Rigatoni with Asparagus and Bacon

     Who doesn't love bacon? Right?! Everyone!

     I came across this recipe a few days ago and knew I had to try it! The husband doesn't care for asparagus much, but, with a little bacon mixed in, and cheese... I thought he'd forgive me.... and I think he did! He said he enjoyed this dish. We had the leftovers for lunch today, and we were not disappointed! This dish could not be easier and tastier! You won't be upset you tried it! Of course... I'd add more bacon... cause, more bacon never hurt anyone!

Ingredients:
1 box Rigatoni
1 lb asparagus, cut into roughly the same size as the rigatoni
8 Bacon strips... next time, I'll probably use the whole pkg. (I used thick cut bacon... so good!)
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 C half and half
1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C fresh parsley

Directions:
Bring water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook to al dente, 12 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, begin to cook the bacon (remember, low and slow!);
Remove and drain on paper towel.

Bring water to a boil in the same pot and add the chopped asparagus and boil for 3 minutes.
Drain and add to ice cold water.

In a large skillet, add the garlic, butter and oil (mmmmm, such a great combination!).
Add the half and half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for another few minutes.

While the sauce is thickening, chop your bacon into pieces.

Here comes the good part: Stir the shredded mozzarella cheese into the sauce and stir until melted.
The sauce will become this at this point.

Add the rigatoni, salt, asparagus and bacon. Stir to combine all those yummy ingredients!

Grate the Parmesan cheese right onto each dish, and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Enjoy this delicious concoction that I will be adding to my list of recipes now!
Tasty!

     And because I can't leave well enough alone, I added some sausage... also because I'm sure that no matter how tasty my husband thought this dish was, he would have been wondering where the meat was.

Recipe Courtesy of: The Daily Dish

Rosemary Chicken Breasts, Brown Butter and Balsamic Ravioli, and Steamed Broccoli

CHICKEN

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, just enough to coat the chicken lightly

2 tbsp evoo

2 stems of rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped

salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic



RAVIOLI

Salt and pepper

1 pkg fresh ravioli (12-16 oz), any flavor

3 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 handfulls grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped


Broccoli


DIRECTIONS

(It is not in the recipe, but I pounded the chicken breasts so that they would cook more evenly!)


Marinate the chicken: coat the chicken in balsamic vinegar, then evoo. Season the chicken with rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic. Let stand for 10 minutes.


Start the ravioli: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and drop ravioli in water. Cook 6-8 minutes or until raviolis expand and float to top of water and are al dente. Drain.

(After I drained the ravioli, I filled the pot with about 1/2 cup water and added the broccoli. Season with salt and pepper. Put the lid on and allow the broccoli to steam on low for 10 minutes, stirring a few times.)

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breasts. (The recipe does not say to oil the pan... I'm assuming because you marinate the chicken in evoo, however, I found that the chicken burned this way, so I would spray the pan with cooking spray before adding the chicken!) Cook chicken until juices run clear, 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally. The balsamic vinegar will produce a deep brown, sweet finish on the chicken as it cooks.

When the chicken has cooked midway, 5-6 minutes, start to prepare butter for ravioli: to a cold skillet, add butter and turn on medium heat. Let the butter brown. If you start with a cold pan, the butter should be lightly browned by the time it comes to a bubble. When the butter for the ravioli has browned, add the cooked ravioli to the pan and turn in butter to heat through. Add balsamin vinegar to the ravioli and cook 1-2 minutes longer to reduce the vinegar and glaze the ravioli. The vinegar will become think and syruplike. Add the cheese, parsley, salt and pepper to the pasta and remove the pan from the heat.

(Be careful when adding the ravioli, I walked away to attend to the parsley and the ravioli started to crisp up a bit.... which it turned out we ended up liking, but you might not, so just watch your heat level carefully).

Slice cooked chicken on an angle and serve with ravioli and broccoli.


VERDICT: We both give it a 3/5

Grant thought the chicken was okay... from what he said, it seems like he didn't like the balsamic vinegar part.

He thought the pasta was okay as well... again, the balsamic vinegar. He likes creamier sauces he said. We decided that with mozzarella cheese instead of Parmesan it would be better.

