Chicken Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, grilled and sliced
1 container of sliced mushrooms
1 head of broccoli crowns
1 purple onion, sliced
2 garlic gloves, diced
Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped basil
salt and pepper
Rotini pasta, cooked and drained

Heat olive oil in a large pot, add broccoli and cook for a few minutes. Add onion and mushrooms, season well with salt and pepper. Once veggies become soft, add garlic and basil. Add cooked pasta, toss. Add sliced chicken and top with Parmesan cheese.

Crawfish Fettucine

We had our annual Good Friday crawfish boil yesterday. We had a few leftovers, maybe about 2 pounds peeled. So I froze one pound and made this fettucine with the other pound. I can't stand a dry fettucine, so I made quite a few alterations to this recipe, which I have tried before. I also don't like it when it tastes like mac and cheese, so I cut back on the cheese too. It was delish!

Original Source: Good Louisiana Eatin' cookbook

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound crawfish tails

1 small onion, diced

1 heaping tablespoon chopped garlic

1 stick of butter

1 tablespoon flour

2 stalks green onion, chopped

2 5 ounce cans of evaporated milk

1 can of Rotel tomatos (I only used 1/2 of the can)

8 ounces of Velvetta Cheese, cubed

1/2 bag of cooked egg noodles

DIRECTIONS:

Saute onions and garlic in butter until soft. Add flour and stir until well blended. Add crawfish, green onions, evaporated milk and rotel tomatos. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. Slowly add cheese and continue to stir until mixed well. Stir in cooked noodles. Bake in covered casserole dish at 350 for 30 minutes.

Chicken and Veggie Pasta

This was an interesting creation made with leftover veggies from our grill-out last night and the three chicken breasts I had in the freezer. It was pretty good.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1/4 cup olive oil

parsley

salt

pepper

red pepper flakes

1 pound of vermicelli pasta, cooked and drained
2 cups of cooked broccoli (I roasted it in the oven at 450 for 15 minutes)
leftover roasted zucchini, squash and mushrooms


Season chicken with parsley, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Saute in olive until nice and browned. Add veggies. I roasted the broccoli in the oven for a few minutes to keep it somewhat firm, I hate mushy broccoli. Last night we grilled zucchini, squash and mushrooms, so I threw the leftovers in there as well. I drained out a little bit of the olive oil, didn't want it to be too oily.
I just let this simmer for a little while until the veggies were heated.

I served over cooked pasta with a little bit of the lemon butter sauce I made a few weeks ago (and froze) to go along with my Shrimp Portofino.

Shrimp Portofino

It's lent! And that means seafood on Friday's. We love seafood, of course we do, we live in Louisiana. But for some reason, I don't cook much of it. I'm trying to venture out a little bit, so thought I would try my favorite shrimp dish from Macaroni Grill. I found this recipe online at work, but now that I'm home, I can't find the link to include it here. If you google it, you will find several recipes that call for artichoke hearts, and that is not the one I used. So I'm sorry I can't link to the original source.

This dish was very good. I especially loved the butter sauce. I will make that again and pour over pasta and served with grilled chicken. It has a very distinct flavor.

24 large shrimp (peeled and deveined) (I used one pound of shrimp)

3 cups sliced mushrooms (washed and sliced ( 1/4 inch thick)
1 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts (couldn't find these, so used slivered almonds)
6 cups fresh spinach leaves (only used about 4 cups)
6 cups cooked vermicelli
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh garlic (minced, up to 4)

Lemon Butter Sauce:
1 tablespoon shallots (minced) (used yellow onion)
1 tablespoon fresh garlic , minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed) (only used about 1/4 a cup, per many reviews)
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 lb lightly-salted butter (cut into tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread pine nuts over bottom of sheet pan and place pan in oven on top rack. Roast until golden brown, approximately 2 to 4 minutes.

For the Lemon Butter Sauce:
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté shallots and garlic until translucent. Add white wine and reduce slightly more than 1/2, whisking occasionally. Add cream and reduce by 1/2. Add lemon juice and reduce by 1/2. Add white pepper. Reduce heat to low. Add remaining butter 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking continuously after each addition to completely incorporate butter. Continue to simmer, whisking until sauce just coats spoon.

In separate large skillet over medium-high heat melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Add garlic and sauté until garlic is translucent. Stir in mushrooms, shrimp, and pine nuts. Sauté several minutes or until shrimp are done and show color. Remove skillet from heat and gently stir in spinach. Place warm pasta on plate with shrimp mixture to the side. Pour lemon sauce over cooked pasta, permitting a bit of sauce onto shrimp.

Italian Breaded Chicken Over Fettucine Alfredo

Italian Breaded Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1 packed of dry zesty Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup of grated parmesean cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 stick of melted butter

Mix together all ingredients except for butter. Pound down chicken until thin and coat with butter, then bread crumb mix. I sauteed in olive oil, but you can also bake them on a greased sheet at 375 for about 25-30 minutes.

Fettucine Alfredo (Olive Garden)

This recipe was given to me when I got married in a recipe box, and I've also seen it online. It's tastes exactly like Olive Garden's sauce and is so easy to make.

1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 pint heavy cream (I used half and half and added a little cornstarch to thicken it up)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt
black pepper
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 lb fettuccine, prepared as directed
I also threw in a handful of grated romano cheese

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. When butter is melted, add cream cheese. When the cream cheese is softened, add heavy cream. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan. Serve over hot fettucine noodles.

Three Cheese Alfredo Sauce

I didn't get to spend as muc time in the kitchen today as I usually do on Sundays, I had a lot of errands to run. Next Saturday is my daughter's second birthday, and I still have a lot to do.

I like making this sauce because it uses things I usually have on hand. I have a fabulous recipe the alfredo sauce from Olive Garden, but it uses half and half and cream cheese, and I never just have those things lying around.

Three Cheese Alfredo Sauce

1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
celery, diced (about 1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2/3 cup shredded cheese (romano, parmesean and asiago mixed, I used the one in the can)
salt and pepper to taste
Tony Chachere seasoning

Sautee onions and celery in butter until translucent. Add 2 cups of milk and stir with a whisk. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup of milk and add to sauce, continuing to whisk. Cook on medium-low for 5 minutes, continuing to stir. Add cheese and salt and pepper. I also add Tony Chachere's, but we like our food spicy! Let the sauce cook down until desired consistency.

I grilled some chicken on my George Foreman and added it to the sauce and served it over penne rigate with a side of steamed broccoli. It doesn't photograph well, but sure is yummy:)

Mac and Cheese

Just the two of us....
DH had to work late tonight, so I needed something quick and easy for Allie and I. I always wanted to make a homemade mac and cheese and tonight was my chance! It was delicious and I will be making it again.

1 box of penne rigate pasta
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of romano, parmesean and mozarella cheeses
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Boil pasta until done, drain and set aside. To make the bechamel sauce, melt butter and add flour. Whisk until incorporated and add milk. Continue to whisk until flour is absorbed. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add cheeses and whisk until all melted. Mix bechamel sauce with pasta, sauce will be a little thing.

Put a little bit of butter in the bottom of a casserole dish and add pasta mixture. Top with a little bit of breadcrumbs. Bake about 20 minutes, until lightly browned.



Allie really enjoyed hers too, she ate two bowls!