Chicken, Sausage, Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta

Oh my goodness - have we found a winner in our family!!  I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman and followed the link (she posted a bunch of links to pasta recipes) and thought it looked really good and something we'd like so I printed it out about a week ago.  I cooked it up last night and the dinner table was SILENT except for the occasional "Oh my gosh, this is so good" and "This is a 10 mama!!"  So try it yourself!  I think you might like it.  :)

Chicken, Sausage, Asparagus and Mushroom Pasta from http://cookandbemerry.com/chicken-sausage-asparagus-and-mushroom-pasta-from-grace-marie’s-kitchen-at-bristol-farms/


3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs. chicken breasts, boneless, skinless and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb. Italian sausage (any variety), removed from casing
1 Tbsp. dry Italian herb mix
to season - kosher or sea salt and ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cups yellow, brown or red onion, medium diced
3 Tbsp. garlic, minced
to season, kosher or sea salt and ground black pepper

1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed then angle-sliced into 1" pieces
1 lb. crimini mushrooms, quartered
1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup Marsala wine

2 cups Parmigiano cheese, shredded or flaked
1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 cup basil, thinly sliced

1.  Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and sausage.  Season with the dry herbs, salt and pepper.  Once browned, remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.  Cover to keep warm.

2.  Using the same skillet (do not clean), warm the butter over medium-high heat.  Stir in the onions and garlic.  Saute just until the onions are tender (2 minutes).  Season lightly with salt and pepper.

3.  Add the asparagus, mushrooms and tomatoes to the skillet.  Continue to cook just until the asparagus is crisp tender, the mushrooms are soft and the tomatoes barely cooked (3-4 minutes).

4.  Off the heat, add the wine, return the skillet to the heat, scraping up any browned portions, cook until it is nearly absorbed.  Stir in the precooked chicken and sausage.  Cook, stirring, just until warmed through.

5.  Just before serving, stir the parmesan, mascarpone and basil into the ragu.

1+ lb. favorite pasta, cooked in salt water to al dente
1/4 cup purchased basil pesto

1.  Toss the cooked pasta with the pesto.  Serve on individual plates or a platter topped with a generous serving of ragu.  Garnish with more parmesan cheese if desired.

Asian Chicken Salad Lettuce Cups

We tried this new recipe tonight and I thought it was good as did the rest of the 'big people' but my two youngest didn't like it as much.  Oh well!  I thought it was a GREAT dinner for a hot summer night like we had tonight.  I served it with a loaf of Italian bread and it was perfect - light and tastey.

Asian Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

1 deli rotisserie chicken
1 cup shredded carrots
1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, halved
6 scallions, diagonally sliced
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup Asian sesame salad dressing
1 head Boston lettuce, separated into leaves
garnish:  hot pepper flakes (optional)

1.  Remove and discard chicken skin and pull meat off bones.  Tear or cut meat into bite-size pieces.  Place in a large bowl with carrots, water chestnuts and scallions.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk yogurt with salad dressing; toss with chicken mixture.

3.  Spoon into lettuce leaves.  Sprinkle with hot pepper flakes if using.

Serves 4 - per serving:  236 calories, 28 g. protein, 16 g. car, 4 g. fiber, 8 g. fat (2 g. sat fat), 67 mg. chol, 578 mg. sodium

Slow Cooker Barley, Black Bean and Corn Burritos

Here's a recipe that can easily be made vegan and even my meat-loving family LOVES it.  I've made it for parties for my older daughters because some of their friends are vegetarian and this way they can have something to eat.  The added bonus of it being in the crockpot makes it a perfect meal for when you're in a hurry!!  Oh - and I also brought this as a meal to a woman and her family after the death of her husband.  Her son was vegan and she was so thankful for someone providing a meal that her son could eat.  :)


Slow Cooker Barley, Black Bean and Corn Burritos

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
3/4 cup frozen corn
1/4 c. chopped green onions
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
16 flour tortillas (6.5")
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. shredded sharp cheddar (or vegetarian cheese)
2 1/4 cups salsa
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sour cream (is there a vegetarian option for this? If not, just skip)

Place first 11 ingredients (beans through garlic) in a 4 quart slow cooker [I use a 6 quart and it's fine], stir well. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours or until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in cilantro.

