Penne Rustica

There are many meals that we make at home that are based off of restaurant dishes. Perhaps one of our favorites is our version of Penne Rustica, which is based off the dish of the same name from Macaroni Grill. This dish is full of flavor and when made with milk, is reasonable in calories too. According to the Cook'n software calculation, this recipe, which serves six is only 378 calories per serving. For such a flavorful and satisfying dish, I feel like this is a great amount of calories. And with six servings, there is enough for dinner and leftovers for lunch.

Penne Rustica

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons garlic chopped
3 tablespoons Marsala wine
2 1/4 cups milk
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard
2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon minced, fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 ounces prosciutto chopped
2 chicken breasts
12 ounces penne prepared, al dente
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon paprika
4 sprigs rosemary

Preheat oven to 500.

For the sauce: saute butter, garlic, and rosemary until garlic begins to brown.

Add Marsala and cook for 5 minutes. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, chicken broth, cornstarch, mustard, rosemary, salt, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Whisk until smooth. Bring mixture to a simmer and keep it there for 10 minutes. Cover sauce and remove from heat.

Grill chicken until cooked through. (I frequently use my grill pan and a bit of liquid smoke, when the weather doesn't permit grilling outside.

For the Penne Rustica: in a glass or ceramic dish, combine pasta, chicken and prosciutto.

Add sauce and stir. Top with Parmesan Cheese and Paprika.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until top is browned.

Remove from oven. Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs, if desired.

You can always split the dish between several ramekins and make it as individual dishes as well.


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Tomato Basil Pasta

Recently, while exploring Pinterest, I have been seeing a lot of Pins for 'one pot wonder pasta'. It really sounded like a simple and tasty option. I figured it could be good on its owned or enhanced with a bit of grilled chicken. I liked that it all cooks in one pot, so the pasta absorbs the flavor of the broth and tomatoes. I used this version as my source.

The family really enjoyed this. I served it with my homemade French Bread. My son was hesitant at first to try it, but wound up eating the whole bowl that I served him.

Tomato Basil Pasta
Serves: 6

12 ounces pasta
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 large onion, julienned
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 sprigs basil chopped
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil

Place all of the ingredients in a large pot, in order, drizzling the oil on top.

Cover pot and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and continue to cook for about 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

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Homemade French Bread

We really love having bread with our meals. We used to always just buy bread, but a few years back, when my husband picked up bread flour instead of all-purpose flour, rather than returning it, I decided to give a try to homemade breads. I enjoyed making the bread and the end product so much, that now, I almost prefer to make bread. I have gotten to the point, where I think nothing of putting together a loaf of bread for dinner, even during the week.

I stumbled upon this French Bread recipe on Pinterest, when I was looking for bread recipes about a month ago. The first time I made it, I split it into 3 loaves, like the author but the second time I made an adjustment to 2 loaves. I found that it was a better result for me.

This bread is good on its own, but I really enjoy it with butter, especially toasted with a bit of honey cinnamon butter. I think it would make an excellent French Toast bread and delicious sandwiches for a picnic.

My daughter definitely loves the bread, telling me that I could make this type of bread anytime. My co-workers also enjoyed it when I brought in a loaf to share.

French Bread

1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup cold water
6 cups bread flour
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

Place 1 c of water in the microwave and bring to a boil, about 3 minutes.

Place 1/3 c warm water in a measuring cup and sprinkle 1 tbsp of yeast over the water. Using a fork, stir into the water until dissolved.

Place 2 Tablespoons of sugar, 1 Tablespoon of salt and 1 Tablespoon of shortening in your mixing bowl. Use a fork to mash the ingredients together.

Pour the boiling water into the mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of cold water (from the tap) and the water with the yeast to the mixing bowl.

Add 3 cups of flour and mix. Add remaining flour, about ½ cup at a time.

When the dough starts to pull together, dump it onto your well-floured surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, using the remaining flour as needed, to keep it from sticking. The dough should be smooth with a nice elasticity. The dough may still be a little sticky, but not too sticky.

Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Cut the dough into two (or three) equal parts. Let it rest another 5 minutes.

Flatten each section of dough into a rectangle with your hands. Roll the long sides in, and then bring up the short sides. Flip the loaf over and smooth the edges, tucking any seams underneath.

Cut three slits in each loaf.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl and using a pastry brush, brush the egg over the top of the loaves, including in the slits.

Place your bread into your 170 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until doubled in size.

Turn the temperature up to 400 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden and crispy.

Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 10 minutes.

Allow to cool before slicing.

It makes either 3, 1# loaves or 2, 1 1/2# loaves.


