Saucy Pesto Chicken

My most recent recipe swap category was chicken, and my draw came from A Taste of Home Cooking.

I don't really have the luxury of a lot of time to cook during the week, so I looked for ways to cut corners without sacrificing quality and flavor. During my weekend food shopping, I found a jar of organic garlic pesto sauce, and while I'm not really a fan of jarred sauces, this wasn't a variety that I normally keep stocked in my freezer. I figured it would be perfect, and it was.

Served over egg noodles and with a few minor changes, this was a pretty easy and delicious meal. Next time, I might baking it. Or adding artichokes. Or both!


Saucy Pesto Chicken
adapted from Taste of Home

1 package (9 ounces) fresh baby spinach

salt and pepper, to taste

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)

1 jar (or homemade equivalent) of pesto sauce

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound egg noodles, cooked

6 campari tomatoes, chopped

minced parsley, for garnish

Place spinach in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown chicken in remaining oil on both sides; slice into strips or bite-size pieces and place over spinach. Pour sauce over chicken.

Cover and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160° and sauce is bubbly. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer. Serve with pasta. Sprinkle with tomato and parsley.

Creamy Spinach and Tortellini

As you know, I love pasta, but really enjoy doing things a little differently once in awhile. I made this tortellini dinner from Cooking for Comfort, and it was indeed comforting. The spinach and tomatoes really rounded out the dinner and made me feel slightly less guilty for consuming a ginormous bowl of tortellini. This was nice and fast - boiling the water for the tortellini was the "long" part. The rest came together as the tortellini were cooking. Delicious, and I will for sure make this again.


Ingredients

• 20 ounce family size package fresh cheese tortellini
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 (9 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach in pouch, thawed
  
• 14 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook tortellini to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; cook until tender and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add spinach, tomato, basil, salt, and pepper, cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in whipping cream and Parmesan cheese; cook until mixture just comes to a boil. Pour sauce over tortellini and stir gently to coat. Serve with additional grated parmesan cheese.

Healthy Chicken and Mushroom Quesadillas

I think I may have found my new favorite quesadilla. Thanks, Ellie Krieger!

I found these over at Macaroni and Cheesecake awhile ago and am sorry I waited so long to make them. They were nice and quick, and absolutely delicious! There's something hearty yet light (I know, that doesn't make sense!) about the chicken-and-spinach combo, and they even appealed to my picky three-year-old, who is still asking for them.

I cooked these on the panini press, because, well, I feel that everything tastes better coming from the little appliance!

(Confession: I used store-bought grilled chicken which made this meal even faster!)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 8 ounces white button mushrooms, (about 3 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups cooked chopped skinless, boneless chicken breast (1 breast half)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves, sliced into ribbons
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 4 (10-inch) whole-grain flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese mix or Cheddar
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the mushroom water is evaporated and they begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken, cumin, chili powder and oregano and stir until all spices are incorporated. Add spinach, salt and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Lay 1 tortilla on a flat work surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Spoon 1/2 chicken and vegetable mixture on top of cheese, then top with an additional 1/4 cup cheese. Top with another flour tortilla. Heat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Carefully place 1 quesadilla in pan and cook 3 minutes. Using a large spatula, gently flip quesadilla and cook an additional 3 minutes until lightly browned and cheese is melted. Repeat with second quesadilla. Slice each quesadilla into quarters. Place 2 quarters on a plate with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 2 tablespoons salsa.

Ham and Shells Casserole

Oh, this was one yummy dinner!

This recipe from This Girl's Food was delicious. I ended up having to make some changes, the biggest being the fact that I didn't bake it. I preheated my oven, and my kitchen started to fill with smoke. I peeked in and saw that whatever I had made last had apparently spilled and I didn't notice. So... no baking!

I really enjoyed the creaminess of it, and while I wonder what it would be like out of the oven, I'm not sure I'd try. Why mess with a good thing?

Ingredients

• 1 pkg (16 oz.) medium pasta shells
• 3 large onions
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 9 oz. package fresh spinach, torn
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3-1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup park-skim ricotta cheese (I omitted because I didn't have any)
• 1 cup (4 oz.) crumbled goat cheese (I used mozzarella)
• 2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350°

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions in oil for 15-20 minutes or unitl golden brown. Add spinach and rosemary, cook for a few minutes until spinach is wilted.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and pepper until smooth and cook for a few minutes. Gradually add milk, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses until blended.

Drain pasta, place in a large bowl. Add the ham, onion mixture and sauce and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until bubbly.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Like many people, I love pizza nights.  What beats just picking up the phone and sitting down, in thirty minutes or less, to a hot pie with oozy gooey cheese? 

