Anniversary Paprika Chicken and Anniversary Pasta

This post is from Alisa... I'm just posting it for her.  ;)

Someone else already posted an "Anniversary Chicken", but this is an "Anniversary Paprika Chicken" recipe we tried last night and really liked it!!

(Picture and recipe from here.)

Anniversary Paprika Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 1/2 c. italian bread crumbs
1 1/2 cubes (3/4 cup) melted butter
Paprika (I forgot to put the paprika in, but we still really liked it!)

Combine parmesan cheese with breadcrumbs.  Dip chicken breast in melted butter.  Roll in crumb mixture until completely coated.  Place in baking dish and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees.  Do NOT overcook!



And it tasted so good with Anniversary Pasta!! (recipe can be found here.)

Anniversary Pasta

1 pkg bow tie pasta
1/2 c. (1 cube) butter - the real stuff
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1-2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 pint heavy cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
10-15 spears asparagus, blanched
1/2 c. bacon, crumbled
1/4 c. toasted pinenuts (or to taste)
Parsley, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Boil bow tie pasta in salted water until al dente.  Do NOT overcook.

In wok or heavy skillet, melt butter.  Ad minced garlic and saute a minute or so.

Add parmesan cheese and bouillon cube(s).  When the bouillon cube is dissolved, slowly stir in heavy cream, salt and pepper.

Add cooked pasta to cream sauce and toss until pasta is well covered.

Add blanched asparagus.  Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, toasted pinenuts, parsley and parmesan cheese.  Toss together.  Serve immediately.

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

This is a Rachael Ray recipe. You can find it HERE.
It's yummy, easy and very Autumn.
I substituted the White Wine with Chicken Broth and 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
Next time I think I will use noodles with more texture... maybe Fusilli, Radiatore or Rotini.

Chicken Tetrazzini

I love my new ward cookbook and it's been fun to sample a few new recipes from it as well. I wasn't in the mood to go to the grocery store today and was looking for something to make that I already had everything of, and it ended up being super tasty- love it when that happens!!
My mom even said this is a dish that would be good to take to someone (i.e. new mom, sick neighbor, etc.)

CHICKEN TETRAZZINI
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. + 1 T. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
garlic (powder or fresh cloves) to taste
1 T. italian seasoning
1 can chicken broth
1 can 2% evaporated milk
bowtie pasta (I used about 3/4 of a 12 oz. pkg.)
2 c. chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour and seasonings. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in broth and milk. Heat to a boil stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Stir in cooked pasta and chicken. Pour into 9x13 pan (or similar dish). Sprinkle w/ parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 min @ 350 degrees.

The original recipe said you can use whipping cream or half & half, but I didn't have either of those, plus they seem SO heavy and fattening, so I opted for the evaporated milk and it's an AWESOME substitute! I also added in the garlic and italian seasoning... it only had salt & pepper, but I thought it could use a little more flavor and I think it helped.

Fettucini with Creamy Zucchini Sauce

· 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
· 2 large zucchini (or 1 zucchini and 1 yellow summer squash), scrubbed, cut lengthwise, and then cut into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons
· 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper
· 1 pound fettuccine
· 1 cup ricotta
· 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
· Freshly ground Parmesan, for serving
(again for variety I added yellow squash, red peppers and some onions)

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and zucchini. During the last minute of cooking the second batch of zucchini, stir in the garlic. Add to the bowl of zucchini. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the fettuccine and cook according to the package instructions just until tender. Scoop out and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and return it to the warm pot.
3. Add the zucchini and any juices and the ricotta to the pot. Mix, adding enough of the reserved cooking water to make a creamy sauce. Stir in the basil, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer to individual bowls and serve immediately, with a bowl of Parmesan passed at the table.

This was a suprise to even me how creamy and yummy it was, the kids were a little hesitant, this is one of the first "HEALTHY" meals, with all the veggies, veggies for us is usually a can of corn, green beans or hash browns and the occasional carrot, so this is new!

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

I found this recipe as it fell out of one of my magazines, and I had all the ingredients in my kitchen already so I decided to try it and it sure was tasty and easy! It's a Campbell's recipe so how could it be bad.

