Cookin Up A Storm

Chicken and Angel Hair with Lemon Cream Sauce

1/2 lb Angel Hair Spaghetti
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
1/8 tsp white pepper
Handful of parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining. Return pasta to the pot.
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Pound chicken breasts to even thickness. Season with salt and pepper and cook through, 5-6 minutes each side. Remove from pan and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice or shred chicken, as desired. Add to the pasta.
Add butter to the pan and melt. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add lemon zest, cream, milk and heat through. Stir in Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and white pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes, until very hot and slightly thickened.
Pour sauce over pasta and toss. Let sit 5 minutes, add parsley, and toss again, adding a splash of pasta water if the sauce has thickened too much. Divide between bowls and serve topped with additional Parmesan and parsley.
Yields 4 servings

Red Coconut Curry

Fettuccine alla Carbonara

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 oz pancetta, diced
1 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, plus more to taste
1 3/4 cups Parmesan, divided
1 egg
3 egg yolks
1 lb fresh fettuccine
salt to taste
Heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook pancetta until almost crispy. Add black pepper and stir, cooking two more minutes. Scrape the pancetta and oil into a large bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk egg, yolks, and 1 1/2 cups Parmesan together. Pour over pancetta and stir vigorously, mixing thoroughly.
Cook fettuccine and drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Add pasta to the bowl and toss with the pancetta mixture, adding a few splashes of pasta water to make a creamy sauce. Salt and pepper to taste and let sit for 5 minutes. Toss again and serve topped with remaining Parmesan.
Yields: 4 servings

Coconut Shrimp

Orange Chicken

Sundried Tomato and Chicken Pasta

 

1 (16 ounce) package farfalle pasta
1/4 cup butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbs dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated in water (I used the kind bottled in oil and drained them)
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic cloves and cook until garlic browns. Add the cream of mushroom soup and milk, stirring until smooth. Stir in the dried parsley, salt, and ground fresh pepper. Let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add bite size chicken pieces and hydrated sun dried tomatoes. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes. Mix in grated Parmesan cheese. Toss cooked and drained pasta with chicken sauce. Serve warm.

Serves 4-6.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com.

Calzones (Ignore the retarded shaping of the dough. I was in a hurry and did no have anything to roll it out with )

Rhodes Texas Rolls, thawed & risen
Pepperoni
Sliced olives
Chopped green &/or red peppers
Chopped red onion
Mozzarella cheese
Heated pizza/pasta sauce

 

 Squish two rolls together and roll out flat into a 10 inch circle. Combine pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, onion, peppers and cheese, place 3/4 to 1 cup of mixture on each circle (the more filling, the better!). Fold dough over and seal edges with fork. Place on sprayed baking sheet, bake at 350 for 20-25 min. Serve with sauce for dipping. YUM!

I cooked all this over the weekend. I only really like to cook when my husband is home. Its not as exciting to cook for yourself: However, I do it on occasion. Sunday night we enjoyed a chicken divan dinner over at Rachel's house. We were spoiled with good food this weekend. I even baked some lemon bars. I ate way too many as usual. I brought the rest to work, and made my coworkers very happy.