Penne with Chicken, Asparagus and Lemon Alfredo Sauce

Our family loves this recipe!

Ingredients:
1 lb penne pasta
1 lb thin asparagus, ends trimmed, spears cut in 1 1/2 inch long pieces

Sauce:
12 oz chicken tenders, cut diagonally in 1/2 inch wide strips
1/2 t salt
1/2 c flour
1 1/2 T olive oil
1 jar (16 oz) Alfredo sauce
1 T grated lemon peel
3 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 large tomato, halved, seeded and diced
1/4 c snipped fresh chives
Freshly ground balck pepper to taste

Garnish: finely shredded lemon peel

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water as package directs, adding asparagus 3 minutes before pasta is done.
2. Meanwhile sprinkle chicken with salt, then toss with flour to lightly coat.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add chicken; saute 3 minutes until golden and just barely cooked through. Add Alfredo sauce, peel, juice and cheese. Bring to a simmer and cook 1-2 minutes until chicken is done.
4. Drain pasta and asparagus; return to pot. Immediately add sauce, tomato, chives and pepper. Toss to mix and coat.

Black Bean Brownies

These actually taste pretty good when they have cooled off. When they were warm, I tasted the black beans a bit.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional-I didn't add this)
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.
2. Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

Chicken tortilla stew

This is a fun and different mexican style soup. We really enjoyed it, if you add the right jalapeno peppers it can be a bit spicy! It is a Rachael Ray recipe...

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 jar good quality roasted tomatillo salsa (16 ounces), (such as Desert Pepper Trading Company or Frontera brand)
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 can hominy (28 ounces), drained and rinsed
• 1 13.5-ounce bag of yellow or white corn tortilla chips
• 1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed, meat removed from the bones and chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• Juice of 2 limes
• 3/4 cup sour cream, for garnish
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preparation

Place a large pot over medium heat, add EVOO. Add the onions, garlic and jalapeño, and season with coriander, cumin, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes.

Add the tomatillo salsa, chicken stock and hominy to the pot and bring to a bubble.

While the mixture is coming to a bubble, place the tortilla chips (reserving a handful for garnish) in a food processor and pulse to grind, or in a resealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or empty wine bottle. You should have about 2 cups of ground chips. Add the ground chips to the mixture and cook for 10 minutes.

When ready to serve, add the chopped chicken to the pot along with 1/2-3/4 cup of cilantro and the lime juice, and cook 2-3 more minutes, until the chicken is heated through.

To serve, ladle the tortilla chicken stew into a bowl and garnish with some of the reserved tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream and some cheddar cheese.

Hula Joes

This is a great recipe from Rachael Ray!

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1/4 pound smoked ham or bacon, diced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
• 1 sweet onion, such as Maui or Vidalia, finely chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (we didn't have this, so I didn't add it)
  
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 Kaiser rolls
• 1 cup shredded yellow cheddar cheese

Preparation

Pre-heat the broiler.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with one turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon. Cook the bacon in the pan until crispy, about 3-4 minutes, and remove it to a small bowl.

Return the pan with the bacon drippings back over the heat. Add the ground pork and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook until soft, about 5-6 minutes.

While the pork and onion are cooking, in a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce. Pour into the skillet with the pork and onion, cook about a minute, then stir in the pineapple. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

While the filling is cooking, split open the rolls and toast them under the broiler. Be careful not to burn them!

To serve, place a bun bottom on a plate with a scoop of Hula Joe mixture and a sprinkling of cheese. Top with the bun cap and serve with Pacific Rim Potatoes alongside.

Chicken enchiladas

These echiladas are divine.

Ingredients:

2 cans condensed cream of chicken
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 t salt
1(4oz) can green chilies
2cups longhorn or cheddar cheese
1/2 c chopped onions
12 flour tortillas
3 lb chicken breasts, baked and diced

In saucepan, heat until smooth...the soup, sour cream, salt and chilies. Mix cheese, onions and chicken in a bowl. Dip tortillas in sauce; add chicken, cheese mixture and roll tortillas. Place in casserole dish. Pour remaining sauce and cheese over top. Bake 20 to 30 minutes at 350.

Oven Baked Pancakes

These are a lot of fun and a good way to use eggs if you have lots of them in your fridge.

6 eggs
1 c flour
1 c milk
1/4 t salt

Blend ingredients in a blender, melt a cube of butter in a casserole pan (we use 1/2 a cube and it is still a bit much), pour mixture into pan. Cook at 400 for 20 minutes.

It gets nice and puffy on the sides, kind of fun. Cut it up and serve with syrup over the top.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These are heavenly and are great for this holiday season.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 c sugar
2 c pumpkin (from the can, I haven't tried fresh)
1 1/2 c oil
Beat these items til smooth

3 c all purpose flour
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t salt
Combine these dry ingredients then mix it into the wet ingredients

Lastly add 2 c chocolate chips (or more if you would like)

Bake at 400 for 16-20 minutes

Chicken Salad Sandwich

This sandwich is sooooo yummy! Here's what you need:

waterchestnuts (chopped)
sunflower seeds
avodaco
mayo
chicken-cooked, then cubed or shredded
green onions
salt
pepper
crescent rolls

I don't know the ratio of these ingredients, just play with it. I do know it was like 1 T of mayo and then the avocado was what held it together. So just mix all these things together and put it on a crescent roll and enjoy! DELICIOUS!