Double-Post Monday

Besides being Meatless Monday, it's also Double-Post Monday. Today's six recipes include Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo and Carrot Cake. Enjoy!

DULCE DE LECHE BANANA PIE

This yummy recipe, from Old El Paso, begins, “A flaky homemade pie crust complements a caramel and banana cream filling.”

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes; Prep Time: 20 minutes; 8 Servings; 10 Ingredients

To view this yumminess, go to https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/dulce-de-leche-banana-pie.

Ingredients

Crust

1 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening

2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

Filling

1 can (13.4 oz) dulce de leche

3 ripe medium bananas

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Instructions

Heat oven to 450°F. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and dough almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

On lightly floured surface, shape dough into a ball. Flatten ball to 1/2-inch thickness, rounding and smoothing edges. With floured rolling pin, roll dough into 11-inch round, rolling from center to edge. Fold dough in half; place in 9-inch glass pie plate. Unfold; gently press in bottom and up side of plate, being careful not to stretch dough.

Fold and roll edge of dough under, even with plate; flute edge. Prick bottom and side of dough generously with fork. Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Spoon contents of can of dulce de leche into center of cooled crust; gently spread to edge. Thinly slice bananas; arrange over dulce de leche.

In medium bowl, beat whipping cream and powdered sugar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Spread over bananas.

In small resealable freezer plastic bag, place chocolate chips and oil; seal bag. Microwave on High 30 seconds; knead bag to mix melted chips and unmelted chips. Microwave 15 to 30 seconds longer or until all chips are melted and smooth. Snip off tiny corner of bag. Pipe melted chocolate mixture over whipped cream. Store pie in refrigerator.

Expert Tips

Dulce de leche is a traditional Spanish confection made from milk. It's a popular culinary reference to rich caramel flavors. Look for canned dulce de leche in the Hispanic section of the supermarket.

CARROT CAKE

This comes from Alton Brown of the Food Network show Good Eats.

Total:2 hr 50 min; Prep: 40 min; Inactive: 1 hr; Cook: 1 hr 10 min; Yield: 1 (9-inch) cake; Level: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Unsalted butter, for the pan

12 ounces, approximately 2 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan

12 ounces grated carrots, medium grate, approximately 6 medium

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/3 cups

2 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup firmly packed

3 large eggs

6 ounces plain yogurt

6 ounces vegetable oil

Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.

With the processor still running drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese

2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

9 ounces powdered sugar, sifted, approximately 2 cups

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in 4 batches and beat until smooth between each addition.

Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Yield: approximately 2 cups

CHICKEN & BROCCOLI ALFREDO

This is from FamilyTime, and begins, “In just 30 minutes, you can serve this delectable dish, with a rich, satiny Alfredo sauce that coats chicken, broccoli and pasta.”

Serves: 4 servings (about 1 3/4 cups each); Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1/2 of a 1-pound package linguine

1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli florets

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast half, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Request®)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Prepare the linguine according to the package directions in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the broccoli during the last 4 minutes of the cooking time. Drain the linguine mixture well in a colander.

Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through, stirring often.

Stir the soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture in the skillet and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling, stirring occasionally. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Grilled Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo: Substitute grilled chicken breasts for the skinless, boneless chicken.

Shrimp & Broccoli Alfredo: Substitute 1 pound fresh extra large shrimp, shelled and deveined for the chicken. Cook as directed for the chicken above until the shrimp are cooked through.

Easy Substitution: You can substitute spaghetti or fettuccine for the linguine in this recipe.

Serving Suggestion: Serve wth a mixed green salad topped with orange sections, walnut pieces and raspberry vinaigrette. For dessert serve almond biscotti.

Ingredient Note: We develop our recipes using a 4-to 5-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast half per serving. However, there are a range of sizes available in-store, from the butcher counter to the meat case and the freezer section. Use whichever you prefer- just follow the recipe as written above for the best result. If you're using larger chicken breasts they may require a little longer cooking time.

PICADILLO

This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “Picadillo is one of the great dishes of the Cuban diaspora: a soft, fragrant stew of ground beef and tomatoes, with raisins added for sweetness and olives for salt. Versions of it exist across the Caribbean and into Latin America. This one combines ground beef with intensely seasoned dried Spanish chorizo in a sofrito of onions, garlic and tomatoes, and scents it with red-wine vinegar, cinnamon and cumin, along with bay leaves and pinches of ground cloves and nutmeg. For the olives you may experiment with fancy and plain, but rigorous testing here suggests the use of pimento-stuffed green olives is the best practice. A scattering of capers would be welcome as well.”

Yield: 6 servings; Time: 1 hour

This was featured in “The Ultimate Cuban Comfort Food: Picadillo”, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium-size yellow onions, peeled and chopped

2 ounces dried chorizo, diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and crushed

2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 bay leaves

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of nutmeg

2/3 cup raisins

2/3 cup pitted stuffed olives

Preparation

Put the olive oil in a large, heavy pan set over a medium-high flame, and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add onions, chorizo and garlic, stir to combine and cook until the onions have started to soften, approximately 10 minutes.

Add the ground beef, and allow it to brown, crumbling the meat with a fork as it does. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Add tomatoes, vinegar, cinnamon, cumin, bay leaves, cloves and nutmeg and stir to combine. Lower the heat, and let the stew simmer, covered, for approximately 30 minutes.

Uncover the pan, and add the raisins and the olives. Allow the stew to cook for another 15 minutes or so, then serve, accompanied by white rice.

CREAMY RIGATONI WITH SAUSAGE AND FENNEL

This comes from Stephanie who came up with Girl versus Dough. If you haven’t checked out her site (and subscribed), I definitely recommend checking it out!

This recipe, which Stephanie adapted from the Food Network, begins, “This pasta. This is last-meal kind of pasta. This is the kind of pasta you eat when you don’t just want any old variety of carbs and cheese — you want grown-up, legit, every-bite-is-a-flavor-explosion kind of pasta. This is it.”

Prep Time: 40 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour; Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes; Yields: 6 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups chopped fresh fennel or celery

1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 lb bulk mild Italian sausage

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds, crushed or chopped

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup half-and-half

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 lb rigatoni pasta

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided

1 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Directions

In large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add fennel and onion and cook, stirring often, 7 to 9 minutes until soft.

Add sausage; cook 7 to 9 minutes, crumbling as you cook, until sausage is cooked through and browned. Add garlic, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Cook for 1 minute, then pour in white wine. Bring to boil. Add heavy cream, half-and-half and tomato paste. Return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.

Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt to boiling water, then add rigatoni pasta. Cook according to package directions. Drain and add to sauce; stir to coat pasta.

Off heat, stir in 1/4 cup parsley and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Serve topped with remaining parsley and Parmesan cheese.

CHEESY TACO NOODLES

This came from Delish, and starts off, “Say hello to your favorite new twist on tacos.”

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 large white onion, chopped

1/2 jalapeño, minced

salt for seasoning

1 lb. ground beef

2 tbsp. Taco Seasoning

12 oz. No Yolks® Extra Broad Noodles

1 (15-oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

3 1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 c. heavy cream

1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar

1 1/2 c. Shredded Monterey Jack

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Directions

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and season with salt. Cook until tender, 5 minutes, then add jalapeño. Cook 2 minutes more. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink, 6 minutes, then drain the fat. Add the taco seasoning.

Add No Yolks noodles and stir until coated in beef mixture, then add fire-roasted tomatoes and chicken broth. Simmer until noodles are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.

Remove from heat and add both cheeses and toss to coat.

Garnish with cilantro and serve.