Chicken Pasta

A few days ago, my aunt shared a recipe with me, and I wanted to try it.  It turned out great, so here is my version of the chicken pasta.  It's incredibly easy, and you can even cook it in the slow cooker! 


First, bake and cube two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Also, cook a box of pasta (I used bow-tie) to al dente.  In a bowl, mix the chicken, pasta, half a block of velveeta (chopped up), a can of rotell, half a bag of shredded taco flavored cheese, and a can of cream of mushroom (or cream of chicken).  Mix it all together.  Cook it in a casserole dish at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the top begins to brown and then add some shredded cheddar cheese on top, continue cooking until the cheese  melts.  You can also cook it in the slow cooker on low for several hours.  The end result looks something like this, and tastes delicious! Enjoy!

 

Skillet Lasagna

Lasagna is one of my favorite foods, and my favorite way to make it is the same way that my mom always did.  However, a new recipe caught my eye and I just had to try it.  Lasagna?  From a skillet?  What?

First you put about 3/4 of a can of spaghetti sauce in a skillet, along with 3 cups of water, turn the burner on high, allowing the mixture to come to a boil.

As that begins to cook, break half a box of lasagna noodles into quarters.

 

When the sauce has begun to boil, turn down the heat to about medium and put the noodles into the skillet.  Stir occasionally as the noodles begin to cook.

 

While the noodles cook, brown some ground beef (either 1/2 lb to 1 lb) and drain.  When the lasagna noodles are cooked, add the ground beef.  Continue to stir as the sauce thickens.  Add 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese into the dish, and mix it all together.  The cheese will probably melt so much that it dissolves, but don't worry, you can still taste it!  The longer you wait to add the cheese, the less likely it will be to dissolve.

 

When everything is cooked through, sprinkle more cheese on top, and add a little parsley if you would like.

 

We topped off our meal with some delicious garlic bread.  There was leftover homemade bread that my husband had made.  We buttered it, and added, garlic, salt, and parsley, cooking it in the oven at 325 for about 10-15 minutes.  It was scrumptious!

Ravioli Lasagna

The ravioli recipe that I shared here makes several of the large ravioli pieces, much more than my husband expected.  So, there we were with about six large raviolis left over.  Of course we could have eaten them later, but I like to mix things up a beat at times.  Remembering a recipe for a ravioli lasagna I decided to try something new.  It's really simple to do, either with your leftover homemade ravioli, or you can even use the frozen ravioli. 

Simply (after cooking the ravioli) spray a pan with cooking spray, and begin to place the ravioli in the bottom.  Cover the bottom with ravioli, and then cover that with sauce and shredded cheese.  Keep layering until you run out of ravioli, or reach the top of the pan. 

Cook the lasagna at 350 until the center is warm and the cheese is melted, then enjoy!

Chicken Ravioli

On Valentine's Day I was kicked out of my kitchen!  What kind of a person would do such a thing?  Well, my husband would.  However, he did so with some great intentions.  He decided to make me a surprise Valentine's meal.  I heard a lot of loud noises and soon some wonderful smells were coming out of there.  When I was finally allowed to see the end product, this was what it was.

 

He had made homemade ravioli for me!  What a guy!  So, I learned the secret of making this delicious dish, and just had to share it with you. 

First, you make the pasta dough (you can find the recipe here.)  Then you roll out the dough.

While this is being done, you can also start on the filling for the ravioli.  My husband decided to use chicken as the filler.  First he cooked then minced two boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a good chopper.  (A food processor would work great too!)  He then placed the chicken as well as a chopped garlic clove, chopped red and yellow peppers salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese into a skillet.  You can cook this mixture on low, while stirring occasionally.  This mixture looks a lot like scrambled eggs when you are cooking it.

 

 

When the filling is done, place spoon fulls of it on the flat pasta dough, in a circle about 1-2 inches in diameter.  You can really make the ravioli whatever size that you want, but we enjoyed large raviolis.  When the filling is placed, lay the other rolled out pasta on top of the first that is now covered with filling.  My husband used a tart press to cut and seal the ravioli.  If you don't have one of these, you will want to coat the edges of the ravioli with some egg whites or butter, to make the edges stick together.  Then cut out the ravioli with a pasta cutter (or a pizza cutter if a pasta cutter is not available).  Make sure the edges of the pasta are pressed tight. (You can use a fork to help seal the edges as well.)  Cook the ravioli in a pot of boiling water for 8-9 minutes, until the pasta dough is limp.  Be gentle with each piece, as they are somewhat prone to breaking open.  Place the ravioli on a plate and top with some marinara sauce that has been warmed in a sauce pan.  Then enjoy this delicious meal!

