pre-cook the potatoes and leeks ahead of time, but it's worth the extra step.
Instructions
Bring potatoes to a boil and cook until just tender. (Do not overcook them). Drain and let cool. Carefully cut slices into quarters.
Sauté leeks, mushrooms & prociutto in olive oil and season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook until leeks are tender. Let cool.
Whisk milk with beaten eggs. Carefully fold the potatoes, leeks, mushrooms, prociutto and shredded cheese into egg mixture.
Spray Redi Set Go Oven with cooking spray on both sides. Pour in egg mixture and cook until center is done, about 15 minutes. Cut into quarters and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
If you are using a sauté pan:
Pre-Heat oven to 400º. Heat pan on stovetop on medium high and pour in egg mixture. Let cook about 3 minutes and transfer pan to oven. Cook for another 15 minutes until center is fully cooked.
Authentic Jerk Sauce from the Caribbean
There are many recipes out there for jerk sauces and I have tried many of them. Since Scott and I travel to the Caribbean every year, I know the flavor I am wanting and none of the recipes I ever tried mimicked what we had in the Caribbean.
Finally, we met a cook in Jamaica that gave me his secret recipe, which is very rare. I’ve made some slight changes to it (for example, I don’t use cinnamon sticks in my blender) to finally get the flavor I want. It’s the real deal and awesome!
I love to pair this recipe with many of my Caribbean recipes such as my Caribbean Slaw and Black Bean Salad.
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Grilled Jerk Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes
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These grilled jerk pork chops are very flavorful and are bit spicy. The heat is not overbearing and they pair perfect with sweet potatoes.
Ingredients
Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes
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Instructions
Jerk Sauce
Puree all of the jerk sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth. The sauce will be very green.
Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes
Pour the jerk sauce into a zip lock bag and marinate the pork chops for up to 24 hours.
Pre-Heat Grill to med-high.
Remove the pork chops from marinade and bring to room temperature for about 20 minutes before grilling.
Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes and slice into 1" slices. Place potatoes in cool water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes until they are slightly tender, but not falling apart. Strain potatoes and brush them with olive oil. Sprinkle Emeril's Essence spice and kosher salt on all sides.
Grill pork chops on medium high for about 10 minutes or until internal temperature is 135º.
Grill sweet potatoes for about 3 minutes are on each side. Serve immediately.
Sausage & Potato Foil Pack – Great Meals on a Boat!
A very easy meal to prepare on a boat is a foil pack. These are so versatile with a variety of ingredients & easy cleanup. One of our favorite combinations is sausage, potato and beans. You can either cook the packs on your grill or if your boat has an oven, they are great baked as well.
Check out our recipe below!
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Sausage & Potato Foil Packs
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This combination of sausage, potatoes, onions and beans are the perfect all in one meal!
Instructions
In a small bowl, combine olive oil with spices. Make four foil packs with heavy duty foil, double thickness about 12" x 12".
In a large bowl, toss all ingredients with olive oil mixture to blend well. Divide sliced sausage and chopped vegetables equally and place in the center of each foil pack. Seal each pack tightly. Grill on med high to high for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Recipe Notes
If baking the foil packs, bake at 425º for about 20 minutes.
Grilled Tenderloin Steaks – the perfect dinner!
We love grilled tenderloin steaks. Recently, I have been buying O Organic grass fed steaks at Safeway. Besides the fact that they are grass fed, I love the fact that they are the perfect size for a meal. Ever notice when you go to buy a steak it could feed three people?
These steaks are obviously more expensive per pound, but typically I can buy a package of two steaks for less than $12. In addition, they are easy to pack for a weekend on the boat since they are sealed tight.
Our Magma grill on the boat does not have a large surface space. Grilling smaller steaks allows for other food items to be grilled too. We also use a lava stone from Island Grillstone. These come in 6″ x 12″ or 12″x12″ and we use the smaller one on the boat. See below.
Pair these steaks with red potatoes & spinach for a complete meal! Enjoy!
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Grilled Tenderloin Steak
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Instructions
Pre-heat grill. Combine all of the spices & garlic in a small bowl. Rinse and pat dry tenderloin steaks. Brush olive oil on all sides of the steaks and rub spices in evenly. Allow steaks to come to room temperature*.
Grill steaks to desired likeness. Medium rare = internal temperature of 120º. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
*Keep in mind, when you are on a boat in hot weather, do not leave any food items in hot sun.
A great summer time meal for boaters
Grilled salmon is one of our favorite meals. Since we are moored so close to the Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal, we love to pick up the catch of the day and grill it on the boat.
Recently, we were in Gig Harbor and we stopped by a spice shop called “For the Love of Spice“. They specialize in handmade spices and we bought “The Catch of the Day” spice for fish. Pair your fish with grilled summer vegetables and you have the perfect meal!
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Grilled Salmon with Summer Vegetables
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This is the perfect summer meal and it is easy to prepare!
Ingredients
Grilled Summer Vegetables
Ingredients
Grilled Summer Vegetables
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Instructions
Rinse and pat dry salmon. Rub 1 tbsp of olive oil on flesh side and rub in seafood spice all over. Set aside.
Combine 1 tbsp of olive oil with crushed red pepper flakes, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Toss olive oil mixture with chopped vegetables.
Light grill to high heat. Place veggie grilling basket on grill to heat up. Once pre-heated, grill the salmon to your liking. Put veggies in grilling basket and grill until tender. Serve salmon with lemon wedges and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Be sure you know if the water in your boat's holding tank is clean and safe for food prep. If not, use bottled water to rinse your seafood and vegetables. See my blog post about potable water.
We use a grilling stone made out of lava both at home and on the boat.) On the boat, we have a Magma Grill, which we love.
& Processor which is much smaller than a regular food processor. It would work great on a boat, based on it’s size. I also don’t make the raviolis from scratch, I use won ton wrappers. They are much easier and lighter than traditional pasta dough.
) on the boat for many different dishes. It works great for egg dishes like omelets and frittatas. This hearty frittata has Yukon gold potatoes in it and so it’s great for any meal including dinner.
