Honey Ham & Baby Swiss Crescent Calzone

Were you ever so hungry but you just didn't know what to make?  Nothing could be easier than this crescent calzone.  I mean, it felt like it took me literally 5 minutes to make.  Took me longer to take the pictures than the actually assembly of it.  What I ended up having was this AMAZING, WARM, FLAVORFUL, GOOEY, CHEESY and YUMMY dinner.  Now I was satisfied with just this but if you were to turn it into a meal for like 4 people, I'd double the recipe and make a salad or some potatoes like French Fries, Roasted Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes or whatever, even a veggie too.  I went solo on this one.

So basically it was just taking my lunch meat, cheese slices and rolled it up in a non-perforated recipe ready crescent roll sheet.  I've done step by step photos with instructions.  I have to mention, I used Baby Swiss in this recipe, My favorite is Guggisberg Baby Swiss.  I love it because it melts perfectly, it's creamy and the perfect taste.  It's not a harsh hard Swiss that many people are used to.  So if you kinda have a love & hate relationship with Swiss, I would try this Guggisberg Baby Swiss.  You will not be disappointed, at least I wasn't.  If you don't like Swiss AT ALL, you can certainly use another cheese and if you don't like Honey Ham, you certainly can swap it out for any other lunch meat, or cooked steak or chicken sliced thin.

THIS RECIPE MAKES ONE Calzone enough for 2 people

Honey Ham & Baby Swiss Crescent Calzone
1 Refrigerated Pillsbury Recipe Creations Crescent Dough or Crescent Roll Dough with Perforations Sealed
1/2 Pound Honey Ham or Any Lunch Meat or Thinly Sliced Cooked Meat (Steak, Chicken or Pork)
1/2 Pound Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese or Your Favorite Sliced Cheese, you can also used Shredded Cheese.
Any Spread like Ranch Dressing, Mustard, Honey Mustard, Thousand Island Dressing, Italian Dressing
(I wouldn't use mayo inside, while baking it could get icky, I would slop it on while you eat it or in a dipping cup.  You can also skip this step completely)
You can certainly add some veggies too if you'd like, like Sauteed Mushroom, Peppers, Roasted Red Peppers, Pepperoncini or Onions, etc....  (If adding veggies do so on top of the cheese).

Preheat Oven to 350'F.

Line a Baking/Cookie Sheet with Parchment Paper.

First Step is to unroll your crescent dough and stretch it out a little but do not tear it.  Just to get it out of it's tight form from being in the can.

Lay your lunch meat down or your cheese down first, (I think this worked better the second time around, helps not to make the dough soggy).

Add your sliced or shredded cheese on top of the lunch meat.  Leave about a half inch space so that you can pinch close.

Start at the long end and begin rolling to the end.  Pinch all opening together.  Snip with a scissors or poke top with a fork to do some venting.  Cook until a Golden Brown, it varies depending on temperature but I checked it about 15-20 minutes in.  You may see some cheese oozing.  That's completely fine!  Means it's hot and cheesy!  =)

Important step is to let it set up before cutting because if you don't it will just smash and fall apart.  You want some stability while eating this.

I hope you enjoy, we sure did.  I think I just thought up my most versatile recipe yet.  It might of been made before by others but hey for me, I thought of it!  ;)

Stay tuned for my sweet dessert version using this method....Can you guess what I might use?  Here are some photos....

Before laying the lunch meat down or cheese down, this is when you add your spread lightly and gently over your crescent dough.

This is when I put down the cheese first over the stretched crescent dough.

Secondly, place your lunch meat or cheese down, whichever way you do it.

This is when you can add your veggies.

Start at the end and start rolling....

Finished rollings, do small snips, just a couple on the stop or poke with a fork to vent.

Bake in a 350'F oven for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  

Enjoy and I hope you make it.  Let me know how it turns out.  Don't forget to add some sides to complete the meal!  YUMMY YUMMY!

Happy November (EEK! Already!),

Annamaria

Sakkio Japan

Chicken Teriyaki with Soba Noodles     

Went to Sakkio Japan which is also known as Sarku Japan. My daughter and I love to share Chicken Teriyaki with Soba Noodles. Sometimes we skip the veggies, I know that's bad but sometimes they can be under cooked and are too crunchy. So we opt for just chicken and noodles. You can also get white rice or fried rice with it. Some don't even know about the soba noodles which are so yummy!

