Leftover Loving- Cheesy Chicken, Tomato, and Pea Orzo

Chicken, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Pasta

Hey friends! Happy Tuesday! I hope you have had a great 1st week of July! This week I am in another professional development class. It is the 2nd one of the summer working on my teacher Coach Endorsement. It has been an amazing experience so far, and I’m looking forward to all the work I have to do in the future to become a better teacher leader and coach!

So on the way home from class, I stopped by Publix and picked up a rotisserie chicken, some fresh prepared mashed potatoes, and a bag of Steam-fresh  peas. Fast and easy dinner on a tired Tuesday night! So when I was cleaning the dishes, I got the idea to cut up the leftover chicken (one breast), peas, some cherry tomatoes from my garden, a shallot from the farmer’s market, and a 1/2 cup of orzo pasta and make a dish for lunch this week. So simple…

First I boiled some salted water in a large pot. I cut the cherry tomatoes in half, and diced the shallot. I added them to a med. hot pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of salt and pepper. Meanwhile, I dropped my orzo in the boiling water.  I cooked the veggies and the pasta about the same time, 6 minutes. Then I added the chicken, peas, and pasta to the tomatoes and garlic. I added 2 spoonfuls of pasta water plus 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of  diced fresh mozzarella cheese. Mix well and add chopped parsley to the top. So yummy!

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Tomato Garlic Linguine with Mozzarella and Chicken

Chicken, Pasta

Evening folks! Hope everyone is having a great start to this holiday weekend! Lots of fun today and tonight! We all woke up late and hit Waffle House for some breakfast. The girls always share an All Star; a waffle, scrambled eggs with grits and raisin toast, half sausage (for Katie) and half bacon (for Becca). The hubby always gets an All Star with hash browns and white toast buttered.

I myself change it up…BLT, egg and cheese biscuit, cheesy eggs with raisin toast and bacon, etc…. Today I got the ham and cheese melt with hash browns. Awesome! The ladies always take good care of us. We hadn’t been in a while after Lizzie passed, and when we finally went, they asked about her right away. These silly girls love them some Waffle House!

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This afternoon Poopaw and Phee (our North Carolina grandparents) came in to town for a visit. The girls and Brutus always go crazy when they get here. They stayed with the girls while the hubby and I hit the grocery store for essentials for the week.

First up, dinner for tonight…So good. Everyone had seconds. The only complaint I got was from Becca who hates tomatoes (except for tomato sauce, pizza sauce, and ketchup). I made her eat one and you think I would have made her eat a rotten tomato. These little beauties came from my garden and they are super sweet!

Tomato Garlic Linguine with Mozzarella and Chicken

Ingredients

1 onion or 2 shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes or if you are lucky, a couple handfuls from a garden or farmer’s market
3-4 chicken breasts
1 handful fresh basil
1 tablespoon of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning
1/3 cup white wine or chicken stock
Fresh Mozzarella cut in to cubes
1/2 cup of Parmesan (or more!)
Olive Oil- about a cup in all, but I eyeballed it all along the way.
1 lb Linguine- I ❤ Barilla!

Directions

Cut your chicken breasts in half. Add the salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning over all your chicken. Cook in a large cast iron pan until each side is brown and the middle is mostly cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side. Take out of pan. Slice or cut in to bite sized pieces.

Meanwhile, boil a pot of salted water for your pasta. Drop pasta and cook a minute under the time suggested.

Cook your onions, garlic and tomatoes on med heat in a few tablespoons of olive oil, 8 minutes. Mix well. Cover for the last 4 minutes to help tomatoes to burst.
Add in your wine or stock and reduce down with the veggies for about 3 minutes.
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Add in your pasta, a cup of the starchy cooking water, another glug of olive oil, and your chicken. Mix well. Serve with some garlic bread. Homemade is easy, but Cole’s brand is easier!
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Have a great holiday weekend! New chicken wing recipe tomorrow plus fireworks. Sunday we are having a cookout with friends =) So happy to celebrate our Freedom! It has been an amazing month for our country! ❤

Throwback Thursday- TACOS, BABY!!!!

Mexican, Throwback Thursday

Just another summer day livin’ the dream! The girls and I had a great day. First, we all slept until 9 am. HEAVEN! Then we lounged around in our jammies; I drank 3 cups of coffee, and they ate an obscene amount of frozen waffles and french toast sticks.

Then we pried ourselves off the couch and got dressed. I put on my best yoga pants and we headed off to the gym. I took a lovely Bodyflow class (Thai chi, yoga, and Pilates). Then we hit Walmart for a few essentials. I am not even kidding when I say I actually enjoyed my time at Walmart! Usually I hate going; the line is long, someone has trouble with their payment, there is a price check gone awry, etc. Not this time. Smooth sailing.

