Tag Archives: peas

Fettuccini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken

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Quick Post: Super simple dinners that can be whipped up quickly are a mom’s best friend! I thought this one up while looking through the weeks sale items on the Publix website. I was happy to find boneless, skinless chicken on sale and snapped up a few packages. Hopefully I can come up with good ideas for the four or so pounds of chicken that I have in the fridge! Thanks for reading:)

Grilled Chicken and Fettuccini Alfredo – a Mom Makes original

  • 3 TBSP olive oil
  • juice of one whole lemon
  • salt, pepper and dried oregano to taste
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast – pounded to an even thickness
  • 1 pound fettuccini noodles
  • 1 jar of alfredo sauce (I had a few jars I needed to use, or I would have made this one)

Directions –

1. Mix the oil, lemon juice and seasonings together then pour over the chicken. Let marinade for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat your grill and cook the chicken about 10-15 minutes or until done.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a generous amount of kosher salt and add the noodles – cook to package directions, drain and set aside.

4. Take the chicken off the grill, add the alfredo sauce to your cooked and drained noodles. Slice the chicken, serve up the fettuccini alfredo and top with the grilled chicken. Serve with a nice green salad and garlic bread. Enjoy!


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Spring Green Risotto

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I needed a side dish for my salmon in foil, so I immediately thought starch and vegetables, and this fits my needs perfectly because this risotto recipe is two sides in one. I came up with this by combining two risotto recipes that I found on FoodNetwork.com. I liked that Ellie Krieger used asparagus, peas and spinach and far less ingredients than Ina Garten’s; but I like that Ina uses butter, lemon zest, and more parmesan. I think I came up with a good mix of healthy with a little added richness by using more cheese, a little butter and brightness from the lemon.

This is definitely more fussy than the average rice recipe – but it’s not at all difficult to manage. Mine probably took more than 30 minutes, but it turned out great. Obviously, I left out the peas and spinach because once the asparagus was added, there was no room in my pan for anything extra. The lemon zest is a must to brighten up the flavor of the risotto or it would be a one note dish. I was tasting it before adding the zest and I was a disappointed because it was a little bland. The lemon woke up the flavors – even M noticed something different. He did like it though, which is always appreciated since he can be really picky and hard to please at times;) Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Spring Green Risotto – a mix of these two recipes

  • 1 TBSP butter
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
  • 1/2 cups white wine
  • 5-6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 pound thin asparagus, steamed and cut into 3/4″ pieces
  • 10 ounces frozen peas (not enough room in the pan…maybe next time)
  • 1 TBSP lemon zest
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1-3 cups baby spinach (oops!)

Directions –

Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine
and simmer, stirring constantly, until absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of the hot broth, the salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper and simmer, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding hot broth, about 3/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the broth to be absorbed before adding more, until rice is almost tender and creamy-looking, about 18 minutes.

Add the spinach and peas and cook until the spinach is wilted. Add the asparagus and cook just until the vegetables are hot. Stir in the Parmesan, lemon zest and more broth if the risotto seems too thick.

Chicken Pot Pie

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I have been planning this meal for some time. It’s one of our favorites and I haven’t been able to make it for several months. Pot pies don’t go well with nasty, humid weather. Fall is my very favorite time of year because it goes hand in hand with comfort foods. It would be nice if the weather would cooperate with the time of year! Oh, to live in a place with four distinct seasons…I have yet to know what that is like. Although, areas where there is an actual visible transition into Fall usually equals really cold and long winters…I couldn’t handle that. I get cold when it’s below 75 degrees!

I used two different recipes to make this pot pie – one from Food.com and the other is an Ina Garten recipe. This is my first attempt at making pastry dough. The food processor makes it super quick and easy, but as with most types of dough, this one can be a little fussy. Everything has to be ice-cold and you can’t over work it or it will become tough. Of course I could have just picked up store-bought pie dough today, but I like the challenge because lately I have really enjoyed making as many meals from scratch as possible.

The pastry dough turned out so flaky and flavorful – there is nothing better than a first try turning out well. Everyone enjoyed this, even S told me “thank you” tonight – she’s my picky eater. I know this recipe has lots of steps, but take the help where you can get it – buy a rotisserie chicken and pre-made pie dough. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Roasted Chicken – adapted from Ina Garten

  • 4 bone in skin on chicken breasts – about 4 pounds
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Shred or dice the chicken. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

Pastry Dough – adapted from Ina Garten

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
  • 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie – adapted from Food.com

  • 2 cups potato, diced
  • 1.5 cups onion, diced
  • 1.5 cups celery, diced
  • 1.5 cup carrot, diced
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1.5 cups half and half
  • 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 cups roasted chicken breast, shredded
  • 2 pie crusts (either store-bought or your own recipe)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Saute onion, celery, carrots and potatoes in butter for about 10 minutes. Add flour to sautéed mixture, stirring well. Cook one minute stirring constantly.Combine broth and half and half.Gradually stir into vegetable mixture.Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.Stir in salt and pepper; add chicken and stir well.Pour into one 13 x 9 casserole dish and top with pastry dough. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.