One-Pot Cheesy Italian Pasta and Chicken

SERVES 6  |  ACTIVE TIME 20 Min  |  TOTAL TIME 30 Minutes

8 ounces baby spinach leaves, divided
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil and Italian herbs, drained (about 7 ounces)
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1/2" bite size pieces)
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 pound dry linguine
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups (32 ounces) chicken stock
1 cup (8 ounces) chardonnay wine
4 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded

Combine 1/2 of the spinach with the tomatoes, onion, chicken, garlic, linguine, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pour chicken stock and wine over top. Cover and bring to a boil.

Cook 7-9 minutes until pasta is al dente (with a bite to it). Toss pasta with tongs occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. You will still have some liquid in the pan when the pasta is done cooking. This is going to make the base for our delicious cheese sauce.

Turn off the heat and add the cheese to the pasta. Toss pasta with tongs until the cheese melts into the pasta. Toss in remaining spinach. Serve and enjoy!

DONNA'S SIMPLE KITCHEN TIP: Dried Italian Seasoning is a fabulous convenience ingredient. If you do not keep it on hand, combine 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon oregano and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.

This dish is just spicy enough to make your tongue tingle. For a very mild sauce, reduce the red pepper flakes to 1/2 teaspoon.

I know some people are sensitive to alcohol. The wine adds a fabulous rich buttery flavor and a bright citrusiness to the pasta. If you can use the chardonnay, I highly recommend it. However, you can substitute with chicken stock, white grape juice, or lemon water (1/2 cup fresh lemon juice and 1/2 cup water).

Recipe developed by Donna Elick -  The Slow Roasted Italian 

I saw this recipe on my sis-in-law's FB page and decided to post it here.  I'm excited to try it.  You can find the recipe source by clicking here

Verde Chicken Mexican Lasagna

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups green salsa
1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed and drained
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (plus additional for garnishing)
12 soft taco size flour tortillas
1 (8-ounce) package shredded Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 
Mix chicken, sour cream, black beans, salsa, corn, cilantro and spices in a large bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference. Cut tortillas in half with kitchen shears.
 
In a 9x13 dish, scoop 1/3 of the chicken mixture into bottom of pan. Spread evenly. Place one layer of cut tortillas (about 4 tortillas) on chicken mixture to cover. Top with 1/3 of the amount of shredded cheese. Repeat with chicken mixture, tortillas, shredded cheese two more times. There should be three layers total.
 
Bake in oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and casserole is warmed through. Serve with sour cream and additional chopped cilantro.

I found the recipe on this site

Slow Cooker Cranberry Chicken

Ingredients:

2½ to 3 pounds chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, skinned
1 (16-ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons dry onion soup mix
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
3 cups hot cooked rice
Directions: Place chicken pieces in a 3½- or 4-quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, stir together cranberry sauce, dry soup mix, and tapioca. Pour over chicken pieces. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2½ to 3 hours. Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked rice. Makes 6 servings.

For the past 30+ years I have cooked chicken in the clock pot almost every Sunday.  I'm excited to try this new recipe for chicken in the crockpot.   I traditionally put chicken legs in the crock pot in with a cup of salsa and a can of chicken broth.  I got this recipe from this link.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

To enlarge the recipe, click on above picture 

We had dinner at our friend's home last night and really enjoyed this meal.  The chicken stroganoff was simple, easy to make, and DELICIOUS.  The recipe is from allrecipies.com

Squire's Minestrone Souip

Brown and drain off fat of 1 lb sausage

Combine with and simmer 45 minutes:

• 6 cups water
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• ½ tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 TBS olive oil
• Handful of chopped cilantro
• 1 quart (4 cups) tomatoes (cut tomatoes to bite size or smaller)
• 15 oz tomato sauce
• 2 average onions (chopped)
• 1 minced clove garlic
• 1 tsp fennel seed

Add and cook until pasta is done:

• 1 drained can of green beans
• 1 drained can of corn
• 2 chopped carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1 package (or less) noodles or favorite pasta
• 1 tsp (or less) salt (and pepper to taste)

This recipe is  from Janelle.  This is what she said about the recipe:  This is my neighbor's recipe that I used...  it is SOOOOOOOOO good and SOOOOOOOOOOO easy. 

Macaroni and Cheese

4 cups elbow macaroni

4 Tbs butter

4 Tbs flour

1 teas salt

3 cups milk

4 cups grated mild cheddar cheese OR 4 cups sharp cheese (you decide what kind of cheese flavor you want)

Cook macaroni until tender (follow the direction on your macaroni package)

While the macaroni is cooking, make white sauce with the next 4 ingredients. (To make a white sauce: melt butter in sauce pan. Add flour salt and stir until not lumpy. Then add milk and stir. Cook over medium heat on the stove until it gets thick, stirring constantly. When white sauce is thickened, add grated cheese.

