Pesto Farfalle

The inspiration for this yummy pasta dish came from my favorite item on the menu at Noodles & Company; Pesto Cavatappi. I normally order it with shrimp but for this attempt I used chicken. This dish turned out great but I didn't feel that the chicken did anything to add to the dish and eliminating it would not have taken away from anything. Next time I think I will skip the chicken and replace it with some more veggies. Perhaps, some yellow peppers for a nice color addition. This recipe was super simple and received rave reviews. It was not exactly like the dish from Noodles but it was very very good.

Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts
1 container of grape tomatoes halved
1 container of fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 to 3/4 cup of your favorite pesto sauce
1 pound of Farfalle
1/4 to 1/2 cup of heavy cream
splash of white wine
a little EVOO
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Preheat large frying pan and a couple of splashes of EVOO on medium high. Add the chicken and cook through. Remove chicken and set aside. Add the mushrooms and more EVOO if needed. Saute until done. Add the tomatoes and saute with the mushrooms until warm. Remove mushrooms and tomatoes and set aside. Wash skillet.

2. Cook Farfalle to your desired firmness. Drain and set aside.

3. Preheat skillet on medium high. Add chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes and pasta. Combine thoroughly. Add Pesto and stir until combined. Add a splash of white white; stir to combine. Allow to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and combine. Allow to cook for 4 or 5 minutes until a nice sauce is covering everything. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over dish if desired.

Fast and Fab Cornish Game Hens

I bought 2 Cornish Game Hens and had planned to roast them over beer cans. For some reason on the day of my meal it did not dawn on me until 4:15 that I should probably get my meal started. At this point the 2 and a half hour cooking time called for in my original recipe was way too long to have my dinner on the table at 5:30! I had my hens thawed and ready to go though so I had to do something with them! Luckily, we had nobody coming for dinner so I could afford to experiment. The result was a nice tender juicy hen with a perfectly seasoned crispy skin!!

I wouldn't really call this a recipe as much as a how to guide. Either way, here it is:

First, I cut the hens in half and removed the back bone. Which was easier said than done. Next time I may allow more time and leave them whole. I think that the backbone could have been left in if you wanted. I removed mine because it was not very nice to look at and I figured there was zero chance of my kids eating a piece of meat with an ugly gnarly bone protruding.

Next, I spread some olive oil in the bottom of my roaster pan. I would say about 2 tablespoons. I placed the rack in the pan and put some peeled halved carrots and a quartered onion over the rack. I placed the pieces of hen on top of the carrots and onions. I brushed some additional olive oil on the hens and sprinkled them with fresh ground poultry seasoning and pepper. I added a little Italian seasoning for good measure.

After this, I placed the hens uncovered in the oven preheated to 500 degrees. I cooked it for about 20 minutes, until it smelled good and started to sizzle. I then took about 1 and a fourth cup of chicken stock and poured it over the hens. I placed it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

Finally, I removed my delicious creation from the oven and served it to my very hungry family. Everyone loved it! I will make these again! Next time I might try adding some other veggies. I just used the carrots and onions because that is what I had on hand!

Parmesan Almond Crusted Tilapia

I found this recipe on the allrecipes website. Sometimes I cringe at the recipes on that site but this one looked really yummy so I figured I would give it a try. I basically stuck to the recipe but I used two eggs instead of one and a bit of extra seasoning. The one egg just didn't seem to be enough for all of the tilapia. I am glad I gave this recipe a chance. It turned out absolutely fantastic! I will make this again for sure!

Ingredients:

1 eggs 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper 1/2 cup ground almonds 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 4 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour for dusting 3 tablespoons butter salt to taste 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 4 sprigs parsley 4 lemon wedges

Directions:

1.	Beat the eggs with the lemon pepper and garlic pepper until blended; set aside. Stir together ground almonds with 1 cup of Parmesan cheese in a shallow dish until combined; set aside. Dust the tilapia fillets with flour, and shake off excess. Dip the tilapia in egg, then press into the almond mixture.
2.	Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook tilapia in melted butter until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium, and season fillets with salt if desired. Sprinkle the tilapia with the remaining Parmesan cheese, cover, and continue cooking until the Parmesan cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
3.	Transfer the tilapia to a serving dish, and garnish with parsley springs and lemon wedges to serve.