Spicy Tomato, Turkey, Alfredo Dinner

I really do not know what to call this dish other than delicious. Stephen and I made it up one night as we were preparing my mom's birthday dinner and it instantly became a family favorite.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Turkey Sausage
• 2 cans of Rotel
• 2 jars of prepared Alfredo Sauce (or you can make the homemade alfredo sauce I posted below)
• 1 box of your favorite Pasta ~ we usually either use Rotini or Farfelle (bow-tie)

1. Cook pasta as directed on the box.

2. Brown turkey sausage in a large, deep skillet. Once it is fully cooked, add the Alfredo sauce and Rotel to skillet and reduce heat to low and allow to simmer while the pasta cooks.

3. Serve alfredo mixture over pasta and Enjoy!

Alfredo Sauce

I am a big fan of alfredo sauce over pasta of any kind! Then add favorite veggies to the side ~ it makes for a really scrumptious dinner ~ at least in my opinion :)

Anyway...I found this homemade sauce that is really not that intimidating and it turned out really great the first time I made it, so I thought I would share it with you...

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup Romano Cheese (ricotto cheese)
• 6 Egg Yolks
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Heat milk and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan until it begins to simmer. Turn off heat. Slowly whip in cheese, then remove from heat.

2. Place egg yolks in a separate bowl and slowly whip in a portion on the hot milk and cream mixture. Slowly add egg yolk mixture into remaining cream mixture. Place back on very low heat and continually stir until simmering. Take sauce off heat so it thickens. (This will increase temperature of egg yolks, known as tempering).

3. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

4. Serve over your favorite pasta and Enjoy!

Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad is probably one of my all-time favorite meals...it's quick, easy...and super tasty.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs. Chicken Breasts
• 2 Apples - diced
• 1 Bunch of Grapes - cut in half
• Dill Relish (to taste)
• Mayonnaise (to taste)
• Mustard (to taste)

Directions:

Cook chicken until well done - I choose to cook my chicken for one hour (+/-) on low heat in a big skillet (covered), this makes for easy to shred chicken, plus I do not have to stand over a hot stove cooking the chicken.
*If you do not have the chance to cook the chicken like I do, I suggest either boiling the chicken in a saucepan for about 15-20 min. or cooking chicken in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil until well done. Once chicken is cooked and cooled, shred into small pieces and place in a large bowl.

Add apples and grapes into bowl.

Now, concerning the dill relish, mayo and mustard...add the amount desired to chicken mixture according to your own taste buds. Mix well.

Serve with crackers, chips, or tortillas and enjoy!! :)

Tomato Basil Pizza!

I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Ingredients:

1. 3-4 medium tomatoes, this really depends on how many tomatoes you want to put on top
   
2. Fresh Mozzarella...the soft kind
3. Basil Pesto, you can find this on the same aisle as prepared spaghetti sauce
4. Pillsbury Original Pizza Crust...you can make your own though

Directions:

Preheat Oven: 400 degrees (F)

First, after opening the pesto jar sauce...drain the excess oil on top before stirring the pesto.
Next, place pizza crust on sprayed cookie sheet and spread the full jar of pesto on the crust.
Third, slice the mozzarella into as many slices as possible and then layer slices on top of pesto, you may have a few slices left but that is okay...set them aside until later.
Now for the tomatoes...slice tomatoes just you did with the mozzarella; then layer them on top of the cheese (note: you may use as many or as little tomatoes as you would like, I prefer to fit as many as possible).
Fifth, take the remaining slices of mozzarella and cut them into small chunks and sprinkle on top of entire pizza.

Place in oven and cook for about 14-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

~kate

Southwestern Chicken and Rice

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts - cut into 1 inch chunks

1 large onion, chopped

1 can (15-1/4 oz.) kidney beans, drained, rinsed

1-1/2 cups chunky salsa

1 package frozen kernel corn, thawed

1/2 cup chicken broth

1-1/2 cups instant white rice or regularly cooked white rice (totally dependent on preference)

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and onion; cook and stir until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

(If you choose to use regularly cooked white rice, begin cooking the rice according to package instructions)

Add beans, salsa, corn and broth. Bring to boil.

Stir in rice, bring to boil. Remove from heat. Let it stand 5 minutes before serving.

Suggestion: Top with shredded cheese.

Bistro Chicken Pasta Salad

Prep Time:

25 minutes

Makes:

4 main dish servings

Ingredients

2 cups cooked penne pasta (I used a whole box in order to ensure leftovers for lunch the next day)

1 pint of quartered cherry/grape tomatoes

1 package (4 oz.) Athenos Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese

Italian Dressing (I used Kraft Tuscon Italian Dressing)

1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, cut into strips

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed) - optional

2 -3 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked in skillet - shredded

Toss all ingredients together in large serving bowl

Serve warm or chilled.

Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients

1 - 1/2 quart (6 cups) cold water, divided 

1 cup strawberry halves

1 tub of Crystal Light Lemonade Drink Mix (you can also use CountryTime Lemonade Mix)

Place 2 cups of the water, strawberries and drink mix in blender container; cover. 

Blend on high speed until smooth.

Pour in large plastic or glass pitcher. Stir in remaining 4 cups of water. Server over ice cubes.