Gnocchi Chicken Minestrone

I, my friends, am just hours away from leaving this sunny place I live in, to head to yet another sunny place, that is Southern California!  We are taking our kids on a last minute surprise trip to Disneyland and I could not be more excited!  Mostly I can't wait to see their sweet faces tomorrow morning when they realize where we are and what we are doing!  If this trip had not been planned last minute, I never would have been able to keep it from them!  I have just about spilled the beans a dozen or more times!  Speaking of beans, I have a tasty soup to share with you today, chalk full of hearty and healthy things like beans, peppers, zucchini, chicken breasts, peas, and potato gnocchi.  In case you are not privy as to where in the grocery store gnocchi is found, as I was not, you can find look for it in the pasta or frozen foods section.  So for those of you who are not leaving one sunny place for another, and are still stuck behind closed doors because of freezing temperatures and/or inches of snow, (I'm talking to you my hometown folks in good old Pocatello, Idaho), then this soup is for you!  Served up with some Parmesan bread sticks, this is the perfect cold-weather, comfort meal.  

PS...I have heard so much about the fantastic food at Disneyland, and even though I have been there more than half a dozen times, I have yet to discover any of these culinary treasures.  Does anyone have any recommendations for must-eat meals or restaurants in Disneyland?!  Please let me in on any secrets you might have!!  Thanks a million!  

Gnocchi Chicken Minestrone

1-1/4 pounds chicken tenderloins or breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 small green pepper

1 small red pepper

1 small yellow pepper

1 medium zucchini, finely chopped

1/3 cup chopped red onions

1/3 cup chopped prosciutto or deli ham

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans (14.5 ounce each) chicken broth

1 can (14.5 ounce) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained

3.4 cup canned white or kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup frozen peas

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 package (16 ounce) potato gnocchi

1/2 cup shredded Asiago or Italian blend cheese

8 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Sprinkle chicken with oregano, salt and pepper.  In a skillet, saute chicken in 1 Tablespoon oil until no longer pink.  Remove from pan and set aside.  In the same pan, cook the peppers, zucchini and onion in remaining oil until tender.  Add prosciutto and garlic, and cook 1 minute longer.  Transfer vegetables to a soup pot.  Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, peas and tomato paste and chicken.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Meanwhile, cook gnocchi according to package directions.  Drain and stir into soup.  Garnish each serving with cheese and basil.  

Recipe Source:  Adapted from Taste of Home

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Chicken & Spinach Lasagna

I love lasagna.   It would be fair to say, actually, that I absolutely adore all things Italian.  Carbohydrates are among my greatest weaknesses.  I could eat pasta, pizza, and breads of any type all day every day.  No exaggeration.  Those restaurants that serve all-you-can-eat bread at the beginning of your meal (think Olive Garden or Johnny Carino's) are my most favorite places in the world to eat.  Anyway, I love a good old fashion lasagna filled with beef or sausage, but I have also fallen in love with this recipe.  It is still a red sauce lasagna, but with a slight twist.  Instead of the traditional browned sausage or beef, this is filled with shredded chicken.  Add that to the feta, mozzarella cheese, and creamy ricotta/cottage cheese/spinach mixture, and you have a winning combination.  My husband Jason was never a lasagna lover (when he was young, he hated anything made with noodles!  Weirdo!!), so I was a little nervous for his reaction when I served this up the first time.   Turns out, I had no need to fear...he loved it and has since asked for it many times!  We really love this lasagna and I think you will too!

Chicken and Spinach Lasagna
*This recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups cooked chicken, so plan accordingly.  I usually just boil my chicken breasts with some broth and then shred when it is done.  I know there are several other popular methods like this one or this one.  To make your life even easier, you could simply shred a store-bought rotisserie chicken.

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, chopped
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
9-12 uncooked lasagna noodles
3 1/2 cups cooked, chopped or shredded chicken
4 cups favorite pasta sauce
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 cups packed shredded mozzarella
dried or fresh parsley for garnishing (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, cottage cheese, spinach and egg, oregano and black pepper.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water and drain again.  Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  To assemble lasagna, spoon 1 cup of sauce over bottom of pan.  Arrange 4 lasagna noodles, 3 lengthwise, 1 crosswise,  (I never use the crosswise noodle and it works great), over sauce.  Top noodles with another 1 cup of sauce, followed by 1/3 of the chicken, 1/3 of the feta, and 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Arrange 4 more lasagna noodles (or 3, if you choose), followed by 1 cup of sauce, 1/3 of the chicken, all of the ricotta/spinach mixture, 1/3 of the feta, and 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Repeat layering with 3 or 4 more noodles, sauce, chicken, feta, and mozzarella.  Sprinkle with parsley over the top.  Cover loosely with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Recipe Source:  Adapted from Taste of Home

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Broccoli & Garlic Pasta

If you happened to ready my About page, then you already know how I started my marriage as a dreadful cook.  Absolutely dreadful.  I mentioned how I burned spaghetti once, and that is not even a lie.  For three years, I really did nothing to improve upon my cooking or baking skills.  Our go to meals were frozen pizzas, Stroganoff hamburger helper and, burritos made with canned refried beans and enchilada sauce.  Occasionally we would treat ourselves to a frozen Jenny-O turkey loaf with both white and dark meat...that is right, we were living totally gourmet.  Upon entering the grocery store, we made a bee-line for the frozen food section every time to see what treasures we could find for meal time.  The only real meal either of us ate during the week was that blessed Sunday dinner when we went to either my parents or Jason's.  It wasn't until I quit working when my first baby was one years old that I decided we needed to make some changes.  I was going to be leaving my job of 7 years to be a stay at home mom full time and I planned on jumping head first into total domesticity.  Of course, as they rarely do, things didn't quite play out the way I had anticipated.  I didn't realize there would be such a learning curve in becoming a domestic diva!  But obviously there is.  And here I am on my 5th year of being a stay-at-home mom/wife and there is still so much to learn and so far to go.  Anyhow, after I quit my job, I was on a mission to discover some quick and easy meals that I could make that would still impress the husband.  Although, its not as if that should have been too difficult considering what he had been living on for 3 years!  This was one of the first recipes that I found and tried and we still enjoy it today.  It is great in its simplicity and even my kids will eat it!  Double win!

Broccoli & Garlic Pasta

12 ounces uncooked linguine or fettuccine

5 cups broccoli florets

3 garlic cloves minced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups chicken broth, divided

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

1/2 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning

Shredded Parmesan cheese for serving

Cook pasta according to directions on the package.  In a large skillet, saute garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute or until fragrant.  Do not let garlic burn or it will turn bitter.  Add the broccoli, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup of chicken broth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 3-5 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Drain pasta and add to the skillet.  Stir in parsley and Italian 

seasonings and remaining broth.  Serve immediately, with generous amounts of Parmesan cheese.

Recipe Source:  Heavily Adapted from Taste of Home

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