Drain the macaroni and then add cheese sauce.

I made up this recipe when my kids were little. Everyone loves boxed mac and cheese, but when I had mac and cheese for dinner, I wanted to feed the family something more substantial and filling than the boxed kind.

This recipe makes a BIG batch. It feeds the whole magpad gang with leftovers. This is a recipe you might want to cut in half.

I did another post about macaroni and cheese on this blog. Click here to see it.

After I discovered Mrs. Dash seasoning, I decided that I like to sprinkle some Mrs. Dash on my mac and cheese after I dish it up on my plate.

Hiker's Stew

Potatoes, peeled and diced (or leave on the skins if you use red potatoes)

Onion, cut into big slices

Carrots, peeled

Celery, cut in large chunks

Beef of some sort (I used browned ground beef. Stew meat would be awesome. Leftover roast would work, I'm sure.)

1 can golden mushroom soup

1 pkg. onion soup mix

Water

Seasonings to taste (I used pepper, Mrs. Dash, and Creole seasoning)

Throw everything in a crock pot and turn on low. Leave and go for a long, long hike. Come home, salivate as you pull into the driveway because you can already smell it, and eat three big bowls.

Ok, so maybe you can enjoy this even if you haven't been hiking all day. But it definitely tastes ten times better if you have.... :)

Fruit Salad

Hello Fall! Goodbye summer!

Fall is my favorite season. I love the fall weather, starting of a new school year, and planting my fall vegetables garden.

The one thing I will greatly miss about summer are the summer fruits. Almost EVERY DAY for dinner this summer I have served a fruit salad. Below is a picture of one we had last night.

Included in this salad is:

• Watermellon
• Cantalope
• Honey dew melon
• Green grapes

Other fruits that I have included in other salads are:

• Pineapple
• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Kiwi
• Red grapes
• Apricots
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Mango

In our town of Duarte, we have local food markets that sell produce at a fraction of the cost of grocery store chains. I can go into one of these markets and for $20 have a basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables to last the week.

We have a lime tree in our neighbor's yard that hangs over our fence. We love to slice a few up and squirt some lime juice our our fruit salads to give it a lime zip to the salad.

Lisa served fruit for a work event the other day. She said she served about 100 people for $22. She went to a local market that sold fresh fruit. She bought watermelon, cantaloupes, honey dew melons, grapes, and pineapple. She said she would have bought strawberries but the market didn't have any that day. Then she cut the fruit into big chunks and put them on skewers, and served the skewers off a serving platter. That was a great idea to serve lots of people fruit.

Goodbye summer and fruit salad. Hello fall and homemade apple sauce and apple crisp. (Made from apples grown on our apple tree in our back yard.)

Red Potatoes

2-3 red potatoes per person, depending on size
Butter
Parsley or green onions

Peel a strip around the middle of each potato if you want to prevent cracking. Boil potatoes until tender (about 15 minutes). Drain. Toss with butter until coated. You can sprinkle with parsley or green onions.

I got this recipe off

www.LivingOnADime.com

Winter gardens are one of the blessing of living in So. California.

Winter gardens are the best!

There's nothing like a fresh lettuce salad for dinner.

For the lettuce, you just pick the outer leaves and they grow all season long until the plants start to go to seed. If you have home grown lettuce a salad spinner is a must. You can pick a spinner up at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Target or Walmart might also carry salad spinners.

In the front row are carrots, then lettuce and then peas. (The peas are growing up a wooden frame with fishing line going from the top to bottom for the peas to climb up.) I also wanted to plant broccoli, onions, and cilantro but I just didn't get around to planting them this year. ...maybe they will make it into my spring garden.

Chinese Chicken Salad

I found a great recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad. The blog page where I got it from is copyrighted so I'll post a link to the page instead of copying the recipe onto my blog. Click here for the link.

The blog page is called, Make It and Love It. Click here for the link. It is a very interesting blog. The author is very creative. Browse around her blog pages and get inspired for some pretty cute projects.

Soupy Turkey Madness

Dump all these ingredients in a pot and simmer.  Everything is to taste (sorry).  2-4 servings.

leftover turkey, cubed/diced, however much you want

1 can cream of chicken soup

milk, 1 cup-ish

frozen peas, lots (yum!)

2 baked/boiled potatoes, peeled and diced

curry, 1-2 tsp (or more?? be generous!  this is what makes it good!)

crushed red pepper, couple shakes

pepper

One starving Lisa + leftover turkey = culinary masterpiece!  I didn't measure anything, so the quantities are...open to interpretation.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
2 cups (1 pt) half and half
2 cups milk
1 1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. sugar
1 bunch broccoli
2 chicken bullion cubes.

