Pasta with Chicken and Olive Tomato Cream Sauce

I found this recipe on a blog I like to read that is all about eating healthy and exercising called Eat Live Run. It was very tasty! While I was cooking the sauce I was a bit leery of how it was going to turn out because I thought it smelled funny! But once Dave and I tasted it all concerns went out the window...it was great!! I'll definitely be making this again as a healthy alternative to pasta dishes with heavy cream sauces. Here is the link to the original recipe. The only thing I did differently was substitute another half can of chopped tomatoes for the chopped fresh tomatoes because the ones I purchased didn't look very good. I can't wait for tomato season!! I also used less pasta than it called for, I wanted more sauce and chicken and less noodles.

Pasta with Chicken and Olive Tomato Cream Sauce

Serves 4

3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into one inch cubes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 and 1/2 cans chopped tomatoes in juice

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/3 cup kalamata olives, sliced

1/2 red onion, sliced thin

1 cup white wine

1/4 cup cream

2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

sea salt and garlic salt to taste

6 oz whole wheat linguine (or whatever you prefer), cooked in boiling salted water

Directions

1. Season chicken with garlic salt, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Brown in saute pan with olive oil.

2. When browned, remove chicken and set aside. Add the can of chopped tomatoes, sliced garlic, olives and thinly sliced red onion to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes-10 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.

3. Add the white wine and simmer for another 5 minutes before adding the chicken back in.

4. Add the basil and the cream then toss with the hot, cooked pasta. Garnish with parmesan cheese!

And of course you MUST add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top because who doesn't love cheese!!:)

Super Yummy Aussie Chicken

I made this for the second time last night...Dave calls it "The best chicken he has ever had" :) I found the recipe on Happy to be at Home website. I followed it exactly as written, except I added a little more mayo to the honey mustard sauce than it calls for. I also didn't have onion flakes so I used a little onion powder. Other than that no modifications and it was awesome!

Here is the recipe with my slight modifications:

Aussie Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness

2 teaspoons seasoning salt

6 slices bacon, cut in half

1/4 cup prepared mustard

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon reserved bacon grease

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

Directions

1. Rub the chicken breasts with the seasoning salt, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
3. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet.
4. Cook over medium high heat until crisp; set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the mustard, honey, mayonnaise and dried onion flakes.
6. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
7. Place the breasts in the skillet and saute for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until browned.
8. Remove from skillet and place the breasts into a 9×13 inch baking dish.
9. Apply the honey mustard sauce to each breast, then layer each breast with mushrooms and bacon.
10. Sprinkle top with shredded cheese.
11. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and chicken is done.

On the side I made some Garlic and Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes. I was inspired by this recipe on Andrea's Recipes blog but I made a few changes. See the recipe I followed below:

Garlic and Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
2-3 pounds Russet potatoes peeled, and cut into quarters
5 cloves garlic, peeled
water
1 teaspoon sea salt salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
½ teaspoon dried parsley

¼ teaspoon pepper

Preparation

1. In the 3-quart pot, cover the potatoes and garlic with water, add salt, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 30-35 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain.

2. Pour potatoes and garlic back into 3-quart pot. Put burner on low and whip potatoes and garlic briefly with the hand mixer.

3. Next use a spoon to stir in the, then add the sour cream and Parmesan cheese. Whip until desired consistency with the hand mixer; lastly stir in the thyme, parsley, and pepper.

And I leave you today with a picture of Winston snuggling with my How to Cook Everything cookbook. I hope he is learning by Osmosis and coming up with a good recipe! ;)

Backlog!! and Beef Stroganoff

Hello! It's been a while hasn't it!?? I know I've been a bad blogger and I promise to make more frequent updates (really, I will:)) I've still been taking pictures of most of the meals I have cooked the past few months so at least I've been on top of that! The next few posts will be from recipes I made weeks (or months) ago, but better late than never, right!?? Once I get caught up I'll try to start posting my weekly menus again and hopefully stay on top of things.

Below is the recipe for my most favorite meal that my mom makes! I continually try to make it, but it never seems to reach the caliber that it does when she cooks it. Probably because I feel like everything tastes just a little bit better when you're not the one preparing the food. This time though, I did make a mistake! I used a regular yellow onion and not a Vidalia! I'm not a huge fan of onions, but Vidalia's are sweet and don't taste as strong as yellow onions...so needless to say I thought the Stroganoff tasted too "oniony"...but it was still good, just not PURRRFECT:)

Mom's Awesome Beef Stroganoff

1 and 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin or boneless top loin steak

3 tablespoons margarine or butter

Splash of Red Wine

1 & ½ cups beef broth (I use Campbells beef bouillon in a can)

2 Tablespoons ketchup

1 teaspoon salt

1 small clove garlic, finely chopped

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped (about ½ cup) Vidalia is BEST!

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup sour cream

Directions

Cut beef tenderloin across grain into strips, each about 1 ½ X ½ inch. (for ease in cutting, partially freeze beef) Cook onions, garlic and mushrooms in margarine until onions are transparent not brown. Transfer this into another bowl then add meat to the skillet and brown meat in margarine. Add the vegetables back to skillet with the meat and sprinkle and mix in the flour. Cook for a minute to make sure the flour in incorporated. Add splash of red wine and then the beef bouillon; mix quickly to thicken. Add the ketchup and stir. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the sour cream. Heat just until hot – not boiling. Serve over wide egg noodles.