Pasta with Chicken and Zucchini and Squash

This dish has a long name I know, but it’s how it was given to me and I haven’t come up with a better name.  This is a great way to use up some of that zucchini that I know is overflowing on your counter.  I hardly ever have summer squash, so I just double the amount of zucchini.  This is a lovely dish that makes quite a lot so it’s good for when you have company.   I got this recipe from a woman at church, although I can’t remember for sure which one.   Serve with a nice green salad and a crusty bread for some different textures.

Pasta with Chicken and Zucchini and Squash

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Family Friendliness: I give it about 4 out of 5.  My girls love it.  The boy doesn’t like cheese so he kind of sticks his nose up at it.  But the rest of us like it.
Ingredients:
1 pkg. (16 oz.) spiral pasta (I usually use mostaccioli, use whatever you like)
2 c. whipping cream  (I have used half and half before and it was still tasty)
1 T. butter or margarine
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
5 T. olive or vegetable oil, divided
2 medium zucchini, julienned
2 medium yellow summer squash, julienned
1¼ t. salt, divided and to taste
1/8 t. pepper
1 lb. boneless skinless breasts, julienned
¼ t. EACH dried basil, marjoram, and savory (I have yet to find savory in the grocery store so I omit this)
¼ t. dried rosemary, crushed
1/8 t. rubbed sage
Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, heat cream and butter in a large saucepan until butter melts.  Add cheese; cook and stir until melted.  Rinse and drain pasta; add to cheese mixture.  Cover and keep warm.  In a skillet over medium heat, sauté onion and garlic in 3 T. oil until onion is tender.  Add squash; cook until tender.  Add 1 t. of salt and pepper; remove and keep warm.  Add remaining oil to skillet; cook chicken with herbs and remaining salt until juices run clear.  Place pasta on a serving platter; top with chicken and squash.    

Warm Pear Compote

This is love in an ice cream dish.  I wait all year to have my ice cream drowned in this gooey sauce.  I have to admit that I almost always lick my bowl clean, except of course if the children are watching.  This recipe is one my Mom started making when I was in high school.  It doesn’t make a lot, so if you’re serving more than 4 people, or if you just love it like I do, you might want to double it.  Again, you might want to plan on a few extra pears to get you your 3½ cups.

 Vanilla Ice Cream with Warm Pear Compote

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

3 medium-size pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced, about 3 ½ cups
½ cup sugar
¼ cup apple juice
¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon vanilla
vanilla ice cream
Directions: In 10-in. skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter; add pears; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring gently until crisp-tender.  Add sugar and cider; bring to boil, stirring. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until pears are tender and coated with syrup.  Remove from heat; stir in spice and vanilla. Cool slightly. Serve over vanilla ice cream

Caramel Pear Pie

Pears are in season right now and so yummy. I love to eat a fresh ripe pear. I have finished canning my bushel or so and now I am ready to put them to work in desserts. I made this pie Sunday night and it is so good. It’s a fun switch from apple. Pears are so delicious in pies and in desserts in general. Just a couple of notes, if you don’t have caramels, caramel ice cream topping would work just fine, just omit the milk. Also it says it takes about 6 medium pears to make 6 cups, well their idea of medium and my idea of medium must be different because it took me about 12 pears to get 6 full cups. Last, don’t forget to put a pan on the rack below the pie to catch any drips. I really do like this pie better cold than warm, which is strange for a cooked fruit pie. Look for pear dessert number 2 tomorrow.

Caramel Pear Pie
6 c. sliced peeled ripe pears (about 6 medium)
1 T. lemon juice
½ c. plus 3 T. sugar, divided
2 T. quick-cooking tapioca
¾ t. cinnamon
¼ t. salt
¼ t. nutmeg
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 in)
¾ c. old fashioned oats
1 T. flour
¼ c. cold butter or margarine
18 caramels
5 T. milk
¼ c. chopped pecans
Directions: In a large bowl, combine pears and lemon juice. In another bowl, combine ½ c. sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add to pears; stir gently. Let stand for 15 minutes. Pour into pastry shell. In a bowl, combine the oats, flour and remaining sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over pears. Bake at 400° for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over low heat, melt caramels with milk. (Faster in the microwave at 70% power) Stir often. Stir until smooth; add pecans. Drizzle over pie. Bake 8-10 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack (Better cold with whipped cream or cool whip.)

Rainbow Chicken

Lazlo’s Inspired Rainbow Chicken
Prep time: 15 minutes
Marinating time: 4 hours (although I’ve cheated and only done it for 2)
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
Family Friendliness: It is a hit with all of my kids, as long as I leave the cheese off of the boy’s piece. Kids like to dip things.

