Category: Pasta Dishes

Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta

It seems like it’s been a while since I’ve made pasta for more than just one. But, that is exactly what I decided to do tonight – and, man oh man, did it hit the spot! It was a hit with everyone – and this is one that will definitely be making it into our normal rotation!

I started by prepping the ingredients – cubing the chicken, cutting the bacon and the asparagus.

I cooked the bacon first. Once it was done, I removed it from the pan and set it aside.

Then I added in the chicken and the umami seasoning and cooked it until the chicken was almost done. There is just something about cooking chicken in bacon fat – you just can’t go wrong!

Finally I added in the asparagus and sauted it for a few minutes.

Then I added in the chicken stock, salt and pepper – and allowed this to cook, covered, until the chicken was fully done and the asparagus had started to soften.

To finish the sauce, I added in the heavy cream and the parmesan cheese. I stirred the mixture well, allowing the cheese to melt.

While working on the sauce, I cooked the pasta (in well salted water!) until it was about 1/2 done. After the cheese had melted in the sauce, I added the pasta to the skillet, along with about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

The dish then cooked until the pasta was fully done and the sauce thickened.

Just before serving, I added in the bacon and mixed it through.

This was a delicious meal and one that I know we’ll repeat time and again!

Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta

2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 slices thick cut bacon, cut into smaller pieces
1 box pasta (a short pasta will work best)
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 – 3/4 cup pasta water
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp umami seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

  • Prep chicken by cutting into 1 inch cubes
  • Prep asparagus by cutting into 1 inch pieces
  • Prep bacon by cutting into small pieces
  • Cook bacon and remove from pan
  • Add chicken to pan and season with umami seasoning, cook until almost done
  • Add in the asparagus and saute for a few minutes
  • Add in the chicken stock, salt and pepper – cover and cook until chicken is well done and asparagus is starting to get tender
  • Add in the heavy cream
  • Add in the parmesan cheese and melt
  • Cook pasta in well salted water, until it is about 1/2 way done
  • Add pasta to the pan, along with 1/2 – 3/4 cup of pasta water
  • Cook until the pasta has finished cooking and the sauce has thickened
  • Add bacon in at last minute
by Michelle

Easy Dinner – Spaghetti

Some nights you’re just too tired or too busy to cook something from scratch. That’s when you’re glad that you’ve planned ahead!

This morning, I took some meat sauce out of the freezer. This is the same sauce I used when I made lasagna. You can find the meat sauce recipe on this post. It was thawed out by the time I got home!

I just warmed it up in a skillet, over low, while cooking my noodles.

Then I mixed it all together when the noodles were done! Topped with some Parmesan cheese and dinner on the table in no time!

by Michelle

Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff

I think we all know that I love a creamy, decadent comfort food. Stroganoff certainly fits that bill. It is pretty easy to cook and it makes a lot – so lots of leftovers (another thing I love). I suppose you could use whatever pasta you like, but I chose egg noodles.

I started by finely dicing 1 shallot. If you don’t have a shallot, you could substitute an onion – maybe 1/2 of a small onion.

Then I sauteed the shallot and garlic for about 5 minutes.

After sauteing the shallot and garlic, I added in the mushrooms and cook them until they were starting to get soft (these mushroom slices were pretty big, so it was about 10 minutes).

The next thing was to add in the beef. I just cooked the beef until it was browned on all sides and added in my seasonings.

Then I added in the liquids, starting with the beef stock (you could use chicken stock or vegetable stock, but the beef stock will give you a richer flavor). I love the stocks from Trader Joe’s.

After the beef stock, I added the heavy cream and worcestershire sauce and brought everything up to a boil. I allowed the mixture to cook for approximately 20-30 minutes. The sauce will reduce and thicken.

At the end, add in the sour cream and mix through well.

Toss in the egg noodles and mix through.

Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff

1 lb egg noodles
1 lb cubed beef
8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 shallot, diced finely
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups beef stock
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup worchestershire sauce
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp umami seasoning
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

  • Boil egg noodles to al dente, set aside
  • In large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat
  • Add in shallots and garlic, cook for about 5 minutes
  • Add in mushrooms and olive oil, cook for another 5-10 minutes (until mushrooms start to get tender)
  • Add beef to pan and brown
  • Season with umami and salt and mix through
  • Add in beef stock, heavy cream and worchestershire sauce and bring up to a boil
  • Reduce heat and allow sauce to reduce, about 20-30 minutes – with about 10 minutes left, add in the sour cream
  • Toss in egg noodles and stir through
by Michelle

Spicy Asian Noodles with Mushrooms (for one)

As happens sometimes, I was alone and needing to cook just for myself. I decided that I wanted a vegetarian dish, and Asian seemed nice. That’s something that my family doesn’t tend to enjoy as much as I do. They like Asian food – but, I really like Asian food.