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Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Even though it has been busy lately and we haven't been having typical meals, I was finding myself without appealing ideas for dinner this week, so as I sat down to do my menu planning, I clicked around on Pinterest. One meal that I found that sounded very good to me was Chicken Enchilada Pasta, which had been Pinned from The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife.

Much like my Taco Stuffed Shells, I liked how this dish combined to family favorites, Mexican and Pasta. I made it for dinner, incorporating a few minor tweaks to the recipe to lighten it up. By my approximation , there are about 12 servings of the sauce, each with about 140 calories. So, with our typical pasta added, it is about 350 calories per serving. I think the extra sauce would freeze fine and of course, would work well for a leftover meal later in the week.

It was voted a definite keeper by all.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 medium onion minced
1 red bell pepper diced
1/2 anaheim pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
20 ounces green enchilada sauce
2/3 cup red enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup light sour cream

Pasta

Garnishes: tomatoes, jalepenos, green onions, sour cream, shredded cheese

Cook chicken, chop and set aside.

Boil pasta according to package.

Heat olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. Add chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, and both enchilada sauces. Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through. Reduce heat. Slowly add the sour cream. Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through.

Drain pasta.

Serve pasta topped with chicken enchilada sauce and garnish with desired toppings.

Disclaimer

Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Last weekend, we were driving home from Cedar Point after a visit that was cut short by a crazy storm. Along the way we passed a couple of Buffalo Wild Wing restaurants (or BWs, as I have always known them). It sounded so yummy to me, that I knew that I wanted to fit buffalo chicken into my menu last week. At first, I thought I would make buffalo chicken rolls or wontons, but then I decided to try a different route and make a shredded chicken in buffalo sauce. I have a bag of bread flour that I need to use part of so that I can fit the rest in my container, so I decided that I would make my slider rolls using my everyday bread recipe.

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 24 ounces)
1 packet ranch salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons butter
1 bottle (5 fl oz) Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce

Place ingredients in crock pot on low for 6 hours.

Shred.


Homemade Slider Rolls

1 cup warm water (110 F)
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active, dry yeast

Sprinkle the yeast on top of the warm water. In a mixing bowl, place 2 cups of the flour, sugar and salt. Pour the wetted yeast and water into the bowl and stir. Add additional flour, about 1/4 cup at a time. When the dough starts to come together, turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Place back in mixing bowl, rub on a little canola oil and cover with a damp cloth. Let it rise for about 30 minutes, until dough doubles in size.

Separate dough into 16 rolls (approx 1.5 oz each) and place on baking sheet. Let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes. Then, bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

After the rolls have cooled, slice in half and top with the shredded chicken.

This meal got the thumbs up from the family and is sure to be part of future menu plans.

Disclaimer

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I am a big fan of banana flavored dishes. You might have noticed that I have a few posts about banana recipes. One of my favorite treats is banana bread - it is especially yummy when it is warm, with a bit of butter and some cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. Sometimes, I like to change it up and put in chocolate chips. This bread, takes that idea one step further, it is banana bread with chocolate chips and cocoa - to make it a yummy chocolatey treat. It has a nice crumb and it is delicious at room temperature and warmed too!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Servings 18

1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter melted and cooled
3 bananas ripe
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, mash the ripe bananas and add eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Stir until mixed. Add the dry ingredients, stirring just to incorporate. Add the chocolate chips and stir.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Each slice of the bread (about 55 g) is just 186 calories. I think it makes for a great treat that I don't have to feel too guilty about.

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Rattlesnake Pasta

When it comes to pasta, we have a lot in our house. In order to not feel like we eat the same meal over and over again, we like to try out new recipes. This recipe is based off of a recipe that is (was?) on the menu at Pizzeria Uno. It is pretty much a chicken Alfredo with jalapenos. Normally, I would mix the jalapenos and a little bit of the liquid that they are in directly into the Alfredo, but since my daughter doesn't like spicy foods, I garnish with them and spoon some of the liquid into each dish.

I have tried to pull out some extra calories, by using milk instead of cream and by reducing the amount of butter that is used. Still, this dish is a 'treat' at approximately 500 calories per serving with the sauce and pasta.

Rattlesnake Pasta

12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 cups milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces shredded Cheddar Jack cheese
4 ounces jarred jalapeño peppers sliced
1 box penne pasta

In a large skillet over medium heat combine chicken, 1 tablespoons butter, garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Cook penne pasta to al dente and drain.

Make a roux: Melt 3 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Add garlic. Stir in flour, salt and pepper; cook 2 minutes stirring constantly. Slowly add milk and half-and-half, continue to stir until smooth and creamy. Stir in Parmesan and Cheddar Jack cheeses; stir until cheese is melted.

Stir in chicken.

Serve over prepared Penne pasta and garnish with Jalapeno pepper slices.

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