Today I have a delicious recipe to share that I made with my Gefu Spirelli Spiral Slicer. I love this little kitchen gadget. It does a beautiful job of julienne slicing my little green squash into a noodle shape. This gives me a way to pack more vegetables into the tummies of my family members without hearing grumbles and complaining during dinner time.
If you have considered buying one of these, you should do it! I have owned mine since the beginning of the year, and I have used it so many times. It does a great job, and the possibilities are endless.
This recipe works very well with leftovers. I used some leftover chicken thigh meat from our dinner the previous night, and some leftover bacon from our breakfast that morning. Everything else was already in either our refrigerator or pantry. The flavors blend beautifully, and it makes for a deliciously savory Italian-inspired meal. This recipe made enough for a light lunch for two adults and two small children, and the meal would be complemented perfectly with the addition of garlic bread.
To make this recipe, you will need:
- 2 medium zucchini
- 8 oz mushrooms
- 4 slices cooked bacon
- 1 cup cooked chicken
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- about 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- lemon juice
For step one, rinse the zucchini and find something the "spiralize" it onto. I like to use my trusty cutting board, since I can slice everything else on it, as well.
Now slice off the very top and the bottom of the zucchini. I don't know about you, but I don't want to eat the stem. :) Twist the zucchini through the Spirelli to make the noodles. The length of the noodle will continue until you get to the end of the squash and be insanely long, but I find it easier to cook them when they are shorter. To accomplish this, I usually twist the zucchini three times, rip off the noodles with my hand, and repeat until done.
Now you can admire your beautiful vegetable noodles, and think about how much faster that was than slicing each piece with a knife!
The next step is to rinse and slice the mushrooms. It will seem like a lot of mushrooms, but as they cook they shrink.
Now it is time to chop the bacon and the chicken. I like to dice it into little cubes so there is either a piece of chicken or bacon in every bite.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When it is up to temperature, add the mushrooms, chicken, bacon, 1 tsp of minced garlic, and 1 tsp of dried oregano. Stir it all together to coat everything with the olive oil. Add more olive oil if the mushrooms look a little too dry.
Recently I bought this little jar of pre-minced garlic, and it has saved me a lot of time. I find the flavor to be slightly different than freshly minced garlic, but not so different that it changes the flavor significantly.
Continue cooking until the mushrooms have shrunk down and all the ingredients are hot.
Now add the zucchini noodles! Stir them into the meat and mushroom mixture to combine all the flavors. As it cooks, you will notice the zucchini loose some of its juices, which makes a nice sauce in this dish. I like this because it gives the finished product a flavorful sauce without adding any extra oil or cream.
Keep stirring until the zucchini is cooked, but still firm. It should look like the picture below when it is ready.
Now you need the Parmesan cheese. I like to use Parmigiano-Reggiano when I cook, because the flavor is full and robust, and delicious. However, normal Parmesan will work fine in this recipe if that is what you have on hand.
To prepare this dish for eating, I like to squeeze a little lemon juice on top of the "pasta" after it is on the plate, and then top with a generous helping of the cheese.
It is finished, and ready to eat!
It is much harder for family members to complain about eating their vegetables when they look so pretty. Since I have started using the Spirelli, my kids get excited when they see me take zucchini out of the fridge. Yay for vegetables, and yay for a kitchen gadget that slices them so easily!
If you are interested in more recipes that can be made with the Spirelli, please follow along with me. I love finding new ways to feature vegetables in meals, and more delicious recipes are on the way!
If you are interested in more recipes that can be made with the Spirelli, please follow along with me. I love finding new ways to feature vegetables in meals, and more delicious recipes are on the way!
-Bridget :)