The key to this dish is the sauce. I like spicy – and this is definitely a bit spicy – so feel free to adjust to your tastes.

The sauce consists of soy sauce, sesame oil, sweet chili sauce, rice vinegar, green onion and for spice some red pepper flakes and sriracha. The pepper flakes and sriracha didn’t make it into this first picture, but they made it into the sauce at the end.

I started by cooking the noodles. While the noodles were cooking I heated my wok. You want a hot wok and I find it works best when I preheat it. My wok is a cast iron wok, but any wok (or even a pan that can handle a high temperature) will do.

To start the stir fun, I added the oil into the wok. I used grapeseed oil because it can handle high heat. Peanut oil would work well too. Once the oil was hot, I added in the garlic and cooked it for a minute.

After the garlic was cooked (this doesn’t take long – and you want to work fast, as with most stir fry recipes), I added in the mushrooms and cooked them for about 5 minutes. The wok is very hot – so keep stirring so that things don’t stick and don’t burn.

After the mushrooms were finished, I tossed in the noodles and the sauce. It only takes a minute or two to stir fry everything.

I topped the noodles with some sesame seeds and few more green onions. A perfect, very fast, and delicious vegetarian meal for one!

Spicy Asian Noodles with Mushrooms for One

Linguine (or similar) pasta – 1/4 of a box, give or take
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp grapeseed oil (you want an oil that can handle a high heat)

Sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp green onions
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp sriracha

Garnishments
Sesame seeds
Green Onions

by Michelle

Three Cheese Chicken and Pasta Bake

I found myself with no protein thawed out, so I tried to think of things to make with shredded chicken (since it is so easy to do, from frozen, in the instant pot!). And, I do love a casserole – so this is what I came up with!

I decided I wanted to use pasta – I chose penne (but, any pasta would do). I also had an unused container of ricotta cheese on hand, some mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

I decided to boil my pasta separate. I boiled it to al dente. Be sure not to overboil it, or it will be too chewy in the casserole. While the pasta was boiling, I started to work on the sauce (I guess that is the appropriate term when you’re going to add it to something and make a casserole? I will call it that). I started by grating 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.

Then I cooked some garlic in a large skillet, with a little bit of butter.

Once the garlic was done, I added in a little bit of water and the milk. I only had skim milk on hand, but certainly, this would be so much better with a whole milk or even a bit of heavy cream! I brought the liquids up to a boil. I added in my seasonings at this time.

I then started adding in the cheeses. I started with the ricotta first and let it get mostly melted. I then added in the mozzarella and parmesan. I brought the cheese sauce up to a boil.

I then added in the shredded chicken and stirred through.

In a greased dutch oven, I poured in the al dente pasta.

Then I poured the sauce over top and stirred everything together. ** Note, I had forgotten to add my spinach to the sauce, so I just stirred it in at this point.

I, then, topped it with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese, as well as the panko bread crumbs.

The casserole was cooked in a 400 degree oven (I think I’ve mentioned this before, but my oven tends to run a little cooler – that said, feel free to drop the temperature if 400 seems a little high) for 30 minutes. I did turn the broiler on for a couple min, at the end just to brown the top a little more.

Three Cheese Chicken and Pasta Bake

1 box pasta of choice
2 chicken breasts, shredded
1 cup water or chicken stock
2 cups milk
1- 15 oz container of Ricotta cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella (reserve 1 cup)
1 cup grated parmesan (reserve 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp garlic
1/2 tbsp butter
4 cups fresh spinach
1/2 to 1 tsp salt, depending on your tastes
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

  • Boil pasta to al dente (do not overcook)
  • In large skillet, saute garlic in butter
  • Add in water or chicken stock and then milk
  • Bring up to a boil
  • Add in pepper, basil and pepper flakes
  • Add in cheese – ricotta, mozarella and parmesan
  • Pour pasta into a greased dutch oven or casserole dish
  • Pour the cheese sauce over top and add in spinach, stir everything through
  • Top with remaining mozarella, paremesan cheese and bread crumbs
  • Cook, uncovered, in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes
  • Put under broiler for 1-2 minutes if your cheese ins’t browned after 30 minutes
by Michelle