He said the broccoli tasted like broccoli.... which is good I guess... I know I didn't ruin the broccoli!

I enjoyed the whole dinner... I thought the pasta was really yummy! It was different though, a different sauce unlike anything I've ever had... but it was good different.

Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Rachel Ray "Get Stuffed" Menu
Originally set to serve 4, but I adjusted the recipe for 2 people.

Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• Wax Paper

• 1 Pkg. frozen chopped spinach, defrosted

• 2 tbsp butter

• 12 small mushroom caps

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 small shallot (onion), sliced

• salt and pepper

• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese (I used Fat Free)

• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano Cheese

• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

• toothpicks

• 3 tbsp evoo

SAUCE:

• 2 tbsp butter

• 2 tbsp flour

• 1/2 cup white wine (I used cooking wine, you can find it in the dressing/vinegar aisle)

• 1 cup chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:
Place chicken between two large pieces of wax paper and pound the chicken from the center outward using a heavy bottomed skillet or mallet.

Place spinach in a kitchen towel (I used paper towels) and wring it out until very dry. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl.

Place a nonstick skillet over medium heat, when hot, add the 2 tbsp butter, mushrooms, garlic and shallot. Season with salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or blender and pulse grind the mushrooms. Add to the spinach in the mixing bowl. Add ricotta, grated cheese, and nutmeg and combine.

Return skillet to the stove over medium-high heat. Place a mound of stuffing on each chicken breast and roll the breast over the stuffing (I added a bit too much stuffing, almost a cup, so depending on the size of your chicken breasts I would go with 1/2 cup of stuffing). Secure with toothpicks. Add 3 tbsp evoo to the pan, add the chicken and brown on all sides, 10-12 minutes. The meat will cook quickly because it is thin. Remocve the stuffed chicken to a warm platter.

To make the sauce, add the 2 tbsp butter and flour to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Then, whisk in the wine and cook to reduce, 1 minute. (The mixture got VERY thick at this part for me, sort of pasty) Whisk in the broth and return chicken to the pan. (I let the sauce simmer for a few minutes before adding the chicken back into the pan) Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve. Serve the stuffed chicken breasts whole, or slice on an angle and fan out on dinner plates. Top with generous spoonfuls of the sauce.


Spaghetti with Zucchini and Garlic

• Salt and pepper

• 1/2 lb spaghetti

• 1 small to medium zucchini

• 1/4 cup evoo

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese or Romano.

DIRECTIONS:
Put a large pot of water over high heat for the pasta. When water boils, add salt and pasta. Cook according to package directions. (I cooked whole wheat pasta for 8 minutes)

(After I took the chicken out of the pan, I started the water boiling for the pasta, and after I added the chicken broth to the sauce and let it simmer for a few minutes, I began preparing the zucchini)

Meanwhile, pile up 2-3 paper towels on a work surface. Using a box grater, hold the zucchini at an angle and shred onto the towel.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat (the heat level depends upon your stove, my stove is hot so I needed to turn the heat down to low/medium. You DO NOT want to burn the garlic).
Add the evoo, and then the garlic. When the garlic sizzles, after 30 seconds or so, add the shredded zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 7 - 10 minutes. Add hot, drained pasta to the pan, and toss with zucchini. Add a couple of handfuls of grated cheese, and adjust seasoning and serve. (Grant added Tony Chachere's creole seasoning to the pasta for flavor)


VERDICT
I really enjoyed the dinner. I thought the pasta was great, the cheesy chunks were fabulous, the sauce was soooo good with the chicken! I was very grateful that I did not cut the quantity of sauce when I cut the recipe in half. However, Grant thought the pasta was just okay. The zucchini was too much for him towards the end. He suggested adding some red pepper flakes next time.

He also suggested adding red pepper flakes to the chicken, of which he did enjoy.

When asked what else he would enjoy stuffed in the chicken, he responded with cheese and bacon... so next time, I will have to switch things up. And maybe I'll try a cheese sauce with it, because you can never have too much cheese! Or Alfredo... mmmmM!