Cajun Chicken Pasta

This is one of those dishes that I wait to make until the kids go to bed. It takes some time to prepare so have a glass or two of wine and enjoy it!  If you can get the veggies and chicken prepped earlier, it will save you some time. This dish freezes well too. You can make this dish as mild or spicy as you like. This definitely has a bit of a kick so I would add a little seasoning, give it a taste and adjust. Sun dried tomatoes are available in the produce section. I soak them in oil about a hour before making this recipe. They do sell sun dried tomatoes in oil but they are much pricier then soaking then on your own.

1 1/2 red or green peppers, or a combination of the two
3-4 large chicken breasts, thinly sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 small red onion
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 of a 3.5 oz bag of sun dried tomatoes, julienned if possible
2/3 box of fettuccine
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of white wine
Cajun seasoning
butter
olive oil
Parmesan cheese, shredded
salt and pepper

Boil water for fettuccine and cook noodles for 11 min. Thinly slice the peppers and onion. Chop garlic-one clove for the veggies and the other for the chicken. Thinly slice the chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces. Place a pan on medium heat and add 1tbsp of oil and 1/2 tbsp of butter. Add veggies and one clove of garlic. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until veggies are tender. Add 1/4 tsp of Cajun seasoning to the veggies as they cook. Remove veggies from the pan with a  slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Return the pan to medium heat and add 1Tbsp of oil and 1/2 Tbsp of butter. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 tsp of Cajun seasoning and add to the pan. Add an additional 1/2 tsp of Cajun seasoning to the pan as it cooks. Cook chicken for 5-7 min or until cooked. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Get a whisk and return the pan to medium heat. Add the white wine and use the whisk to get all of the brown goodness off the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce for about 2-3 min. Add the heavy cream and continue to whisk the wine and cream together. Let the cream sauce reduce my half. Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese to the sauce. While the cream sauce is reducing, add 1/2 tsp of Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper to the sauce and give it a taste. Add additional Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the sun dried tomatoes from the oil. Once the sauce reduces, add the tomatoes, veggies and chicken. Drain noodles and add them to the sauce. Sauce will thicken as it stands. Serve and enjoy! Top pasta with additional Parmesan cheese

Wagon Wheel Pasta----Kid Friendly and Dairy/Soy Free

Cooking for my sweet girls is becoming a challenge. My 1 year old has a dairy and soy allergy and my 2 1/2 year old is a picky toddler. So, for this recipe, I thought of foods they love and tried to sneak in a few veggies. They love hot dogs and turkey Italian sausage was a great disguise. Feel free to add some Parmesan cheese or Daiya cheese if you want to keep this dairy free

3 Mild Italian Turkey Sausages
1/2 box of Angel Hair Pasta
2 Zucchini, cut into small circles
1 cup of Carrots, cut into small circles
1 Garlic clove, chopped
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Cook Italian Sausages on the grill for 14-16 minutes. Cook angel hair pasta according to package directions. Add olive oil to a pan on medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then add carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat. When sausages are cooked, remove from grill and slice into circles. In a large bowl, add cooked pasta, veggies and sausages. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper and mix. Add cheese if desired and serve.

Fish tacos

Ok, there'a alot of cilantro in this picture but underneath "the leaves" as my daughter calls them are fish sticks and Mexican crema. I've found that using fish sticks or breaded, frozen fish tastes the best and gives the tacos a nice crunch. Feel free to make these with fresh fish sprinkled with a bit of fresh lime and lemon. If you can't find Mexican crema, use sour cream.

Corn tortillas

Fish sticks

Mexican Crema- place in fridge 1 hour before using

Cilantro

Avocado slices

Salsa and cheese if desired

Lime wedges

Bake fish sticks and warm corn tortillas in a pan. Fill tortillas with fish and desired toppings. Drizzle with freshly squeezed lime and serve:)

Dairy-free Mac and Cheese

I know, it sounds crazy but when you have a little one who can't eat dairy or soy, you have to get creative. I came up with this recipe after having a butternut squash pasta with goat cheese a few weeks ago. It sounds weird but it's delicious. I wondered how it would taste if I used Daiya, a dairy-free cheese in place of the goat cheese and it was better than I expected. If you have the time, roast the veggies.  For those of you who can eat dairy, regular mozzarella or goat cheese would work well. This recipe takes 15 minutes tops to make if you use a frozen puree. It's also a great way to sneak in veggies with the kiddos.

1/2 box of elbow macaroni
1 box of frozen butternut squash puree OR 1 box of cubed squash
1/2-1 cup of Daiya dairy-free cheese
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

If roasting the veggies, preheat the oven to 400. Thaw the squash in the microwave for 5 min. Put the cubed squash on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 min. If using a frozen puree, cook in the microwave for 5 min or until cooked through. Then add a teaspoon of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook pasta and drain. In a large bowl, add the pasta, cheese and squash. Mix together and add additional cheese, salt and pepper if desired.

As you can see, this was a hit with my little girl:)

Beer Bread

I've always used Tastefully Simple's Beer Bread Mix so I had no idea how easy it was to make beer bread from scratch. I would recommend using an amber beer or darker when making this. Last night I used a Corona and it was good but the dark beer gives the bread a richer flavor. This is a great bread to cut into small pieces and serve with a dip. It would also be delicious with soup. Hmmm maybe a beer cheese soup will be my next recipe.

3 cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 beer
3 Tbsp of butter

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. In a bowl mix the flour, sugar and beer. The dough will be very sticky. Pour mixture into the greased loaf pan and top with 1Tbsp of the butter diced into small cubes. Bake for 50 min. Melt the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and pour on the bread. Put bread back in the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Peach Cobbler

My favorite peach cobbler is served at Smoque  in Chicago. The cobbler is served in individual dishes so each serving has the perfect amount of crunchy topping and warm peach deliciousness. This is my take on peach cobbler. I have only made this using an 8x8 dish but ramekin dishes would also work.

2 cans of sliced peaches, drained
1/2 cup of quick cooking oats
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp of  brown sugar
1/2 cup of granola or 1 granola bar, crumbled
1/2 cup of pecans
1 Tbsp of flour
1/4 cup of butter, cubed
1 tsp of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. In an 8x8 in square dish, add the drained peaches, 1 Tbsp of brown sugar, 1 Tbsp of flour, cinnamon and mix together. In a small bowl combine the oats, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, granola and 1 Tbsp of flour. Cut in the cubed butter until crumbly. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the peaches. Scatter the pecans on top of the crumble mixture and bake for 20-25 min or until golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Tuscan Bean Soup with Bacon

Tuscan Bean Soup is delicious, simple and inexpensive to make. Let it cook for 30 min and serve with fresh bread such as Parmesan Rosemary Bread, Tomato Basil Rosemary Bread or Cheddar Jalapeno Biscuits.

3 cups of low sodium chicken broth
8 slices of bacon, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 cup of diced carrots
1 cup of broccoli, chopped
2 cans of cannellini beans or white beans, undrained
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon for 5 minutes in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic, carrots and broccoli and cook for an additional 5 minutes. In a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and add cooked bacon, veggies and cannellini beans. Cook on low simmer for 30 min and add additional salt and pepper as needed before serving.