Creamy Bow-Tie Chicken Alfredo Pasta

This I cannot take credit for. My dear friend and co-worker Dale came up with this one. She may even be reading this (Hi Dale!). It has quickly become one of our favorite recipes, so thanks Dale!

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 box of bow-tie pasta (I only had a bag so I used about 3/4ths of it)
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 tbsp of minced garlic (see my previous post a few down about the type to buy at the store)
• 1 pkg of fajita chicken (I get ours at HEB, you can find it anywhere in the freezer section of your grocery store) or you can grill 2-3 chicken breasts.
• 1 jar of Bertolli Alfredo sauce
• sprinkle of crushed Red Pepper flakes (this will add heat, so if you like heat, add a generous sprinkle, if not, just a bit)
• a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese
• olive oil for sauteing

Directions:

In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook pasta according to directions. Also, in a large saucepan bring olive oil to medium heat and add in onion and garlic to saute for a few minutes until onion is tender. While this is happening, chop up chicken into smaller pieces. Toss in chicken to garlic and onion mix and let warm up. Mine was only partially defrosted so I gave the chicken a few extra minutes to defrost and warm up.

When pasta is finished cooking, drain and transfer into chicken mixture. Add in one jar of Bertolli Alfredo sauce and a little Italian crushed red pepper. Toss in a generous handful of shredded Parmesan cheese. Mix together and let heat through. Serve with your favorite sides.

It makes a lasagna tray full-so it's great for company or leftovers! :)

If you make it, let me know how you liked it!

Summer Time=Chicken Salad!

Whether you like it in a sandwich or on a bed of lettuce, to me chicken salad is a summertime staple! A great friend of mine passed this recipe on to me and I love it! You can tweak it by adding pecans or grapes if you'd like.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 chicken breasts either boiled or grilled (tastes great either way. I grilled mine with just some garlic salt)
• 3 stalks of celery chopped very fine
• 3 green onions chopped very fine
• 3/4 cup of dried cranberries (Target sells them in a bag for pretty cheap)
• 1 cup of Miracle Whip (I used light, I know some people can't stand MW so you could always use your favorite mayo)
• 2 tbsps coleslaw dressing (Kraft sells one in a salad dressing bottle in the salad dressing aisle)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt and pepper

Directions:

Grill or boil your chicken breasts and then chop finely. Add all ingredients together in bowl and mix to your liking. You can always add more mayo but you can't take any back so go easy at first until you get the consistency to your liking. This makes a good amount for a summer picnic or enough for a few sandwich leftovers.

If you make it, let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

Someone Else's Super Easy Fettucine Alfredo

I can't take credit for this (as usual) but you should try it. It's VERY easy. You can season it however strongly or lightly you wish. You can make it with chicken, shrimp, or by itself. I got it from here and her picture is way more appetizing and better (can you tell I work with 5 year olds by the way I'm typing?).

Ingredients:

1 box or package of fettucine

1-2 boneless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil (like I ever stick to that)

salt and pepper

For the alfredo sauce:

3 tbsp. butter

2 cloves garlic smashed (or the equivalent in the jars of minced garlic)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to boil for pasta. While you are waiting, cook the chicken breasts. Heat the oil in a skillet at medium high heat. Season and cook until golden brown. Remove to a plate and let rest for a few minutes. Cut into small strips. Cover with foil to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

Cook pasta until al dente.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cream, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Mix in the parmesan cheese and cook until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve pasta with sauce and topped with grilled chicken strips.

***Warning: this recipe does not bode well for leftovers. It results in a mystery sauce-less pasta.***

If you make it let me know how it goes! :)

P.S. someone PLEASE make this recipe. It looks killer (in many ways).

Cajun Chicken Pasta A La Laura Walton

This is one of my favorite recipes of all times. OF ALL TIMES! My good friend Laura had us over for dinner last fall and served this wonderful meal! It is amazing! She and her husband are FANTASTIC cooks. I wish we could eat every meal at their house! I can't take credit for this recipe, but I wanted to post it because I know it's so great other people will want to try it! You can substitute shrimp for chicken if you wanted.

I love pasta dishes and this one is one that I can't wait to have on our monthly rotation. I would eat this every week if I could! I know it's good because Tony sits silently scarfing his plate until he gets up and scoops another plate full and sits back down again and eats. His first comment every time we have this when he takes his first bite is "I LOVE this recipe." It's even better the second day for leftovers.

Ok, enough praising. Let's get to the good stuff.

Ingredients:

• 1 box penne pasta (I use Dreamfields because it's suppose to break down better in your system and not be so hard on your blood sugar)
• 2 chicken breasts (sliced into thin strips)
• 1 link of Andouille sausage thinly sliced (I had to ask Laura how you even pronounce this, but it's a cajun sausage)
• 2 tsp. Cajun seasoning (see picture below for idea)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (so, so worth it!)
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
• 2 tbsp. grated parm. cheese (sometimes I leave this out or I just use bagged shredded parmesan)

HEB sells the Adam's Reserve line of spices usually near the area they test recipes. I have a love/dislike relationship with this line because they're SO great, but SO pricey. I paid $6.99 for this jar but I've made this recipe probably 6 times with it and still have this much left, so it does last a long time. I will continue to buy the cajun seasoning from this line, but all others I'm not so tied to.

Directions:

Cook pasta to al dente. Place chicken and cajun seasoning in a bowl, toss to coat. In a large skillet, over medium heat, add in olive oil. Then add in green and red bell peppers and onion and cook until soft (lacking the right word here!). Remove peppers and saute chicken and sausage in olive oil for 5-7 minutes (or cook on grill). Once chicken is cooked, add back in peppers as well as cooked pasta and reduce heat and stir in heavy cream. Season sauce with all the spices, heat through. Add Italian cheese blend and simmer. When finished, you can add 1-2 tsp. more of the cajun seasoning.

ENJOY!