Florentine pasta salad

I just made this pasta salad over the weekend for a baby shower and was reminded of how much I love it. Its very easy and I always get compliments on it! It originally came from a Bible study I did at a church in Austin.

1 pkg fresh fettucini noodles (like Buitoni)
1 jar prepared pesto sauce (I like Classico)
1 cup chopped chicken breast (a rotisserie chicken or "carving board" deli meat works well)
juice of 1 lemon
1 container of cherry tomatoes
1-2 cups spinach, torn into small pieces
parmesan cheese, to taste

Optional:
artichoke hearts
mushrooms
other veggies you like!

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and remove to a cutting board. Cut them into smaller pieces for ease in serving. Place in large mixing bowl. Add chicken, tomatoes and spinach (and any other veggies) to mixing bowl and stir well. Add entire jar of pesto and stir until well coated. Add lemon juice and parmesan cheese and stir once more. Before serving, may optionally top with more parmesan.

If you prefer a lighter pesto flavor, experiment with using only half the jar and see how that tastes. I LOVE pesto so I always use the whole jar. This tastes great at room temperature as well as cold. Let me know if you try it!  Any other good pasta salad recipes out there?

Creamy chicken and orzo

Image and recipe source

I got this recipe in a coupon mailer recently and thought I would try it out.  I had the Philadelphia cooking creme already (got it on a great sale for 25 cents!) and wasn't sure what I was going to do with it until I saw this.  I made some changes to the original recipe, see link above for their version.

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups hot cooked orzo pasta
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup corn
1 tub Philadelphia Italian cheese and herb cooking creme
1 tsp oil
1 tsp minced garlic

Directions:
1. Cook chicken and zucchini in large skillet on medium for 6-7 minutes, or until chicken is done.
2. Remove chicken and zucchini to a plate and place in the oven to stay warm.
3. Add a small amount of oil to the skillet and saute garlic for a few minutes.
4. Add corn and tomatoes and saute until warmed through.
5. Add chicken and zucchini back to pan and mix well.
6. Add cooking creme and cook 2 minutes while stirring well to combine.
7. Add orzo gradually to ensure there is enough sauce for all the pasta.

I was so surprised at how much I liked this recipe!  I wasn't sure how to end up with 2 cups of cooked orzo, so I cooked about 1 1/2 cups dry, which was more than enough.  This recipe is very flexible, and you can substitute pretty much any veggies  you like.  Just make sure to adjust the cooking time so that your veggies don't end up soggy.

Baked Ziti - healthy version!

Baked ziti is a great comfort food, but does not offer much in terms of nutritional value.  Sure, the tomatoes are good for something, but when you add ground beef or sausage, pasta and all that cheese, the tomatoes get a little overshadowed.

1 pound ground beef (I used 90/10)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
16 oz package pasta
26 oz jar pasta sauce
1 zucchini, shredded (use a food processor if you have one - so easy!)

Brown ground beef in a skillet. Drain well. Cook pasta according to package directions to 'al dente'. Drain and set aside. Return pasta to the pot it was cooked in and add pasta sauce, ground beef and zucchini.  Stir well.  Spread 1/2 pasta in a 9x13 dish sprayed with Pam. Top with cheese and spread it out so it covers evenly.  Add the remaining 1/2 pasta and top with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and enjoy!

Goes well with: garlic bread, green salad, roasted green beans

Here's my source for the recipe inspiration. It calls for ricotta, parmesan and egg, similar to a lasagna. Leaving these items out makes for a healthier version, but really I just forgot to get them at the store :)

Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe is courtesy of my friend, Cynthia. It is really delicious and great for leftovers as well (always a concern when its just the 2 of us eating).
Ingredients:
2 fryers, or 4-5 lbs meaty chicken pieces (I typically use 2 big chicken breasts)
1 green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pkg (10 oz) spaghetti, broken in half
1 can (1 lb) diced tomatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 ribs celery (I omit)
1 onion
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems & pieces (I omit)
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed
2 T. chopped ripe olives (I omit)
Salt & Pepper
Paprika
Worcestershire

• Simmer chicken until tender in well seasoned water; remove chicken and broth.
• Measure 1 qt broth back into pan.
• Bone & dice chicken; set aside.
• Into broth, put celery, green pepper, onion, garlic & mushrooms.
• Let cook a few minutes, then add spaghetti and cook until done.
• Add tomatoes, olives, soup, S&P and paprika and stir.
• Add worcestershire sauce and Velveeta and stir well until velveeta melts.
• Add chicken and heat through before serving.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day update...a little late

Well, its been a month since Valentine's day, so I'm a little behind on my blogging! Life has been crazy. Our power went out Valentine's weekend, so my big plans to create a great multi-course meal went out the window. Monday night, I did end up making Pioneer Woman's Penne a la Betsy.

It was, of course, fabulous! I was sad our original plans fell through, but to be honest we probably didn't need the remaining 8-9 slices of a peanut butter chocolate cake around the house :) (that was my planned dessert)

Hope you all had a great Valentine's day, and a great March too! Since its almost over, that is.

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what we will be having this week:

Monday: out to eat with my sisters!
Tuesday: chicken fettuccine
Wednesday: salmon, spinach salad and fresh green beans (so good!)
Thursday: grilled chicken, fresh green beans and jasmine rice
Friday: headed to Austin for Memorial Day
Saturday: in Austin
Sunday: turkey and pepperjack paninis

I forgot to post yesterday since we took the day off work and I wasn't in front of the computer. The fettuccine I made tonight was so great, I recommend you try it! I didn't use all organic ingredients, and used half-and-half for the sauce. Also, we made homemade pokey-o's for dessert (ice cream sandwiches with chocolate chip cookies...see here for inspiration) and they were as good as the real thing! :)

Have a great week!

Stuffed Shells

I made this pasta dish on Wednesday and it was awesome! Its similar to lasagna, but is quicker and doesn't call for meat. The recipe is again from my friend Jenn Chalmers.

Ingredients:
1 box Jumbo shells pasta
15 oz ricotta (I used skim)
2 c mozzarella cheese
1/3 c parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 jar tomato sauce

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350.
-Cook 18-20 shells using package directions. Stir frequently while cooking.
-In a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 1 1/2c mozzarella, parmesan and egg.
-Spread about 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
-Stuff shells and place them in baking dish, fairly close together.
-Cover shells with remaining sauce, using the entire jar.
-Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
-Add remaining mozzarella (1/2 cup) and return to over uncovered for 5 minutes.
serves 4

Bart was raving about this meal. We ate the leftovers for lunch the next day, and they reheated well!
To make it slightly more healthy, I chopped up about a cup of raw spinach leaves and added them to the cheese mixture. Also, quite a few of my shells stuck to the bottom of the pot they were boiled in, so be sure to stir those frequently.

I picked up a Cooking Light cookbook from the library this week, so all of next week's dinners are coming from there. I just made some chocolate chip cookies using their recipe, and they are good. I'll post that recipe later. We are headed to Houston tomorrow after work for Catherine's bridal shower in Katy. Have a great weekend!