Zippy Ziti

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups ziti
3/4 cup milk
3 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Cook the noodles according to the package directions, drain.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the noodles, and put into a two-quart casserole dish.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes.

Creamy Chicken on Linguine

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (16 ounce) package linguini pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 cube chicken bouillon, crumbled
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
4 green onions, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1.In a large saute pan, heat oil, butter and garlic over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan let cool and slice diagonally into long strips. Reserve oil in pan.

2.Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain.

3.Reheat oil in pan, add onion and saute, stirring often, until onion is soft but still white. Add bullion cube and water; bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for approximately 10 minutes. Stir in cream, milk, green onions and Parmesan cheese.

4.Place pasta in a bowl, layer chicken slices in a decorative pattern over pasta, pour sauce over top of chicken and around pasta. Garnish with parsley or any herbs you desire. Serve immediately.

Perfect Summer Chicken

*Perfect summer chicken*

This chicken will go perfectly with THIS pasta.

Ingredients:
Any chicken that you like, I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
*drumsticks goes great with this as well as chicken breast.
Lemon pepper
Garlic salt
Canola oil

What to do:
Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag.
Add oil, garlic salt and lemon pepper in bag. (Add as much or as little you want of the seasoning)
Close bag and mix the ingredients around and let marinate for 4-6 hours. You could also make it within 20 minutes but the longer it sits the more flavor it gets.

Cook on a grill (indoor or out) and enjoy.
I also chop up the chicken and make tacos. YUMMY

For breast I butterfly the chicken before I marinate.
Cook time if you do this is 4 minutes on each side.

Drumsticks cook time 10 minutes on each side.

Boneless skinless chicken tights cook time 6 minutes on each side.
If you use tights with the bone in cook for 10 minutes on each side.

Fresh & Easy Pasta for the Summer.

*Fresh & Easy Pasta for the Summer*

Ingredients:
1 pound of angel hair pasta, break pasta in half (easier for toddlers to eat).
*if you have really small kids use short pasta for this.
Canola oil
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese.

Cook pasta according to directions, leaving 1 cup of pasta water for sauce. Drain pasta. Combine pasta water, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add pasta and parmesan cheese and toss.

This dish is very simple and doesn’t have that heaviness that meat sauces have so its just perfect for the summer months.

Spaghetti made for kids.

*Spaghetti made for kids.*

1 pound/box of penne or any short uncooked pasta
*Cook like you would pasta, remember to salt the water and drain 1-2 minutes before it’s fully cooked (or as they say al dente), and keep ½ cup to 1 cup of pasta water liquid.*
1 pound ground beef
1 medium size onion, diced
2-4 cloves of garlic (depends on your liking), diced
Red wine vinegar
Mushrooms (optional, I usually put them in but this time I didn’t have any)
1 big can of crushed tomatoes
Red pepper flakes
Canola oil
Salt and pepper

I use 93/7 Lean ground beef (or leaner if I can find) so I don’t have to cook before I start so that I can drain all the fat/oil.

Ok yes I said spaghetti, but kids have little fingers and this is way easier for them to eat. Plus trying to cut long spaghetti is a pain in the you know what. I just use what ever short pasta I have.

Heat up canola in a skillet on medium heat. When oil is hot drop in onions and garlic and some salt to draw out the moisture in the onions (keep your eye on it to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn, if burns restart over and clean everything you used. Burnt garlic is very bitter). This is the time you would put the mushrooms in, or any other veggies you like (sometimes I put carrots or bell peppers), but this time I didn’t have any. When onions are translucent add red pepper flakes and red wine vinegar (or red wine if you like, I’m not big on wine) and deglaze the pan.

After add the ground beef, break up using a spoon, and keep stirring until cooked.

Stir in the crushed tomatoes and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. If you see that the sauce is to think you can add the pasta water you saved until you get the sauce that way you like it. Some people like thick sauce and some like a watery sauce.

Add the cooked pasta with the sauce and toss for a minute.

Plate and enjoy.

Don’t forget the parmesan cheese.