Drunken Italian Confetti Noodles

Wow...I feel like I haven't posted anything for quite some time. I almost feel like I have abandoned the blog. It's been a pretty busy past couple of weeks, so I do apologize for the silence.

Two weeks ago, my local grocery store had their super meat sale that they do twice a year. Our tax return came in and we decided to buy a chest freezer and load up on meat products we eat on a regular basis to take advantage of the deep discounts. We stocked our new freezer with chicken, beef, sausage, frozen vegetables and much more!!! So excited!! (Does that age me? lol)

I stumbled across some inspiration on Pinterest for this recipe. I tweaked it to make it my own but didn't drift too far away from the original. I can't tell you how many times I've attempted to jazz up some noodles by adding vegetables or something else that sounded good and it just fell flat of the promise I thought the dish had. I was a little nervous that this recipe would do that too but there's not a recipe on my epic fail list that included wine. So I thought it was worth a shot. And I am so glad that I tried it because this dish was nothing short of delicious!! It was pretty easy to make, all the ingredients are something you should have on hand, and it didn't take all that long to come together! I encourage you to give it a whirl. On the site that I pulled the original recipe off of, the blogger said "Out with the “eh”, the “OK” and the “so-so”, and in with the “WOW!” and the vibrancy that is all around." This recipe embodies this quote!!

Drunken Italian Confetti Noodles

4 spicy italian sausage links, casings removed

1/2 medium sized white onion, sliced thinly

1 small red bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 small yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 small orange bell pepper, sliced thinly

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup white wine (chardonnay)

1-28 oz can chopped tomatoes with juice (diced is fine too)

3-4 T flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 C fresh basil, confetti

8 oz Pappardelle noodles (or any other thick ribbon style noodle)

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

3 tsp. dried oregano

1) Heat skillet on medium-high heat. Add sausage to pan and brown it. I like to leave mine in small to medium sized chunks, but this is a preference thing. Remove from the pan and let rest in a covered bowel.In the meantime, cook noodles according to package to al dente.

2) Reserve some drippings and return to heat. Add onion and cook for about 5-7 minutes. You want them to sautee and really start to become transparent.

3) Add salt, pepper and oregano to the onions. Add in the peppers and continue to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

4) Add in garlic and sautee for 3-4 minutes. Once it becomes aromatic, add in white wine to the pan. Allow to burn off, then add tomatoes to the pan. Add parsley and half the basil to the sauce.
5) Add sausage back to the pan to finish the cooking process. Cook for 4-6 minutes to blend all the flavors. Add a nice drizzle of olive oil to finish it off.

6) Drain your noodles once they are done cooking and return them to the large pot and reduce heat to medium.

7) When your sauce is done, pour it on top of the noodles in the large pot, gently toss with a pair of tongs.

8) To serve, garnish with a sprinkle of fresh basil.



Read More

3 Cheese Tortellini Alfredo with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Asparagus, and Roasted Red Peppers

Wow, that's a mouthful. But please don't let the title deter you from trying this incredibly easy, quick and delicious recipe.

I'm not feeling particularly 'wordy' today but I had several people comment on my facebook post asking for this recipe. I'll get right to the point so that I please their hungry tummy's!

3 Cheese Tortellini Alfredo with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Asparagus,
and Roasted Red Peppers

2 Medium Chicken Breasts

1 Large Red Bell Pepper, thick sliced

1 Bag Frozen 3 Cheese Tortellini (I bag I used served 5)

1 Jar Alfredo Sauce (Or your favorite recipe for one)

1/4 C. 2% milk

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 bunch Asparagus, chopped in 1 inch pieces

1/4 C. Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Herb Seasoning

1) Heat oven to 450 Degrees. Also bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2)  Place sliced red bell peppers in a glass dish. Drizzle a little olive oil over the peppers and toss. Sprinkle some sea salt on the peppers and place in the oven. Roasting will be complete in about 15 minutes.

3) Once water is boiling, cook tortellini according to directions. Drain when done, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder (just a bit).

4) In the meantime, place chicken breasts in a skillet over medium heat. Season both sides with garlic herb seasoning and cook until chicken is almost cooked. Remove from pan and set aside. After the chicken has rested for about 10 minutes, slice against the grain into slices (about an inch thick)

5) In the skillet you cooked the chicken in, add the alfredo sauce, milk and garlic cloves. Allow to come to a slight boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 8-9 minutes. Add in sliced chicken and asparagus and turn heat onto medium to bring to a low boil again. Keep stirring and allow it to boil slowly to finish cooking the chicken breasts and asparagus, about 3 minutes.

6) When red peppers are done roasting, place on a cutting board and cut into big chunks. Add to the alfredo sauce. Add mozzarella cheese to the sauce, give a good stir and cook for 1-2 minutes.

7) To serve, put tortellini on a plate or in a bowl and top with a good helping of the sauce.

*I had this for leftovers at lunch today and it was DELICIOUS! Would be a good sauce to add red pepper flakes to to add a little bit of heat*

Read More

Herb Dusted Chicken with Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Basil Sauce

Whoa...that's a mouth full. LOL

First, please don't let the word "creamy" in the title scare you away. It's not fat and calorie laden like you might expect a recipe with that name in to be.

With that said ....

I can't tell you for sure how long this jar of sun dried tomatoes has been sitting on my pantry shelf untouched, but what I can tell you is that it won't last much longer in my fridge now that I have made this chicken dish!!

