Chicken Pasta

This pasta recipe was from my friend Nina's blog. It is actually a recipe she got from her friend Megan (I want to give credit where credit is due).

I love this pappardelle pasta from Trader Joe's. I used two packages for this recipe and it worked out perfectly.

This was a big hit with the family and it will a summer favorite for sure.  Next time I think I will throw in some grilled veggies and greek olives too.  This recipe has a lot of flexibility.

Did I mention the kids loved it? Go to Nina's blog for the recipe.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is one of my favorite winter time foods. It's warm, comforting and a perfect one dish meal.

The players: onion, carrots, celery, frozen peas and of course chicken.

This is my new favorite and EASY way to cook a chicken (to use for soups, enchiladas, etc.) all you do is wash your chicken, clean out the inside, and put it in a large pot. Add about 2-3 cups of water and lots of salt & pepper. Cook on med-med/high for about 20-30 minutes and then let it sit another half hour or so and it's done. Take the chicken out let it cool and either cut or shred. I cut most of the breast section out for the pot pie and then I'm going to use the rest for chicken enchiladas in a couple of days.

The rest of the players: butter, flour, chicken broth, half-n-half (or cream), salt, pepper and fresh thyme if you have it or dried (that's all I had on hand).

Okay, the process: Get out a Dutch oven or good size heavy bottom pan and melt the butter, about 1/2 a stick (1/4 cup), add in the mirepoix (carrot, celery & onion) I know it's a fancy French word, but doesn't it sound so much nicer than carrot, celery & onion??

Anyway, saute the mirepoix until softened and almost cooked through. Then add in 2-4 Tbls. of flour and cook a couple of minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Add in a couple of cups of chicken stock (I used the stock from the chicken I just cooked, but you could also use store-bought) and stir to mix it will begin to thicken, add more stock as necessary and add about a cup of half-n-half or cream (whatever you have in the fridge). Season with salt and pepper and the thyme (if using fresh just throw a couple of stems in) if using dried add about 1 tsp. Let this cook for a little bit to meld all the flavors.

In the meantime, cut up your chicken and roll out your pie crust. I just used my standard pie crust recipe from my Williams-Sonoma Baking cookbook. Just use your favorite or you could save a step and buy one.

Add in your chicken to your filling, this will be your last chance to taste and season and adjust any liquid amouts. You want it thick, but thin enough that it's not too solid you want some liquid to come out when you cut into the pie.

Last step! Dump mixture into your pie dish (you can use any casserole dish or make individual pies with oven-safe bowls). And then place your crust on top, pinch the edges and then brush on an egg wash so it will get nice and golden brown.

My pie crust and I had some issues (Sissy is really the expert on pie crusts) so it wasn't beautiful, but let me tell you it still tasted good! Just ask my husband, he couldn't stop eating this meal!! I also did a great thing and doubled the recipes for both the pie crust and the pot pie filling and froze them separately so I can have a super easy dinner in a couple of weeks! Enjoy!

Barley Beef Soup

I love a really thick soup. Okay- really, I love any soup! I could eat soup for lunch everyday of the year. My whole family really loved this recipe- it is in my file now.

P.S. (Aren't my new bowls cute? A gift from my favorite sister in law!).

Recipe coming later today...

Potato & Leek Soup

Dinner a couple of nights ago was this amazing soup! I had some leeks from Farmer and the Dale (a local CSA that delivers) and some nice red potatoes and it was raining...it was going to be a match made in heaven.

Here are the Leeks and Potatoes after they have roasted in the oven for a good 40-45 min with some olive oil and salt and pepper...yum! I had to take a taste and make sure they were tender, wow! MENTAL NOTE: make this as a side dish for another meal, maybe with a pork roast or some chicken. This combo is really delicious, you MUST try!

Here are the leeks and potatoes in the food processor getting ready to be pureed with some chicken stock.

And the soup finishing up on the stove, I didn't have any arugula, creme fraiche or shallots, so I can only imagine how much better it is going to be the next time I make it with those three ingredients. I did add some sour cream instead of the creme fraiche and I just topped the soup with Parmesan for garnish.