It seems to us that we don't really think there is much of a difference between the locations here in Greater Cleveland suburbs. We've had it at Parmatown Mall, Southpark Mall and Great Northern Mall. I pretty sure the same in other counties.

We always get double meat and double noodles, usually it shared between myself, my daughter and my 2 year old son who loves it as well. We always have leftovers and it's just as great reheated. We haven't really had anything else there but I am sure anything with the Teriyaki sauce and Soba Noodles would taste great with Shrimp. Unfortunately can't convince my daughter to eat the shrimp.

Another great item there is the Maki Roll. Their version of a spring roll. It is also yummy, it contains veggies, rice noodles and great Asian flavors like a light hint of ginger. A great condiment with them is Duck Sauce which is like an orange Sweet and Sour sauce.

The one thing though that I can recall is that when Sakkio first opened, all the employees were Asian, now they are Hispanic. I don't know why this has happened but no matter what ethnicity, they still make a great dish. I am often at times mistaken for being Hispanic and even Asian, I never seem to win when they start speaking to me in their language, I then say, Sorry I am Italian. It's fun and I sometimes like to amuse them, especially when I am spoken to in Spanish, since it's so close to Italian. Then I give up and tell them I am not Hispanic. We all always have a laugh. I think though the funniest was when a beautiful Asian woman who must of been a manager started speaking to me in Japanese, God Bless her but I looked at her funny and she then asked me in English if I was Asian, again despite the beautiful culture, I had to admit I was not, I think she was a little embarrassed.

The best thing about Sakkio is that I can watch them make my food. I can ask for extra teriyaki sauce. Sakkio does get busy. They give you a lot for what you pay for even though the prices have gone up over the years, but really what hasn't?

If you haven't tried them yet and have a phobia about trying Asian foods (which I think is crazy, I love Asian food), this is a good start.

I know it's the new year and everyone is watching their weight, you can really bring down the calories on this dish. You can just go chicken and veggies and a little white rice or no rice at all if you are cutting off carbs. Back in the day I lived on Sakkio because it provided me with protein and veggies. I lost weight eating it, of course I also worked out and drank lots of water. In no way am I enforcing you to try a Chicken Teriyaki diet but it worked for me. Alot of the fat is burned off during the searing process and you can go light on the sauce. The sauce goes a long way and you can skip the extra cup full at the end.

I hope you enjoyed it and I am still drooling over the picture. My kids and I polished off the rest today for lunch. I am already missing it! LOL!

I wonder what it's like to eat at the actual restaurant?

Here is the companies web site:
www.SarkuJapan.com



Have a great week!

Happy New Year!
Annamaria

Italian Roasted Chicken and Red Skin Potatoes

This is a dish that I have grown up on.  My mom made this all the time and it's an easy and quick dish.  It seems like when she did get it we couldn't get enough of it.  The tender chicken seasoned with Italian herbs, pepper and salt and drenched in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  It's an Italian comfort food.  We would eat it with some yummy fresh crusty bread and sop up the left herbed oil.  The potatoes become crispy and tender so yummily (my own word, lol) juiced up and roasted.  You can use regular potatoes or red skin potatoes, whatever you prefer or have on hand.

I found it easiest to just find a big bowl and put the chicken in and just start adding the herbs, pepper and salt and enough extra virgin olive to completely coat the chicken in the oil and herbs.  I add the cut up potatoes in the bowl and mix them in and coat them as well.  I put the potatoes and chicken in a huge roasting pan that I coated lightly in olive oil.

I didn't take pictures with the step by step process because you pretty much just throw everything into a huge bowl.  Measurements are eyeballing.  Just drench with the oil and sprinkle herbs, salt and pepper.

Italian Roasted Chicken and Red Skin Potatoes:
Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks with skin removed
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Oregano
Salt
Black Pepper
Rosemary (optional)
Red Skin Potatoes cut in Big Pieces

Mix all items in a large bowl until well coated, place in roasting pan and bake at 350'F for 1 hour.

Here it is before I put it in the oven....

Here comes out of the oven:

Then onto my plate, Yummmmm:

Very yummy, very comforting....  The whole family enjoyed it.  This would be great served with a side salad.