      

 

 

Spaghetti Sauce

After watching someone make homemade marinara sauce on a cooking show, I knew that it was something that I wanted to try.  There are several different ways to make the sauce, but I took a rather simple approach.  First I minced 1-2 cloves of garlic and cooked it in a skillet with a handful of chopped onions and some oil.  I cooked it until the onions and garlic were tender. Next I added two cans of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce. 

 

Keeping the heat on low, I stirred the tomatoes, in with some seasoning.  I used Italian seasoning, salt, parsley, and about 4 pinches of sugar.  I then added some Parmesan cheese, and continued to stir everything while it simmered.  

 

The sauce takes a long time to cook, otherwise the sauce will continue to taste bitter.  While the sauce is cooking, I browned some ground beef and added it to the sauce.

 

After cooking for about an hour, the sauce was tasty and ready to eat on any type of pasta. Enjoy!

Chicken Fettuccini

With my husband's current interest in making homemade pasta, we decided to have some fettuccine.  It may sound intimidating, but it's really not that hard.

First you make the pasta itself.  Take 2 cups of flour, a tbs of basil, and a 1/4 tsp of salt.  Mix these dry ingredients together.  Next, mix the wet ingredients.  This includes 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of water, and a half tsp of oil.  When both the wet and dry ingredients are mixed thoroughly, mix them together.  When the ingredients are all mixed together, cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.

After the dough has rested, split it into four equal parts, and roll each part out into a 12x12 inch square.

  At this point you can cut the pasta into whatever you want.  My husband has made fettuccine, bow ties, and ravioli.  Either cook the pasta in boiling water then, or let it dry to store it in the fridge (to be used in the next couple of days) or in the freezer (for storage up to several months).

For the rest of the meal, cut some boneless skinless chicken breast into strips.  Place some oil in a skillet and heat it up.  Add some salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to the skillet, and place the chicken breasts in to cook.  Cook them until they are cooked all the way through.

 

When the chicken is cooked, add some Alfredo sauce (we just used the plainest Alfredo sauce from the store.)  I added some more seasonings to get the flavor I wanted.  

  
 As the sauce continues to cook (set it to a low heat), place the pasta in a pot of boiling water.  Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the pasta is limp.  Drain the pasta.

  
Then, pour the Alfredo sauce, with the chicken, on top of the noodles.  Enjoy!

Secret Sauce

What's better than some chicken, pasta, and a secret sauce?  One evening I wanted to make some chicken pasta, but I didn't have the sauce I needed.  Instead I decided to make my own sauce.  It's pretty easy, and something different. 

First cut boneless, skinless, chicken breast into medium to large size chunks.  Throw them in a skillet with two tablespoons of margarine, and cook until the chicken is cooked through. 

 

Add some salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.  While the chicken is cooking, cook a box of pasta, I used bow tie. Next start on the sauce.

Take a can of cream of chicken and add about 20 cubes of velveeta, and a little milk.

 
 

Keep the sauce on low, stirring so that the cheese won't stick.  Add a little parsley.  When the cheese is melted and the sauce is hot, it's ready!

 

Place the chicken on top of the pasta and cover with the sauce.  Eat and enjoy!

Chicken Pasta

There is a delicious frozen meal that my marvelous friend, Sandee, introduced me to.  It was a three cheese chicken meal, and we loved it.  That was exactly what I wanted for dinner the other night, but much to my annoyance, I can't find this meal anymore.  So, there was only one thing to do.  Make it myself.

If you want to try the meal, it's pretty easy.  (Sandee, try it, and see if you think it tastes close to the frozen stuff.)

Take cubed chicken, chopped broccoli, red, green, and yellow peppers, and onions.  Cook them all in a skillet until the chicken is cooked. 

While this is cooking, cook pasta (I used rotini) in a pan, and drain.

When the pasta and the chicken is finished, add half a can of cream of chicken, the pasta, and about 16 small cubes of velveeta cheese. 

Keep the food on low heat, and mix while the cheese melts.  When everything is hot, and the cheese is melted, sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top.  Eat and enjoy!

Pop It In The Oven

Sometimes, "pop it in" meals are my favorite.  You make a casserole or other dish in advance, and when the time comes all you have to do is "pop in in" the oven.  I especially like doing this on days that my husband is gone.  I can out everything together, and when he gets home and ready, it's easy to just pop the meal into the oven.

It's always fun for me to "create" a new casserole recipe.  Tuesday's was exceptionally tasty, in my opinion.

First, bake two boneless skinless chicken breasts.  When they are cooked, cut them into little pieces and line the bottom of a casserole dish with them. 

While the chicken is cooking, cook a box of macaroni according to the instructions.  When the noodles are cooked and drained, add 1/5 of a box of velveta (chopped), a can of cream of  mushroom soup, and broccoli.

