Bowtie pasta with Sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms and navy beans

Recipe found here


[Note: This recipe could be altered in a thousand different ways based on what you've got lying around. Me? I just used what I had on hand, so don't feel beholden to the ingredients list. Experiment, have fun, and don't be afraid of the "I" word!]

3 oz. whole wheat penne (or any non-spaghetti whole wheat pasta)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup canned navy beans, drained
1 link Aidells Portobello Mushroom Chicken/Turkey Sausage, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
Several sprays of Pam

1) In a medium pot, cook the pasta in boiling water for about five minutes.

2) Heat a medium-sized pan coated with cooking spray over a medium flame, until hot. Lay the sausage in the pan in one even layer, and cook until the first side browns, about five minutes. Flip to cook the other side until just brown, several minutes more, and remove to a separate bowl.

3) Pour a small amount of pasta water into the sausage pan, and over lowered heat, scrape the fond (that awesome brown gunky residue) off the bottom with a wooden spoon to form a murky brown liquid that just covers the bottom of the pan.
[Note: I know it looks a little gross, but trust me--the flavor it imparts is worth it. - Rachel]

4) Add the tomatoes and mushrooms to the sausage pan, and simmer until softened and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 minutes.

5) In the pasta pot, replace the water with the vegetable broth. Simmer the pasta in the broth until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. 
[Note: If your veggies are starting to dry out, you can add in some of this broth.] 
[Other note: The whole wheat penne I use tends to be pretty tough, so even a longer submersion still leaves it pretty al dente. Feel free to adjust times according to your texture preferences. - Rachel, again.]

6) Drain the pasta, and add to the tomato/mushroom mixture. Add the beans and sausage, and cook to warm through, about two minutes. Combine and serve.

tasty. cheap. easy

Risotto with Asparagus

So I always see risotto recipes on cooking shows, but wasn't really sure what risotto was all about or if I'd ever even eaten it. Then I stumbled across this recipe and since I LOVE asparagus and was already curious about risotto I thought I'd try it out. It's a tiny bit time-consuming and high maintenance to make this recipe but it was way good. The recipe says it's for 12 servings so cut it in half or quarter it if you don't want to make a ton.

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
7 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine (if you don't want to use white wine you can just use more chicken broth)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place asparagus in a large saucepan; add 1/2 in. of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and maintain at a simmer. In a large heavy skillet, cook onion in oil over medium heat until tender. Add rice and stir to coat well; cook 3 minutes longer. Add wine (or 1 cup chicken broth) and cook until absorbed.
3. Stir in 1 cup simmering broth. Cook until broth is almost completely absorbed, stirring frequently, then add another cup of simmering broth. Repeat until only about 1/4 cup of broth remains (discard remaining broth); the process should take about 20 minutes. Rice should be slightly firm in center and look creamy.
4. Add asparagus; heat through. Remove from the heat; add the butter, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

This is a supposed knock off of Olive Garden's Chicken Con Broccoli. It was super yummy, the only problem was it didn't make enough sauce for an entire box of pasta. I think next time I'll double the sauce recipe and that should be perfect, maybe even a little extra sauce for dipping breadsticks!

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Alfredo Sauce (recipe below)

2-3 cooked chicken breasts, diced

1-2 cups fresh chopped broccoli, cooked and hot

fettuccine, cooked according to package directions. (I used penne because it's what I had)

Cook chicken in method desired. I just cooked mine on the stove. Add chicken and broccoli to Alfredo sauce and heat through. Serve over hot, cooked fettuccine.

Alfredo Sauce:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 cups heavy cream

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon (1 clove) minced garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic with the butter. Add cream, garlic powder, and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Trust me, it will thicken. When sauce has reached desired consistency, stir in Parmesan cheese. Use for Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, or just serve as is over fettuccine. Serves 4-6.