The pictures aren't the best but I used my daughter's camera.  Still can't find mine....  Errrr.....

Buon Appetito,

Annamaria

 

Penne Pasta and Chicken Parmesan: It's Sunday Dinner on a Friday Night!

This was the unexpected dinner.  I asked my daughter what she wanted for dinner?  Sofia always says Pasta like Nonna's (Grandma in Italian).  I thought momentarily if I even had some tomato paste, the right seasonings and everything to make the sauce someone close to my mom's sauce (which may I add, can never be duplicated).  So I decided why not, it's been awhile since I've made homemade sauce.  I know it's crazy sounding.  I used to make sauce all the time.  Life has got more busy and I found a really great jarred sauce that was a close substitute and was actually quite on the money for being close to Authentic Italian Flavors.  It's called MIDS, I would never use Prego or Ragu.  Italian Language Lesson:  Prego means "You're Welcome" in Italian.  Silly name for a Pasta Sauce.

If some of you don't recall, Prego used the tag phrase "It's In There", hence the name of my blog.  Why I chose that name is because of the connection of pasta sauce and my life, It's In There....  The ingredients like the herbs and spices of sauce are many and so does include the ingredients of the makeup of life.  We have our own ingredients that make up our lives, so I though,t It's In There was a good connection.  Hopefully that phrase isn't copywrited, lol!

I grew up with my mom making sauce pretty much everyday especially on Sundays.  Sundays consisted of a huge dinner though.  It was the only day that we were all together.  Everyone worked, had school or had something going on.  So Sundays were a big deal.  I think that's why Sunday dinners are so known for Italian Culture in Italian Households.  It was our feast, our celebration of togetherness.  It was the only time my siblings and I were probably not fighting...lol!  Also we never started eating until dad sat down and it was always an early dinner usually around 2pm.  Now that we are all on our own it was hard to make it to Sunday dinner and eat at 2pm.  Our dad would be so frustrated.  My dad has been passed for 2 years now and Sunday dinners have slowed down.  His passing took a toll on all of us and Sunday dinners aren't the same without him and also now my brother is in Iraq.  So it's been just a bit of a black cloud over us with everything.  I think though honestly when my brother does come home, I think things will be better especially for my mother.

To put a Halloween twist to this story, I have to tell you a little freaky situation.  When my brother was home and wasn't leaving for Iraq yet, we had Sunday dinner.  We all pretty much sat at the same chair when we ate dinner.  My dad always sat at the head of the table.  The chair was empty and then my brother sat in it with the frame of mind that he was now the man of the family (he's the only boy).  Well it was awkward and honestly I didn't think it should of been occupied.  Maybe it was a way for my brother coping.  Who knows.  Well I said to him that I didn't think it was right for him to sit in dad's chair, he ignored me and just didn't think anything of it.  About a half hour later my brother and I talked about it again and I was heading to the kitchen. My brother stood up to do something and the chair flew out from under him like someone was throwing it out from under him.  I laughed and said, "See even dad doesn't want you sitting in his chair!"  My brother looked like he saw a ghost!  I was just about to tell my mom what happened and my brother said, "No, don't tell mom!"  I didn't at the time but I eventually did.  She didn't seem surprised.  We think in a sense that my dad left such an imprint in our lives and in the house we grew up in that we feel sometimes his spirit is in the house. If you knew my dad, you'd understand and it would of been a trick he would of pulled on my brother.  Now you are probably wondering if my brother has sat on that chair ever since, yes, when he came home for a break from Iraq, he sat in the chair.  Nothing happened but I think my brother has a sense of respect for the chair now.  LOL!  That story always gets me!  I laugh hysterically everytime!  That's my Daddy!

So now on to the whole point of this blog.  Don't we all get sidetracked!  When I decided to make sauce I figured should I do more?  I knew I had chicken breasts and was all set for making some Chicken Parmesan. Which is my husband's favorite.  Now maybe in a sense I made it because I knew he would be surprised but honestly I think I just wanted to make it.  I had hoped maybe it would put a smile on Scott's face but I didn't really mind if it was no big deal even though I know it's his favorite food.  I think though it was more for the fact of me going, Blah blah Scott, I made it now you can feel guilty for being a punk sometimes.  Now in marriage to say it's perfect is imaginary.  Fairytales don't exist and if someone goes into it thinking so, they will highly be disappointed.  I don't care everyone has their down days.  I am no different.  Wish it wasn't true but it is for all in every type of relationship.  I know many wouldn't admit it or some may pretend but I live in a very realistic world.  LOL!

