Pasta Primavera with Pesto

From the same magazine as the chicken and asparagus stir-fry.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 lb. sugar snap peas, sliced in half

8 oz. dried spaghetti

1 cup prepared pesto

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

3 medium carrots, trimmed, peeled and coarsely grated

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Have ready a bowl of ice water. Drop the broccoli and peas into the boiling water; cook until bright green and tender, about 1 minute. Transfer vegetables with a slotted spoon to the ice water to stop cooking. Once cooled, drain.

2. Stir the pasta into the boiling water. Cook according to package instructions. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl. While pasta is still warm, add the pesto and toss until combined.

3. While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook 1 minute. Add the broccoli-peas mixture, carrots and a pinch of salt. Cook veggies until warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Add them to pasta mixture and toss. Then add cheese, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Quick Cheesy Ravioli Bake

From You got Served blog
Ingredients:

1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 Tbs. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
3 Tbs. minced fresh basil
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
2 (9oz) packages fresh cheese ravioli
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Cook sausage in 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking meat up with wooden spoon until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain meat and set aside. Add oil, garlic, and tomato paste to skillet and return to medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and reserved sausage and cook until slightly thickened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in basil and cream and continue to simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, cover, and set aside. Add 1 Tbs. salt and ravioli to boiling water and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain ravioli and return to pot. Stir sauce into ravioli and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread mixture into 13x9 inch baking dish and sprinkle evenly with mozzarella. Bake until cheese is melted and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Farmers Market Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, chopped
1 red sweet pepper, chopped
1/2 cup shredded carrot
3 cups baby spinach
1 jar (26 oz) pasta sauce
6 regular lasagna noodles, broken in half (uncooked)
1/2 carton part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Put zucchini, pepper, and carrot sin a bowl and pour in 2 Tbs. water. cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes; drain. Stir in spinach. Heat pasta sauce, covered on high for 2 minutes. Later 1/2 cup sauce, 4 noodles, half the veggies, half the ricotta and 1 cup sauce, and 1/3 cup mozzarella. Stack on 4 more noodles, remaining veggies and ricotta, 1/3 cup mozzarella, 4 noodles and rest of sauce. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Makes 8 pieces.

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. olive or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely shopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 Tbs. parsley flakes
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry marsala wine or chicken broth
Hot cooked pasta, if desired

Directions:

Flatten each chicken breast half to 1/4 inch thickness by gently pounding between sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Mix flour, slat, and pepper. Coat chicken with flour mixture, shake off excess flour. Heat oil in 10 inch skillet over medium high heat. Cook garlic and parsley in oil 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken to skillet. Cook, turning once, until brown. Add mushrooms and wine/broth. Cook 8-10 minutes, turning chicken onc3e, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Serve with pasta.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Originally from My Kitchen Cafe. I used whole-wheat pasta and omitted the chilies because I could only find medium green enchilada sauce instead of mild. It worked great! You can garnish with extra sour cream, cheese, diced tomatoes, green onions, or crushed tortilla chips. I didn't try any of these and still thought it was really good. Can't really go wrong with lots of sour cream and cheese!

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
4-ounce can diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 (10-oz) can green chili enchilada sauce
2/3 cup red enchilada sauce
1 can large black olives, cut into slices
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
16-20 oz. penne pasta (Depending on how "saucy" you want the pasta)

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Cook the pasta until tender.
3. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and add the onion.
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is translucent.
5. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another 2 minutes, until pepper is barely tender.
6. Add the cooked chicken, green chilies, spices, enchilada sauces and olives.
7. Let the sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
8. Add the sour cream and cheese and heat through, until the cheese is melted (but don't boil!).
9. Pour the sauce over the hot pasta.

Everyone's Favorite Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients:
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 carton (15 oz.) Ricotta cheese
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 pkg. jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine cheeses and spinach and stuff into shells.
3. Arrange on a greased baking sheet.
4. Pour spaghetti sauce over shells.
5. Cover and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Angel Chicken Pasta

Found on Allrecipes .com

Ingredients:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup butter
1 (.7 oz) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1/2 cup white wine ( I used 1 can chicken broth)
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup
4 ounces cream cheese with chives (softened)
1 pound angel hair pasta

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in the package of dressing mix. Blend in wine and golden mushroom soup. Mix in cream cheese and stir until smooth. Heat through, but do not boil. Arrange chicken breasts in a single later in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour sauce over.
3. Bake for 60 minutes in the preheated oven. Twenty minutes before the chicken is done, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain. Serve chicken adn sauce over pasta.

Creamy Chicken Lasagna

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/4 cup hot water
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, either place the chicken in a saucepan with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from saucepan, and shred. Or microwave chicken until cooked, turning every few minutes, then shred.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dissolve the bouillon cube in hot water. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with the bouillon, cream cheese, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

4. Spread 1/3 of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking dish. Cover with the half of the chicken mixture (this works best by dropping mixture onto the sauce using two spoons), and top with 3 lasagna noodles; repeat. Top with remaining sauce, and ?.k, jmhngbfvdcsz

5. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.

Creamy Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. ranch dry salad dressing mix
1 1/4 cup whole milk
3 cups dried medium egg noodles
1 Tbsp. finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cut bacon into narrow strips. In a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels; discard all but 2 Tbsp. of drippings. In the same skillet cook chicken in reserved drippings until tender and no longer pink, turning to brown evenly. Sprinkle flour and salad dressing mix over the chicken in the skillet; stir well. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in bacon. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Serve chicken with noodles; sprinkle with Parmesan.

Yield: 4 servings.