Creamy Chicken Pesto & Bow Ties

Our quick and easy dinner...

Creamy Chicken Pesto & Bow Ties

(I made a 1/2 version)

Ingredients:

3 cups uncooked bow tie pasta

2 tbsp. butter or margarine

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)

1/2 cup pesto sauce

1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Cook pasta according to pkg. directions. Drain. Meanwhile, heat butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned, stirring often.

Add soup, pesto sauce and milk. Bring to a boil. Cook over low heat 5 min. or until done. 
Stir in drained pasta and heat through.

Waiting for a phone call and then off to get our wedding rings....I'll post a picture later tonight!

Dinner

While at Jens I wrote down a few recipes from a book that she had. I have only made one dish out of the three I copied down. I made it less than a week ago and we loved it! Erin even asked for it again tonight! I figured I'd post the recipe. It was really easy to make.

Creamy Ranch Chicken

6 slices of bacon

4 Chicken halfs

2 tbsp of flour

2 tbsp of ranch mix

1 1/4 cup milk

3 cups med noodles

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

Cook the noodles according to package.

Cut bacon into strips, cook them, remove from pan. When draining the grease, save 2 tbsp. You will use it to cook the chicken. 

Now cook the chicken in the bacon pan, using the bacon grease.

When the chicken is cooked stir in milk, flour, and ranch mix. 

When the mixture is thick and bubbly add the bacon and parmesan cheese. 

Serve! 

I cooked over med heat, but I have steel pans and they get really hot! I didn't want to burn anything. I also only used 2 cups noodles since I was using less chicken and bacon...it still made a lot. 

Try it! You'll like it!

Also, I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I may be able to post our photographer soon! I emailed my parents and just waiting for a yes. I'm excited. Plus, it will be another reason to thank Jen! She told me about pictage.

Cheese, Vegetable and Bacon Frittata

The Recipe

6 large eggs
1/4 cup low-fat (1-percent) milk
1/4 pound bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
Olive oil spray
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup white onion, diced
1/2 cup asparagus, sliced into
1/2-inch sticks1 large zucchini, sliced into half-moons
1/2 cup assorted mushrooms, sliced thinly
1/4 cup tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped









1. Turn broiler on to low setting. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, bacon and grated Romano. Set aside.
2. Heat a medium nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Spray with olive oil. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion, and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add asparagus and zucchini to pan. Saute 4 to 5 minutes.







4. Add mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, and freshly chopped basil, oregano and thyme, and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the egg mixture and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the bottom has set and browned.

5. Place the frittata into the oven and broil until golden and fluffy. Remove from pan and cut into 6 portions. (I added green onion and a little cheese before putting it in the oven.)

TA DA!

It was REALLY Yummy! And keep in mind I made a 1/2 version of the above recipe. And don't be dumb like me and touch the pan handle after it comes out of the oven....it will be HOT! DUH!


And I couldn't resist taking a picture of Lexi....this is what she did while I cooked....(the windows are open today)

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Last night I made Chicken and Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. It was really good. You couldn't taste the cauliflower.

The Recipe

1/2 large head cauliflower, broken into florets
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2–3/4 cup low-fat milk
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 scallions, chopped


place the cauliflower in a steamer basket, set over boiling water, cover, and steam 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, add the buttermilk and 1/4 cup of the milk, and puree until very smooth, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, place potatoes in a saucepan and add cold salted water to cover by about 2 inches; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.

Drain, return to the saucepan and heat over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes to dry.

Mash with a potato masher.

Add the cauliflower puree, 1/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Stir to blend, and heat over medium-low heat, adding more milk as needed for a creamy consistency.

Stir in the butter and the scallions.

Cover, and set aside to keep warm.

I just mashed it all together when it was done.

That's what they did on TV.

Here is the Chicken...I just seasoned it with Lemon Pepper

My pretty vegetables

Tonight it's hamburgers and a low cal mac and cheese.

dinner

Whats for dinner:

Chicken in Savory Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:

Vegetable cooking spray

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves (about 1 pound)

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Healthy Request® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup chopped red pepper OR green pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley OR 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon paprika

4 lemon slices

Directions:

Spray a 12-inch nonstick skillet with the cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned on both sides.
Add the soup, water, pepper, parsley, lemon juice and paprika to the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Top with the lemon slices.

dinners

So not much going on wedding wise. I'm going to go talk to a florist tomorrow or Friday, whichever day Erin leaves the car. That's about it. I have rooms blocked at three hotels and Erin did his part of the website last night. Plus I emailed Mary Kay and Avon reps here in Columbus to see about wedding day make up. Until I get paper, favor boxes, final guest lists with addresses, there isn't much more I can do right now.

We are doing all kinds of new dinners. Last nights dinner was ok. Tonight it's a Ryan family recipe, chicken enchiladas! I like making it, I always have good memories of our get togethers and of course Grandpa Ryan. Chicken enchiladas was his all time favorite meal. :o) Tomorrow night though I'm making Chicken and Stuffing Skillet. I think it looks good!

Then the next meal we are going to try is Cheesy Chicken and Rice.

So, I hope we like them both. Then we have a bunch to try next week too. :o)

Also, I think I'm going to make two sugar cookie recipes and have everyone taste test them when we go home for my birthday. The winning recipe will be our favor cookie! :o) My parents and my Grandpa Shank will be in town! So, I'll have a good group of testers. I can't wait! Just over 3 weeks!

recipe cards

So, I decided to get my recipes in order and make a recipe card box. I found a cute template on Microsoft Office today. (I love Office 2007! got to love my dad!) And have been transferring my recipes onto these cards! I've done about 20 so far....the ones I've had to type in. All my other ones are on my computer, so it's just copy and paste. Easy. Then I've just been printing them on card stock to make them sturdy. I've been cooking dinner a lot lately and have been remembering my old favorites. Even calling my mom a few times for her recipes. Time to get them on cards instead of post-it notes.

Now I'm venturing into some new ones...

We are going to try this one for dinner tonight, from Campbell's , they have a lot of good ones we want to try-- (I think I'll do the Creamy Mexican Fiesta style)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular, Healthy Request® or 25% Less Sodium)1/2 cup salsa 1/2 cup water 6 flour tortilla (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.
Stir the soup, salsa, water, and tortillas in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir the beef mixture. Top with the cheese.

Creamy Mexican Fiesta: Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream with the soup.
Ranchero Style: Use corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas and shredded Mexican cheese blend instead of Cheddar.