Pasta for One

In all honesty I'm not so sure that this counts as a recipe. My husband was finishing off the last of the leftover Cafe Rio Salads and I was looking around the kitchen wondering what to eat and I found a half of a garden zucchini, garlic and some cherry tomatoes and thought that would make a fresh and tasty meal.

This vague recipe is enough for one person but could easily be adapted for two or more people. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 frozen chicken tenders

1/2 tsp Italian seasonings

sprinkle of Lawry's season salt and onion powder

6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup chopped zucchini

1 1/2 clove garlic (or 1 large clove), minced

1/8 tsp salt

4 cranks of fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, enough to coat the veggies

3 tbsp grated/shredded Parmesan

Splash of heavy cream

Linguine noodles 

DIRECTIONS:

Mince garlic, quarter tomatoes, chop zucchini then toss all 3 ingredients together on to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and toss with the 1 tbsp of olive oil until lightly coated. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the veggies and put them in the oven under the broiler for about 5 - 10 minutes until soft and slightly charred. Check frequently during that 5 -10 minutes to make sure they aren't burning and stir mixture.

Cook the chicken in a small frying pan. Season with Lawry's , onion powder and Italian seasoning. Cook completely and let sit. 

Cook linguine noodles according to package directions. 

Chop chicken into bite size pieces and add to the broiled veggies. Drain the pasta, add the veggies and chicken directly into the hot pasta pot and stir until combined. Add the Parmesan and a splash of heavy cream to the noodles, just enough to make a light coating on your noodles. Pour the pasta into a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. DELISH!

Notes: I think this is a pretty basic pasta that you could adapt to create anything you'd like. If you'd like more sauce I would recommend adding a little more cream, cheese and possibly even some chicken stock. 

Recipe: The Gregarious Glutton

Creamy Chicken Carbonara Pasta

This recipe is from the kitchen of the Pioneer Woman. I adapted it to our tastes by adding some herb chicken (we like some serious protein with dinner).

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces pasta of any kind (by weight)
6 - 8 chicken tenders
8 pieces of thick cut bacon, diced. I didn't have thick so, I doubled the amount of thin cut bacon.
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 whole eggs
3/4 cups finely grated Parmesan
3/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
Salt and pepper to taste
To season the chicken:
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
Lawry's Season salt
Garlic powder
Fresh pepper

DIRECTIONS:
We use frozen chicken tenders at our house. I put a little olive oil in a pan and put the frozen chicken in as skillet seasoning with Lawry's, pepper, garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning. Cover the pan and let cook. When finished let cool for a few minutes and chop/slice.

Fry the bacon until just barely crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Pour off all the bacon grease, but don't clean the pan. Return the pan to the stove over medium-low heat and throw  in the onions and garlic.  Cook until golden brown and set aside with the chicken.

Cook pasta according to package directions

In a bowl, mix together eggs, Parmesan, cream and salt and pepper until smooth.

When the pasta is done, reserve a cup or two of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and place it in a bowl. While the pasta is still really hot, slowly drizzle in the egg mixture, stirring the pasta the whole time. The sauce will become thick and should coat the pasta. Splash in a little hot pasta water if needed for consistency.

Half way through, add the peas, bacon, chicken and sauteed onion/garlic. Finish adding the sauce, stirring until it's all combined.

Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese.

NOTES:
This is a great recipe. When I made it I used 1/3 of the recipe and still had leftovers.

Makes sure to mix constantly when pouring in the egg mixture. You don't want scrambled eggs in your sauce.

Recipe: Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Creamy Garlic Alfredo

This is another wonderful recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. This sauce is a quick and easy with a big flavorful payoff. I use it on pasta and also as sauce for pizzas. It's delicious.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 oz. cream cheese, softened (you can use lowfat or regular)
1 cup milk (I use 1%)
3 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, take care not to let the garlic burn. Add the cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. It will look curdled at first, but with constant whisking for 2-3 minutes, it should come together to form a smooth, creamy paste. Add the milk gradually, 1/4 cup at a time. whisking quickly and constantly until each addition is incorporated fully into the sauce. Stir in parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is desired consistency. Cook 2-3 minutes for a thicker sauce or remove right after cheese is incorporated fully for a thinner sauce. Serve immediately over hot cooked noodles.

NOTE:
This is important... don't burn your garlic. yuck, the second time I made this sauce I accidentally overcooked my garlic, bummer. However, I have made it succesfully many times since then. A good trick is to have everything measured out and ready by your pot.

Don't skimp on the 3 oz. of cheese. It's needed and it packs a ton of flavor.

This sauce makes about 2 cups. I use only 1 cup for just my husband and I and freeze the other half and save if for pizza sauce on our grilled pizzas.

Recipe: Directly from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Chicken Pene Pesto

This is one of my all time favorite recipes! It's not made from scratch but that makes it all the more appealing. It's an easy weeknight meal.

INGREDIENTS:
2 chicken breasts or 5 chicken tenders
1/2 bag of pene noodles
1 packet of Knorr Creamy Pesto Mix
1 cup of Kirkland brand Pesto (or any favorite store bought brand. We love Costco's brand)
1/4 of a yellow onion
1 cup milk
1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil*
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (heaping) sun dried tomatoes
1 cup whole sugar snap peas

*Instead of following the directions on the pesto packet I only add half the oil.

DIRECTIONS:
In a lightly oiled skillet season and cook the chicken. I generally use Lawry's, garlic powder, pepper and Italian seasoning. After turning the chicken, chop 1/4 of a yellow onion and toss it in the pan with the chicken. When the chicken is finished cooking take off the heat and set aside to cool.

Start cooking the noodles, the rest of the steps won't take long.

In a medium sauce pan pour the milk, olive oil and pesto packet. Whisk until it thickens and then add the cup of store bought pesto.

Chop the chicken and onion mixture and add it to the sauce along with the sun dried tomatoes (julienned). 

When the noodles are just about finished cooking add the parmesan cheese and snap peas to the sauce.

Drain and rinse noodles. In a large serving dish toss the pene with the creamy pesto sauce.  Sprinkle with fresh parmesan and serve.

NOTE:
If you would like to make this ahead of time follow all the steps except for adding the peas and cooking the noodles. You can cook fresh noodles and reheat the sauce, adding the peas when you are about to toss it with the pene.