I wanted something awesome. I had chicken breasts in the fridge that needed used and, lets face it, most often chicken dishes using breasts seem to fall short of the mark. If you would have asked me a year ago what cut of chicken I used it would have been a boneless skinless chicken bosom. But, when I joined weight watchers, I noticed that the majority of recipes called for boneless skinless thighs. I was hesitant but I tried them and now I know why. Breasts, unless cooked with a lot of fat, get dry really quick and tend to not be as delicious as the thigh. I had originally bought the breasts to make buffalo chicken dip for Super Bowl but opted for guacamole instead. So it sat there. And sat there. And it needed to be used. But it begged me to make it into something delicious and memorable.

This recipe does not fall short of that. In fact, my 4 year old daughter (who has been giving me a headache at dinner time for that last two months) actually said "Momma, this chicken is soooooooo delicious. Thank you for making me dinner." And she ate EVERY.SINGLE.BITE that was put on her plate!!! HOME RUN!

Herb Dusted Chicken with Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Basil Sauce



3 Boneless/Skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup white onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1/2 bunch of asparagus, chopped in 1 inch pieces

One - Two handfuls of fresh basil, confetti chopped 

3 T. flour

1 1/2 C. chicken stock

1/3 C. White Wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc, but any dry white wine will do)

1/2 C. whole milk 

2 T. Olive Oil

2 T. Butter

Salt and Pepper

"Perfect Pinch" garlic and herb seasoning

**A few things before we start. For the Olive oil, I used basil flavored oil that I have in ice cube trays in the freezer. I used whole milk but if you want something super creamy, use a heavy cream in its place. Mushrooms would be a nice addition but my boyfriend doesn't care for them. I wasn't sure how to measure the basil. I have a plant in my kitchen and used about 8-10 good sized leaves off of it**

1) Heat your skillet on medium high heat and put in the olive oil. In the mean time, slice your breasts in half (like you are butterflying but go all the way through). 

2) Season both sides of the chicken with salt/pepper and the garlic and herb seasoning. There really isn't a way to 'over do' the seasoning here. Get a nice crust on it.

3) Cook the chicken in the skillet until almost done, about 4 minutes on each side.

4) When chicken is almost done (about 3 minutes from being done), remove it from the pan and put on a plate and cover it.

5) Using the same skillet, reduce heat to medium and add in butter, onion and garlic. Saute for about 3-4 minutes. Add in the sun dried tomatoes and cook for another 3-4 minutes stirring regularly. Add in the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes.

5) Add wine and chicken stock to the skillet and let cook for 3-4 minutes. Take a 1/4 cup of the liquid out of the skillet and put it into a small glass bowl. Add the flour into this reserved sauce and stir until the flour forms a paste. Pour that paste back into the skillet and whisk vigorously, until sauce begins to thicken. (if it doesn't thicken to your liking, add a little flour at a time until desired thickness)

6) Add the basil and the chicken back into the pan and let simmer for 3-4 minutes. This will cook the chicken the rest of the way and allow it to soak up the good flavor of the sauce.

We served this over campanelle pasta but you can serve with roasted vegetables, potatoes or rice. Or even by itself with a fresh salad!

Enjoy!!

Read More

Lightened Up, Kicked up Baked Pasta

If you're like me, a simple pasta dish is always a great meal to have on deck for those busy week nights. But all too often for me, I have hopes of something being delicious and it falls short of my expectations. I adapted this recipe from one I saw on a recipe site that I frequent...a lot. It's probably considered stalking at this point lol. But it looked delicious and easy and I just needed to give it a try. From start to finish this dish took about 35-45 minutes (and most of that time was in the oven

The verdict: IT WAS AWESOME!!! It simply was awesome. And even better for leftovers the next day. And since its lightened up, you won't find yourself having to run 121 miles to burn it off. I hope you enjoy!!

Lightened Up, Kicked up Baked Pasta

 

1/4 C. Parmesan Cheese

8 oz. Fat Free Ricotta

8 oz Part Skim shredded Mozzarella Cheese

13 oz Hot Italian Sausage, casings removed

Box of high fiber Penne Pasta

Olive Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

6-8 Cups fresh Kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper

1 1/2 jars of your favorite Marinara Sauce

1) Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees. Using your Misto (or favorite cooking spray), spray a glass casserole dish

2) Cook your noodles according to package directions, but remove 4 minutes before they would be Al Dente

3) In a medium bowl, combine together the Ricotta and half the mozzarella cheese and half of the parmesan cheese.

4) While your noodles are cooking, heat a deep skillet on medium high heat. Add the sausage and break up into rough pieces until it is cooked. Remove from pan and set aside. Using a little bit of the grease from the sausage, sauté the garlic for a minute or two. Add in the kale, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 8 minutes. If you use spinach you will only need to cook it for a minute or two. Add the sausage back into the pan and add the marinara sauce. Cook on low for about 5 minutes to incorporate all of these wonderful flavors.

5) Once the noodles are done, drain them and place half of them in the glass casserole dish. Use a little less than half of your sauce mixture and coat the noodles then top them with the ricotta mixture. Then add in the remainder of the noodles and use the rest of the sauce to coat those. Top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese that you set aside and cover with aluminum foil.

6) Bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 8-10 minutes to melt the cheese.

When I serve this, I garnish it with a little bit more parmesan cheese and some red pepper flakes.



Read More