Friday, March 8, 2024

Good Dinners Fast: Chicken and Pasta Soup




It was pouring rain Tuesday, and I was chilly.  I had a menu made for the week, but I wanted soup...and yet, it being so near spring, I didn't want an old-fashioned super hearty sort of soup.  I wanted something just a bit lighter and different.

This is the recipe I made up as I went.  It was so good!  John told me repeatedly how much he liked it.  It was the perfect sort of soup for an almost but not quite spring day.

Chicken and Pasta Soup

1 large chicken breast, cut into chunks

1 small to medium onion, chopped

1 large stalk celery, cut into small pieces

1 medium carrot grated (This is the way John prefers it.  You can slice it if you like.)

Olive oil

Garlic (about 1 teaspoon minced)

1/2 teaspoon each: lemon pepper, onion powder, salt and pepper

6 cups chicken broth

2 cups pasta (I used whole wheat rotini)

1 cup whole milk

2-3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tbsps. butter

1 cup white wine

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven to medium high.  Add in chicken and after cooking for 3 or 4 minutes, add in onion, celery and carrot.  Allow to cook for five minutes more.  Add garlic and cook about another minute.

Add broth and seasonings and bring to a gentle rolling boil.  Lower heat, cover and let bubble gently for about 20 minutes.  Uncover and turn up heat to medium high.  Add uncooked pasta and cook until past is tender about 9 minutes.  Add wine and butter.  Mix cornstarch with milk and add to soup, stirring and heating until broth thickens slightly.  

Good Dinners Fast: Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta





The original recipe for this dish is at the website Julia's Album.   Like most cooks, I altered the recipe slightly to accommodate what I had on hand.  This was very good and my take on it was not so far off the original that the flavors would have been altered.  If you're looking for 'something different' and chicken is on the menu, I think this recipe is a great one to try.

The recipe as it was written in the original looks complicated and has a long list of ingredients.  Honestly, it's not a hard recipe to make. Even with me cutting up my own chicken breasts and shredding mozzarella, I daresay the meal was on the table in around 30 minutes.  If you use the cut of chicken she lists and pre-shredded mozzarella, I think you can beat my time.

Julia's Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

8-ounces Penne Pasta (I used a whole wheat rotini)

water recommended for pasta

1 teaspoon salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 ounces sun dried tomatoes (I sliced mine prior to cooking them)

2 tbsps. Olive oil

1 pound chicken breast tenderloins (I used diced chicken breast)

1/2 tsp. salt (I increased this amount)

1/2 tsp. Paprika (also increased this one)

1 cup Half and Half

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (Do not use fresh mozzarella.  You want the aged mozzarella)

1 tbsp. basil (I used 1/2 tsp of dried basil)

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 cup reserved pasta water

salt to taste

Bring water to boil.  Add pasta, cook until al dente.  If you drain, be sure to reserve some of the pasta water.

Heat olive oil over medium low heat in a large frying pan.  Add garlic and tomatoes and cook gently, stirring often for about 1 minute.  Do not let your garlic burn!  Remove from pan and set aside.

Increase heat to high.  Add 2 tbsps. more oil if needed.  Toss chicken with seasonings.  Add to pan and cook for 1 minute on each side.  Remove from heat. (I cooked mine a little lower heat and a little longer, until the outer pink had turned white).  

Add Sun-Dried tomato and garlic mixture.  Also add the half and half and mozzarella. My alteration here: I added 1/4 cup of the ricotta cheese I made earlier this week.  Bring to a gentle boil.  Immediately reduce heat to simmer. Stir gently until cheese melts.  If sauce seems a little too thick, add pasta water a little at a time until it reaches the consistency you desire.  Add seasonings and pasta and toss well.

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Leftover Makeover: Al Pastor Tacos from Pork Chops

 


I baked pork chops last week and we ended up with two whole chops as leftovers since Caleb refused to eat the night, we had them.  I contemplated what I might do: make a stir fry dish, make fried rice...all sounded good, but I wanted something different.  I came up with the idea of trying to recreate a sauce packet I'd bought on clearance a few months ago that was absolutely delicious.  It was a Mexican sauce with a citrus base.  We'd used chicken with the sauce, but the packet had called for chunks of pork.

Here's my take on that sauce packet meal.

Tacos al Pastor

2 cups chopped cooked pork (you can use butt or shoulder meat or tenderloin in place of the chops)

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 tsps. minced garlic

half a packet of taco seasoning mix (about 1tablespoon)

Juice drained from a 20 ounce can of pineapple tidbits (about 3/4 cup)

1 cup pineapple tidbits

olive oil

Heat olive oil in skillet and cook onion over medium heat for 3 minutes or until just soft.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute at most.  Add meat, taco seasoning and the pineapple juice.  Stir until meat is well coated then lower heat to low and allow to simmer for 5 minutes or so.  Add pineapple tidbits and hat through.

I served this meat mixture on tortillas (soft tacos) with finely shredded red and green cabbage, a drizzle of Ranch dressing (using more of the leftovers in the fridge), and shredded cheddar cheese.  My family all exclaimed over how good these tacos were and told me to remember this recipe!  I love when I throw random things in a skillet and the family raves over them.