Warm up tortillas. Spoon 1/3 cup barley mix down center of tortilla, sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. cheese. Roll up. Top with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

Annie's Crockpot Chili

This was originally Boilermaker Tailgate Chili from All Recipes but I changed a few things to suit our tastes.  I have two children who don't like any heat in their food at all so I had to change the spicy ingredients and instead of putting in hot pepper sauce and cayenne pepper, and as much chili powder as they said, I replaced all of that with cocoa powder.  It really made it a very tastey chili with the sense that it's going to be spicy when you take a bit - but there is no follow-up kick.  It's REALLY good.

Annie's Crockpot Chili

2 lbs. ground beef chuck
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
3 (15 oz) cans chili beans, drained (I'll use a variety of beans for this)
1 (15 oz) can chili beans in sauce
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp. bacon bits
4 cubes beef bouillon
1/2 cup beer
2 Tbsp.  chili powder
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp.  dried basil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. white sugar
1 bag corn chips such as Fritos
1 (8 oz) package shredded Cheddar cheese

1.  Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned.  Drain off excess grease and add to crockpot.

2.  Pour in the remaining in the remaining ingredients except chips and cheese.  Stir to blend.  Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.

3.  To serve, ladle into bowls and top with corn chips and cheddar cheese.

Chicken with Caponata Ragout

This topping is SOOOOO yummy!!  A great company dish, IMO.  :)

Chicken with Caponata Ragout

2 bone-in chicken breast halves (about 1.5 lbs) halved crosswise
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 small eggplant (about 1 lb), chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup tomato juice
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  In a large ovenproof skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook, turning once, until well-browned, about 8 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.

2.  Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and the eggplant to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until softened, about 8 minutes; transfer to a bowl.  Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil, the onion and celery to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.  Add the cooked eggplant, the tomato and tomato juice to the skillet.  Arrange the chicken, skin side up, and any juices on top of the vegetable mixture and bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

3.  Transfer the chicken to a platter.  Add the basil, vinegar and brown sugar to the eggplant caponata, stirring to dissolve the sugar; season with salt and pepper.  Serve the chicken with the caponata.

Pizza Salad

Oh gosh, this is SOOOOO good.  It's got to be killer in the summer when the tomatoes are in season but even this winter, it's been fabulous!!  Once again, I got it from one of those little tear out cookbooks in Family Circle

Pizza Salad

Tomato-Basil Dressing:
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1 ready-to-use Italian pizza bread shell crust (about one pound) (like a Boboli or whatever)

Salad:
3 medium-size tomatoes (about one pound), cored and coarsely chopped
1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
6 cups green leaf lettuce pieces
1/2 of a 3.5 oz. package sliced pepperoni (about 28 slices)

1.  Heat oven to 450 degrees F.

2.  Dressing:  Mix tomato, oil and garlic in small skillet or saucepan.  Cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes, breaking apart tomato with spoon.  Transfer to blender.

3.  Add vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar and basil.  Pulse to blend.  Set dressing aside.

4.  Place prepared pizza shell on rack in 450 degree oven.  Bake for 6-8 minutes or until shell is crisp and lightly browned.

5.  Salad:  Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, lettuce and pepperoni in large bowl.  Remove pizza shell from oven; dice into bite-sized pieces.  Add to salad.  Drizzle and toss with the dressing.

Cola Pot Roast

This could not be an easier recipe and it's GREAT for those days that are crazy, although we like to serve it with mashed potatoes so I do need some time at the end to make those.  We like the real potatoes here.  :)

Cola Pot Roast

3-4 lb. bottom round or chuck roast
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
1 (10 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (12 oz.) can cola (Coke or Pepsi, whichever you have on hand but NOT diet)

Place the roast in the crockpot.  Mix the other three ingredients together and pour over the roast.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  Remove the roast from the crockpot and whisk the gravy to smooth it out.  You can make a slurry of cornstarch and water and add that to the gravy, cooking it on high for about 5 minutes to thicken it.  This is delicious and not at all the flavor you'd expect.  :)