Chop broccoli up into bite size chunks. place in pan and fill with enough water to cover broccoli. Cook covered until tender.

In meantime, melt butter, add flour, blend and cook for one minute on low to medium heat, stirring constantly. (Don't let butter brown.)

Add half and half and milk and stir with a wire wish until smooth and thick.

Add half of broccoli chunks to cream sauce. Ostracize the other half with a little liquid from pan and pour into soup mixture

Add 2 bullion cubes to soup mixture and cook on low heat. Add water from broccoli to soup to make soup desired consistency.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Christy. It is delicious. I don't like to use the chicken bullion cubes because it has MSG in it. (Sometimes people are allergic to msg) Instead of using the chicken bullion cubes, I'll us Swanson's chicken broth and cook the broccoli in the broth. I'll get the chicken flavor from the Swanson's broth.

Macaroni and Cheese

Click here for a great recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese. The author of the blog "Safely Gathered In" does a great job giving you play-by-play directions on how to make homemade mac and cheese.  And I'll have to say, "amen" to what Abs says about serving this meal:

"Macaroni and Cheese is one of those fall-back meals. Got a babysitter coming in thirty minutes? Mac and cheese it is! Had a bad day? Bring on the mac and cheese! But you don't have to eat those box mixes to get a quick, easy and delicious comfort food. Homemade it is!"

Don't forget to check out the recipe on the link above.

I made up my own recipe for macaroni and cheese.  You can see it by clicking here.

Meat Loaf

1 1/8 lbs ground beef
1/8 lbs sausage
2 eggs
1 small onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix well. Bake at 350 to 375 degrees for about an hour. (You should check it. The altitude makes a difference in the time it takes to bake through.)

Meat Loaf Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbs vinegar
2 heaping tbs brown sugar
1 tsp mustard
1 shot Worhestershire sauce

This is a recipe from my childhood. I copied over the recipe exactly how my mom gave it to me. My mom fixed it often when I was a kid and we loved having meatloaf sandwiches for leftovers. (She would always double the recipe) I was always fascinated to watch my mom mix up the ingredients with her bare hands in a large mixing bowl! Be sure to use the extra lean ground beef. I like to use the Italian Style flavored bread crumbs from Costco (Progresso brand) when it calls for the dry bread crumbs. It gives it added flavor. Also today when I make this recipe for dinner, I'm going to use ground turkey that I bought from Costco. It has no fat and seems to be just as good as any ground round that my mother used. I've never made the meatloaf sauce so I can't comment on it. It was just with my mom's meatloaf recipe, so I thought I'd include it with the post. My mom noted she got this sauce recipe from Marie Redmond.

Unfried Chicken (or Fish)

1 cup bread crumbs

1 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2-3 Tbs vegetable oil
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 lbs chicken pieces, or one medium chicken cut up

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a plastic or paper bag combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper. Hold the top of the bag shut and shake to mix everything together.

Pour the vegetable oil into a small bowl and, using a pastry brush (or clean paintbrush), brush the chicken pieces with the oil. Put 2 or 3 pieces of chicken at a time into the bag, and shake them until they are well coated with crumbs. Take them out of the bag and put the pieces on a rack that has been placed on a baking sheet. (The rack allows the fat to drain away from the chicken.)

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, turn the pieces over and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. You can be sure the chicken is done if the juice runs clear (not pink ) when you poke a for into it.

Makes 3 or 4 servings

Fish option: Use 1 lb fish fillets instead of chicken pieces in the above recipe. Bake for 10 to 20 minutes until the fish flakes when you try to pry it apart with a fork.

This recipe is from the cookbook “Clueless in the Kitchen” by Evelyn Raab. That is why the directions are in such detail. Scott’s mother gave this cookbook to the girls as they left for college. It is a great cookbook to give as a gift to someone who is leaving home and cooking on their own for the first time.

Rachel made this recipe the other day for dinner. She served it with rice cooked in chicken broth, and garden fresh tomatoes. Yum! She made it out of chicken tenders that we had on hand in the freezer. Before she coated the chicken with the breadcrumb mixture she defrosted them in the microwave by placing them in a microwave on a plate on high for one minute. Then she ran the pieces under cold water to finish the defrosting process. She also used Italian style seasoned bread crumbs that we had on hand in our 3 month food storage.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

You Will Need
3 corn tortillas (6 inches each), cut into 1/4-inch strips
4 tsp. olive oil, divided
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 large onion, chopped
5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 lb. red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup frozen corn
1 can (4 1/2 oz.) chopped green chilies
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 tbs. lime juice

What to Do
1. In large resealable plastic bag, combine tortilla strips, 1 tsp. oil, and salt. Seal bag and shake to coat. Arrange tortilla strips on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp, turning once. Remove to paper towels to cool.
2. In large saucepan, sauté chicken in remaining oil until lightly browned. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add corn, chilies, cilantro, and pepper, and heat through. Stir in lime juice. Top each serving with tortilla strips.