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

1/2 of a 16 ounce package linguine

1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets

2 tbsp. butter

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Prepare the linguine according to the package directions in a 3-quart saucepan.

Add the broccoli during the last 4 minutes of the cooking time. Drain the linguine and broccoli well in a colander. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned, stirring often.
Stir the soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture into the skillet. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings

(I used cream of chicken- that's what I had on hand)

Tortellini with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

I am so in love with this recipe find! It was very easy to make and tastes wonderful!!
The recipe calls for ravioli, however I only had tortellini... it still tasted amazing.

Original recipe can be found HERE.

Ravioli with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

"This one also came from a ward cookbook. I altered it a bit (the changes have an * by them)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 garlic clove, minced (more if you want)
1 c. chicken stock or broth
1/2 c. dry packed sun-dried tomatoes (I used from the jar with oil and they were fine)
1 c. whipping cream or 1/2 & 1/2 (*I used 2 c.)
*I also used 2 tsp. cornstarch (not in the original recipe)
8-12 oz. fresh or frozen ravioli, agnolotti or tortellini (I used 4 cheese ravioli- there wasn't a meat brand available- next time I will try the meat kind; but this was still super good)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried
2 T. chopped fresh parsley (only if using dried basil)
salt & fresh ground pepper

Melt butter in med. saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and cook 30 secs. Add stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered over medium heat about 10 mins. or until tomatoes are tender. Remove tomatoes with slotted spoon. Cut into smaller pieces. Return tomatoes to saucepan. Add cream/half & half and bring to boil, stirring. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is thick enough (about 5 mins). ***At this point, it wasn't thick enough for me- I added another 1 c. of cream and about 2 tsp. of cornstarch to thicken it up. It was a better, thicker consistency. I stirred it until it was how I wanted it.
Cook ravioli according to directions. Drain well. Add basil and/or parsley to sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix sauce with ravioli. And you're ready to go."

**I also added the extra cream - I like more sauce with my pasta. It was heavenly!

Countdown Chicken Fussili

Okay so I don't really have an actual recipe for this but it is inspired by a recipe from Pizza Port at Disneyland. Jason and I would always get this and share it and it is really yummy! This is what I did this time (I think every time I make it, it varies)

Here's the ingredients you will need:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Broccoli
Cheesy alfredo sauce (your favorite will do)
Shredded parmesan cheese
Minced garlic
Cavatappi noodles
sun dried tomatoes (optional)

Cut chicken into thin strips or chunks, add to a saute pan and season with salt and pepper. Add minced garlic and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Heat alfredo sauce

Cook pasta according to directions on box, last few minutes of cooking add your broccoli to the boiling water.

Combine pasta, sauce, and broccoli in a bowl and stir together. Finish off with Parmesan cheese on top!



** If you'll notice I didn't add any amounts to how much you'll need of each item, like I said I make it different every time. Cook lots of chicken if you have a big fam and maybe you'll need 2 boxes of pasta if your feeding a crowd. One box is plenty for Jason and I with tons of leftovers!
The cavatappi noodles and shredded Parmesan (don't use the grated kind) cheese are keys to this dish. And of course I couldn't find those exact noodles today after going to 2 stores so I settled for campanelle noodles- they look like little horns that curl at the ends. The Disneyland recipe does have sun dried tomatoes but I didn't want to run to the store just to buy those so we did with out.
*The title of this post is the actual name of the dish at Disneyland- since I didn't have my own name for it I used that one.

Tomato & Spinach Pasta

This recipe is from the Kraft Foods Magazine.

Tomato & Spinach Pasta

2 cups rotini or penne pasta, uncooked

1/2 lb. hot or mild Italian sausage, casing removed

1 pkg. (6 oz.) baby spinach leaves (7 cups)

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

2 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

COOK pasta as directed on package.
MEANWHILE, crumble meat into large deep skillet. Cook on medium-high heat 10 to 12 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally; drain. Add spinach and tomatoes; cook 2 min. or until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
DRAIN pasta. Add to skillet along with the cheeses; toss lightly.