Quick Chicken Spaghetti

So, you know those days where everything goes wrong and you can't stand the thought of slaving over dinner?  I sure do!  This is one of those dishes that you can throw together really quickly on a busy night.  You ready for the recipe? 

Quick Chicken Spaghetti

3 cooked chicken breasts OR 2 cans cooked chicken
12 oz. spaghetti
1/4 of a large Velveeta
1 can of Rotel
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
4 oz. can mushrooms
small jar of pimentos
1 cup shredded Cheddar

Boil water and cook spaghetti.  In a saucepan, put both cans of soup and can of Rotel.  Add Velveeta - okay I honeslty don't really measure, but about 1/4th of a large Velveeta.  Stir until Velveeta melts.  Add, pimentos and mushrooms. 

Drain spaghetti and add to soup mixture.  Add cooked chicken to mixture and stir well.  Dump the spaghetti mixture into a 9 x 13 greased pan.  Sprinkle with cheddar and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until cheese melts. 

Soooo easy, right? 

As usual, the pictures could be better if only I had an awesome camera.  Maybe I'll get one by the time I have grandkids. 

Lemon Cream Pasta With Chicken

As I mentioned a few days ago, Hubby was off New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, which is a first for us.  We rented 5 or 6 movies and spent two days in our jammies watching our rentals and playing and eating a fabulous NYE meal.  So, I thought I would share this recipe with you, my bloggy friends.  This recipe is from one of my favorite recipe blogs, Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  Check her out! 

The recipe I made is for Lemon Cream Pasta With Chicken.  But first, you have to make the chicken.

Lemon and Garlic Grilled Chicken




Juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons


3 tablespoons olive oil


1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 medium cloves


1 teaspoon salt


1/4 teaspoon pepper


1/2 teaspoon dried oregano


1 pound chicken breasts (I usually cut really thick chicken breasts down to thin them out and make the pieces a little smaller so they absorb the marinade better)






Combine all marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and place in fridge overnight. Grill (or cook in frying pan). Serve with sides of your choice or cut into bite sized pieces and add to desired recipe (I’ll be sharing a few with you soon). Note: If you cut your chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces and then marinate it, you can get away with only letting it marinate for 5 or 6 hours instead of overnight.

Now for the Lemon Cream Pasta.



Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken


Serves 4-6



3 cups shredded or cubed Lemon Garlic Chicken

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 (16 ounce) package tube pasta (I used rigatoni)

2 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded  (Um, I added more like 3/4 cup)



DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, season the chicken broth with the garlic powder and pepper. Bring to a boil and add lemon juice and pasta. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Stir chicken into cooked pasta, along with the cream, parmesan cheese and lemon zest. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir thoroughly before serving.

MMMM!  I very much enjoyed this dish.  It was a lot like Chicken Fettucine Alfredo, but more lemony and it doesn't have butter so I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say it's at least a little bit healthier.  Don't ya think?  That's what I'm telling myself anyway. 

We all enjoyed it. Well, my oldest thought it was too lemony, but we're not counting her opinion.  Everyone else loved it.  Well, L can't have it because it has wheat and milk.  But, I made him his version of it.  So, basically, 4 out of 6 of us loved it.  2/3rds.  That's pretty good for our household!  Hubby said we should definitely add it to the rotation of stuff we cook regularly.  Bad news is, we're now trying to be healthy.  Guess it'll be in the once in awhile rotation, but definitely worth the extra calories!!  MMM!

See that bowl in the picture?  That's my bowl.  I think that's a healthy portion size, don't you?  Too bad I refilled twice.  I couldn't help myself!  Oh well!  I'm paying for it now with Melba Toast and Laughing Cow cheese for lunch.  UGH!  I miss you Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken!

