Fusilli with Creamy Spinach and Chicken

This recipe came off the back of a box of pasta. Thanks, Barilla!

INGREDIENTS

1 Box Barilla Piccolini Mini Fusilli (or, you know, any kind of pasta. But it MUST be Barilla. Why? Because they have a manufacturing plant in Avon, NY and we like to support local businesses. And because their pasta is the best!)
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS onion, finely chopped
1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
1 bag (6 oz) fresh spinach
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
1 TBS minced garlic (this wasn't in the original recipe, but you CAN'T have Italian if you leave out the garlic!!) DIRECTIONS

In a medium skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high, add chicken. Season with salt and pepper. After 3 minutes add spinach and cream, saute an additional 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions.

Drain pasta and toss with the sauce. Stir in cheese before serving.
VERDICT

Delicious! A very simple and easy meal- especially for a cold winter day! The only problem I had was with thickness. When I went to Wegman's to buy the heavy cream, I ended up buying $90 worth of groceries that I didn't need and coming home without the heavy cream. I substituted with whole milk (which I bought for the baby but she hates it, so I might as well use it, right?). It was close, but not perfect. The right ingredient here will make all the difference.

I'll be trying additional Barilla recipes through the winter- they all look yummy!

Spinach Pizza

I know, I know, there was JUST a recipe like this posted. But to be honest I made these two pizza recipes MONTHS apart. I just posted them close together. But you're really going to like this, ok? Forgive me? INGREDIENTS

1 pkg. (6 1/2 oz) pizza crust mix

1/2 cup Alfredo sauce (yes, I know it sounds strange. Stay with me here...)

4 cups chopped fresh spinach

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 cups (8 oz) shredded Italian cheese blend

DIRECTIONS

Prepare pizza dough according to package directions. With floured hands, press dough onto a greased 12-in. pizza pan.

Spread Alfredo sauce over dough to within 1 in. of edges. Top with spinach, tomatoes and cheese. Bake at 450° for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

VERDICT

So, the alfredo thing in the ingredients threw you off. I know. It's weird. But this pizza is REALLY good. Not good in the traditional pizza sense, but really tasty. Kind of rich, but good. And spinach- hello!- healthy!

Baked Chicken with Red Pepper Sauce

Mark says I don't follow directions on my recipes. He says "You never follow directions. I don't know why you use recipes at all. They DO know what they're talking about, you know." I don't know what he's talking about. I always follow directions.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 to 2-1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, and drumsticks)- ok, hold up. That's a LOT of chicken. And I don't really like dark meat. I used just two chicken breasts and cut them into three pieces each.
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted-not necessary. I didn't use it. Not because I'm a rebel, I just forgot. But you can skip the extra calories too.
• 1 medium red or green sweet pepper, cut into squares
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar

Directions

1. In a plastic or paper bag combine the 1/4 cup flour, the salt, paprika, and pepper. Or, you know, a bowl. A bowl works just fine.

2. Skin chicken. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, to the bag, shaking to coat well. Arrange chicken in a shallow baking pan; drizzle with melted margarine or butter. -Or not. Melted butter is not necessary. Bake in a 375 degree F. oven for 30 minutes. Hold up. That's too long for chicken breasts. 15 minutes should be a good start. Yes, I'll do 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan, cook red or green sweet pepper and green onion in hot oil until tender. Stir in 2 tablespoons flour. Add chicken broth, sugar, and crushed red pepper. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar and cool slightly.

4. Spoon sauce over chicken. Bake for 30 minutes more or until chicken is tender and no longer pink, basting with sauce two or three times during baking. Reheat any remaining sauce and pass with chicken. Whoah! ANOTHER 30 minutes? My chicken is more than half-cooked already. Another 15 minutes should do the trick.

Makes 6 servings. Verdict:

30 minutes plus another 30 minutes? My chicken would have been burnt to a crisp. I'm sure if I had used the bone-in drumsticks and thighs it would have taken longer to cook. But 30 minutes total was plenty of time.

Oh... is that the "not following directions" my husband was talking about?

Whatever. The recipe turned out just GREAT using my own directions. The sauce is really thick, and would probably be great over pasta or rice. All in all, very tasty. It's on the list of recipes to do again.