Lemon Herb Chicken & Zucchini Fettuccine

Ok so it seems that we're definitely in a chicken rut and I really wanted to post a non-chicken recipe next, but I made this recipe for the first time a couple of nights ago and I thought it was so good, I just had to put it on here. I just cut up my chicken and zucchini and cooked it in a skillet on the stove because it was too hot for me to venture outside and fire up the grill, but I bet it would be super tasty if they were cooked on the grill. I pretty much followed the recipe just as it is written. It turns out pretty lemony so be prepared for that, but it was goo-ood.

Lemon Herb Chicken & Zucchini Fettuccine
recipe by Our Best Bites

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 lemons
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
1/2 lb Fettuccine
2 medium zucchini
1 C shredded parmesan cheese
5-6 cloves garlic
Fresh Basil (about 1/2 C)
Fresh Oregano (about 1/4 C) If you don't have fresh oregano, just add a little dried.
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Prepare grill. You could also do this on the stove top in a skillet, or a grill pan.

Place chicken in a zip-lock bag with the juice of one lemon, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and a couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Smoosh around and set bag aside while you get your other things ready. (If you've got time to spare, let the chicken marinade for 30 minutes, if you don't, just take what you can get. I did mine for 15 min and it was great.)

Put the pot on the stove to boil water for the pasta. While you're waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half length-wise. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Press, or finely mince garlic cloves. In a small sauce pan on the stove, place 1/4 C olive oil and add garlic. Turn burner onto low-med heat. It shouldn't be popping and frying, it should just slowly warm, infusing the oil with the garlic and removing that zing fresh garlic has.

When water boils, add pasta and a spoonful of salt.

Remove chicken from bag and salt and pepper both sides. Place chicken, and zucchini on grill.

While chicky and zuchs are grilling and pasta is boiling, chop herbs and get out cheese. Zest both lemons and juice the one that hasn't been juiced.

See, now you're all ready. When everything is done cookin' you can throw it together! Keep an eye on that garlic. You DON'T want it to get brown and crispy. It should still look nice and white. Give it a stir. If it starts really cooking, just take it off the heat and set aside.

When zuch and chicken are done take them off the grill and chop 'em up.

Reserve about 1/2 C pasta water. Drain pasta and immediately place in a big bowl. Place chopped zuch and chicken on top. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, herbs, and garlic-olive oil mixture. Just pile it all in there. Then stick your face up real close and inhale. Ahhhh, heaven.

Now take some tongs and give everything a big toss. If you feel it needs more moisture, add a little of the pasta water, or a little more olive oil. This will make 4+ generous servings.

Garnish with a little more Parmesan on top and another squeeze of lemon if you have any left.

Greek Chicken Pasta

Just tried this recipe last night and it was YUMMY!

PREP/TOTAL TIME: 25 MIN
YIELD: 5 SERVINGS

2 cups uncooked penne pasta 1 jar (7-1/2 oz) marinated quartered arthichoke
1/4 cup butter, cubed hearts, drained
1 large onion, chopped 1 cup (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 can (14-1/2 oz) chicken broth 1/3 cup sliced pitted Greek olives
3 cups cubed rotisserie chicken 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large ovenproof skillet, melt butter. Add onion; saute until tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the chicken, artichoke hearts, cheese, tomatoes and olives.

Drain pasta; stir into the pan. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 5-7 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Sprinkle with parsley.

Chicken Primavera

So I have to give all the credit to Dev for this recipe. The first time I ate it was at her house a couple of years ago and it was so good I had to get the recipe from her. You could personalize the recipe however you'd like to make it your style, but I like it just the way it's written.

Chicken Primavera
4 chicken breasts cubed
1/4 C butter
2 zucchini sliced
2 yellow squash sliced
1 1/4 C whipping cream
1/2 C milk
2 cloves of garlic crushed
2-3 C pasta cooked (any kind really)
4 roma tomatoes diced
3/4 C fresh basil chopped
1 1/2 C fresh parmesan grated

Saute chicken and garlic in butter. Remove chicken, add squash and zucchinni and saute until slightly tender. Stir in whipping cream and milk and simmer for one minute. Add tomatoes, cooked pasta, basil, cheese and chicken - stir it all together.
Enjoy!