Yield: 6 servings ($1.62 per serving)

-- M. M., Traverse City, Michigan

Nutrition Facts: One serving (1 1/2 cups) equals 221 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 33 mg cholesterol, 757 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 19 g protein.

I got this recipe from the Reader's Digest Magazine. I just made this for our dinner tonight and I can hardly wait to serve it. It's nice to be able to use fresh limes from our lime tree. (I also added 1 cup homemade or store bought salsa for extra flavor.) I didn't have any frozen corn on hand, so I used canned corn. I also used fresh chopped jalapeño pepper sautéed with the onion instead of the canned green chilies. I serve this soup with store bought tortilla chips and don't make my own tortillas as shown in step #1. That's the nice thing about making homemade soup.... You can take the original recipe and doctor it up any way you want to suit your taste .

January 29, 2022

I can't believe I've been making this recipe for over 10 years.  I have more more changes (added to the changes above) that I use as I make this.  Soo, this is what the above recipe has morphed into:  

I use a rotisserie chicken from Costco for the meat.  I'll buy the chicken, debone it, and divide the chicken meat into 2 portions.  As I debone the meat, I put the skin and bones into a pot, cover the bones and skin with water, and boil it for about 1 hour.  Then I remove the bones and skin, skim off the grease, and divide  the broth into 1 cup containers.  I will use one portion of  the meat and 2 cups of the broth for each time I make this recipe.  I put the other portions in the freezer to use the next time I make the recipe.  

As I make the recipe, I first cook the cubed potatoes for 14 minutes in enough water to cover the potatoes. (Before I cook the potatoes I rinse them to rinse off the starch)  As the potatoes are cooking, I cook the onions, jalapeño peppers, and some minced garlic in butter with some Mrs. Dash seasoning (to taste) in a sauce pan.   

When th potatoes are done cooking, I add the following ingredients to the pot of potatoes including the water the potatoes are boiled in.:

Cooked onions, jalapeño peppers, and garlic

1/2 Costco rotisserie chicken

2 cups of  broth (made from the Costco rotisserie chicken bones and skin that has been boiled)

1-2 cups frozen corn

1 cup red salsa and 1/4 cup green salsa  (optional and to taste) 

lime juice to taste

chopped cilantro to taste

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Chicken, Rice and Asparagus

Grilled Chicken Breast--salt and pepper them (lemon pepper is good). Then pop them on a George Foreman Grill for about 6 minutes. Make sure to let them rest when you take them off so all the juices can redistribute. The chicken will be moist, succulent and yummy.

Brown Rice--cook the brown rice in chicken broth and add a little pepper.

Asparagus-- Steam them to your liking.

Yummy sauce--1 part butter to 2 part honey. (2 tab butter and 4 tab honey is good). Play with the ratio. It just depends on how sweet or thick you like your sauce. Melt honey and butter together and drizzle the sauce over everything, but pay special attention to the asparagus. Top with toasted pecans.

I stole this off a friend's blog. I haven't tried it but it looks so yummy. We never ate asparagus growing up, but since moving out I discovered that I like it. This post is for JAnd, whose HUN-ee loves asparagus. Hope this helps you use up all 2 pounds that you bought! :)

Potato Wedges...AKA Oven-baked French Fries

Potatoes
Oil
Seasonings (I like SeasonAll, garlic powder and ground red pepper)

Cut the potatoes into wedges or french fries (you can peel them if you want). Pour oil into a bowl with sliced potatoes. Make sure all potatoes are coated. Place on baking sheet or 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with seasonings. Bake uncovered at 425* for 25-30 minutes.

A variation of a Betty Crocker recipe. In the cookbook, it suggests making it low-fat by just spraying the potatoes with cooking spray instead of using oil.

Creamy Chicken Soup

Use 3 -14 1/2 oz or 1- 49 1/2oz can of Swanson Chicken Broth, or make your own chicken broth by boiling bones and skin from a rotisserie chicken. Cut up your favorite vegetables and cook until tender in chicken broth. (The vegetables I like to use are: potatoes, onions, celery, green pepper, carrot.) In another sauce pan, melt ½ cup butter. Add 1/3 cup cornstarch, 3 cups milk, 1 cup cream. (cream optional) Heat until thick. Add milk mixture to vegetables. Add cut up chicken from rotisserie chicken, or canned chicken, or cooked chicken tenders. Add 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes. You can also add other seasonings such as Mrs. Dash.

My younger kids like the taste of the creamy soups. It is fun to be creative when making homemade soup.