Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne ( A Reader Recipe)

I have been exhausted this week and even though I've been cooking, I can't seem to find the time to blog.

I usually blog during the kids' naptime, but I've been taking naps myself...lol

I'm going to blame it on my weekend skiing with a bunch of teenagers and no sleep. 

This old body needs some time to catch up I guess.

It also probably has NOTHING to do with the fact that the sun hasn't been out in weeks!

Well, today is my reader recipe post. 

And in case you're all wondering how that is going, well....

I've only had a couple of recipes sent to me. 

So... please, help a girl out! 

Ok.. on to the recipe stuff...

I have actually had this recipe for a while, but didn't have all the ingredients.

I am not one to just go out and buy what I need... it has to be on sale. 

I will wait and wait and wait.

Yes, I know, I'm wierd.... I've learned to accept it...lol

I finally have all the ingredients (the pesto was the hard one for me)

I got this recipe from a very dear friend of mine in Australia

Here is what she has to say about it:

"This one is so easy that Alexa has made it and she's NO expert cook!
It's yummy too. We generally use whatever type of pasta we have in the pantry and I usually make it with basil pesto rather than tomato, but both are good. I also usually put a bit less stock." ( I adjusted stock amount in the recipe for this)

Thank you Ros for sharing your yummy recipe with me!

I was so happy to have finally tried it! 

I can't wait to share it with all of you too:

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne

Ingredients:

1 box (16oz) Penne Pasta

1.5 lbs chicken breast, cubed

8 oz jar pesto (regular or Sun dried tomato pesto)

1 C Chicken stock

1/4 C Parmesan cheese, shredded (NOT the powdered kind)

1/4 C Cream *(see my notes below in the tips section)

Extra parmesan for serving

1/2 Tbs olive oil

Directions:

Cook pasta until done

Drain, and set aside

Cut raw chicken into bite sized pieces

Add olive oil to pan and cook chicken until browned

Add stock and bring to a simmer

Stir in pesto until combined (use about 3/4 of jar)

Add cream and return to simmer

Stir in parmesan and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through

Combine pasta and sauce in large bowl and serve

Sprinkle parmesan on top if desired.

***Review:

I LOVED this dish.  I was pretty sure I would.  It is sooo good and one of the easiest I've made in a while!  It's light and hearty all at once.  Hubs loved it too.  The kids were happy to eat it as well... although the "green specks" (pesto) all over it threw them at first.  They weren't sure... until they tasted it!  Some picked out the chicken and some ate it.   Overall it was a thumbs up!  This is a great recipe to serve to company!  It's super easy but looks fancy! Who doesn't love that?  I'm making it again next week for my parents!

**Tips:
I adjusted the Austrailian recipe to the best of my ability converting everything from grams to ounces and pounds.  It all worked out just fine for me.  I did however use 1/2 C Cream instead of 1/4 C because I was on the phone(oops) and read it wrong... but it turned out so great that I will probably use the same amount next time.  Also, I added more parmesan than it called for because I love it and I don't think you can ever have too much cheese.  I think I added about 3/4 C to the sauce and the another 1/2 C to the top of the pasta when I served it.  Again, make sure you are using grated parmesan and not the powdered stuff that comes in a little plastic shaker.  It will not taste the same.  As for the pesto, you could probably use the whole jar... I used a little more than 3/4 of the jar... but what am I going to do with that little bit left? 
*Edited 3/30/11: 
Marinated artichoke hearts would be a great addition to this dish (you can find them jarred or canned) also, you can change up the chicken for shrimp and I think maybe adding a some small sliced grape tomatoes would be great in this as well (and it adds color).

To Serve:
This dish will go great with a salad and some warm crusty Italian bread! 








Printer Friendly Directions:

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne

Ingredients:
1 box (16oz) Penne Pasta
1.5 lbs chicken breast, cubed
6.7 oz pesto (regular or Sun dried tomato)
1 C Chicken stock
1/4 C Parmesan cheese, shredded (NOT the powdered kind)
1/4 C Cream
Extra parmesan for serving
1/2 Tbs olive oil

Directions:
Cook pasta until done
Drain, and set aside
Cut raw chicken into bite sized pieces
Add olive oil to pan and cook chicken until browned
Add stock and bring to a simmer
Stir in pesto until combined (use about 1/2 to 3/4 of jar)
Add cream and return to simmer
Stir in parmesan and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through
Combine pasta and sauce in large bowl and serve
Sprinkle parmesan on top if desired.

Garlic Shrimp Pasta

This is a recipe I modified from one my Aunt makes.