The finished product waiting to be enjoyed!

We rounded out the meal with a salad with chicken, pear, toasted walnuts and a little red onion with a balsamic vinaigrette and this great bread machine white bread that is started in the bread machine and then finished in the oven to give it that 'real bread' look. It is the best and easiest white bread that I've tried so far in the bread machine.

Another use for pesto

Chicken Fettuccine with Pesto Cream Sauce

We love this simple pasta recipe-

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 pound fettuccine
• 4 cubes (1/2 cup) frozen Basil Pesto
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap.With a meat mallet or heavy skillet, pound chicken to an even 3/4-inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet; cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Slice each piece across the grain into 4 or 5 strips; cover to keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to pot.
4. In a small saucepan, heat pesto over low until liquefied. Stir in cream; heat until warm.Toss pasta with reserved cooking water and half the sauce. Divide among shallow bowls; top with chicken. Drizzle with remaining sauce.

From Everyday Food, September 2005

Chicken Mozzerella Panini

Here's what's cooking this week:
Slice a loaf of focaccia in half (ciabatta works well too) .

Make the sandwich:

Spread bread with pesto (store bought or this homemade). Top with two grilled chicken breasts thinly sliced (I marinate them with some balsamic salad dressing and rosemary).

Add sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and red onions.

Brush a grill pan with olive oil. Preheat to med. high and weigh the sandwich down (I sit my heavy dutch oven right on top, some people use a brick wrapped in foil).

Turn sandwich and grill until the cheese is melted.

Making Pesto

I'm making pesto to stock my freezer for easy fall dinners. If you don't have basil in your garden, now is a great time to buy it at the farmers market. This recipe has never failed me. (I'll share a couple of dinner recipes using this pesto in the next couple of days)
Makes 1 3/4 cups

• 1 cup walnuts or pine nuts
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 cups (4 ounces) lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts evenly on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden and fragrant, tossing once, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
2. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups salted water to a boil; add basil, and submerge with a spoon. Immediately drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water until cool, then pat basil completely dry in paper towels.
3. In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Process until nuts are finely chopped. With machine running, pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Use immediately, or freeze. To freeze, spoon pesto into an ice-cube tray (2 tablespoons per cube); cover with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight, then transfer cubes to a resealable plastic bag; keep up to 6 months. Defrost pesto at room temperature, about 20 minutes (or at 30-second intervals in the microwave). Mash with a fork before using in recipes.

Pork Chops

First of all, I have to apologize for not having a picture with this post. I forgot to take one the other night when I mad these and then I assumed there would be one on the recipe page, no such luck. I hate posts without pictures so sorry ladies!

I had some really thick-cut pork chops in my freezer that I've been wanting to cook and the last time I made them they were just okay, so I was on the hunt for a new recipe. During Thanksgiving my sister-in-law told me that she had great luck brining pork chops (I brined the Turkey's, per my brother-in-law's advice) so I thought I would brine these chops! Well, this recipe is awesome, a really simple brine and they only have to stay in it for 2 hours (any more and he says they get mushy). It's a Tyler Florence recipe, which are usually pretty good. Here is the link if you want to try them. I didn't have raisins so I used cranberries, but they were juicy and moist, which is sometimes hard for pork chops to be especially when they're this thick! Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

I really like Chicken and Dumplings...and tonight is the perfect weather to have them! It's cold out and raining, it will probably be snowing soon. There is nothing like good comfort food to make the winter seem worthwhile. It's also a great one-dish meal and reason to use my Dutch Oven! Here is the really easy recipe that I use from Martha. What's for dinner tonight in your house?

Mac-n-Cheese

I was in the mood for some macaroni and cheese yesterday and I had just bought a cauliflower the other day (not sure why I bought one in the middle of summer) so I wanted something to use with the cauliflower. I have also been trying to find ways to get vegetables into Peter's food, since he's been on more table food I've realized that his vegetable intake has gone down in the last month.