Then we hit the pool. I love going to the pool and relaxing. Today there was no one there for about an hour and a half. We swam, jumped in, played, and floated around without a care in the world. Then only one family joined us, so it still was pretty awesome.

Tonight, we had something that I know we can all get behind; TACOS! I have made tons of tacos in the past. Tonight was strait up beef and beans with all the fixings. I love a good taco bar. Everyone can add what they want and no one feels left out. Here are some things that I always have on hand to make the perfect taco night; protein (beans, beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, steak, tofu), veggies, cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado or guacamole, sour cream, hot sauce, salsa, and hard and/or soft tortillas.

I usually make my own chili seasoning to add to my meat or veggies. I never really measure, but I usually do a combo like this (more or less depending on your preference); 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano. But if you buy one of those packets for a fast and no nonsense taco night, I won’t judge. I have bought them, too! It is your life, so do what you want!

Tonight Rucks, Becca, and I had a gordita. Hard shell with all the fixings inside a soft tortilla spread with beans. Katie opted for a soft taco/burrito. Rucks likes Taco Bell hot sauce; I like Cholula. Becca and I like avocado. Katie and I like sour cream. Becca is a refried bean fanatic, so I let her pick out the kind she wanted. She picked vegetarian refried beans, and we all decided that we can’t taste a difference and we are saving like 5 grams of fat.
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Chicken Paprikash

Chicken

Happy Wednesday!  Hope you guys are having a great week! This week so far has been amazing for us! Lots of swimming, dancing, and playing around! 007

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Today the girls and I met an old friend at an Indian Street food restaurant, Chai Pani, in Decatur, Georgia. I had a Chatpatta Paneer Sandwich- Fresh grilled paneer (farmer’s cheese), cucumber, onions, dusted with chaat masala. Served on 2 griddled buns (pav) with green chutney and Maggi Ketchup. Wow! Chatpatta-Paneer-Sandwich1 Note to self…more Indian food in my life… The girls had chicken tenders, sweet corn with ghee, and shoe string fries. They are sold.

Tonight I made a dish called Chicken Paprikash. This is a Hungarian dish made with peppers, onions, garlic, paprika, tomatoes, and a cream of some sort (heavy cream, cream cheese, etc) I have made it once before on the blog, but I wanted to try and change it up a bit. The last time I made it, my recipe was from a Cooking Light magazine.

Today I read 10 different recipes and kind of adapted it to what I had in the cabinet and fridge. I lighted it up even more by using chicken breasts and half and half. It was so good! Next time, I might even add in some mushrooms. Still trying to win the girls over with sweet peppers, but they said they loved the chicken and sauce, so that is a small victory. The hubby had 2 servings, so I will take that as a victory, as well. I even took an extra piece of bread to soak up all my remaining sauce. YUUUMMMM!!!!

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half down the middle (I do this for faster cook time)
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic chopped and minced
1 cup sliced sweet peppers (I use a combo of red, yellow, and orange)
2 tablespoons tomato paste- I usually do 1 tablespoon per piece of chicken
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoon each of flour,Paprika, Salt, and Pepper
1 bag wide egg noodles
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

Heat pan to med-high heat. Take 2 chicken breasts and cut in half down the middle; not through the middle, which would make them too thin. Dredge them in a combo of 1 tablespoon each of flour, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook in a tablespoon of canola, vegetable, or olive oil – each side for about 3 minutes or until browned. Take out of pan.
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Start boiling water, salty ocean water, that is. When boiling add noodles and follow bag’s directions.

Add in a couple tablespoons or more of oil. Add in your onions and peppers. Cook down for about 4 minutes. Then add in your tomato paste. Cook down for 3 minutes. Add in the rest of your flour, paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Add diced tomatoes and stir well with your veggie and flour mixture. Add in your half and half and stir. Your chicken breast are almost done, so put them in for 5 more minutes. When your sauce is getting thick, take out your chicken and slice thinly or in small bite-sized pieces. Add back in sauce and cook more if needed. Add chopped parsley. 021

Add on top of noodles. Add a hunk of bread. 024

Tomato Basil Pasta Salad

Pasta, Salads, Vegetarian

I love cold pasta salads! They are so many combinations of ingredients you can add.  Homemade pasta salad is easy, but there are a lot of great boxed mixes out there to have in your pantry for those nights when you need something fast to throw together. Publix had a BOGO deal on Suddenly Pasta Salads. They have lots of different flavors, but I stuck with Italian. I have tons of cherry tomatoes and basil in my garden, so I thought it we be perfect to add them in the pasta. Then I found a can of black olives, some pine nuts, and a hunk of mozzarella that I cut in to bite sized pieces. Perfection!

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