She was born and raised on an island in Italy and is a wonderful cook.

I grew up watching her cook and bake .... and I loved it!

One day she came to my dad's house with some linguini.... went to his garden and cut up some fresh tomatoes... added some diced garlic, fresh basil leaves, olive oil and a little salt... and there was her dish to pass.

It was awesome!! 

It was room temperature and a quick easy pasta "salad" and sooo fresh tasting.

I was thinking while I was eating it that some shrimp scampi would be great over top of this... then I thought maybe some spinach... and boom... a new recipe was born.

She laughs when I tell her I came up with this from her simple pasta salad.

Anyway, I love this dish. 

I don't make it very often because shrimp can be expensive and also, it's a little time consuming to make.

But I knew it was definitely a recipe I had to share on my blog

So when shrimp went on sale... I was all over it.

I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us!

Ingredients:
6 C Fresh spinach, cut up
1 Bag shrimp, raw
10+ Cloves of garlic, diced
8 Roma tomatoes, diced (= to about 4 cups diced)  *Or you can use petite diced tomatoes  maybe 2-3 cans
1/2 C Olive oil
1 Tbs butter
1 tsp garlic salt... or more to taste
1 Box linguini
*1/4 C Fresh Parmesan cheese (optional topping)

Directions:
Cut up spinach, tomatoes and garlic first (set aside)

Shell and de-vein shrimp (set aside)
In large pot, bring water to boil for Linguini
Boil noodles until done (aprox 8-10 minutes)
While noodles are boiling:
Add about 2 Tbs olive oil to a large fry pan
Add about half the garlic and sautee lightly

Add the spinach until it gets soft and wilty

Add the diced tomatoes and cook until warm

Set the cooked veggies aside
In another fry pan, (on Med/high heat) add 2 more Tbs of olive oil and  1/4 of the garlic you have left
Add 1 Tbs butter and shrimp

cook just until pink

Sprinkle with garlic salt to taste
As soon as shrimp is done, add in veggie mix and cook about 2 minutes until heated through

When pasta is done, drain & rinse
Place pasta back in pan and add remaining olive oil and garlic to it (you can salt it also)
Serve by adding pasta to individual bowls and topping with shrimp mixture.

***Review:
We all love this dish. Because of a shellfish allergy, we don't allow the little kids to eat shrimp yet, but the two older ones loooooove this dish!  Of course the 8 yr old picks out the spinach & tomato, but that's to be expected.  This is a family favorite for sure.  The little kids are happy to eat garlic noodles with parmesan on top! 


**Tips:
Definitely make sure you have your shrimp,veggies, and pasta water prepped before you start.  It makes it a lot easier.  I didn't boil the pasta 1st this time and I was all off.  The shrimp was done way before the pasta...


lots of multitasking going on here

 and FYI... if you let shrimp keep cooking after they're done, they will get dry and rubbery.  So you want to stop cooking them right after they turn pink. I just took them off the heat until the pasta was done and re heated them quickly right before we ate.  It was a pain though.
Seeding roma tomatoes is ideal. It makes them less watery... which is what you want.  Here is a photo of how it looks.  Just slice in half from the top down and scoop out the seeds.  It's pretty easy.

Tomato on the left is seeded, tomato on the right is not

Also, I hope the recipe makes sense.  I've never written it down before now, so I kind of wrote it as I went.  Please feel free to ask if you have any questions or if I wasn't clear on something!
I hope you love it just as much as we do!



For printable directions see below:

Ingredients:
6 C Fresh spinach, cut up
1 Bag shrimp, raw
10+ Cloves of garlic, diced
8 Roma tomatoes, diced (= to about 4 cups diced)  *Or you can use petite diced tomatoes  maybe 2-3 cans
1/2 C Olive oil
1 Tbs butter
1 tsp garlic salt... or more to taste
1 Box linguini
*1/4 C Fresh Parmesan cheese (optional topping)

Directions:
Cut up spinach, tomatoes and garlic first (set aside)
Shell and de-vein shrimp (set aside)
In large pot, bring water to boil for Linguini
Boil noodles until done (aprox 8-10 minutes)
While noodles are boiling:
Add about 2 Tbs olive oil to a large fry pan
Add about half the garlic and sautee lightly
Add the spinach until it gets soft and wilty
Add the diced tomatoes and cook until warm
Set the cooked veggies aside
In another fry pan, (on Med/high heat) add 2 more Tbs of olive oil and  1/4 of the garlic you have left
Add 1 Tbs butter and shrimp and cook until pink
Sprinkle with garlic salt to taste
As soon as shrimp is done, add in veggie mix and cook about 2 minutes until heated through
When pasta is done, drain & rinse
Place pasta back in pan and add remaining olive oil and garlic to it (you can salt it also)
Serve by adding pasta to individual bowls and topping with shrimp mixture.

