Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

Happy Wednesday! I wanted to celebrate a great day by cooking something yummy for my family. I had another plan for chicken this week on my meal plan, but I decided to change it and make this instead… I made this a long time ago back in August. It was super easy and delicious. I added it to spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce. Enjoy!
mozz, tomato, basil

https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/08/01/bruschetta-chicken/001
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Vegan Pasta Sauce

So earlier I told you how cooking is my therapy. So is grocery shopping BY MYSELF!!! One of my co-workers is a vegetarian and a bit of a foodie, so I like to make us some yummy lunches every once in a while. If you don’t know me or just now reading this, I used to be a vegetarian/vegan for 13 years. I eat everything now, but I still enjoy healthy veggie meals occasionally. I recently saw a recipe for an eggplant tomato pasta sauce. I decided to add more veggies other than the eggplant, and this recipe was created. The great thing about veggie meals is you can delete or add whatever veggies you like. For example, I didn’t have any mushrooms, but they would have been a yummy addition. If you have spinach instead of kale, add it! Use your imagination to create your own individualized sauce.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced and chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 eggplant, chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 container of grape tomatoes
1 large can of diced tomatoes
2 glasses of wine
1/2 head of broccoli- florets (you can save the stems for veggie or chicken stock)
water as needed
1/2 bag/container of kale

Directions

Chop all your veggies while you heat your large pan/dutch oven and melt your butter with the oil.
Add all the ingredients in the order listed above to med.heat. Onion and garlic first for 5 minutes, stirring. Pepper, eggplant, and zucchini for 5 more minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Then add the tomatoes- grape and can of diced. Add your wine and then broccoli florets. Add water if you need more liquid. Cook on med-low for 20 minutes. Add your kale at the end and cook until wilted. Serve over your favorite pasta. Enjoy!

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Deconstructed Chinese Chicken and Veggie Noodles

Alright. Here is the deal. I make my kids eat what I make. They have to try a bite of everything. No if, ands, or buts about it. I know my kids like chicken. I know they like noodles. They like MOST veggies. But kids will be kids and sometimes one bite of the veggies is enough and all they want is the chicken and noodles. It is all good. That is the great thing about deconstructed dinners. They get a little of everything and you feel like a rock star!

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Cook the chicken with a stir fry mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, teriyaki sauce, and hoisin sauce. I did not really measure…just a shake of this and a shake of that.
Lots of different veggies- bok choy, mushrooms, ginger, baby corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and whatever else you want!
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Once the chicken is done, take it out and add your noodles. Add a few more shakes of your asian sauces and a few cups of water to cover your noodles. Cook until done. Follow package directions. I just left the pasta in the broth. One of my daughters wanted soup, the other didn’t want the food to be wet =)
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I added mine together in a bowl! It paired well with a nice glass of Spanish red wine =)
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Easy Homemade Spaghetti Meat Sauce

I think the last time I bought jarred sauce was one time back in the summer. Lizzie was still in the hospital, and the other 2 girls and I had been hanging at the pool all day. We threw on our clothes and ran to get dinner. I would have been happy with going to Zaxby’s or Chick-fil-a, but they cried, “We want spaghetti!” So I ran to Publix with them and picked out some marinara sauce and noodles. They were happy and the sauce was fine, but I have figured out over time that homemade sauce is always better! There are a few sauces out there that are pretty awesome, but usually they are more expensive. So I make my own now for the most part. I have no problem with the convenience of the jarred sauce, but I am very picky when it comes to the sauce.

Here is my super EASY recipe-

Browned hamburger meat with 1 chopped onion
Add 1 container of sliced mushrooms
A few good squirts of tomato paste
1 large or 2 small cans of tomato sauce
1 large can of diced tomatoes or 2 small cans
1 glass of your favorite red wine
A couple tablespoons of worcestershire
1 tablespoon of sugar
Any fresh or dried herbs you have- I added rosemary, thyme, oregano, and marjoram
You could even add in some chopped parsley if you have it.

Cook all together for AT LEAST 30-45 minutes—The longer the better.

PERFECTION!!!

Add to your favorite pasta and some garlic bread!
ENJOY!!! Can’t wait for the leftovers…the sauce just gets better with time. The longer it sits, the better it gets! =)
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Throwback Thursday- Spaghetti and Meatballs 12/12/13

I love these meatballs! They are easy and delicious. You can even make a ton so you can freeze the rest for a later date!

https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/07/08/pasta-perfection/

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