Category: Pasta

Chicken with Tomato and Veggie Orzo

Chicken, One pot meal, Pasta, Side dishes...veggies

Hey all! I hope everyone had a great weekend with family and friends celebrating the beginning of Spring, special holidays, and the fact that it is SPRING BREAK!!!! Woohoo! We had lots of fun gardening, playing at the park, and enjoying the amazing Spring weather.

We had a picnic at the park for lunch today. It was glorious to see the girls play and get to eat yummy ham sandwiches and pasta salad. Oh, and my mom makes the best deviled eggs. I think I made them once on the blog. I will have to check it out and make sure I add the recipe if it is not already here. Plus, we had Lay’s chips. Plain. The go to chip in our house. Yes, we love our Cheetos, Cool Ranch Doritos, etc… but there is nothing like a bag of salty crunchy Lay’s. Although those commercials with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head eating the chips is a bit disturbing…

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So with a late lunch and a lazy day, I decided to wing it in the kitchen. I had taken out some chicken thighs from the freezer. I know. Chicken. Again. But it is always a yummy go-to that everyone LOVES. My family loves them some dark meat. When any chicken is on sale, I load up. Luckily, last week, it was thighs. I also had a few random mushrooms, a few carrots and celery, and one onion in the fridge. I also found a large can of diced tomatoes and 1 can of green chilies.
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Chicken with Tomato and Veggie Orzo

Ingredients
3 -4 chicken Thighs
10 mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can chopped green chilies
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup cooked orzo- I used my leftovers from this…https://funfoodiefamily.com/2015/04/03/1-pot-veggie-orzo/
1/2 container of broth (I had veggie, but chicken would be perfect.)
1 turn of white wine- acidity is the key to any dish =) use lemon/lime juice, white/red wine vinegar, or red wine…

Directions

Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken liberally.
Brown both sides in a screaming hot cast iron pan or dutch oven- about 6 minutes per side.
Take the chicken out and add in your chopped veggies. Cook down for about 6 minutes. Add in your tomato paste and stir, about 3 minutes. The aroma of smokey tomato should hit your nose. YUM! Add in your wine. Cook for a couple more minutes and add in your canned tomatoes and chilies. Add your broth and your cooked orzo. Stir well and add in your chicken. Simmer until cooked through. Add crusty bread for dipping. DELISH!

Full disclosure- Everyone was STARVING, so I took the chicken out to serve. It was still under cooked, so I cooked it longer and then took it off the bone and added it back in the orzo. Turned out even better than I thought!!!!! Better to be under cooked and cook longer than over cooked and dry as a bone.

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Paired Perfectly with this…
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One Pot Veggie Orzo

One pot meal, Pasta, Vegetarian

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Veggie Orzo

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 handful of mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 container of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3/4 quart of veggie stock
1/2 cup orzo
2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat pan on med heat and add olive oil.
Add the veggies and cook down until soft, about 6 minutes.
Add seasoning, orzo, and broth. Bring the broth to a boil and add the orzo.
Cook until orzo according to package time.
Add cheese.
Stir well. Add more seasoning and cheese of needed.

Spaghetti with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Bacon, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan

Pasta

Good evening, kids! I hope everyone had a marvelous Monday! I got home late tonight, so I needed to find something that I could throw together. I had some random things in my fridge and pantry, so I threw caution to the wind and created this masterpiece =) Pretty much anytime you can add pasta, bacon, and cheese, you should do it.

I had about half a pound of thin spaghetti, the last spoonful of a container of sun-dried tomatoes, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/3 of a container of pine nuts, 1/2 a container of Parmesan, and 8 pieces of bacon. I also added 3 fillets of anchovies and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.

If you don’t have a jar of anchovies in your fridge, I highly suggest you get one. If you think you don’t like anchovies, you are wrong. If you like Caesar Salad, you like anchovies. I am not suggesting you eat the anchovies whole. That would be an amateur move. I am letting you know that if you add 3 anchovies to a bit of bacon fat, olive oil, or butter, they will melt and make the base to the most delicious sauce you have ever had. So amazing. Trust me, please. Just don’t put your nose directly in the jar, ok? But if you don’t have any in your pantry, are going vegetarian on this dish, or you are allergic for some reason, you can totally leave them out. It is you meal and your life, so you can do whatever you want.

So while I was boiling the water for my pasta (add lots of salt), I made the bacon. I started cooking the pasta. I took out the bacon (cool and chop) and added the anchovies. They melted like butter and I added the garlic and 2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes (optional). I added 2 tablespoons tomato paste and stirred well. Then I added the sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil, but add another drizzle if needed) and pine nuts. I cooked those for 3 minutes, then added the pasta (read time on box and follow minus 2 minutes). I added the pasta in to the mix plus a coffee cup full of starchy cooking water. I let this cook for a couple more minutes before I added the Parmesan. I mixed well then added my chopped bacon on top. 004

Leftover Pasta; Take 2…

Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Pasta

Last week I made this…002
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2015/03/12/blog-catch-up-pork-pasta-pasta/

Tonight I warmed it up and added sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, red pepper flakes, and more cheese (Parmesan and mozzarella). So yummy! I love turning leftovers in to something different.

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Blog Catch Up… Pork, Pasta, Pasta…

Pasta, Pork

Evening guys! I hope everyone is doing well on this fine Wednesday night! I had a great session with my girls from Girls on the Run tonight. We stretch, run, do yoga and strength training, and have lots of amazing conversations. Girl Power! So much fun =) I came home and made an easy chicken pasta dish…
I cooked 3 meals in last 2 days and only took pics of one of them. Oh well…

Last night I made a 5 minute dinner. I made pork chops…yeah, I know…been there done that… =) Well, these took 3 minutes. For real. The package said cook on each side for 4 minutes, but if I did that they would have tasted like shoe leather. I cooked them in a bit of oil for about 1 1/2 minutes per side on SUPER HIGH heat. Perfection! I served them with a side of couscous and a Steam-fresh bag of mixed veggies (both about 5 minutes).

Then I made some lunch for a couple of days… Creamy Orzo with Bacon, Tomatoes, and Peas. Just cook some Orzo (small rice like pasta). In the meantime, cook chopped bacon (1/2 pound). Take out of pan and add your onions and cherry tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes in a bit of olive oil. Add your cooked orzo and frozen peas. Add in about a cup Parmesan. Stir and cook together until peas are warmed through. Top with chopped bacon. So wish I had a picture!!!!

Tonight I made Cheesy Chicken Tagliatelle with Broccoli and Mushrooms. Heaven. Dice some chicken thighs or breasts in to bite-sized pieces. Brown in a pan with 1/2 chopped onion, 1/2 container of sliced mushrooms, and 1 head broccoli florets (15 minutes or so depending on your preference for broccoli doneness). Salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, cook some tagliatelle in salted water (nests of long fettichini like pasta- or use whatever pasta your have in your cabinet). Add the pasta to your chicken and veggie mixture. Add a nice glug of olive oil and a mug of starchy pasta water. Add more seasoning if needed. My kids hate spicy, but I would love for you to add a good serving of red pepper flakes!

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More info about Girls on the Run (Grades 3-8) http://www.girlsontherun.org/