Stuffed Shells

So last week I made some homemade pasta sauce

 I used that sauce in tonight's great recipe

I think I've mentioned before that cooler weather makes me want warm, cheesy, savory comfort foods

Usually, I would make lasagna

But... since I'm doing this blog now, I figure you don't want multiple recipes for lasagna right?

So, I go to the next best thing....

Stuffed shells

It's pretty much still lasagna.... only fancier.

And a little more work

But, it's good and I like good food!

My mother in law made this last Christmas and I really liked it.

I was just too lazy to make it myself....lol

But I wanted to give you something different and I really had a lot of fun doing it

The kids had fun watching me too

They liked the sea shell shaped noodles .... A LOT. 


Ingredients:

- 1 box large pasta shells
- 3/4 C Parmesan (shredded not the powder stuff)
- 1 (24oz) small curd cottage cheese (or Ricotta cheese)
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 3/4 tsp pepper
- 4 C spaghetti sauce
- 1 1/2 C Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)

Directions:

Boil noodles until al dente ( or slightly underdone)
Drain noodles and set aside
Spread 1 C sauce evenly on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish ( so the shells don't stick)

 In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, egg, 1/2 C parmesan, basil, garlic salt and pepper.
*This next step is not necessary, but makes stuffing shells much easier.  You can just use a spoon instead.
Using a spatula, scrape the cheese mixture into a ziplock bag/pastry bag

Snip off the corner of the bag
Squeeze cheese mixture into each shell. Aprox 2 Tbs per shell
Don't overstuff shells.
Close up the seam and place shells on their sides into baking dish close together

I fit 2 rows of 10 shells and then 4 extra on the bottom
(the extra cheese you see laying in there is just what I had left over)
Once all shells are filled and placed, sprinkle remaining 1/4 C Parmesan over shells
Pour remaining 3 Cups sauce over top
Top with 1 1/2 C Mozzarella
Bake uncovered @ 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes
When cheese is browning and sauce is bubbling it's done

***Review:
This was a great dish.  I was very happy with how it turned out.  We had company over for dinner and they said they loved it.  I know the hubs and I did!  The kids didn't get a chance to try it, because they ate before our company arrived.  I honestly didn't think they would eat it anyway... but of course they begged for some and liked what they tried.  Go figure the one time I try to feed them a different dinner, they want what we're having!   I will be making this again and again! 

**Tips:
The ziplock bag trick is great.... it makes it so much easier to stuff the slippery noodles.  This is really the hardest part of it all.  Also, just to make things easier on me, I actually boiled the noodles in the morning, drained them and put them in the fridge.  When it was time to bake them I took them out and ran warm water over them to get them pliable again so I could stuff them.  It was great and was one less thing to do at dinner time.  But be careful not to tear them while working with them... you want them in one piece.
If you are using a jarred sauce instead of homemade, then I think it would be great to fry up some italian sausage and sprinkle it on top of the shells before baking as well.  Or it could just be a vegetarian dish with no meat. I personally would have loved to add spinach to this dish as well, but one of our dinner guests does not like veggies so I opted out of the spinach.  But if you were to add it, you could put it right in with the sauce or in with the cheese stuffing. Either way would be great.  Add a little crusty italian bread and you have the perfect meal! Mmmmm!

Homemade Pasta Sauce

It's fall and it's chilly

Sometime around this time of year I start craving "comfort" foods

Lasagna and the like are one of those foods for me

I come from an Italian family and I grew up eating ONLY homemade pasta sauce

I mean... I couldn't even think of eating anything that came out of a jar

When I first met my husband, I made him lasagna from scratch... even shredding the mozzarella by hand

Then.... I had babies...lots of them.... and there was no more homemade for a while

My wonderful mom made me sauce and froze it so I could always have it on hand.....

But eventually I had to break down and but a jar here or there

Then I got used to it.... sort of

BUT.... my youngest child is now 2... so I have a lot more free time then I've had in years

I decided to make my own sauce again

OH MY! 

I had forgotten what I was missing!

I don't know that I will ever buy a jarred sauce again.

Seriously!