So I made a fairly typical cheese sauce and at the same time steamed the head of cauliflower and then pureed it in the food processor. I added it to the sauce and mixed in the macaroni and you really could not even taste the cauliflower. It was really good! Peter enjoyed it, Cliff enjoyed it and so did I. Here is a link to Jessica Seinfeld's recipe, I didn't really follow this one except for the cauliflower.

Dinner this week:

Honestly- I don't follow these recipes too closely (click on links), they are more of a jumping off point for me...

Steak Fajitas {Tyler's amazing mariade! Worth trying- also awesome on chicken}

Thai Chicken Wraps {I'll probably simplify this recipe a bit}

Philly Cheese Steaks {Never made these before- still craving beef though!}

Portabella Ravioli {in the freezer from Sam's} with chicken and alfredo sauce

Country Style Pork Ribs on sale this week at Vons {but this is an Eric meal}

Taco Salad {never fails me!} Everyone has their own version...mine is with ground turkey and a 50/50 salsa & sour cream dressing

I *heart* Ina

I love the barefoot contessa for her sophisticated yet back to basics approach to cooking and entertaining. I just picked up Ina Garten's newest cookbook at Costco this week. (It is about $14 less than Boarders). I love the two other cookbooks I have by Ina and this one looks wonderful as well. My goal is to try one Ina recipe a week. Tonight was her Turkey Meatloaf from her first cookbook. Meatloaf is something you either hate or unashamedly love. Since it is Eric's favorite- and I love leftover meatloaf sandwiches, meatloaf it was! Her recipe calls for 5 lbs of meat! I cut it in half it (as I usually do her recipes). It was great- but I'm really looking forward to the leftovers on toasted sourdough tomorrow!

This Week's Menu

I know it's only Saturday and I'm letting you in on the plan for dinner for the week. Here goes, of course there is always the chance that it will change if I feel like something different!

Sunday: Chili & Cornbread

Since it's SUPER BOWL, I thought I would at least make an effort to support the game and have some 'game day food' maybe I'll make some 7-layer dip or at least guacamole and chips I don't have any chips, maybe I could bake some corn tortillas and turn them into chips.....hmmm that sounds pretty good, I'll have to work on that.

Monday: Whole Wheat Ravioli w/tomatoes and basil & salad

This is one of Cliff's very favorite meals, he even likes it since I've 'lightened' it. It is really good, so it will probably appear on our menu at least twice a month.

Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas

I have a ton of red peppers, so this is a good meal to use them up!

Wednesday: Dinner with friends

I'm supposed to bring dessert, so since it will be our one dessert for the week I want to make something really good. I've been thinking about red velvet cake. Now I used to think it was weird, but then I watched Bobby Flay on 'throwdown' against a chic that made these REALLY good looking red velvet cupcakes and my friend made one in December and I didn't get to try it and was pretty sad about it I think what I really want is the cream cheese frosting, how can you really go wrong with that? The other option is a flourless chocolate cake. I'll let you know how either turn out!

Thursday: Halibut, Roasted Potatoes & Veggies

I'll probably use my wonderful new grill pan with a little lemon, maybe some thyme or rosemary for the fish. I'm trying to have fish once a week...obviously I failed last week.

Friday: Chicken/Broccoli/Califlower Casserole

This is going to be an experiment, does that sound gross to throw califlower in there too?

Saturday: This Crust Pizza

I'm not sure what my plan is for this, I want to find a homemade crust recipe that is thin crust...we'll see how it goes.

Last Week's Menu

It is kind of a funny title to post what we have eaten this last week, but I'm a little behind the game lately. Sissy and I are really big slackers! My sister the internet, blog queen...what happenend to her? What is she pregnant, working and have a couple of crazy boys to raise every day? What happenend to my 3:00am blogger? I hope that you come back to us soon. I am in need of some of those new recipes that I know you're trying.

Here is my menu from last week:

Sunday: Chicken Pot Pie, made light with Phyllo Dough

This was really good, I just made my own chicken pot pie filling and then did the phyllo dough on top, the whole thing had a little bit of a sweet, but savory taste - so good!

