Creamy Chicken, Broccoli & Artichoke Pasta

"There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful woman in the act of cooking dinner for someone she loves." - Alice Adams

That was in an email I got from Puppy Daddy this week. No wonder I love cooking dinner every night. He is the best husband ever. He is extremely romantic, loving to surprise me. I get a special gift every time we go on a trip together. After a long day, I often come home to him greeting me at the car with flowers and a glass of wine. In fact, once I pushed the button to open the garage door to pull my car in and saw a little table set with wine and flowers!  He emails me a love poem or quote EVERY DAY! I have no idea what I ever did to derserve such an amazing man, but boy am I blessed.

No wonder I love cooking dinner every night! I especially love finding a recipe that allows me to make something delicious and use up ingredients from my fridge and pantry. This is that kind of recipe. You could use any protein, any vegetables, and just about any pasta shape you have in stock.

Start this dish by pounding your chicken breasts until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Then poach the chicken breasts in the chicken broth. When their cooked through remove them from the pan and add the cream. Cook until it gets thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Melt in your Parmesan. Then add back in your your chicken, artichokes and broccoli. Toss with cooked pasta and fresh parsley.

Eat!
 
Ingredients
2 (6 oz.) chicken breast halves
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup broccoli florets, cooked

1 (9 oz.) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

1/2 pound fettuccine pasta

Salt and pepper 1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (2 oz.)

 

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pound chicken  to 1/2-inch thickness. Pour broth into a skillet; bring to a boil over high heat. Add chicken, lower heat to medium and cover. Cook, turning twice, until no longer pink, 12 minutes.

 

Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil. Increase heat to high and bring broth to a boil. Boil rapidly until liquid has reduced by half. Pour in cream, bring to a boil, and cook until thick enough to coat back of a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. (Watch carefully and stir to prevent it from boiling over.)

 

Chop chicken and artichokes; set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return pasta to pot and stir in sauce, chicken, artichokes and broccoli. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley and grated Parmesan, and serve hot.

Grilled Veggie Pasta

Last night was grilling night at our house. Puppy Daddy loves grilled vegetables and I love pasta, so we put them together and came up with this delicious dish. It was a side dish to a grilled pork tenderloin, but it certainly could be a main dish all by itself.







I put the veggies on skewers, but you could also use a grill pan. While the veggies are on the grill, brush them with a mixture of melted butter, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and fresh basil.  When they're done, chop them up and toss with your favorite shape of pasta, the left over basting sauce, and Parmesan cheese. YUM!






Ingredients
1/2 red onion, quartered
1 green pepper
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
9 -10 mushrooms
2 TB butter, melted
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
8 oz penne pasta, cooked to package directions
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions
Separate layers of quartered onion. Core green pepper. Chop in 2 inch squares. Skewer all veggies. Combine butter, oil, garlic and basil. Place veggie skewers on a medium high grill and brush with up to 3/4 of the butter and oil mixture. Cook veggies for 10 - 15 minutes. Turning every 5 minutes. (Use a pot holder. The skewer handles will be very hot!) Take skewers off the grill and chop veggies. Combine with pasta, what's left of the butter, oil mixture and Parmesan cheese.

Fresh Tomato, Artichoke and Basil Pasta

With apologies to my favorite Italian TV chefs and friends, I am not a big fan of tomato sauce or gravy. Yes, I use it on my stuffed shells or lasagna, but other than that you won't find it on my menu. But when I made Grilled Chicken Involtini this week pasta with some type of tomato sauce seemed like the right side dish. While it does have tomatoes, the pasta is not smothered in sauce.

You can use what ever shape of pasta you choose. I used a corkscrew which did a nice job of holding on to the sauce. Just cook your pasta in salted water and be sure to reserve some of the cooking water for the sauce.

To start heat up some extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Then add a pint of fresh grape tomatoes. I prefer these because they have so much more flavor than anything else I can find in the grocery store. Cover the skillet and cook the tomatoes on medium heat until they burst open. Next just add crushed garlic and artichokes. When the pasta is finished cooking add it along with some pasta water to the skillet along with Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil. You should try this soon!

