Creamy Penne Pesto Bake...

On the calendar of meals Saturday was a recipe from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Money Saving Meals and good heavens was it amazing (AND EASY!)

Creamy Penne Pesto Bake

  

-Serves 4

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
8 ounces penne pasta
1-1/2 cups Alfredo sauce
1 (5-ounce) jar pesto sauce
1 (13.75-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
2 (6 ounces each) packets grilled chicken strips
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a 2-1/2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 1 minute less than directed on package. Drain and set aside. For creamy pesto, in a medium bowl, stir together Alfredo sauce and pesto sauce and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, toss to combine artichoke hearts, Italian cheese blend, chicken and roasted red peppers. Add cooked pasta and creamy pesto. Using a rubber spatula, fold together until well mixed. Transfer to prepared casserole dish.

4. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan and oil and sprinkle over pasta. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

Alterations:

Aaron is not a fan (or so he says…yet he eats Spinach and Artichoke Dip) of Artichokes, so I left those out.

I also used chicken breasts from the freezer instead of the packaged kind of chicken strips (like Tyson’s). I cut them into small cubes and cooked them prior to using them in the recipe (even more frugal than the cookbook). We already had pesto sauce in the fridge as well as a jar of roasted red peppers meant for a veggie dip that was never made. As far as "Italian Blend" cheese...I used mozzarella because I already had it when I went grocery shopping and new it needed to be used.

In the words of Aaron---“this tastes like we got it at a restaurant” …so I will take that as a compliment and clue to make it again.  We ate it for dinner that night and then I took some for lunch at school and had the rest yesterday for lunch on my SNOW DAY! :O)

Wordle.net---Try this!

 Try this...

Two new yummy recipes...

Recently I tried a new stir-fry recipe that was similar to one I have made before. It was similar in that the sauce was "orange-flavored" and another Weight Watchers recipe...but other than that it was quite different. 

Pork Stir-Fry with Orange Sauce

Ingredients
4  ounces  uncooked thin rice noodles
1  pound  boneless loin pork chops, trimmed and cut into thin strips
3  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce, divided
1 1/2  teaspoons  cornstarch
1/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3  tablespoons  dry sherry
2  tablespoons  thawed frozen orange juice concentrate
2  teaspoons  grated peeled fresh ginger
1/8  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
4  teaspoons  canola oil, divided
2/3  cup  diagonally cut peeled carrot (about 2 medium)
1  cup  sliced red bell pepper
4  green onions, sliced diagonally

Directions: 

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

While noodles cook, combine pork and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Stir in broth and next 4 ingredients. Set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 2 minutes or until pork just loses its pink color. Remove from pan; set aside.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan; add carrot and bell pepper. Sauté 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add green onions; cook 2 minutes or until onions wilt. Add soy sauce mixture to pan. Return pork and accumulated juices to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until sauce is thick. Serve over noodles.

Alterations:

I used brown rice rather than rice noodles. I also used a little bit of ground ginger rather than fresh. I also did not use the green onions. Instead of peeling and cutting a carrot or two I just sliced up some baby carrots. 

And here it is: 

 

Second Recipe...

Pumpkin Pancakes (from Men's Health)

1¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup milk
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 egg

1.Combine the first five dry ingredients in one bowl.  Combine the milk, pumpkin, butter, and egg in a separate bowl and mix thoroughly. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix, or your pancakes will be tough.

2.Place a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add a bit of butter or cooking spray, then add a small scoop of batter to the pan. Cook until tiny air bubbles begin to form on the surface of the top side of the pancake (about 3 minutes), then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

This sounded too good to NOT follow it to a "T"...so I did. Annnddd....SUCCESS! :O) Aaron loved them too...so much that I don't have a picture. 

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

Yes...made in about 45 minutes and in a skillet.  Thank you Pillsbury Savvy Shopper's Cookbook

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/4 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp pepper

2 cups sliced fresh carrots

2 cups frozen southern style diced hash brown potatoes

1 jar (12-15 oz) chicken gravy

1 cup frozen peas

1 can refrigerated buttermilk flaky biscuits 

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken; sprinkle with salt, 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme and the pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until chicken is browned, stirring frequently.

2. Move chicken to one side of skillet. Add carrots and potatoes; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add gravy to chicken and vegetables; mix well. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally and adding peas during last 5 minutes of cooking time. 


3. During last 15 minutes of cooking, heat oven to 400°F. Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Cut each into quarters; place in large bowl. Add garlic powder and remaining teaspoon thyme; toss to coat. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. 

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until biscuit pieces are golden brown. Scatter over top of cooked chicken mixture before serving.

Finally! (a little HGTV moment...)

We have this cupboard in our bathroom that was obviously a re-purposed kitchen cupboard...it 'was' identical to the cupboards in our kitchen currently. 

However, our cupboards in the kitchen look like this...a sort of cream color.

And here is how it looks now...it finally matches the bathroom :O)

 

Is it Autumn yet??

The cooler temperatures and big puffy white clouds in the sky have spurred me into "fall mode"...and this includes all things crafty.

Recent creations: 

Leaf Coasters (credits to The Long Thread )

And fall pillow slipcovers...

(credit to Cluck Cluck Sew )

It's been a long time since I rock and rolled... It's been a long time since I did the stroll

Name that tune! Bet ya can't...

But yes, its been a long time and one very, very busy summer. I might be struck down by some colleagues for this, but "is it September yet?" Working at Chautauqua has made for very long, stressful days...and yes I've been working there a while so you'd think it wouldn't be such a big deal...but this year!?! It's nuts! I'm ready to go back to nice quiet, serene Chautauqua.

Tonight is the first night since school was out that I have been able to try out a new recipe and not just throw together a dinner at the last minute.

Tonight it was.........

Chicken with Parmesan Noodles (Start to finish: 20 minutes)

Ingredients

1 9oz package of refrigerated angel hair pasta

2 Tbsp of butter

4 large carrots, thinly sliced

1 1/2 lbs of skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/4 C purchased basil pesto

1/4 C finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Ground peppers, Olive oil, Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to packaged directions. Meanwhile, in an extra large skillet, melt 1 Tbsp of the butter over medium heat. Add carrots; cook and stir for 3 minutes.

2. Add chicken; cook and stir for 4-5 minutes more or until chicken is no longer pink. Add pesto; toss to coat.

3. Drain pasta. Return to pan and toss with remaining 1 Tbsp of butter. Divide pasta among four plates. Add chicken to plates. Top chicken with Parmesan cheese; if desired sprinkle with olive oil, pepper, and basil.

Alterations: The difference in price between pre-cooked/refrigerated pasta and buying a box of angel hair pasta and cooking it myself was enough to convince me...so I cooked the pasta myself. I also sprinkled the pasta with some olive oil when it was done so it didn't stick. I didn't time this recipe out well so the pasta was done before the chicken was tossed in the pesto. I also did not use straight Parmesan...I used a mix of that, Asiago, Romano, Mozzarella, and Provolone cheese.

Here it is:

Overall, Aaron and decided it was a yummy, no oven needed, lighter, summer meal that we both would like to have again...next time though MORE PESTO. I was a little gun shy on using the pre-made stuff, didn't want to have a basil overload.

On another note: I now, midway into July, have plants in my garden! :O) YAY!