-
Simple Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken
This dish is so. stinking. good. I’ve been making it for almost a year and am ashamed that it’s taken me this long to write about it. When we learned early last year that my middle son’s allergies would be keeping dairy, egg and gluten off the menu, I started trying more Asian recipes because they were typically conducive to our restrictive diet. This one was by far the best. The base of this recipe is the noodles (without the chicken). I’ve made it in the past topped with roasted shrimp and grilled chicken, but it would also be awesome as a vegetarian meal too. Tonight was my first attempt at…
-
The Perfect One-Pot Pasta Side Dish
I’m always on the hunt for a good easy homemade substitution for the foods I used to love. And when I come across a really great alternative, I’m super excited to share. This recipe takes the place of the box pasta that I’d make once or twice a week (Pasta Roni, Lipton’s Noodles or Knorr’s Pasta Sides). While you can’t make this for less than $2, it is a one-pot side in less than 15 minutes, and I assure you the flavor will blow the others away. Plus, it’s free of all the preservatives and MSG that make the box options a no-go for me these days. I found this recipe…
-
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
The last stop on my cooking marathon yesterday was this dish – Chicken Parmesan Casserole! I love the idea of deconstructing a traditional dish and turning it into a casserole (see also Chicken Cordon Bleu Mac and Cheese). So I thought I’d do something similar to this Italian classic. The fact that I love fried chicken helped to add this to my dinner rotation for the week too. I have to say that it turned out great and every bite was definitely reminiscent of the original dish. Some of the breading from the chicken gets mixed in with the pasta and sauce and continues the flavor throughout. Yum, yum! I…
-
Sweet and Smokey Salmon with Lemon Pasta and Grilled Asparagus
Salmon – by far, my favorite fish. It’s healthy, it’s delicious, and it’s hard to mess up. While I typically bake my salmon, last night I decided to throw it on the grill. This was a wild-caught Sockeye Salmon from Costco, which meant it was a perfectly cut filet, de-boned and great price. Win, win, win! I went for the sweet and smokey flavors of honey and Worcestershire along with some garlic and grilled the salmon on top of lemon slices. It turned out awesome! I paired it with grilled asparagus that I marinated in Worcestershire as well and a lemon angel hair pasta tossed with olive oil, butter and fresh basil. Yummy,…
-
Caprese Chicken Bake with Balsamic Reduction
This Italian dish is a fresh take on traditional pasta and tomato sauce. Simple to make and full of flavor. This is another Pinterest inspired recipe, but this time I took a few things from two different dishes. The end product was great! But to be fair, soaking just about anything in a balsamic reduction would be pretty awesome… Caprese Chicken Bake 2 pints of cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1/4 red onion, julienned 1/4 cup fresh basil, julienned (plus a little more for garnish) 1 tbsp minced garlic 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 3 chicken breasts 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese…
-
Meatballs and Marinara
So I actually made this a while ago… I even typed out the recipe, uploaded the pictures and everything, but apparently I forgot to post it! Well, it’s too good to not share, so here it is! My boys love, love, love meatballs, so this goes over really well in my house. I’ve played around with this recipe a lot over the years – sometimes with pork and/or veal – but I really just like it best with a high quality ground beef. The parmesan cheese and fresh herbs add a lot of flavor, and overall, they’re pretty easy to throw together. I made these along with marinara, so the…
-
Simple Sausage Marinara
This dish is a simple 30-minute homemade marinara that is a go-to for a weeknight meal. Both of my boys love Italian sausage, so I’ve been using it in place of beef in a lot of my Italian dishes. I used Publix’s Greenwise Italian Chicken Sausage and it was really good. This dinner was a success – I didn’t have to spend the whole evening in the kitchen and the boys cleaned their plates. The leftovers were great too. Simple Sausage Marinara 1 lb Italian sausage (I used chicken sausage) 1/2 medium onion, diced 1 tbsp minced garlic 8 oz mushrooms, sliced 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomato 2 tbsp tomato…
-
Sausage and Peppers Spaghetti
This is one of my favorite pasta dishes! It’s not your typical spaghetti – it’s full of fresh veggies, made with sausage and I like mine with angel hair. This recipe makes a pretty large pot; plenty to feed a family and have leftovers too (I love leftovers!). It’s pretty easy to make and can be done in around 30 to 40 minutes. Me and the boys had this for dinner tonight, and after Brogan was done, he asked, “Can we have this again tomorrow?” Dinner win! Sausage and Peppers Spaghetti 1 lb angel hair pasta 1 lb Italian sausage (I use Publix Greenwise Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Sausage) 1 tbsp…
-
Lobster Pasta with Tarragon Tomato Sauce
I took advantage of another Publix sale on lobster this weekend. So tonight when it was time to figure out what to make for dinner, I decided on a pasta dish for a couple of reasons… first, my time was limited – Blake was working late and Beckett was pretty grumpy, so dinner had to be 30 minutes or less. Secondly, the boys love pasta. So pasta it was. I took to the pantry and fridge for some inspiration, and come up with this recipe. I don’t use tarragon very often, as it has such a unique flavor, but branching out and trying it with this tomato-based sauce makes me…