Ingredients
8 oz corkscrew pasta, cooked
1 cup pasta water, reserved
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 pint fresh grape tomatoes
6 oz canned artichoke hearts, quartered
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Heat extra virgin olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add tomatoes, cover and cook until tomatoes burst open. Add artichokes and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Add Parmesan and enough pasta water to bring sauce together. Finish with fresh basil. Top servings with more Parmesan.



Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Shells

Cookbooks, I adore them. My book shelves are packed with them. I love collecting them. I love reading them. One of the first cookbooks I owned is The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine. I methodically cooked my way through this book and still refer to it often. It has notes throughout, stains on the pages of my favorite recipes and is falling apart. If you ask Puppy Daddy what meal of mine is his favorite, I can guarantee it is this one. It is nothing like any stuffed shells you have ever eaten. It's certainly cheesy, but it's also filled with Italian sausage and spinach with lots of garlic and lemon. I encourage you to try it very soon!


Ingredients
1 lb large shells
1 10 oz package of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1/2 lb Italian sausage (Follow link to make your own.)
1/2 lb small curd cottage cheese, drained
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp oregano
1 egg, beaten
2 cups marinara sauce
2 cups coarsely grated mozzarella

Directions
Boil the pasta until firm but tender. Rinse in cold water and drain.

Saute the sausage and break up into small pieces.  Mix with the drained spinach, drained cottage cheese, garlic, lemon juice, grated cheese, salt, pepper and oregano. Stir in the beaten egg.

Stuff the shells with the above mixture and place in a greased baking dish. Top with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 300 degrees until all is hot and cheese melted, about 20 minutes.

Sausage and Tapenade Pasta

Arriving home late and hungry with no plan for dinner for me means looking through the fridge and pantry to figure out what I can throw together. This has led and to some of my best and worst recipes. This one is a keeper. The magic in this combination is the olive tapenade or olive salad. You can get a really great olive salad at the Saturday Morning Market from Jays Marketplace. It's an easy meal and you can switch out many of the ingredients for what you have on hand.

 

Ingredients

2 TB olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 can diced tomatoes with juices
1/4 cup olive tapenade or olive salad
1/2 lb pasta of your choice
salt
Parmesan cheese

Directions
In a large skillet brown onion and sausage in olive oil, breaking sausage into small pieces. Meanwhile bring water to a boil in a large pot. Salt water and add pasta. Cook according to package directions. After sausage and onions are browned add tomatoes with juices and olive tapenade or spread. When pasta is finished cooking drain and add to sauce. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Penne and Asparagus with Tomato Cream Sauce

The Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Petersburg has recently become a favorite outing for Puppy Daddy and me. I can't believe it has been in existence for ten years and we have just now discovered it. The market has several fresh produce stands, baked goods, gourmet foods, arts, crafts and prepared foods. We love buying our fresh produce for the week and fresh bread. This week we bought Tomato-Basil Penne from Pappardelle's. They make over 100 flavors of dried pasta and fresh-frozen ravioli, sauces and pestos, each handcrafted in small batches using every facet of traditional Italian pasta making techniques. It is sold only in a few gourmet shops and farmers markets across the country. We bought the very last of the Tomato-Basil Penne on Saturday. The poor customer right after us had to make an alternate choice. This recipe uses the pasta and fresh asparagus from the market. I served this pasta with delicious rosemary rolls, also from the market. If you haven't been, I encourage you to check it out soon!

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup milk
4 TB prepared marinara sauce
1/2 lb asparagus, sliced into 2 inch pieces
1 lb penne pasta
salt

Directions
Fill a large pot with water add a generous amount of salt and bring to a boil. When water is boiling add pasta and cook according to directions on the package.Add asparagus to the pot for the last 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile make the sauce. In a medium sized sauce pan melt butter over medium heat. When melted add cream cheese. Stir until melted. Add milk and marinara sauce. Continue to stir until sauce is melted. Drain pasta and asparagus, and add to tomato cream sauce. Stir to coat pasta.