Italian Baked Chicken and Penne

This turned out to be a very simple dish that I threw together while babysitting my beautiful little niece, Dakota. She seemed to like it too. =)

Ingredients:
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)...I used penne pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)

1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Penne with Oven-Roasted Chicken, Asparagus, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Macaroni Grill Style)

Brad and I had dinner with some friends recently at Macaroni Grill. I had their "Penne with Oven-Roasted Chicken" and fell in love with it. After that, I started on a mission to try and replicate the recipe. The final recipe that I used is a combination of several that I found. I think it comes extremely close. This is our new favorite....Brad loved it! I'll definitely be making it over and over. The sun-dried tomatoes are the best part. Now I want to try and find other recipes that incorporate them. Giada made sun-dried tomato/spinach/cheese stuffed pork chops today on Everyday Italian. I'll probably give those a whirl in the next week or so. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced, with 1 Tbsp oil reserved
16 asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed, sliced diagonally into 1/2” pieces
2 - 2.5 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp tomato paste
8 oz penne pasta
Olive oil
Shredded mozzarella/parmesan cheese

Directions:
Place chicken in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle chicken with a mixture of seasonings - basil, garlic spice, and parsley. Cook in the oven for 35 - 45 minutes at 375 degrees or until chicken is cooked thoroughly through.


Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

Add 1 Tbsp. of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil and 1 Tbsp. olive oil to a large skillet. Over high heat, stir-fry the asparagus for 3 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, 1/4 cup basil, oregano, chicken broth, wine and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and simmer until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.


Put cooked pasta on a plate. Place a heaping layer of the shredded mozzarella/parmesan cheese on top of the pasta. Next, drizzle sun-dried tomato mixture over the pasta and cheese. Place oven-roasted chicken on top.

Viola!

Cheese Ravioli with Toasted Walnuts

1 14-16 oz. package cheese ravioli (frozen or fresh)

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup (2 oz.) walnuts, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, sliced

2 tsp. lemon juice

Kosher salt and pepper

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

***I added some baked chicken to this recipe to give it that extra something.***

Cook the ravioli according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 3 tbsp. of the cooking water.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the walnuts and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the nuts are lightly toasted and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, the parsley, and the reserved cooking water.

Add the ravioli and toss to coat.

Divide among individual plates and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Source: Real Simple magazine

Shrimp Scampi

12 ounces uncooked, dried angel hair pasta

1/3 c. butter or margarine

1 3/4 lbs. peeled and deveined large fresh shrimp

2 green onions, sliced

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp. grated lemon rind

1/2 c. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp. hot sauce

* Cook pasta according to package directions, including salt. Drain and keep pasta warm.

* Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add shrimp, and cook, stirring constantly, 5-10 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Stir in green onions and next 6 ingredients. Cook mixture 1 minute or until bubbly. Serve over hot cooked pasta.

Source: Southern Living

Italian Cream Cake

This is my Mom's recipe...it is heavenly!

2 c. sugar
1 c. Crisco
1/2 c. oleo
5 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 c. plain flour; sifted
1 tsp. soda
2 c. coconut
1 c. pecans

Cream sugar and Crisco well. Add oleo and beat until fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla and buttermilk alternately with flour, salt and soda. Fold in coconut, pecans and beaten stiff egg whites. Makes 4 layers.

Frosting:
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick oleo (room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese (room temperature)

Beat all together until well blended. Spread on cake layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.