See for yourself:

Ingredients:

- 15 cloves of garlic, diced
- 3 Tbs butter
- 1 (29 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 3 (29oz) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (4oz) cans mushrooms (drained)
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/2 C red wine
- 1/4 C white wine or sweet vermouth

Directions:

In a large pot melt 2 Tbs of butter add diced garlic and sautee for a few minutes (don't let it brown)

Turn heat to low and add crushed tomato and tomato sauces. 
Add your Italian seasoning and basil (and any other spices you might like in your sauce)

In a seperate fry pan, melt the leftover 1Tbs of butter.
Add cans of mushrooms and sautee
Once mushrooms are getting a little brown, add the white wine (or vermouth)

Let the liquid cook down then add the mushrooms to the sauce pot
In the same pan, fry the sausage (if you are using ground sausage)
Drain and add the sausage to the sauce pot
*If you are using sausage in the casings (tubes) you can add it to the sauce whole and uncooked if you like.  As long as you cook it for a few hours it will be fine.
Add the 1/2 C red wine...mix well
Cook on simmer/low for at least 3 hours
Stir every once in a while to make sure there is no sticking on the bottom
I cook it much longer than that (6 hrs) because I happend to be home all day.
That's it. 
Now it's ready to be used in any dish you like or once it cools you can freeze it for when you are ready for it.

Review:
This sauce was so good.  I was taking tastes of it all day.... so were the kids.  Everyone loved it. The kids ate many many servings of the sauce over noodles... it was a huge hit!  They even ate the mushrooms because they thought they were sausage...lol

Tips:
Do not cook this with a lid on the pan... it will make it watery.
Make sure to cook it on a low setting.. you don't want any boiling or burning on the bottom.
If you are not a wine drinker then you can buy these little mini bottles of wine (in a 4 pack similar to this) instead of buying a large bottle and letting the rest go to waste
Or you might have a neighbor/taste tester that loves red wine and you can borrow some from her :)
If you do use sausage in the casing, make sure to take it out at the end of cooking time and cut it up to put back in the sauce...and to make sure it's cooked through.
You can make this without the sausage... though my mom would have a heart attack and say you are losing a lot of flavor.
It can be made with ground beef or turkey or even no meat at all.
This can be used as a base... you can add any seasonings you want to make it your own. 
If you don't have the wines or vermouth you can still make this... they just add a little more to the flavor
Freezing:  When the sauce cools, you can place it in individual servings in a freezer bag to use for another time. 
It might seem like a lot of work... but it's work once for a lot of dishes later!
Let me know if you try this and what you think.
Do you have a sauce recipe that's different or an ingredient that you think makes your sauce great?  Share!

Penne Pasta & Sausage

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs Italian sausage
- 1 16oz. box of Penne pasta
- 6-8 cloves of garlic diced or pressed
- 1 C Spinach (frozen or fresh)
- 3 14oz. Cans of Diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt

Directions:
Slice sausage into chunks/circles
Boil the pasta
While the pasta is cooking, cook the sausage in a large fry pan.
When sausage is mostly cooked, set aside.
Wipe grease from pan and add diced garlic, cut spinach and cans of tomatoes.
Simmer the tomato mix for about 10 minutes.
Add the salt to the tomato mix.
Add the sausage and cook about 5 minutes to blend flavors.
At this point the pasta should be done and you are ready to eat.

***Review:
I love this recipe. It tastes great and takes about 40 minutes from start to finish! The kids love love love the sausage and noodles... they are not tomato fans... but they ate most of it. Hubby loves it and anyone I've ever made it for has loved it. My handy dandy neighbor/taste tester came over and tried it... she loved it too! This is probably one of my favorite easy quick meals, because it looks and tastes like it took all day... but it didn't! That's my kind of cooking! It also has a very "fresh & light" taste... which is great, becase some pastas just feel so heavy after you eat.

**Tips:
To cut the sausage more easily you should do it when it's slightly frozen... or it just falls apart. On the other hand, you could totally use a crumbled sausage in this too. It just wouldn't look as good. I used Johnsonville Italian sausage because my kids won't eat it if it's too spicy... but I have made it with super hot sausage as well. If you love spicy, that's the way to go. The sausage is really what seasons this whole dish.
Fresh spinach will give you much more of a green look... frozen gets this kind of dark browny-green color... can you guess which I used?
Obviously, you can add as much or as little garlic cloves and salt as you'd like. I LOVE garlic and tend to go pretty heavy on it in most recipes. And can I just add... PLEASE do not use that jarred diced garlic. It is nasty and doesn't have a real garlic flavor. You will not get the results you are looking for if you use that stuff.
As for Pasta, I used mini Penne this time because I was out of regular. I really liked it and will proabably use it again. You could really use any type of pasta with this though... so don't fret if you don't have what a recipe calls for.... it's pretty much interchangeable.