Basil Chicken Pasta

I had a couple of chicken breasts left over from the night before, so I thought I would whip up a new pasta recipe! There's no such thing as too many pasta recipes! 

Basil Chicken Pasta

1lb chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped 

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ c balsamic vinegar

2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian style diced tomatoes

12-16 oz uncooked penne (use 12oz if you like a saucier pasta) 

2 T butter

¼ c chopped fresh basil

8 oz fresh mozzarella cut in ½ inch pieces 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add chicken and onions. Cook until chicken is done.  Reduce heat to med-low and add garlic and balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine. Cook for a minute or two to let the flavors combine. Add tomatoes and their juices. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until it has slightly thickened. 

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot, adding butter. Stir to coat pasta. 

Add basil to tomato sauce and stir to combine. Combine pasta and sauce in a large bowl and toss to combine. Stir in mozzarella cheese and serve immediately. 

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Lasagna

As I said in my previous post, I am starting "Meatless Monday's" back up our house. We started last Monday night totally by convenience. I realized at around 4pm that I hadn't taken anything from the freezer to cook. So instead of having to defrost something in the microwave, I decided to just though a bunch of stuff together. What I came up with was sooooooo good! I must warn you, this is not for the faint of heart. I in no way shape or form suggest this if you have a dairy problem, or are trying to diet. It is the cheesiest meal I believe I have ever had, which makes it worth every calorie!

*I could have sworn I took pictures while cooking this, but apparently I either didn't or they have disappeared. I'm sorry. I'm sure I will make it again soon, then I'll edit this to add them to it!*

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Lasagna

• 1/2 box of lasagna noodles (you'll need about 12)
• 1 T oil (I always use evoo)
• 1 1/2 c ricotta cheese
• 1 box frozen spinach (or you boil fresh spinach down)
• 2 c Italian blend cheese
• 1 c mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 c Parmesan cheese
• 2+ T milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 T dried parsley
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce**
• 1 regular can of tomato sauce**

**If you prefer, you can make your own red sauce. HERE is the one I normally make. Just be sure to omit the spaghetti sauce and the tomato sauce from this recipe. 

1. Fill a large stock pot with water and place over high heat to boil. Preheat your oven to 350 F. 
2. When water is boiling add oil and a pinch of salt. Next add the noodles one by one, being sure that they get fully submerged in the water. Cook noodles for approximately 10 minutes, or until al dente.
3. Meanwhile, heat the spinach up in the microwave, just until warm. Place in dish towel or cheese cloth, and squeeze out as much as the water as possible. Set aside. 
4. In a medium/large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Italian cheese, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Stir in milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is spreadable. Salt and pepper to taste, then add the spinach. Stir just to combine. 
5. When noodles are done, drain, and layer on paper towels to dry. 
6. If using spaghetti and tomato sauce, then combine the two in a bowl. (I like to add the tomato sauce to give it a more tomato flavor. You could also add 1 c chopped tomatoes if you like it chunkier.)
7. In a 9x13 pan, spread just enough sauce to coat the bottom. Top with 3 noodles, side by side. Spread  1/2 of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles and top with 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat. Place your last layer of noodles on top and pour remaining sauce over them. 
8. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, and sprinkle 1 c mozzarella cheese over the top. Return to over just until the cheese is melted. Let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing. 

Homemade Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

It's barely past Monday and I've already strayed from my menu plan. I was originally going to make Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita's (I think.) Well, when I got up this morning and checked the weather I found out that it was going to be 66 F here!!!!! 66!!! So, I decided we would grill out. Now for those of you who know me... you know that I have found one of the few men in the world that does not like to grill. Needless to say he wasn't as excited as I was about this endeavor, but he was he climbed on board soon enough. 

As the afternoon progressed I got sidetracked outside and Wezul conveniently got sidetracked on the computer. Next thing we know it's getting dark and we haven't even lit the grill. So we scrapped the whole idea and made pizza. I had some green peppers that were about to go bad and a couple of thin sandwich steaks that I needed to use so I made my own ... 

Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

2 or 3 super thin sandwich steaks

Pizza dough*

1 small onion, sliced thin

1/2 green pepper, sliced thin

Pizza sauce

6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese**

4 slices provolone cheese

*I used Pillsbury refriderated pizza dough, but you could make your own.

**This could be any type or combo of cheeses. I used a handful of mozzarella, a handful of an Italian blend, and sliced provolone. 

Preheat your oven to 350F. Spray an 8-inx11in pan with cooking spray. Then unroll your dough and place position in pan how you like. 

 

I accidentally bought thin crust :( I fixed it up though! 

Next, heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Add steaks and cook for about 2 minutes on one side, flip and cook for another minute or so. (I sprinkle some steak seasoning on them first) 

Yes, that is a pink knife! I love it! 

Remove steaks from skillet, and add a little EVOO. Add onions and green peppers and toss to coat. Saute veggies until softened, about 5-7 minutes. 

 

Meanwhile, slice the steak. 

While your veggies finish cooking, spread the pizza sauce over the uncooked crust. Top with 1/2 of shredded cheese. 

 

When the veggies are tender add them on the pizza, along with the steak. 

 

I have a kiddo who won't eat anything but cheese pizza

Next, top with remaining shredded cheese and then the sliced provolone. 

 
 

Bake in 350F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until crust is firm and golden. 

 

Remove from oven, cut, and serve! YUM! 

  

So Much For The Meal Plan

This week has been a little crazy and needless to say I have not stuck to my meal plan... at all! I thought I would post the recipes for what I have cooked. 

Monday was supposed to be Burgers with potato wedges.... it ended up being frozen fish fillet sammies with spicy fries because I had an appointment for 3:00, and I didn't get home until after 5:00! 

Today I had planned on a roast... again, that didn't happen! My fiance just started working third shift again, plus he has school and clinicals, so he was ready to pass out when he got home this afternoon. I decided to take the kiddo and do all my grocery shopping. That way he could get at least a couple of hours uninterrupted sleep. 

While I was at Kroger I found Organic baby Italian style mixed greens marked down to $1.97!!!! So we ended up having Quick Calzones and salads!!! 

Quick Calzones
Makes 8 

 

1 package McCormick® Italian-Style Spaghetti Sauce Mix
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
Water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 packages (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 package (4 ounces) sliced pepperoni
1 package (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix Spaghetti Sauce Mix, tomato paste, 1 can water and oil in medium bowl.
2. Unroll crescent rolls; separate into 8 rectangles. Press together perforations.
3. Spoon 1 tablespoon sauce on one half of each rectangle. Top with sliced pepperoni and shredded mozzarella cheese. Fold dough over cheese and press to seal edges.
4. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

These were really good, but next time I will skip the spaghetti sauce mix, and just use pizza sauce. The spaghetti sauce was a little too sweet for my taste. I also want to experiment with all kinda of filling combos. I think I might find a recipe next weekend for a good dough to make completely homemade calzones!