Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Mushrooms

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Mushrooms

I have to say, this is one of those dinners that will leave

everyone at the table asking for seconds! Both of my older boys devoured their first plate and asked for more before I finished my own plate! The key to a great chicken and pasta dish is seasoning your chicken correctly, and making sure to pound it thin. If you have ever tried to recreated a chicken dish from a restaurant and can t figure out what makes theirs so much better it is probably that they pound their chicken, and use more salt! You see, boneless skinless chicken is virtually tasteless. When you have that hunk of middle meat, you have a portion of the chicken that isn t sauced. I hate chewing through a fat piece of chicken and getting to the middle. It is like eating a piece of sautéed chicken with nothing on it. yuck! Therefore, even if I use tenderloins like I did for this recipe, I STILL thin them out. That way I have a nice thin piece of chicken that will have lots of sauce, and no bland middle. It also cooks up more evenly, and you don t have to cook as long on each side. All the way around, if there is one thing I can stress about the perfect chicken in a pasta dish it is pound your chicken! *If you have no clue what I m talking about you take this piece of kitchen equipment and gently hammer your meat until it is thinner.

The other essential, seasoning your chicken correctly is easy. After you have pounded and cut your chicken pieces, start heating your sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on low and throw your chicken into a bowl. In a separate bowl throw in a little flour, salt (I suggest course kosher or Himalayan pink sea salt), pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour before you put it in your pan. This simple step will make a world of difference because it will help you get that nice, golden coating on each side. It also helps to keep your chicken from sticking to your pan (I never use non-stick because of the chemicals), and I always throw in an extra tablespoon or two of flour so that my sauce ends up thick and I don t have to worry about thickening it up later. Even if there is extra flour just sitting in your pan, you will be happy later when you have a thick sauce! I would suggest looking for the roasted red peppers in the pasta isle of your grocery store. They will come in a glass jar either whole or in strips. Before purchasing check the ingredients. There should not be any soybean oil or additives in the

peppers. I found mine in the Italian specialty section of my local store where they have all of the whole parmesan wedges, mozzarella balls, olives, and spreads. Oven Fried Chicken I ll be the first to admit.. I LOVE fried chicken. Have you ever met anyone who doesn t though?

When I was younger, I remember my parents taking me to

Hardee s after church. Remember Hardee s? Apparently they are still around. Who knew?!?! I totally thought Wendy s would have taken them down by now. At that time (20 some years ago) everyone was lovin the fried chicken at Hardee s. You know, because it was the 90 s and people were snackin on SnackWells and Rice Cakes then having some fried chicken. Not exactly how you remember your childhood? That s probably a good thing! *face palm for SnackWells* I always got the same thing at Hardee s. If it was breakfast I would get the biscuits and sausage gravy, and if it was lunch I would get friend chicken. I know, I know, WHHHYYY!?!?! I was a kid though and had no idea this stuff was horrible. Now don t get me wrong, a piece of fried chicken every once in a while isn t going to kill anyone, but now-a-days I realize the oil they fry the chicken in is likely GMO and may even contain some preservatives and trans fats. Trans fats = deadly. Enough said!

Then one day a light-bulb went off above my head. How about I make my own chicken in the oven. It will be crispy, juicy, and

delicious. No deep-fryer, no GMO oils, no trans fats. Just chicken, butter, spices, and whole wheat flour. Yes, it is THAT easy. And yes, this is one of those times I wish I would have realized this sooner. For this Oven-Fried Chicken I first marinate the chicken in buttermilk, then pat it dry. After that I season the chicken GENEROUSLY with kosher/pink Himalayan salt, and pepper. I mix the spices together, season each piece, then dredge it in flour. I bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, then give each piece a nice rub of butter, to ensure the skin cooks up crispy and golden. How easy is that?

Not only do I love this meal because it is extremely delicious, it is also really inexpensive to put together, as chicken leg quarters don t cost as much as breasts, or boneless chicken meat. I served this Oven Fried Chicken with a baked sweet potato and asparagus to add a ton of extra nutrition to this meal. Take a look.

Unprocessed Lasagna Helper

Once upon a time I went to the grocery store and came home with a LIVING basil plant by accident. I don t do plants

because I live in an apartment with 3 kids and a husband and well boys love dirt! I ve tried and tried to love on a plant in my very own home but it never really seems to pan out the way I was hoping. Like the time my mother in law sent me a plant when my middle son was born. I had such high hopes, I brought him home from the hospital with the new baby and he was like a new member of the family. We took him outside, we gave him a great home, and he even moved all by itself! Planty was his name and I have many fond memories of him brightening my day with his wonderful natural presence. Then one fateful day my baby grew into a toddler and started tearing up my house. Little ol Planty never even saw the big bad toddler coming. All of a sudden Planty was flipped upside down all over the carpet, his dirt everywhere. What should we do with him? I asked my husband, who kindly suggested Planty be banished to the porch forever. As the days grew shorter and the nights colder, Planty began to shrivel like a poor ol fellow and one day. I knew it was his time. The plant I tried so hard to love on, was gone forever, his leaves shriveled and yellow. RIP Planty! Now, what is a mom of 3 boys to do with a basil plant that will inevitably be ruined by one of them? For now Basil Man is sitting in a mason jar on a window sill, unharmed by any children. Here is sweet Basil Man now sitting pretty as a food prop! Isn t he beautiful!

Speaking of basil, nothing puts a smile on my face like the smell of fresh basil. Why buy something in a box and miss out on such a wonderful smell and taste? With this recipe you will never have to miss that perfect fresh basil smell again. Just like my Unprocessed Hamburger Helper recipe, this is the all

REAL ingredient version of a processed classic that contains nothing but awful ingredients. Speaking of ingredients it is time for me to go all ingredient freak on you because this is important stuff, right? OF COURSE! The boxed version of this includes partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats), MSG, monoglycerides (potential hidden trans fats), GMO cornstarch, hydrolyzed soy protein, artificial colors, and a few other questionable ingredient. For reals General Mills? Like are you trying to kill people or are you trying to kill people? Thankfully, we never have to turn to General Mills again for this delicious dinner. It is SO SIMPLE and easy to make yourself and the ingredients are quite obvious. Cheese, buttermilk, basil, tomato, salt, spices, VIOLA! This is made just like the old classic. brown the beef, add the other stuff (except the basil), bring to a boil, let simmer, enjoy the goodness.