Garlic Chicken Veggy Pasta

On a cold, lazy Sunday nothing warms you up like a yummy bowl of pasta! At least that is my opinion. :) Dinner tonight was easy and delicious! This pasta was one of those "add a little of this...add a little more...taste right" dishes that I created with ingredients on hand.
Chris commented on how GOOD it smelled while cooking and (even better) how GREAT it tasted! I agree. This dish will definitely be added to our usual dinner rotation.



INGREDIENTS
12 ounce package fusilli pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cubed
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 carrot, sliced 1/4 inch thick slices
1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli florets, thawed
frozen sweet corn (previously cut from 2 ears of fresh corn)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon dry white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 6-7 minutes, or until al dente; drain and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 2-3 minutes. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika and add to pan with garlic. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (no longer pink). Remove chicken and set aside. In the same skillet used to sauté chicken, add all vegetables. Saute 5-6 minutes or until tender. Add lemon, wine and broth and heat 2 more minutes. Add remaining butter and oil. Add reserved chicken and pasta.
Remove from heat and stir in basil, parsley and cheese. Enjoy!

Finally....Friday Night Together!

It has been 3 months since Chris and I had a Friday night together due to Chris’ 7pm-7am shift. No more! Chris is done with nights and I am so very happy! To celebrate many more dinners together these upcoming months I wanted to make his favorite meal.
I have mentioned what a picky eater he is and posted his favorite dish in March 2007 Chris loves chicken alfredo (he orders it everywhere we go). At home, I have been making the EXACT same sauce for over two years. I decided to go CRAZY and try a new recipe (which is very daring since Chris likes to stick to a good thing when he finds it). :) I am so glad I was feeling adventurous! Chris loved the change! I was inspired by a recipe I found on Foodnetwork.com. In an attempt to sneak some “green” in to my picky husbands diet, I added one of the only vegetables he will eat….broccoli. Chris’ review….”Mmmmmm”.
In addition to the pasta, we had some delicious Oven Fried Chicken Tenders. I recently read (I apologize for not recalling which of the many food blogs I read that I saw this post) someone used cereal and bagel chips to coat chicken tenders. I decided to give it a try! The result….delicious! A simple, Chris pleasing meal. :)

Chris’ Special Broccoli Alfredo Pasta
Inspired and modified from Eatingwell.com

Ingredients:
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 teaspoons minced garlic
8 ounces pasta (I used thin spaghetti)
1 bag steamed broccoli florets (Birdseye Steam Fresh)
3 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
4 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoon red pepper flakes (Adds a great kick!)
salt to taste (additional for pasta water)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Parsley (garnish)
Directions:
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Combine broth and garlic cloves in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.
After the garlic has simmered about 10 minutes, cook pasta in the boiling water, stirring often, for 9 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, add cornstarch mixture to simmering broth; whisk it until slightly thickened, about 15 seconds. Remove from the heat and whisk in sour cream, nutmeg, pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. Return the pot to very low heat to keep the sauce warm. (Do not boil.)
Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Add bag of steamed broccoli. Add the sauce and 3/4 cup Parmesan; toss to coat well. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately, passing the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan separately.

Oven Fried Chicken Tenders
Ingredients:
Cooking Spray (I used Pam Olive Oil)
1 cups rice-corn crispy cereal, (I used Crispex)
2 cups broken bagel chips
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (8-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in to strips (4 strips per breast- 8 total)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard


Directions:
First, combine crispy cereal and bagel chips in blender or food processor and pulverize until crumb consistency.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a resealable plastic bag or shallow dish, combine cereal/bagel chip mixture, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, paprika, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
Brush each chicken breast with Dijon mustard. Add chicken to seasoning mixture with tongs and turn to coat both sides. Transfer chicken to prepared baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.
Bake 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.

Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

Noodles:
In a large pot, boil noodles as directed on package (We like fettuccine and angle hair pasta the best). I often add fresh chopped broccoli the last 4-5 minutes of boiling time (but not tonight). Tonight, I added some left over chicken breast to the sauce.

Sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 cups milk
8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Italian Seasoning (2 “good” sprinkles)
Fresh paprika (garnish)
Directions:
Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly. Toss with hot pasta to serve. Garnish with paprika on individual servings.


Both this recipe and the one above are very simple dishes, but I had to include the recipes in my blog because they are two of my husband's favorite meals. He would alternate each every night of the week if I let him!