The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmigiana

I made this tasty recipe for my anniversary and my husband thought (and still thinks I am) a gourmet cook. If you want to see her step by step directions with pictures click here. Mine looked like this:

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 6

Ingredients
4 whole (up To 6) Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Trimmed And Pounded Flat
½ cups All-purpose Flour
Salt And Pepper, to taste
½ cups Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
¾ cups Wine (white Or Red Is Fine)(I used Chicken Broth instead)
3 cans (14.5 Oz.) Crushed Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Sugar
¼ cubes Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 pound Thin Linguine

Preparation Instructions

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate.
Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside.
At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Easy Baked Ziti

1 package Ziti noodles (or Rotini or Penne) (1 lb.)
1-2 jars pasta sauce (depending on how saucy you like it)
1 package sliced provolone cheese (not the processed kind)
Ground beef (desired amount- 1 lb. or more)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dried parsley
Cottage cheese (about 8 ounces)

Parmesan cheese

Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat, drain then add the garlic and parsley and sauté a minute or two longer. Cook the pasta, drain then add half the noodles to a dish smeared with pasta sauce. Spread a small amount of cottage cheese on the noodles, then layer with ½ of the ground beef, one jar of sauce and a layer of sliced provolone. Repeat the layer with the remaining ingredients. Top with the remaining cheese slices, sprinkle with parmesan and parsley. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is lightly brown.

Shrimp and Tomato

Shrimp and Tomato

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Pound Shrimp
2-3 Garlic Cloves
1/4 Teaspoon Oregano
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1 ( 14 to 15 ounce) can of Diced Tomato, drained
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Teaspoon  fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 Pound Capellini or Spaghetti

Heat Oil in a 12 inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook Shrimp and garlic with Oregano, salt, and peper, turning once, until golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in Tomato. Add Cream and briskly simmer until sauce has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in Lemon Juice.
Meanwhile cook Noodles until done. Drain.
Serve immediately, topped with Shrimp and  sauce.

Tomato Bacon Pomodoro

From Taste of Home Cooking School 50^th Anniversary Cookbook

(This recipe tasted great and was really pretty fast. See the changes I made at the end.)

1 package (19 to 25 ounces) frozen ravioli or tortellini

½ pound bacon, finely chopped

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

½ medium onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes

5 tablespoons tomato paste

2/3 cup chicken broth

¼ teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon until almost crisp. Add onion and garlic; cook until onions are tender. Stir in the tomatoes, paste, broth, basil, oregano, and parsley; simmer for 3 minutes to blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over cooked pasta. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Changes:

I used rotini pasta instead of tortellini because that was all I had – 12 ounces of rotini was enough.

Next time I will skip the olive oil, but don’t drain the bacon (needed for flavor).

I used a can of diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning – didn’t have crushed in that size. I think the added seasoning helped.

I used a 3 ounce package of tomato paste instead of measuring tablespoons.

Used dried parsley instead of fresh.

Didn’t need any salt or pepper.

4.5 out of 5 stars. Would probably have been better with tortellini, but it was really good. The amount of oil and grease seemed excessive, but it didn’t look it in the finished product.

Best Ever Mac & Cheese

This is not a super cheap meal, nor is it for those who are on a diet. But man is it GOOD!

Ingredients:
12 oz. Wide egg noodles
3 C. Whipping cream
1 1/2 C. Whole Milk
1 T. Flour
1/2 t. Salt
1/4 t. Black pepper
1/2 T. Italian seasoning
1-8 oz. Bag Italian 5 cheese blend
4 oz. Cooked diced ham (optional, and yes, you may add more or less.)

Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 in. pan, set aside. Cook noodles in salted water until tender, but still a little firm, approx. 5 min. Drain.
Whisk cream, milk, flour, and spices. Mix in Cheese 1/2 the bag of cheese. Add noodles until coated. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle noodles with ham and remaining cheese. Bake until cheese melts, and sauce bubbles, approx 15-20 min. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

I'm not kidding when I say that this is so good. My Grandma use to make this when we lived with her. 4 of us would finish off the entire pan. The leftovers are great to. I always like to add extra milk to the leftovers so that they are still juicy. Enjoy!

Pepperoni Lasagna Roll-ups

This is a great recipe for just one or two people, but can be increased for more. It also makes for great leftovers. I got it from a Taste of Home (!) cookbook.

3 lasagna noodles
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon minced chives ( I always leave that out)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
24 slices pepperoni
3 slices Swiss cheese, cut into thirds
1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce ( it works better without the lumps from the meat)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook the noodles according to package directions; drain.Combine the ricotta cheese, chives, oregano and basil; spread 1/4 cup over each noodle to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Top with the pepperoni and Swiss cheese; carefully roll up.
Place seam side down in a greased shallow baking dish; top with spaghetti sauce. Cover and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Uncover; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound peeled large shrimp ( I use frozen shrimp, but make sure it is thawed and not too wet)
3 large garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup apple juice (or apple juice concentrate for more flavor)
1 (14- to 15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 pound capellini (or spaghetti)

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook shrimp and garlic with oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, turning once, until golden, about 2 minutes total. Stir in vermouth and tomatoes, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet. Add cream and briskly simmer until sauce has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice.

Meanwhile, cook capellini in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta.

Serve immediately, topped with shrimp and sauce. Thin sauce with some of reserved water if necessary.

This is so delicious and so fast!

Macaroni and Cheese

For a more grown-up version, use more cheddar or omit the American cheese entirely. If you think you don't like sharp cheddar, don't substitute for mild or this won't taste like much.

Ingredients:

Makes 6–8 servings

• 1 pound penne or elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk , heated
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cups (8 ounces) finely chopped American cheese
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Hot pepper sauce
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the penne and cook until al dente. Drain well.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a deep 4-quart casserole.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and 1 cup of the American cheese. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

Combine the remaining cheddar and American cheeses. Spread one third of the penne over the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with half of the shredded cheese and a third of the sauce. Repeat, using another third of the penne with the remaining cheese and half of the sauce. Finish with the remaining penne and sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake until bubbly and golden brown around the edges, about 30 minutes.