Parmesan Chicken Noodle

My friend brought this meal over after I had my baby (almost 2 years ago!) and we loved it. I finally got the recipe from her. This is a great weeknight meal and very kid friendly.

Parmesan Chicken Noodle
8 oz Angel Hair pasta, cooked
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

Place cooked noodles in bottom of casserole dish. In saucepan melt butter, add flour, add chicken broth. Cook until thick & bubbly. Add milk, stir in Parmesan cheese and chicken. Pour sauce & chicken over noodles. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (This recipe makes a lot of sauce, so you could easily get away with cutting it down a bit.)

Poaching Chicken
I finally learned how to poach chicken perfectly. Before, it always turned out a little on the tough side - No matter how many different ways I tried it. Everyday Food Magazine taught me the trick. (If you already knew how to do this to perfection, good for you! If not, this will help you so much!!)

Place chicken in a large, shallow skillet or pot. Add water to cover and season with salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a bare simmer; cook 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and let chicken stand, covered, until cooked through, 12-14 minutes. Remove chicken from liquid and let cool completely. The chicken stays moist and tender - perfect for this dish and also for cold salads.

CROCKPOT CHICKEN ALFREDO

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; cubed
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. melted butter
1/4 c. whole milk {not fat-free or 2%}
16 oz. sour cream
1 envelope of Italian dressing mix
1 lb. fettuccine noodles

Stir everything together in a crockpot except for the noodles. Cook on LOW for 6 hours. Then make the pasta according to package directions then drain. Stir the pasta into the crockpot and serve.

Delicious and so very easy!


-

*Merrianne

Linguini with vegetables

1/2 lb. linguini
2 T oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 green onions, sliced
2 small zucchini, sliced
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 med tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup provolone or mozzarella, grated
3 T parmesan
2 T fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Cook pasta. Heat oil in large fry pan on med heat. Add garlic, gr onion, zucchini, and saute 2 min. Add mushrooms and cook for 1 min. Add tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 min or until tender-crisp. Add vegetables to drained pasta, add cheeses and mix until cheese melts. Sprinkle with parsley.

I serve this with sauteed chicken tenderloins. It's simple, but really, really good.

Chicken Scampi

I really think this tastes exactly like Olive Garden's, and it's way easier to cook than I thought. There's just a few components that are going at the same time, but it came together in about 40 minutes. It also makes a lot of sauce, so you can cut it down, or freeze it. This would also be nice for a romantic dinner at home for two.

2 sticks unsalted butter (has to be unsalted, because the cooking wine has lots of salt)

1 1/2 T garlic puree

1 1/2 T chicken bullion

1 12.7 oz bottle Chablis cooking wine

1 cooking wine bottle full of water

1 T cornstarch

1 pint heavy cream

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp marjoram

OR 1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp black pepper

Melt butter in large skillet over med-low heat. Add garlic and sweat it for a minute or so, but don't let it get brown. Add rest of ingredients and let simmer for 15 minutes, while you make the rest. Stir occasionally.

Cook angel hair pasta according to package.

Coat chicken tenderloins in flour seasoned with thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Saute in olive oil until done, remove to plate.

Saute red onion and red, yellow, and green bell pepper slices in chicken skillet until a little brown but still crisp.

Assemble on plate, and ENJOY!!!

Italian Sausage Cream Pasta

1 lb. Italian Sausage
1 can chopped tomatoes (can use Italian style)
1 pt. heavy whipping cream
1 pkg. bowtie pasta
grated Parmesan cheese

Brown sausage in a large skillet, then add tomatoes and cream, start cooking the pasta, according to the pkg. directions. Simmer the cream sauce about 15 min. until the pasta is cooked. Add garlic salt, salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg to taste, and then mix pasta and cream sauce together. Add Parmesan cheese to your preference (we usually add 1/2 to 1 cup cheese). I think mushrooms would be really good in this dish, too.

Spanish Ole

I got this from a recipe exch. and thought it can't be good, the ingredients are too simple. But I tried it last week and my kids wouldn't stop eating, and Dan and I thought it was good, too.

Spanish Ole
1 pound ground beef
minced onion, garlic salt, pepper (to taste)
1 can corn, drained (I use frozen corn sometimes and just dump in some...I don't measure it)
1 large (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup macaroni noodles, dry
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions. Cook beef and drain fat in large skillet. (I season the beef with minced onion, garlic salt and pepper). Add tomato sauce and corn to beef in skillet and simmer until noodles are done. Drain noodles and dump them in to beef. Then add the cheese and cook it until cheese melts.

Bow-Ties with Ham

Ingredients:

3 cups uncooked bow-tie pasta (6 oz)
1 jar (16 oz) Alfredo pasta sauce
10 medium asparagus spears cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil and herbs, drained, chopped
1 cup diced cooked ham
1 cup feta cheese

Heat oven to 350. Spray 2 quart casserole with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
Meanwhile, in 3 quart saucepan, heat Alfredo sauce over medium heat, stirring frequently, until hot. Gently stir in cooked pasta, asparagus, tomatoes, and ham. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese. Pour into casserole.
Cover, bake 35-45 minutes or until bubbly. Top with remaining cheese.

Chicken Spaghetti

I saw this on The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog, but this sounds delicious, and great for kids too!

2 cups cooked chicken

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup finely diced green pepper

1/2 cup finely diced onion
1-4 oz jar diced pimentos, drained

3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces

2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot

1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 additional cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar. Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil.)

Creamy Pesto Pasta

You have to try this one.

Ingredients
1. chicken breasts however many you want or go vegetarian.
2. fresh mushrooms
3. sun dried tomatoes
4. 1/2 onion chopped and garlic(optional)
5. spinach however much
6. pasta (you can use whatever kind you want. I like bowtie and penne.
7. knorr creamy pesto sauce mix


Directions
So easy you can take out whatever you want except for the sauce mix and pasta.
1.first cook your chicken either fry it or boil it and cut in cubes. set aside
2. saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms. make sauce as directed on packet. Put it all together and let simmer while you cook pasta.
3. cook pasta how you like it. some like it crunchy some like it soggy. I like it perfect (obviously I think so).
4. add sun dried tomatoes to sauce mixture then top over pasta.
5. people are wowed by this and I think it is so funny but add as much or as little spinach as you want and mix it all together. The heat from the pasta and the sauce is enough to cook your spinach perfectly.
The next time I make it I will post a picture. Hope you like it, tell me what you think?

Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Pasta Casserole

INGREDIENTS
1 (12 ounce) package medium seashell pasta
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3-4 medium sized chicken breasts
2 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 (26 ounce) jars of pasta sauce
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
3-5 shakes of garlic powder


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook the chicken on the stove using light oil. Cut into small chunks and set aside until later.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes; drain. Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, and cook the spinach 4 to 6 minutes, until tender.
Place the cooked pasta in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil. Toss the pasta with the cooked spinach, egg mixture, and bread crumbs garlic powder.
Cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with 1/3 of the pasta sauce. Pour half of the pasta mixture into the baking dish, spread out half of the chunks of chicken, and cover with another 1/3 of the pasta sauce. Sprinkle with half of the Cheddar cheese and half of the mozzarella. Layer with remaining pasta mixture, spread out the rest of the chicken, and top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the rest of the Cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.
Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

*Is also good with other vegetables mixed in (corn, broccoli,...) and I usually add some parmesian cheese to the top. Enjoy!