Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta with Mushrooms

Chicken, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Pasta

Another favorite for dinner tonight! 2 thumbs up from everyone! I have tons of basil in my garden, so I wanted to make a pesto of some sort. I also discovered a carton of mushrooms that needed some love. Here is what I came up with!

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta with Mushrooms

Ingredients
4-5 chicken thighs cut up in to bite sized pieces.
1 small carton of mushrooms, sliced
1 box Ziti noodles
1-2 cups Alfredo sauce
1/3 cup of Pesto

Alfredo- 1 jar of Alfredo (I like Classico Light Creamy Alfredo) OR you could make your own- Melt 1/2 cup of butter and then stir in 2 cups of heavy cream. Cook for 6-8 minutes. Add 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. Add until mixed through.

Pesto- 1/3 of your favorite jarred pesto OR make your own. This time I did since I have plenty in my garden.
Ingredients and directions- .
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup grated cheese- I combine Parmesan and Pecorino Romano
Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend to a smooth paste.

Directions
Add your chicken and mushrooms to a hot skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Brown your chicken and let your mushrooms cook down, about 8-10 minutes. Cook pasta. Add Alfredo sauce to chicken and mushrooms. Add in your pesto a little bit at a time. When your pasta still has a bite, add it to the sauce. Mix well. This is a creamy sauce, but if you think it seems too thick, add in a ladle or 2 of starchy pasta water or maybe even more cream sauce or pesto. Cook until combined.

014

I also made some quick garlic toast. I added 3 tablespoons of butter with 3 cloves minced garlic (used garlic press). I spread the bread with the garlic butter and put them in the oven on broil. So good!

015

Enchilada Night!

Beef, Mexican, Vegetarian

Hey guys! Hope you all had a great Monday. Today we took our weekly trip to the library. Lots of fun looking for books for the girls to read. Becca is devouring The Magic Tree House and Ivy and Bean books. Katie is still learning to read; she still has a bit to go, but she loves when I read to her. I make her read words I know she knows and reread the pages to me when I know she won’t get frustrated.  I mean, she just turned 6 and is going to 1st grade in the fall, so I know she will catch on fast and love reading books like the rest of her family!

Later we went to the local city park water fountain. Lots of fun! Then we cooled off with some smoothies.

006

 

We came home and had some down time. Later in the afternoon we went to the pool for a few hours. It was so nice and relaxing. The water was so refreshing. Soon, it will be like bath water.

We came home and I made another family favorite… enchiladas! I always like to change it up a bit. I made a beef and a bean version. Here is how I made them this time.

Beef Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 can chopped green chilies
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
8-12 tortillas (corn or flour)
1 large package of shredded cheese-Mexican Blend-
1 large container of Enchilada Sauce (once I made my own…it tasted wonderful, but it was a pain in the ass to make. Now I stick with the can.)

Directions
Add your seasoning and green chilies to the beef as you cook it. Cool.
Heat oven to 350
Spray pan with non-stick spray
Put a small amount of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Make your enchiladas- fill with spoonful of beef and cheese
Add enchilada sauce on top followed by lots of cheese…
Cook for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

018

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 can refried beans
4-6 tortillas (corn or flour)
1 package of shredded cheese-Mexican Blend
Enchilada Sauce

Directions
Heat oven to 350
Spray pan with non-stick spray
Put a small amount of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Make your enchiladas- fill with spoonful of beans and cheese
Add enchilada sauce on top followed by lots of cheese
Cook for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

019

Empty Plate Club
020

Leftover Loving- Chicken Friand

Chicken, Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Party Time

Is the weekend over already? We had a great day…slept in, ate bagels and cream cheese for breakfast, had pajama day until it was time to put on bathing suits for the pool, ate Jimmy John’s at the pool, swam for hours, read, went to the store (ALONE!), and made and ate a delicious dinner.

Last week I made this…https://funfoodiefamily.com/2015/06/11/creamy-mushroom-chicken-with-skillet-green-beans-and-rice-with-pine-nuts/

So I took the leftover chicken and made this family hit. One of the biggest hits on this blog and on my Pinterest account. This would also be great for a dinner party. Everyone can get their own…https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/07/16/chicken-friand/

006

007

Cannelloni Beans and Veggie Lasagna

Pasta, Vegetarian

Happy Saturday! Yesterday I did this…
005

Today was amazing! The girls had an awesome birthday party at a horse stable.
008

030

039

For dinner, I told the girls they could have breakfast for dinner. That ended up being cheesy scrambled eggs and frozen waffles. I made this for me and my friend who came over last minute. I used random ingredients in my fridge, pantry, and garden. I hope you always have some random ingredients to make a magic dinner! =)

Cannelloni Bean and Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients
2 carrots – sliced
1 small onion – chopped
2 Garlic cloves – minced
1 handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 pepper; 1/2 red, 1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
1 can chopped green chilies
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-2 squash, sliced
1 handful of fresh herbs, sliced sage, basil, marjoram, oregano
1 small can Cannelloni beans- rinsed and drained
9 No-boil lasagna noodles
1 small package mozzarella cheese

Directions

Add all veggies (except squash)in a large pan and cook down for about 5 minutes. Add in your tomato paste. Mix well and let cook for about 3 more minutes.
Add diced and crushed tomatoes. Mix well.
Add herbs and salt and pepper to taste.
Layer sauce, sliced squash, pasta, and cheese to pan
Cook at 350 for 20 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly…

060061

Creamy Mushroom Chicken with Skillet Green Beans and Rice with Pine Nuts

Chicken, grains, Side dishes...veggies

Hello! Tonight I made a family favorite that I have done in many variations on the blog before. I had some beautiful green beans freshly picked from my garden and some pine nuts leftover that needed to be used up. I made enough to have for leftovers for another night!

Creamy Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients
4 chicken fillets
1 onion, diced
1 carton mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of crushed and diced garlic
1 tablespoon cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 container of reduced sodium chicken stock
add salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken pieces to hot oil in a single layer without crowding. Cook 4-5 minutes per side or until chicken is browned; remove from pans.
003

Add in your veggies. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Add the stock. Cook down about 5 minutes.
004
Add your chicken back in the pan. Cook for 30 more minutes with the chicken in the sauce. Take out the chicken and add in the cream cheese and heavy cream. Stir and let them all melt together. If you want a thicker sauce (to dunk bread), add in more cream cheese. If you want a thinner sauce (to add to pasta) add in more cream. Add your chicken back in. Cook for just a few more minutes… Again…Perfection.

006

Rice with Pine Nuts-

Ingredients
1/2 stick of butter
1 small bag of rice
1 cup toasted pine nuts
1 container of low sodium chicken or veggie stock

Directions
Toast some pine nuts in a pan for a few minutes on low heat. Watch these; they burn quickly.
In a large round pot or pan, heat butter on med heat until it melts. Add in your rice and cook for a few minutes. This toasts the rice and helps give it a nice nutty flavor. Then I added all of the stock in the pan, mixed well, and put on the lid. Every 5 minutes or so, I stirred it to make sure the bottom didn’t burn or stick. Near the 20 minute mark, I felt mine needed a little more liquid, so I added a few more tablespoons of water. I mixed well and added in my pine nuts. Delicious!

007

Skillet Green Beans

I had these beauties from my garden.
002

So I threw them in a skillet with 2 tablespoons of bacon fat (butter or olive oil would be fine). I cooked them about 15 minutes. stirring them occasionally. In the end, I threw in a handful of the toasted pine nuts.

005