The Family Dish

Rosemary Chicken and Pasta

3 bonesless, skinless, chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3 large button mushrooms, chopped
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
12 oz penne pasta
salt and pepper to taste

Place the chicken breasts on a small, rimmed baking sheet or pie pan and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until cooked through.  Let cool and cut into small cubes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta for 6-7 minutes until not quite al dente.

Heat the butter and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour, making a roux.  Add the mushrooms and cook for a minute, just to soften, add the milk and stir to thicken.  Let cool.

Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl.  Add the onion, rosemary, cheese and salt and pepper to taste.  Gently fold in the pasta.  Place the mixture into a baking dish and cover with foil.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake, covered for 1 hour.  Serve immediately.

** This is a great freezer meal.  Just prepare until before baking.  Cover and freeze.  When you're ready to eat it, just thaw and bake as normal.

Bow-Ties with Peas and Ham

Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

• 1 pound bow-tie pasta (farfalle)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 10 ounces (2 cups) frozen peas
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 pound cooked ham
• Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain pasta; return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add peas and half-and-half; season with salt and pepper. Simmer until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Cut ham into strips. Add to sauce; cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss sauce with pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan.

Spaghetti with Sausage and Peppers

Prep: 20 min., Cook: 20 min.

Yield

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 8  ounces  uncooked spaghetti
• 1  (1-lb.) package mild Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1  medium onion, cut into eighths
• 1  medium-size green bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1  medium-size red or yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
• 2  to 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  pepper
• 1/2  cup  grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking sausage into pieces while cooking. Remove sausage and drippings from Dutch oven, and drain well on paper towels.

3. Sauté onion and next 3 ingredients in hot oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes, salt, and pepper; cook 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in sausage, pasta, and cheese. Transfer mixture to serving platter, and serve immediately.

To freeze: Prepare recipe as directed. Cool 30 minutes. Place pasta mixture in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator 24 hours. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove and discard plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Turkey Spaghetti With Sausage and Peppers: Substitute 1 (1-lb.) package Italian turkey sausage for mild Italian sausage. Remove and discard casings from sausage. Increase olive oil to 2 Tbsp. Cook sausage in 1 Tbsp. hot oil as directed in Step 2. Discard any drippings in Dutch oven. Proceed with recipe as directed, sauteing onion and next 3 ingredients in remaining 1 Tbsp. oil.

**This is a great freezer meal.  Make a double batch and freeze the rest for another day.

Fettucine Alfredo

24 oz dry fettucine pasta
1/2 cup butter
3/4 pint heavy creamsalt and pepper to taste
1 dash garlic salt
3/4 cup grated romano cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add fettuccine and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

In a large saucepan, melt butter into cream over low heat.  Add salt, pepper, and garlic salt.  Stir in cheese over medium heat until melted; this will thicken the sauce.

Add pasta to sauce.  Use enough of the pasta so that all of the sauce is used and the pasta is thoroughly coated.  Serve immediately.  Makes 6 servings.

** this is the most requested dish for every birthday, every holiday, every excuse . . . .  we serve it with grilled chicken and steamed or sauteed broccoli.

Shells with Grilled Chicken and Mozzarella by Martha Stewart

From:

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Bowls of Caprese-style chicken pasta -- with tomatoes, cheese, and herbs -- answer the question of what to have for dinner tonight. You need only 30 minutes, start to finish.

If you'd like, grill the chicken up to two days beforehand. Then let it cool, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate. Bring chicken to room temperature before adding to pasta.

Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Vegetable oil, for grates
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets
• 8 ounces medium pasta shells
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta. Meanwhile, heat grill to medium; lightly oil grates. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from grill, and cut into thin strips, halving if long.
2. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta, and return to pot. Add chicken, tomatoes, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, and butter. Toss to combine. Add reserved pasta water a little at a time to create a sauce that coats shells (you may not need all the water). Serve with more Parmesan.   
3.  Note* I  made this the other night and used shredded cheese -whatever kind  I had - cheddar, mozz, parmesan.  I also forgot to reserve the pasta water, so I added a little cream.  And I used Tyson's pre cooked grilled chicken strips and It tasted great!  

Garlin Chicken w/ Prociutto

Here is a wonderful recipe that we tried on our first anniversary. It was amazing. We halved the recipe and it still made a lot. We also cut back on the amount of garlic, since we wanted to speak to each other after dinner, and we don't feel it compromised the taste at all. Very flavorful and easy to make. Only downside is the Proscuitto is a little on the expensive side. Enjoy this recipe taken from the food network from Peggy Russell.

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Olive Oil 
1/4 Cup Minced Garlic (definately don't have to use this much)
5 tomatoes, seeded and chopped 
4 ounces prosciutto cut into small pieces 
4 chicken breasts, grilled and cut into strips 
2 tablespoons butter 
1/2 cup fresh basil, sliced into small strips 
3/4 lb. linguine 
1/2 cup grated fresh Paremsan or Romano 
5 roasted pasilla chiles, peeled, seeded and cut into strips  (I used can of green chilles)
2 roasted red peppers,seeded and cut into strips  (I grilled them on a grill pan with butter)
Fresh basil for garnish

Heat oil in large skillet and saute garlic until soft and light brown. Add tomatoes, Proscuitto, chicken and butter, saute for 5-10 minutes. Add basil, and saute for another 5 minutes. In a stockpot, bring water to boil and cook linguine until firm, aldente. Drain pasta and transfer to a bowl, add the chicken tomato mixture, chilies, roasted peppers and grated cheese. Toss gently to combine, sprinkle with basil and serve. Oh and I found this picture on the internet, but it doesn't contain the peppers and chilles, it will be a lot more colorful and flavorful with them in, so don't forget to add them!

Pastas