Cold Weather Means Chicken and Dumplins

When the leaves are falling and the temperature starts to fall, do you begin to crave what I call "fall food"?  Chili, soup, dumplins, stew, etc.?  All of these are favorites of mine.  But my favorite might be chicken and dumplins.  I grew up eating Sweet Sue chicken and dumplins and I still love them, but my favorite dumplins are my Hubby's homemade dumplins.  You see, my Hubby grew up watching his grandmother make dumplins.  Hubby would go out back and kill the hen and Nannie would pluck it and make dumplins.  Now, I don't have chickens in my backyard and if I did, I know that I just couldn't stomach killing and plucking it.  I'm not a farm girl.  But, Hubby did teach me how to make fabulous dumplins without killing the chicken.

Chicken from the store
Flour
Water
Salt
Pepper
Milk (whole or 2%)

Buy a chicken and put it in a big dutch oven (I prefer to use non-stick if you have one) and boil it until fully cooked (usually about an hour depending on size).  Set aside to cool.  Strain your broth.  I do this twice to make sure and get out all of the yucky junk.  Put broth back onto stove and bring to a boil.  While it's warming up, put 2-3 cups of all purpose flour into a large bowl.  Add a cup of your chicken broth and about a teaspoon of salt to your flour.  The chicken broth and salt give your dough so much more flavor than using water.

Mix dough up with a spoon adding more flour and broth until  it gets to a biscuit dough consistency.  Drop out onto a clean floured surface.

Roll the dough out to about 1/8" thickness and cut into thin strips about 1 1/2" - 2" wide.  I use a pizza cutter.

Then begin tearing your strips into pieces that are close to the same size and dropping them into your broth.  Do this quickly so that your dough doesn't dry out and so the cooking time for all the dumplins will be realitively the same. 

Boil, uncovered, until the dumplins are done, stirring every once in awhile.  The time will depend on the size of your dumplins, but it usually takes about 30 minutes or so. 

You will have to taste them to check their consistency.  I don't like mine too doughy, but that's just personal preference.  You may need to add a little water, if your broth gets low.  Gently stir every few minutes while cooking so your dough doesn't stick to the bottom of your pan.  When your dumplins are fully cooked, add about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of milk and bring to a boil.  This makes your dumplins creamy as opposed to greasy. 

Once your dumplins come to a boil again, lower the temperate to Low and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes to allow the dumplins to thicken slightly.  Be sure and stir every few minutes so they don't stick to the bottom.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

YUMMMMMM!  One of my favorite cold weather comfort foods! 

Have a great day!

The Best Chicken Fettucine EVER!

Do you love Chicken Fettucine Alfredo as much as I do?  I've always liked chicken fettucine alfredo, but when a guy made it for me on one of our first dates, the whole restaurant version, was ruined.  His version had soooo much more flavor.  It was delicious and wonderful and yummy and I decided that night that I must marry this guy, despite the fact that we'd only been dating for two weeks.  And, I did.  This is Hubby's version of Chicken Fettucine Alfredo and I'm giving your fair warning that you will love it and never be able to eat it in a restaurant again.  Just sayin.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast tenderloins
Lemon Juice
Course Grind Black Pepper or Lemon Pepper
olive oil
1 stick of butter
small carton of whipping cream
Fresh Grated Parmesan 5 oz. at least (I grate my own)
Fettucine (16 oz. box)

Marinate your chicken in Lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons) and pepper or lemon pepper (about 1 1/2 tsp).  Let your chicken marinate for no less than 30 minutes, but no more than 1 1/2 hours.  Drain liquid from chicken.  Heat your olive oil in a skillet and cook chicken until golden brown on both sides.

Remove chicken to paper towels to drain excess oil.  Once the chicken is cool, cut into bite size pieces.  Cook pasta per directions while you make the sauce.  In a saucepan, melt butter on low.  When the butter is melted, add your whipping cream.  Cook on low until warm and then add your parmesan and turn the heat up to medium, stirring constantly.  Cook until parmesan is melted.  Let simmer for a few minutes on low, stirring occasionally.  Drain pasta.  Add pasta and chicken in a large bowl and pour sauce over.  Stir and let cool slightly.  Add additional parmesan on top if desired. 