Although we've lived in this house for over 6 years, we've yet to really find GREAT local pizza.  In all honesty, though, laziness is a factor; the place we usually use is adequate, and we haven't continued searching around.

I don't make my own pizza often, mostly because when I think of homemade pizza, I think of Nana's or my mom's - and I know I can't duplicate theirs!  But every once in awhile I come across a pizza that's so tempting that I can't pass it up; this Chicken Alfredo Pizza from Kickin' it in the Kitch was surely among them!

I cheated and used a store bought crust, but nonetheless, this was fantastic.  I didn't love the Alfredo sauce I used, so next time I might even be enticed to make my own.  Best of all, this reheated nicely for a yummy lunch the next day.

Ingredients

• Pizza dough (you could use homemade or store-bought)
• Half jar of alfredo sauce
• Chicken, cubed & cooked
• Frozen spinach (Next time, I'll use fresh)
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Olive oil, parsley and oregano mixed together

Preheat the oven to 500 (or, if using a premade crust, follow package instructions).

Roll out pizza dough to desired size on pizza stone. Spread alfredo sauce on crust and add the rest of the toppings. Brush the olive oil mixture on the crust. Bake at 500 degrees for 12 minutes or until crust is golden.

Creamy Baked Gnocchi

While this dinner from Giada's Everyday Pasta was good, I didn't feel it was great. However, I am so so so so so partial to a nice baked gnocchi with a yummy meat sauce, so perhaps I am a bit biased.


I thought the flavors were very good, and this was very easy to put together. And Ryan did actual eat a decent amount, so that right there says a lot. ;)


Ingredients

• 2 (17 ounce) packages potato gnocchi
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 12 ounces baby spinach
• 3 ounces fresh goat cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the gnocchi in a lightly greased 9x13x2 inch baking dish. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cream, chicken broth, and flour over medium heat. Continue whisking until the sauce is simmering and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir to combine. Add the spinach and toss to coat in the cream. Pour the cream and spinach mixture evenly over the gnocchi and gently spread the spinach out to cover.
4. Crumble the goat cheese over the spinach. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden in places, about 30 minutes.

Tuscan Casserole

Even though this pregnancy is not really allowing me to go completely meatless on Fridays during Lent, I try to at least avoid it during dinner. So it was pretty good timing when this Tuscan Casserole from Someone's in the Kitchen with Brina showed up in my reader!


I really enjoyed the flavors in this casserole and actually think I'd like to add to them next time. For example, I think some orzo in here would be awesome, or maybe some diced chicken or ground turkey.

I also added some mozzarella because really, everything is better with cheese! But stupid me put it under the layer of bread and I think it would have looked much more awesome on top. Oh well...


Ingredients

• 1 15-oz can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 10-oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained
• 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 1.5 tsp salt (I would only use 1 tsp or less next time)
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 3 slices of reduced calorie bread, torn into small pieces (I found it easier to cube the bread)
• 2 TBS shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine beans, spinach, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix to combine. Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add oil, and saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms until the shrooms start to brown and soften, about 10 minutes. Try to let as much liquid as possible evaporate, otherwise you'll end up with a wet casserole!

Add the onion mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Spoon everything into the baking dish and evenly top with the bread pieces. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake until bread is toasted and spinach is warmed through, about 25 minutes. This serves 8 people, 2 points per serving.

Three Cheese Penne and Chicken Florentine

Brooke posted this Three Cheese Penne and Chicken Florentine dinner awhile ago, and I starred it right away. I, too, get "Dinner Tonight" from myrecipes.com, but I don't know how this one escaped being saved by me!


I followed many of Brooke's adaptations and made some of my own. This is perhaps one of my favorite things about cooking; you make minor changes, and then someone else makes minor changes, and then someone else... and you have all of these cool variations on the same dish. I really enjoy making a dish "mine"!

Anyway, this dinner was so amazingly delicious. It was very comfort-food-ish, but I didn't feel super guilty about it. I will absolutely be making this again.


Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 3 cups thinly sliced mushrooms - omitted only because I forgot to buy them
  
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tsp minced garlic
  
• 3 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) carton skim ricotta
• 4 cups hot cooked penne (about 8 ounces uncooked tube-shaped pasta)
• 2 cups shredded roasted skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup fat free half and half
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Preheat oven to 425°.

In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat, add mushrooms, garlic, and onion; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add spinach, basil, and black pepper; sauté 3 minutes or just until spinach wilts.

Combine spinach mixture, ricotta cheese, pasta, chicken, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, milk, and soup in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.