In my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska there is a restaurant called Lazlo’s. It’s a steakhouse but I never go there for the steaks. It’s not because their steaks are fabulous, it’s just I love one dish there the most and I never get anything else. Rainbow Chicken. My mouth waters for it now that I live hundreds of miles away from Lazlo’s. Every time I go to visit home I must go and get Rainbow Chicken. In an effort to curb the cravings in between visits I sort of pieced together this recipe. It’s a pretty good imitation. It’s beautiful on your plate and it’s so succulent. Serve it with French fries, or a loaded baked potato, and a steamed vegetable (I like broccoli). If you’re tempted to skip the honey mustard sauce, don’t do it. It really is what makes this so very yummy. As an added bonus you can dip your broccoli and French fries in it too.
Ingredients:
Marinade:
½ c. sugar
½ c. water
½ c. soy sauce
1/8 c. pineapple juice (I used vinegar instead last night and I couldn’t really tell the difference)
1/8 c. vegetable oil
½ t. garlic powder
½ t. ground ginger
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Toppings:
4 slices of Monterey Jack cheese
Shredded cheddar cheese about a ¼ of a cup
1 roma tomato, diced
1 green onion, chopped (including the greens)
Honey Mustard Sauce:
½ c. mayonnaise
2 T. mustard
1 T. sugar
1½ T. honey
In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients for marinade except chicken; reserve 2/3 c. for basting; cover and refrigerate. In a large resealable plastic bag or shallow dish, place the chicken and remaining marinade. Seal bag or cover dish making sure the chicken is coated; refrigerate for 4 hours. Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat for 3 minutes on each side. Baste with reserved marinade. Grill 3-4 minutes longer on each side or until juices run clear, basting several times. Just before taking off the grill top each chicken breast with a slice of Monterey jack cheese. Remove from grill to platter and top with cheddar cheese, tomato, and green onion. For honey mustard sauce mix all ingredients in a small bowl, serve as a dipping sauce for chicken. (I found the recipe for the marinade in Taste of Home’s “Backyard Grilling Cookbook” published in 2006, it’s called Marinated Chicken Breasts and the honey mustard recipe off of Cooks.com)

Tips For Trying New Recipes

As I have spent the last few years testing out new recipes that come my way I have figured a few things out, sometimes the hard way.  So to help you out on your journey to new cuisine here are a few valuable tips:

1.  Find recipes – Cookbooks, magazines, the internet, and friends are all good places to get new recipes.  Look for ones that have ingredients you use often already or something new that you’ve always wanted to try.  Keep in mind your family’s individual tastes and likes.  I also look for ones that use the abundant amount of seasonal produce that I have in my garden or that we’ve purchased from orchards, etc.  Sometimes I buy something new at the grocery store (like a vegetable I’ve never tried before) and then go looking for a recipe specifically for that ingredient.    

2. Get your recipes out of the cookbooks, magazines, printer, etc. and put them all in one place so that you can see and compare them.  I found I was collecting stacks of magazines and cookbooks and never using any of the recipes in them not to mention the storage space they were taking up.  So I started ripping magazines apart and putting all the recipes in a “recipes to try” book.  It was just a repurposed photo album, but it works.  Now when I sit down to plan my meals (more on that later) I sit down with my “To try” cookbook and a grocery list and make sure that I try at least one new recipe every two weeks.  It is often more than that, but at least one.  Once I’ve tried a recipe it either gets thrown out (very few do) or put in my permanent cookbook.  I found that if I am excited to eat it, then I’ll be more excited about cooking it.  Extra bonus, more shelf space!

3. PLAN YOUR MEALS – I don’t care how you do it, but do it.  I have a list of things that I make often that’s attached to the back of my calendar.  I then sit down and write in each dinner (I don’t plan lunches or most breakfasts, those I don’t mind flying by the seat of my pants, but dinner is a different story) for two weeks out and then I write on my grocery list, which is with me as well, all the things I need to buy for that meal.  Don’t forget to think about side dishes and add those ingredients to your grocery list as well.  Now, I do this every two weeks and it takes about 10-20 minutes, but it saves me hours of fretting each day over what I am going to make for dinner.  And just because I scheduled say hamburgers for Wednesday doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what will happen.  Life gets crazy and things come up, I simply look at the meals I’ve got planned, find the one that will work on that day and I know I have everything needed to prepare that meal on hand.  This helps tremendously when you’re trying out new recipes because then you can also note prep times, cook times, thawing times, marinating times, etc and plan accordingly.  If you don’t like the idea of assigning a meal to a particular day, just make a list of meals you’d like to make in the next two weeks and make sure you have everything you need for those dishes.  You feel more organized and you’ll eat healthier and you’ll save time and money.  You’ll thank me, I guarantee it!

 

4.  Read through the entire recipe before you start cooking (maybe more than once if it has a lot of steps).  My mother taught me this and it’s amazing what trouble I have gotten into for not following her advice.  It takes a couple of minutes, but it’ll save you from a lot disasters and tears. 

 

5.   Follow the recipe exactly, at least the first time. This rule obviously has exceptions.  For instance, I don’t like mushrooms. So if I see a recipe that sounds good, except that it has mushrooms, I’ll leave the mushrooms out.  But as a general rule of thumb I don’t mess with salt, sugar, flour, etc. amounts until I’ve tried it the way it’s written. Then if the recipe passes muster, but it just needs a little tweaking then I note that and try it again. 

 

6. Plan to share and have a good exercise program in place. This is merely a suggestion, but I’ve found that I love to share food that I’ve made.  It has made me a much more social person.  I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my abilities from sharing my cooking.  I can’t possible eat a whole cheesecake by myself and still maintain my figure, so I share whenever I can and exercise when I can’t (or don’t want to J).  My husband, on the other hand stays thin and trim no matter what I feed him, it’s just not fair.