Monday: Chicken w/goat cheese & Basil

This is an Ina recipe, everything she makes is good. Just enough flavor from the goat cheese without being over-powering.

Tuesday/Wednesday: Down the Hill

(I did have a really good salad and pizza at CPK, how great is my husband that he splits things with me) I won't tell you what I had at Red Robbin that isn't really a part of a "healthly eating plan." :)

Thursday: Sesame Chicken w/brown basmati rice (did you get some yet sissy?) & broccoli

This was REALLY GOOD! My favorite meal of the week, and we had some good ones! Try it!

Friday: Orange Chipolte Pork Chops, Sweet Potato Chili Powder Fries & Salad

I really like these, I used my new grill pan, which is great because nothing sticks to it. It's always nice to find a new way to cook Pork Chops. I did take note on a couple of the reviews that said there wasn't enough flavor and I marinated the chops for an hour or so and added a little chili powder, garlic and orange zest, I thought they had a kick from the chipolte peppers! I love sweet potatoes this way too!

Saturday: Chicken and Dumplings & Salad

Cliff loved this! It was really good I must admit, it reminded me of something my grandma would make...looking back at this weeks menu I guess I was in the mood for comfort food. I probably has something to do with all of the snow we've been getting lately and the fact that I've been inside most days this week...I'm just starting to go crazy!

Say Yes to Tacos

Mondays are not my favorite day- and this last Monday was pretty crazy. So I said yes to tacos. Everybody makes their tacos differently. In our family growing up-- they were ground beef, taco seasoning and re-fried beans mixed together and served with all the toppings in a flour tortilla.

But Monday I really switched things up a bit. I used ground turkey, an onion, a red bell pepper, a large green pasilla chili, taco seasoning and some corn and black beans. I wanted these to be full of flavor and veggies as well.

Here was the amazing trick- I lightly fried the corn tortillas and sprinked the shells with kosher salt (I think this is the ticket friends!)

Then while the tortillas were hot, I put a little cheese in the center and then folded them in half.

Next spoon in some meat and add sour cream and lettuce- and sheer brilance has been acheived.

Say no to drugs and say yes to theses tacos.

Blue Cheese Butter

Thanks for the tip sissy on finishing my filet mignon with some blue cheese butter. It was divine! Eric missed out- but I guess golfing for a good cause is worth it. :) Sam was so tired and fussed through most of dinner and was sent to his room. When he pulled himself together to come back to join us, he ate his beef dipped in sour cream. That's my boy! Now, I'm going to start that diet on Monday. Oh wait, today is Tuesday. I meant Tuesday.

Bean Soup and Beer Bread

For a day of football and laundry- I thought this dinner sounded easy. I used the Manischewitz mix and added the veggies it calls for (carrots, celery, onions and garlic) plus some smoked turkey sausage and a few bay leaves. For the beer bread I bought a mix from Target (I love their pantry items), but it is totally missing. I'm certain I left a bag at the store since my candy corn is missing too. [We have a serious problem with doing this at that blasted new Target]. Back to dinner...since I had mentioned beer bread and Eric had his heart set on it, he found a recipe in Joy of Cooking, which is his go-to book. Would you look in Joy for a BEER recipe? It called for 12 oz. of beer and we found a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in the back of the pantry that would work great. The only problem with the beer bread was it tasted like beer. ALOT. And the thing I hate about beer is, well, the taste. It was even too much for Eric who has enjoyed a beer or two in his day. So the beer bread went into the garbage after dinner. The soup was good. If you like bean soup. Good flavor overall, but I bet it will be even better tomorrow for lunch. In case you were wondering if the boys liked this dinner- they are both on the R.A.T. diet. Our pediatrician recommends this for diarrhea/upset stomach. They both seem to have the stomach flu going around. But tonight they chowed down on white rice, dry wheat toast and applesauce. I'm not sure I would have let them eat that beer bread anyway. :) I'm going to try to find a recipe like the Simply Delicious mix- it rocks (you can hardly taste the beer!).