It was nice though to sit down as a family be grateful and thank God for blessing us with what we have.  After all that's what the feel of Sunday dinner brings to us.  That is why I say it was a Sunday dinner on a Friday night!

Chicken Parmesan, is yummy.  It came out great for me.  It had been awhile but it all came back to me.  The starter for every Italian tomato sauce is Onions, Garlic and Olive Oil.  That is what I always remember smelling when my mom would begin her sauce.  It was a smell you knew and knew what was coming.

I used tomato paste, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes.  I had to make a lot of sauce for the Chicken Parmesan and I wanted to have some left over because my daughter could eat pasta everyday.  I grew tomatoes myself in the past and nothing beats using tomatoes from the garden.  My dad had his own vegetable and herb garden.  It was huge and he tended it like it was a baby.  We never bought vegetables at the store unless it was something specifically needed that you couldn't grow yourself in Ohio even though my dad could make fig trees grow in our backyard.  He eventually stopped a little bit after he became diagnosed with cancer.  My parents had so many tomatoes I remember my mom jarring tomato sauce and making sun dried tomatoes.  Technically they oven dried them, not much a sun dried area here in Cleveland, Ohio.  So they used the next best thing, the oven.  Now making dried tomatoes stinks up the house.  How I didn't like being in the house when they made them.

So to make this Chicken Parmesan is quite easy.  It's a little time consuming but not so much if you use jarred sauce.  This time I made my own.

This is what you need:

Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts (usually big breast is a good serving)
Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Egg Beaten
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Cooked Pasta
Crushed Tomatoes or Tomato Sauce
Tomato Paste
Onions
Garlic
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Basil
Parsley

Make your sauce or buy jarred sauce.  This is how I make mine....

I start off sauteing 1 whole onion, some minced garlic with some olive oil in a sauce pot.  This is how my mom starts every sauce.

Add a regular can of Tomato Paste

Add about a can and a half of water and add your 2 big cans of Tomato Sauce, then start adding the above seasonings, how much depends on your taste, just add as you cook the sauce whatever is needed....

Cover and Simmer on low.  You can taste test it and add the seasonings you think it could use more of such as garlic powder, oregano, etc...  Stir occasionally....

While sauce is cooking:

Beat an egg in a bowl and pour Italian Bread Crumbs in a separate bowl, (I will add some Parmesan Cheese to the bread crumbs but not too much).

Dip Breast into beaten egg then into bread crumb mixture.  At this point you can bake your chicken breasts at 350'F until thoroughly cooked or you can pan fry them like I did in this next photo:

Cook each side until golden brown and cooked through, not too worry as it will be thoroughly cooked in the oven.

Take a baking dish and slather some tomato sauce and place all cooked chicken breasts on top of sauce.  Layer sauce on top of Chicken Breasts and bake in oven for about 15/20 minutes.  Take baking dish out and layer shredded mozzarella cheese on top.  The heat of the already baked chicken will melt the mozzarella cheese.  This is when I cook my pasta.  You can make any pasta you like, I used Penne this time.

If you don't want to fry your chicken breasts like before mentioned, you can bake them in the oven, do the layering process and bake until cheese melts on top which should only be a few minutes.  Sometimes you can place your pasta on the plate, place your breaded chicken breast, ladle sauce and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top, this will skip the whole baking process.

The kids loved this dish including Scott.  It's nice to make your own sauce but when I do use jarred sauce I love to use MIDS jarred sauce.  I think they are the best out there right now commercially.

Here are my monkeys lovin them some Pasta and Chicken Parmesan!

Johnny

Sofia

It's so nice when the kids love eating what I make.  I am so thankful!

This was my plate and it was so yummy!  I love a lot of cheese.  Here it is topped with Parmesan Cheese....  YUMMY!  I was so full after I ate it.  But it was so gooooood!