I have to apologize for lack of a better picture, but I couldn't wait to dive into my bowl and I completely forgot to take a picture.   So sorry, but I think you'll understand if you try it. 

***Warning:  This meal is NOT low-cal so I advise you to totally skip the scale the next day or work out extra hard at the gym.  Don't worry!  It's totally worth the extra calories, just don't eat it every day!  Also, if you're making this for a man to whom you are not married, get ready for the proposal.  If memory serves, Hubby heard those three little words, pretty soon after my first bite!***

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

Do you ever get sick of making the same old thing for dinner?  I am so sick of spaghetti that the smell of it now makes me sick.  EEEWW!  But, my kids love spaghetti and it's one of the few things that L will eat without fussing, so we eat it at, orTHEY eat it.  I'd rather have a ham sandwhich.

Anyway, I'm always on the hunt for new recipes.  I visited one of my favorite recipe blogs - Real Mom Kitchen.  Laura has four kids, just like me and she always has great recipes on her blog.  This week, I picked Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne. 

Picture from Real Mom Kitchen (Laura's picture is prettier than mine!)

Doesn't that look good?  So, here's the recipe:


Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne




6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes

kosher salt and black pepper

1 pound penne rigate (I used a 14.5 oz box of Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne Rigate)

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally (I used some leftover cooked chicken)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

6 garlic cloves, finely minced

6 cups whole milk

10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I used 8 oz of button mushrooms)

1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces) (I used an italian blend that had provolone in it)



1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.

While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise. While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes). Use a little extra olive oil if needed.(Since I used left over chicken, I just cooked the mushrooms in the olive oil)

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot , melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer. Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes. If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie. If cooking, sprinkle on top.

Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezer instructions:


To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool. Cover pan well with plastic wrap. Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, preheat oven to 400. Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside. Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese. Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes (I only did 10 minutes) or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

*I added 3 pieces of bacon crumbled to the mixture before baking. 

See?  This is mine.  Doesn't Laura's look prettier?  I know, I need a pretty baking dish and some parsley on top, but I'm just keeping it real.  My kids would just pick off the green stuff anyway.  Speaking of keeping it real, I didn't clean my stove before I took this picture.  Oops! 

I'm linking up to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

PW Chicken Scallopine

Do you ever get in a rut?  Well, it's not really a rut, but more of a love of Mexican food that I adore that my Hubby and kids are tired of.  So, I decided to pull out a PW recipe I made a few months ago that they all loved. 

PW Chicken Scallopine

Ingredients:

1 pound Linguine

6 whole Boneless, Skinless, Trimmed Chicken Breasts

Salt And Pepper, to taste

Flour

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

4 Tablespoons Butter

12 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Sliced Thin

1 cup Dry White Wine (I didn't use wine, I used chicken broth)

Chicken Broth (optional)

1 whole Lemon

½ cups Heavy Cream (can Use Half-and-Half)

1 teaspoon (heaping) Capers

Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley

Parmesan Cheese, For Topping



Preparation Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Flatten chicken breasts to uniform thickness. Salt and pepper both sides, then dredge in flour. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry chicken breasts until golden brown. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Throw mushrooms into the pan and stir. Immediately pour in wine and chicken broth (optional), and then squeeze juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon. Stir to deglaze the pan, and then cook vigorously for 1 minute, until sauce reduces.

Pour in cream and stir, then add capers and parsley and stir. Turn off heat. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Don’t under salt!

Place pasta and chicken on a platter and top with every last drop of sauce. Generously sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the top. 

So, I didn't stage this well, but the pasta is under the chicken breast.  To see a better picture, click on the recipe title to go to Ree's blog and see her picture.  It's much prettier.

 I love this recipe.  Give it a try.  Thank you Ree!

I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace.