Chicken Penne Pasta

Why is it kids don’t like vegetables? A good portion of all recipes I read that are geared toward families always say, “This recipe is a good way to get your kids to eat their vegetables.”

I guess we were lucky with our kids. I would not say they were perfect, but never caught either of them hiding their veggies in napkins, knocking them off the plate, so the dog could eat them, or run to the bathroom to spit it out. Once I did teach them, what their Auntie Angela used did when she was little. When my sister didn’t like a vegetable my mom served, my sister would stir it into her mashed potatoes to mask their taste. Whatever works right?

I like this recipe because it is full of color and taste, and the bonus is it uses wheat pasta, lean chicken breast and low sodium chicken broth.  This is a quick and easy meal, which usually there aren’t any leftovers because the kids gobble it down.

Chicken Penne Pasta

8 oz uncooked whole wheat penne pasta, cooked per package instructions minus the salt

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

½ cup low sodium chicken broth

1 cup broccoli florets

½ teaspoon salt (I usually omit)

Ground pepper to taste

2 Tablespoon olive oil

3 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

3 oz parmesan cheese

Directions:

Coat large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium temp

Add chicken and cook 4 minutes on each side or until done

Remove chicken from pan, slice into strip, keep warm

Add onion garlic and red pepper to skillet and sauté 5-7minutes

Add chicken broth and broccoli, cover and cook for 3-5minutes, stir occasionally until broccoli is lightly steamed

In a large serving bowl, toss together pasta, vegetables and chicken

Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil, garnish each serving with basil and cheese

Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy…

We love chicken fried steak, but it is difficult to find a recipe where the recipe calls for round steak and not cube steak.

 Is there is difference between the two? No, it is the same piece of meat from the hindquarter of the cow.

So what is the difference? Cube steak has been mechanically tenderized and usually from the top of the round.

Round steak is not tenderized; if you want a good chicken fried steak, ask the butcher for the inside or bottom round. Tenderize it yourself; it is a great way to relieve your stress, frustration and anger.

Ingredients:

2 pounds inside round steak, at least ½ inch thick

Flour

Click Here For The Complete Recipe!

Italian Kale Soup…

I saw a recipe on the back of a cracker box for an Italian soup that used sausage, cannellini beans and spinach. I then came across a recipe for cannellini bean and kale soup. There were things about both recipes I did not like.

 The Italian soup had noodles in it and it just didn’t seem to appetizing to me. It did have sausage,but since I used it the night before in red beans and rice, I didn't have any to add. I thought about putting ground beef in this soup, but didn’t think it would taste right. You could add a pound of sausage to this recipe if you wanted.

The soup is colorful, and full of all those good vitamins we all need, like beta-carotene from carrots, that can help guard against colds and the flu. Then there is Kale, which has quickly become the new super since people have discovered all of its wonder benefits.  

So what is so special about Kale?

One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of kale binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw.

As it stands right now you could switch the chicken broth out for vegetable broth and make this a vegetarian soup.

 I put salt and pepper on the ingredient list. I personally don't think it needs any salt, but to each their own. I think a few tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese on top when serving would be really good.

Ingredients:

1 med yellow onion, chopped

3 Tablespoons garlic, minced

Olive oil

4 cups chicken broth

6 packed cups raw kale, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 parsnips, chopped

2 cans (15 ounce) Cannellini beans, undrained

1 can (28 ounce) whole tomatoes

½ teaspoon ground thyme

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon garam masala

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In large soup pot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil, add in kale and stir until the kale wilts

Add broth, carrots, parsnips, and celery. Drain tomato juice into pot; crush tomatoes before adding to pot.

Add cannellini beans and spices.

Simmer for half hour.

Crock-Pot Sopa de Ajo (Castilian Garlic Soup)

This recipe was sent to me by a reader, the original recipe came from Fox News website. The soup is a chicken base and is made in a crock-pot. With little pre-planning you can come home to savory garlic and chicken soup.

Ingredients

• 2 heads of garlic (approximately 40 cloves)
• 4 Tablespoon olive oil
• salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3/4 Teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 Teaspoon paprika, plus more for garnish
• pinch of saffron
• 1/2 Teaspoon cayenne
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
• 4 Cup chicken broth
• 4 eggs, poached

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2

In a small glass baking dish, place 30 unpeeled cloves of garlic. Drizzle over with 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, mixing to ensure that the garlic is evenly coated.

Step 3

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and roast the garlic for approximately 30 minutes, until it is soft and golden-hued.

Step 4

While the garlic is roasting, peel and mince the remaining 10 cloves of garlic.

Step 5

Heat the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan; once hot, add the garlic and onion and sauté over medium heat for around 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent and the garlic is fragrant (but not browned). Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Step 6

Once the garlic has finished roasting, remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Gently unpeel the cloves and set aside (the peels should come off very easily). Discard the garlic peels.

Step 7

In a crock pot, add the sautéed garlic and onion mixture, the roasted garlic, and all of the remaining ingredients, except for the eggs, and adding more salt and pepper to taste at this stage. Stir to ensure the ingredients are evenly combined.

Step 8

Cook in the crockpot on low heat for 6-8 hours, stirring very occasionally if possible, until the potatoes are falling apart. Break up any remaining large potato pieces with a wooden spoon or a fork.

Step 9

When the soup has finished cooking, ladle into 4 bowls. Top each with a freshly poached egg and an extra pinch of paprika for color.

Cindy’s Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Cindy posted this recipe on Face Book, and it is truly as simple as opening cans. Some of the best recipes are mixing canned goods together. These are quick, super simple and tasty to make recipes that can be thrown into a crock-pot while you are flying out the door to work. When you return not only dinner is ready, but clean up will be quick as well.

Here is the recipe as I got it. It is a true, "I make it so much, I just use eyeball it" recipe.

Chicken breast
cream of chicken soup (big family can)
readymade biscuits (like Pillsbury)
celery
carrots
peas
chicken broth

In a crock pot mix the box of chicken broth with the large can of cream of chicken soup. Season. Put in chicken breasts. Cook on low until chicken is really tender. About an hour or so before you are ready to eat put in vegetables and take biscuits and pinch off small amounts and put in crock pot. Put as many in as you like. Sometimes I cut them in small squares, but I am usually rushing so there is not time for that.

When I made the recipe, I did not have a large family can of soup or chicken broth. I do believe I achieved a close knock off. I do have one suggestion, if you can find the heart healthy or low salt versions of the soup use them. If not, add a raw potato to the pot when you add the biscuits. Using canned soup and vegetables can be a bit salty for those on a restriction diet.

4 frozen chicken breasts

1 10 3/4 ounce can Campbell’s Cream of Celery soup

1 10 3/4 ounce can Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup

2 10 3/4 ounce can Campbell’s Cream of Chicken with herbs soup

Pillsbury flaky home-style Grand’s Biscuits

½ cup minced onions

½ cup of peas and carrots (frozen or drained can)

4 cups of water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

Paprika

Directions:

Place bouillon cubes and water in glass measuring cup, in microwave heat to a boil

 Place frozen chicken breast, soups and chicken bouillon in Crock-pot, cook on low for 6 to 8 hours

Remove chicken from broth and shred, return to pot with peas, carrots and minced onion

Cut raw biscuits into small pieces, I cut mine into 8 small pieces, as if I was slicing a pizza

Add cut up biscuits to pot and sprinkle with paprika lightly over the entire top.

Cook for one hour.

Try Me Tuesday...

Saturday, I dished dinner and called the family in to eat. I was met with mixed enthusiasm, as to was to what was on their plates. First item was the soup; my husband, gave me a questioning look then asked “Why is there so little in my bowl?” I gave each of them about a quarter cup of soup, which just filled the bottom of the bowl. I was not sure if they would like soup, so why waste it?

Next on their plate was a honey-smoked thick cut pork chop, the kind I usually get for stuffing, a Cheryl worthy buttery yeast roll and Paddy’s green bean supreme. 

The soup was huge a big hit. My husband went back for two whole bowls; he and our daughter were already calling dibs on the leftovers for lunch this week. This was a triumph since my husband cannot stand the taste of tomato soup. *I do a happy dance and throw confetti!*

 The soup has creamy tomato taste, like tomato bisque soup. The soups only dairy is four tablespoons of butter. So where is the soup getting its creamy taste? Pumpkin, yes I said pumpkin. The other surprising aspect to this recipe is with two simple changes you could serve it to your vegan friends.

 

Not Bisque, Tomato Bisque Soup

1 small onion, chopped

4 Tablespoons of butter (could use vegetable oil)

1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes

2 15oz can of whole pumpkin, not pie filling

4 cups of chicken broth, (could use vegetable stock, but it will alter the taste)

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

½ teaspoon of ground ginger

2Tablespoons ground pepper

1 teaspoon of white sugar

Directions:

In soup pot, melt butter and sauté onions until soft and translucent

Add broth and bring to a boil for ten minutes

Add entire can of tomatoes to a food processor or blender, puree until smooth

Add tomato puree, canned pumpkin and spices to broth

Simmer for fifteen minutes

 Check back tomorrow for the green beans supreme and pork chop recipe