Chicken Pasta and Cheese

This recipe came to me in the middle of the night.  I have been wanting something different, especially pasta.  However this was going to work, it had to be quick and easy, I have work to do! 

Note:  I think this recipe will work just as well with smoked sausage, Italian sausage or even a seafood like lobster…I might even add bread crumbs for a topping too!

Ingredients:

3 boneless & skinless chicken breast

1 box of whole wheat penne pasta

1 bag of shredded cheese (mexican 3 cheese)

1 jar of garlic/parmesan alfredo sauce

fresh garlic

sesame oil & olive oil

fresh spinach

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil the pasta, not until it’s done but about 5-8 minutes (it will fully cook in the oven). In a medium size pan, medium hot, add about 2 T of sesame oil and olive oil, add 3 cloves of fresh garlic (diced), stir around in the pan and remove the garlic.  Put the garlic in a medium bowl.  Brown and season the chicken in the oil.  Remove from the pan and put it in the bowl with the garlic. Drain and rinse the pasta.  Add the pasta to the bowl with the chicken and garlic.

Add the garlic parmesan sauce, cheese, and about 3/4 cup of fresh spinach to the mixture with the chicken and stir well.  Tip:  to get the rest of the sauce out of the jar…I pour a little bit of half and half and shake it up really well.

Once it is all mixed well, pour into a glass baking dish that has a cover.  If not, cover with tin foil and bake for about 20-25 minutes.  As a side dish I prepared my spinach of course:

Waffles…

This morning I cooked breakfast for my parents and I thought about the fact that this is something that I fix for those I love as a nice surprise. As a child, I loved it when my grandmother would fix waffles, it was such a special treat. Through the years, I always fixed it as something special for the little ones in my life and they loved it too.  I am sure when I move back to California, this will be a meal I have to fix for my “grown” kids! We are a family that loves to have this for dinner at times too! Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles has nothing on me (or shall I say my grandmother), I just perfected it a little.

Equipment: Waffle iron…I prefer the Belgian style.  Make sure it is hot and the ready button is “off” before you pour the batter in.

Syrup:  Alaga….You cannot find it in just any store in California, if you find a store that has many ethnic types of things from the south, they probably have Alaga.  It’s a syrup with a different taste and it’s the bomb on waffles and biscuits.  I am not crazy about it on pancakes.  It’s usually pretty easy to find in the south.

Ingredients:

Waffle mix – Bisquick only!

Butter – 2 sticks (depends on the quantity of batter)

Milk

Allspice – 1tsp

Preparation

Depending on the amount you want to fix, follow the directions on the box BUT I have a few tips of things I do different:

• I mix using a hand mixer to make sure the batter is smooth.
• Add an extra egg before you add the milk, and put less milk.
• Do NOT use oil in the batter, replace it with “butter”.  I ALWAYS melt a stick of butter and use half of that in the batter or a whole stick if I am making a lot.  Once you have added the melted butter to the batter, if it is too thick, NOW add a little more milk.
• Melt the second stick (or half of stick) to pour over the waffle when it comes out of the iron.  I don’t know what it is, but it gives the waffle a completely different taste! We always have something small that we melt our butter in.
• Add the allspice at the end…Trust me you will like it!

Whatever meat you are serving with the waffles, make sure you prepare that first.

Pineapple Salsa Salmon

I made this dish last week for my parents and they loved it.  It came from a market here in Atlanta – Publix.  Each week they make the dishes and hand out samples to try and of course all the ingredients necessary are nearby.  I love Salmon and this is definitely a nice twist. This is easy and pretty quick – Total time 25 minutes, 4 servings. I also fixed asparagus as the vegetable.  This would be a cute dish to fix for a special date!

Asparagus-Ingredients

Asparagus

Sesame oil

Sea Salt & Pepper

Creole seasoning

1/2 of fresh lemon

Process:  Clean and cut the ends of the asparagus – at least 1/4 off the end..it’s usually chewy when cooked.  In a non-stick pan that fits the full size of the asparagus, turn to med-high heat.  When it is hot add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil.  Add the asparagus, season,  and let cook a few minutes;  turn them over.  When you turn them over reduce the heat, season, squeeze the lemon juice, and cover.  Cook for about 5 minutes and turn it off leaving them covered.

Salmon – Ingredients

4 salmon fillets (skin removed; 1 1/2 lb

1/2 lb fresh pineapple chunks

1 cup refrigerated fresh salsa

2 tsp prepared horseradish

2 cups instant rice

1 T honey mustard

2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

Cooking spray or Olive Oil

Prep

Chop pineapple  into small chunks

Check fish for bones (wash hands)

Process:  Combine pineapple, salsa, honey mustard, cornstarch, and horseradish; set aside, cook rice following package instructions.  Preheat large saute pan on medium-high for about 2-3 minutes.  Coat with cooking spray, or pour about 2 T of olive oil into hot pan.  Place fish in pan; cook 3 minutes.

Turn fish over and add salsa mixture.  Cover and reduce heat to medium; cook 5-7 minutes or until 145^oF (or flesh separates easily). Serve fish and sauce over rice.  Yummy

To get other recipes from Publix visit here