Buon Appetito,

Annamaria

Chicken Paprikash

I have been craving for Chicken Paprikash for so long.  My mother in law makes a good one that is good.  She doesn't cook hot heavy meals/stews in the summer, so we always have to wait for the fall and winter months.  I couldn't wait that long, I had to have it.  I looked all over the internet, couldn't find something I was looking for.  Then a local bar served Chicken Paprikash and I heard it was good so I went to check it out, I checked out the menu.  It was a place that closed and someone bought the property and made a completely remodeled Restaurant/Bar.  So I asked the Bartender about the Chicken Paprikash and she said they were all out.  They were making the noodles.  How hard is it to make the noodles.  You mix the dough and drop it inside some hot water!  LOL!  I made homemade cavatelli in one day and that is just me and you have to form it and everything.  Well I thought at this point I was not meant to have Chicken Paprikash.  Then I thought, forget it, I am just going to make it myself even though I have never made it.  I better start now!

This recipe is a mix of what my mother in law told me, she just gave me ingredients, she eyes the recipe like I do most of the time.  As she said it's never made the same each time.  I think that's true with any dish.  So I researched some of the methods of making this dish and incorporating the ingredients of my mother in law's and then added my twist to it.  As I discovered, I didn't have to wait for Chicken Breasts to thaw, I just dropped them into the pot with the broth and poached/stewed the chicken.  It worked great and the chicken picked up the flavors of the broth mixture.

This is what I came up with, it's so good, has a kick from the pepper blend and it's creamy and comforting.  I could eat comforting hearty meals all year round.  That's how I grew up.  Granted the summer months provided us with summer vegetables aplenty and it was a lot of vegetable inspired dishes, but we Italians eat!

I hope you like it as much as I love it, or I hope you end up loving it.  It's easy.  Some people say it's an all day event, but really it's not.  Quite easy for me.  I knew the flavor I was achieving.  Also for my husband who hates Chicken Paprikash loved mine.  So SCORE!  Now I can actually make this for more than just me.  As I said I like it with a little kick and knowing my daughter wouldn't eat it, I made it such as with a kick.  But if you have kids who do or would eat this, not only God Bless You but you can lessen the amount of pepper blend you use.  Really it's to your liking.  I also want to note that I kinda think of this as more as a stew type dish.  You don't have to mix in the spaetzles like I do into the broth, you can certainly ladle this creamy chicken goodness on top of noodles.  I mix mine all together.  I just wonder, how would this taste if I added mushrooms?  I know my husband would definitely not eat it since he HATES mushrooms.  Okay I will stick with traditional.  But if you do add anything to this dish, I'd love to hear about it.

My yummy bowl of Chicken Paprikash!

*Don't you just love my Arial Photos...LOL!

Ingredients/Recipe:

5 Large Chicken Breasts (thawed or frozen)
48 Ounces of Chicken Broth
2 Packages of Spaetzles or Homemade
1-3 Tablespoons McCormicks or Lawry's Seasoned Pepper Blend (this is what gives it a kick, so use to your discretion).
3-4 Tablespoons Sweet Hungarian Paprika or McCormick's Paprika
1-2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
Couple Dashes of Salt
1/2 Onion (diced or sliced) (optional)
3/4 of a stick of butter
8 ounces of Heavy Whipping Cream
8 ounces of Sour Cream

Take your half of an onion and place it in a large pot with 1/4 stick of butter until onions are softened.
Add Chicken Broth to pot and add chicken breasts.  Start to add your Paprika and Seasoned Pepper Blend.

Mix everything together and let it boil until your chicken breasts are fully cooked.

At this point you want to lower your heat and remove your chicken breasts that have been boiling in the pot, to a separate bowl.

Shred your chicken using 2 forks or cube your chicken with a chopping knife.  I shredded mine but left big chunks as well.

Remove about a half cup of broth from your pot into a mug or small bowl and add about 3-4 tablespoons of flour to the broth.  Mix until you get a slurry.  This will thicken your sauce.

Add your chicken and spaetzles to the broth and let boil for a couple of minutes.  Then add your slurry and mix in the pot until incorporated and boil until it starts to bubble and thicken.  If you'd like it thicker, take more of the broth into the cup and add flour and make more slurry and add to the pot until it gets thicker.  Don't make it too thick or else it will be too pasty.