Stir the mixture until everything is melted and warm.  (You might add some milk if it looks like it is getting too dry.)  I also added some mushrooms, because, I LOVE mushrooms!  When it all gets mixed and melted together, it looks like this.

Then pour the macaroni mixture over the chicken.

Not all of my cheese got melted in the pan, and it still tasted ok, but it would have been better all melted and mixed in.  After watching Emeril that day (one of my new favorites) I decided to try making a bread crumb topping.  It was delicious!

Simply tear bread (I used 3 pieces) into little bitty bits.  Then mix in parmesan cheese and parsley.

Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the casserole and then bake until the crumbs start to get crispy and the middle of the casserole is hot.

Enjoy!

Grandma Gregory's Goulash

 

Goulash is a relative name.  There are lots of things that I've heard called goulash.  "What's in that pan?"  I would ask.  "Goulash," was the response.  I would start to get excited, because I love goulash.  When I fix it, I make a big pot, and I can eat the leftovers for days.  I like it hot; I like it cold; I like it in the pot, nine days old.

However, my excitement would soon diminish.  I guess I'm a goulash snob.  There's only one way that I like it, and that's Grandma's way.  So, here is the "right" way to make a delicious pot of goulash.  It's pretty easy too!

1. Brown a pound of ground beef.  Drain the grease off of it.  (If you like, you can add just a few pieces of chopped onion for flavor.)  

2. While the hamburger is browning, boil a pot of water.  When the water starts boiling, add a box of pasta.  (Most people use Macaroni noodles.  I, however, really enjoy rotinni, but it all depends on my mood.)  Cook the pasta until it is soft, and then drain off the water.

3.  Mix the beef and cooked pasta in the pasta pot.  Add tomato juice.  (Here is where one of the big mistakes is made in goulash, in my snobish opinion.)  I think that the only way for the goulash to be is runny, like soup.  I always use at least half of my 46 oz can of tomato juice.  I save the rest of the juice, because as you reheat the goulash on other days, it starts to get dry.  I add the extra juice then.

4. Turn the heat to a medium level. Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix while the goulash heats up.  (The second atrocity against this dish is sugar.  Many people add this to their goulash to give it a sweet taste.  Blah!   Dessert is supposed to be sweet, not the main course.) 

So, there you go, a quick and easy recipe that ends in a delicious dish.    

Detestable Dusting

It's been a few days, since I've written, but I have company. Even though that's the case, I wanted to share the results of our poll! Obviously you all hate dusting the most, which I find very interesting. I mean, I don't like dusting, but I hate washing dishes and doing laundry much more. Half of the voters said that they found dusting detestable.

On another note, I'm enjoying having family here, and also enjoying breaking into that freezer full of food. Tuesday, to celebrate my parents' 25th anniversary, we had lasagna and fresh green beans.

Pasta Please

Imagine my surprise, as I was checking out of Wal-Mart, to find out that Paula Dean has a magazine! While my husband graciously loaded the conveyor belt with our new purchases, I grabbed the magazine, with the intent to read as much as I could before it was time to pay. The first thing I found was a delicious looking pasta recipe. I glanced over the ingredients and was ecstatic to find that, not only could I pronounce them all, but I also had each one already in my cupboard! I tried to memorize the recipe, and then headed home.

Last night I remembered what I could and filled in the blanks on my own. That's how I tend to cook anyway. I like to make stuff up on the spot, so while this recipe was a Paula Dean one, every little bit wasn't hers.
So, let me share with you what turned out to be a wonderful success!


First, I set out my chicken and broccoli to thaw. I used about 2-3 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast for two people.

When it came time to cook, I boiled water and then cooked spaghetti in a sauce pan. Before the spaghetti is done cooking, add the broccoli in and let the two finish cooking together. Drain the mixture when the spaghetti and broccoli is finished cooking.



While you are cooking the spaghetti mixture, slice the thawed chicken into strips. If the strips are too thick, you might half them. Warm a skillet on the stove, and melt butter in it, enough to brown your chicken. Then place the chicken strips into the skillet.













Cook the chicken until it is a golden brown on the
outside. Make sure that it is cooked all of the way through, and then remove from the skillet and let it sit on a plate.


Pour the spaghetti mixture back into the saucepan and add a can of cream of mushroom soup. Mix the ingredients together on the stove on a low setting, allowing everything to warm.

When the spaghetti is hot, scoop onto a plate. Add the cooked chicken strips on top of the pasta. Then, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of all of it.


Here is a picture of the finished project. It looks better in real life, but my husband declared it delicious, and I rather enjoyed it myself. Try it, and let me know what you think!