Hey Good Lookin'! Whatcha Got Cooking? -- Pasta E Fagioli

Time for another edition of....

Here's one I made this week.

Pasta E Fagioli

I am not a food photographer, so please know that this is much yummier than it might look in the picture. 

I love this recipe because it's usually a meal I can make with things I have already in my pantry. The only things I might have to go out and buy are the V8  and celery.

Last night I had some friends come over for dinner, and was able to whip this up fairly painlessly. But keep in mind: it has a 1 hour simmer step, so plan carefully for that one. 

The recipe originally came out of the Top Secret Restaurant Recipes books by Todd Wilbur. I L-O-V-E, love them! Everything I've tried has been yummy. You can snag his books on Amazon here. They're great. 

Ingredients:
1 lb. of turkey sausage (beef is the traditional ingredient if you prefer) 
1 small onion, diced
1 large carrot, julienned (you could dice if you don't know how to julienne)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5-oz cans of diced tomotoes (I used one 28 oz. can)
1 15-oz can red kidney beans, with liquid
1 15-oz can Great Northern beans, with liquid
1 15-oz can tomato sauce (I used two 8 oz. cans)
1 12-oz can of V-8 juice
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 pound ditali pasta

Brown the meat in a large stockpot. Drain off the fat. 

Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and saute for 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, excluding the pasta, and simmer for an hour.

When you have about 10 minutes left on the simmering, boil the pasta in a large pot of water and cook until al dente. DO NOT OVERCOOK!

Add the pasta to the pot of soup, let simmer a few more minutes and then enjoy. I serve this with salad and some yummy garlic cheese bread. 

So link up and tell me watcha got cookin!

*Include your recipe title for easy browsing.
             

Sunday's Simple Supper- Un-Bourbon Chicken Burritos

Last week I got a new slow cooker from Costco so I was on the lookout for some great slow cooker recipes. 

  

Recipe and Photo from Cozi.com

I found this yummy sounding recipe for Un-Bourbon Chicken on the Cozi website. Click the photo to be redirected to the recipe. 

NOTE: It called for bone-in chicken pieces, but gave the option of using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which is what I went with. 

Oh my goodness! It was delicious. The chicken shredded so beautifully and the flavor was amazing. On night one we ate it over rice with some steamed vegetables, and it was okay. In my opinion there wasn't a good rice/juice ratio. 

On night two, I decided to put the meat into a burrito, with all the fixings: black beans, cheese, avocado, salsa, and sour cream. My bonus-mom (I've never been fond of the term step-mom), makes the most amazing chicken burritos and the meat has a very similar flavor to this recipe. Mine were almost as good as hers.

Next time, I'd skip the rice meal all together and go straight for the burritos. It was an incredible reprieve from the traditional beef/taco packet burrito...a go-to meal in many a household, including mine!

Happy eating everyone. Be sure to let me know if you give it a try!

Sunday's Simple Supper- White Chicken Chili

I have not been blessed with the ability to be a super duper working mom. It's actually quite hard for me. Some of you moms out there make it look way too easy. Y'all must share how you do it!

As a stay at home mom I loved cooking. It was my most favorite time of the day. I could retreat into the kitchen, my honey would play with the kids, and for just a moment my mind could wander. It was such a breath of fresh air in my crazy, hectic day. 

Now, as a working mom my days are even crazier and more hectic, and trying to plan and prepare meals has been a nightmare ever since I started teaching.

These days I'm always on the lookout for meals that are quick and easy and that are appealing to the pickiest child on the planet, because I swear he sits at my dinner table every night! God bless you other mothers out there who also have picky eaters. 

Here is a recipe that my family loved. When I say "my family" please note that I exclude my picky prince since he doesn't even eat mac and cheese...what kind of child doesn't eat mac and cheese!?

White Chicken Chili
link to original recipe:
http://www.cozi.com/live-simply/recipes/white-chicken-chili
*Print out the recipe and then see my adaptations below

 

Notes on Ingredients:

- Personally, there was way too much onion. I'd do half next time.

- It calls for 3 cups of chicken, but I just diced up 2 large chicken breasts and made sure to season them well with some salt, pepper, and Susie Q's.

- I only had 2 4-oz cans of green chile and that was plenty.

- I went just a bit shy of a full tablespoon of the cumin.

- The jalapeno was omitted for my family.

Note on the Preparation:

- I didn't realize that it was supposed to simmer for an hour, so instead of adding all of the ingredients in step 2, I added everything except the beans and broth so that I could cook the chicken until it was almost done. Then I added the broth and beans and only simmered long enough to cook the chicken through. 

Enjoy!