*Notice the deep red color, this is achieved by using the Paprika.

Add in salt, garlic powder and rest of butter.  Mix.  Add more Paprika and Seasoned Pepper Blend to your liking.  Add in your Heavy Whipping Cream and stir, this will now lighten the broth and make it creamy.  Simmer and then at the very end when your ready to finish the dish, mix in the Sour Cream.  Turn off the heat!

*Notice the Pepper Flakes, I used a lot of the Seasoned Pepper Blend.

You can use less if you'd like.  Taste test.

Finished Hearty Bowl of Chicken Paprikash.

You can eat this right away, it will be very hot so let it rest a few moments.  Ladle into a bowl or on a plate and serve with some biscuits, croissants or crusty fresh bread.  As with anything, it always tasted better the next day, so if you'd like make this the night before and serve it the next day.  Either way it's delicious.

*Side thought:  I wonder what it would be like if I added about 4 ounces of Cream Cheese to it?  You know me and my cheeses!  I bet it would be yummy!  I actually almost topped this with freshly grated Parmesan!  Hee Hee!

If you have any questions about this recipe or any recipe, feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you!

Enjoy!

Annamaria

  

Perfect Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Did you ever have a craving that seem to never end? This was one of them! It all started with trying Wendy's Buffalo Dipped Chicken Sandwich. I was hooked, I think I almost ate that sandwich for 2 weeks straight for lunch and it was killing my wallet! So I decided to make my own, I even have my husband hooked. I knew Frank's Red Hot came out with a Buffalo Wing Sauce and thought that I could make my own Buffalo Chicken Sandwich which would be even better than Wendy's! So this is what I came up with and it's a hit at home. Both grilled or breaded chicken breasts work well with this. I have had both. I just saved my wallet with this recipe! ENJOY!

MAKES 4 SANDWICHES

4 hearty sandwich rolls
4 grilled or breaded chicken breasts thoroughly cooked
1 bottle Frank's® Redhot® Buffalo Wings Sauce
slices of provolone cheese (optional)
blue cheese crumbles (optional)
blue cheese dressing
tomato slices
lettuce leaves
sliced red onion

Cook chicken breasts either by breading or grilled.

Dip or baste chicken breasts with buffalo wing sauce.

Place chicken on roll and top with provolone cheese or blue cheese crumbles. Top with optional lettuce, tomato and red onion. Spread blue cheese dressing on top side of roll and cover sandwich.

Take a big bite and enjoy! You just ate one of my favorite sandwiches!

CHOMP CHOMP,
Annamaria

The Daring Cooks July 2011 Challenge -Homemade Pasta

Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks' July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with!

We were also encouraged to do a recipe from our own background so with mine I plan on to make Cavatelli or Gnocchi.

So I decided to do Cavatelli. It was so easy, just 3 ingredients. The most labor was when I had to form the pasta. I sat at my dining room table and rolled, pinched and floured all the noodles. It took me back to when I was a little girl and watched my mom make homemade noodles, whether it be fettuccine, lasagna or cavatelli. I have made potato gnocchi before so I decided to do cavatelli as it was the whole point to challenge myself.

Talking to my mom on the phone she told me to let the dough sit overnight. I don't know if it made much a difference but I was amazed at how delicate and soft the dough was. I was imagining how great and tender these morsels were going to be. The ricotta in the dough made it so beautiful. It was soft as a pillow. I cut the dough into quarters and worked each one individually. I pinched off dough and made them into ropes and pinch off pieces for the size of the cavatelli. I felt that it was easier to take each little piece roll them in a ball in my hand and then spin them off into little rolls, you'll see in the pictures. I would spin them off my hands and into a Tupperware container floured. When a next layer of noodles topped the others I would flour that layer to prevent sticking.

When I was finished which didn't seem to take as long, I seemed to of been in zone. I was ready get dinner ready. Dessert was in the fridge (see Daring Baker's blog). So a hot pot of water salted. Brought to a boil and in went the Cavatelli. They are done when the Cavatelli float to the top just like dumplings do. I strained them and in the mean time of the water comes to a boil, I prepared the sauce. I thought a Chicken Broccoli Alfredo was a good change to the typical red sauce. But I did take a short cut to the sauce, I bought Bertolli's Garlic Alfredo sauce. It's a great base that I use to add some other ingredients to the sauce like Parmesan, Cream Cheese, a tad bit of garlic and some pinches of Romana cheese. It's a cheese overload but it is soooo good. It gives it more of that homemade taste. I wish I had some mushrooms to add and I should of put some Marsala in but my husband hates mushrooms. I didn't want to put Marsala in without the mushrooms as they seem to best compliment each other.

Enticing Picture for You:

Now brings me to the recipe. Here is the step by step process in completing tonight's dinner for you to try out. I encourage you to make homemade pasta as it beats any box of pasta!

Here we go:

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta with Homemade Fresh Cavatelli

HOMEMADE CAVATELLI:
Adapted from the recipe of:
What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine!

8 ounces of whole milk Ricotta
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
2 eggs
Pinch of Salt

Start off by washing your hands.

In a large bowl, place 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and make a well in the middle by pushing flour to the sides of the bowl.

Add the eggs, salt and ricotta into the well.

Start mixing ingredients with a spatula then with your CLEAN hands. Mix dough well and ingredients are well incorporated. Form into a circle or square.

Then wrap your dough with cling wrap. In this case I had red cling wrap for some reason. I think I got the one red left over cling wrap from the holidays and didn't notice. LOL!

Let dough rest by refrigerating for at least an hour or overnight like I did which was for my family's Sunday dinner.

Take out your rested dough and remove from cling wrap and cut dough into quarters. I think it's easier to gradually work the dough in increments. Also flour your surface to prevent sticking.

Pinch off pieces of the dough quarter and roll into a ball in your hand then shape ball into a tubular shape. When you finish making them into tubes, you then flour your index finger and press down in the middle of the noodle and you fling backwards with your finger. Gradually you'll fill the container, I recommend you flour between layers.

To cook the pasta bring water that has been lightly salted to a boil and drop in pasta. Pasta is done when pasta floats to the top.

Strain noodles in a colander and toss with your favorite sauce.

Broccoli Chicken Alfredo Sauce:

The ingredients here are pretty much to your eye sizing. I tried Tyson grilled cubed chicken which surprisingly was really good for frozen semi cooked chicken. It was really good meat pieces. Bertolli makes a great Alfredo sauce, I use it as a base and add ingredients to it. Also Knorr makes a great powdered mix to make Alfredo sauce by adding milk, and I also use this as a base.


Half a package of Tyson's frozen grilled diced chicken. (You can find this in the freezer section by the Tyson Products, it's a green bag)
1 Jar of Bertolli Garlic Alfredo Sauce
Frozen Broccoli Package
4 ounces Cream Cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Romano Cheese

Take frozen chicken and place into a skillet and cook until browned and cooked thoroughly.

Add frozen broccoli or steamed broccoli into pan with chicken. If using frozen broccoli, steam in skillet until hot over light heat and place lid over skillet. Cook until broccoli is tender and hot.

Add the Bertolli Garlic Alfredo Sauce and Cream Cheese and mix everything in the pan and make sure the cream cheese is thoroughly mixed in. Add your Parmesan and Romano cheeses. Mix well.

I know you can't believe I didn't make my own Alfredo sauce but I also had to do a Baker's Challenge and it took me 2 days. So I think my legs, back and feet well appreciated the shortcuts...lol!

*Note: I know fresh cheese in your supermarket can be expensive. If you buy a big enough chunk, you can put half of it in a freezer ziploc bag and freeze it until you run out of your other chunk. I can't emphasize enough how a difference in taste it is to use freshly grated Parmesan and Romano Cheeses. Don't buy those cans of the grated cheeses. It's gross and have been sitting on those shelves and the cheese isn't fresh. Get the real chunks. If you have a food market, you may even be able to find it cheaper right from the Cheese Specialty Shops or Stands. It makes a world of a difference in your recipes and topping off your dishes.

Take your cooked pasta and toss with hot Chicken Broccoli Sauce in a large Pasta Serving bowl. Serve onto individual plates.

Grate fresh Parmesan Cheese on top of pasta. Most importantly.... Buon Appetito!

Finished Dish:

Wishing you Great Eats!
XO,
Annamaria

*If you do use this recipe, please let me know how you liked the dish or what you did to make it your own. =)

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