Pecos Pasta

This recipe was contributed by Chelsea Fisher, via Sarah McKenna.

Pecos Pasta  

4 cups multicolored pasta spirals, cooked, rinsed, and drained

½ cup sliced green onions

2 cups diced tomato

1 can chopped green chiles, drained

1 small can sliced black olives, drained

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

2 T chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

2 T lime juice

1 cup medium salsa (or more)

Salt to taste

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add enough salsa to moisten well.  Refrigerate. 

 (I've found that the salsa soaks in and it gets a little dry, so right before you serve it, add more salsa.)

Teriyaki Chicken Alfredo

This recipe was contributed by Janelle Dobson.  She says that this is her #1 company dinner that she pulls out when she wants to impress her guests, and it's still super easy!  Score!  It's heavy and rich, but oh-so-delicious.  Enjoy!  

Teriyaki Chicken Alfredo

 
2 large Chicken breasts
1/2 cup Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce  
1 packet Alfredo sauce 
1/8- 1/4 cup dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whipping cream
 
Cooked fettuccini
 
Directions:
Thinly slice chicken and onions.  Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper and saute chicken and onions in large skillet with a little olive oil.  When chicken is cooked through, dump the rest of the ingredients in the skillet, stir to mix.  Let bubble to thicken, serve over pasta.
 
Notes from the chef:


I sometimes add sliced zucchini and mushrooms or some other veggies that I saute with the chicken.  I know a friend that adds asparagus and loves it.  


I have substituted the whipping cream for my son's whole milk or half and half and it is okay, but not ideal.  I guess you could try using plain milk if you want to ease up on the calories, but you'll lose a lot of richness.  


Though I am usually the queen of substituting brand ingredients to save a buck, I wouldn't dream of doing it with this dish- this specific teriyaki sauce makes this dish- it is really strong and vibrant, but the good news is since you only use 1/2 a cup, a jar of it will go for many meals.  Be sure to shake the bottle really good to break up the minced garlic that floats up the top of the container.

This recipe was contributed by Chelsea Fisher.  Here's what she has to say about it:

Don't be afraid of the "clams" in the title! It's a very good, garlicky pasta dish. I got it from my neighbors who lived in Italy for several years when they were young whipper-snappers, and it's my husband's absolute favorite. I served it to my extended family, including some outspoken family members who are picky eaters. One of them wasn't crazy about the texture of the clams (not her exact words), but she loved the flavor and made it herself just using clam juice without the clams.

Linguine with Clam Sauce

1/2 cup butter (or margarine) 

½ cup butter (or margarine)

¼ cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 cans (6 ½ oz each) chopped clams

1 tsp. oregano leaves

1 tsp. dry basil leaves

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper

(or use 2 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning instead of the separate herbs)

one bunch fresh parsley, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups once you're done chopping)

1 lb. linguine

Boiling salted water

Following package directions, cook linguine in a large kettle of boiling, salted water until al dente; then drain.  

Meanwhile,

-Heat butter and oil in a 2-quart pan over low heat.  Add garlic and sautee about 4 minutes.  Don’t let butter scorch (which is why I use margarine-- it doesn't scorch).  

-Drain juice from 2 cans clams into butter mixture. Increase heat to medium, add oregano, basil, pepper, and parsley to pan and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.  

-Add drained clams and heat through. 

Toss linguine with clam sauce.  Makes 5 or 6 large servings.

Two more notes:

- The store sells chopped clams and minced clams (we like Snow brand the best). Both types work just fine, but the difference is that chopped clams are bigger pieces, and minced clams are smaller and less chewy. I prefer the minced, but both are lovely.

- It works best to let the pasta sit 5-10 minutes before you serve it. This way, the sauce soaks in a bit and doesn't just run to the bottom of the dish.

Texas Chicken Tortilla Soup

We have a lot of chicken tortilla soup recipes on this blog!  It seems that everyone loves chicken tortilla soup recipes, and everyone loves the one their mama made the most!  :)  (I know I do, although in my case it's my dad that makes it!)

This one was contributed by a reader, Ida Zeiler, and she says that it's a little bit different than the others that we've posted because it tastes like the more autehntic chicken tortilla soups that they serve in her home state of Texas.  Sounds yummy!

One great thing about this recipe is that it is a crock pot recipe, so Ida says she likes to toss the ingredients in the crock pot before she heads to church and then let them simmer up.  I bet it smells great when she gets home!   

Texas Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 garlic cloves, minced
4 14.5oz cans of stewed tomatoes [optional to chop those]
1 Tbsp cumon
2 4oz cans chopped green chilies
3 chicken breasts, cubed [uncooked]
5-6 cups chicken broth
3 vegetable or chicken bullion cubes
garlic powder, salt and pepper - to taste

1 - Put all your ingredients in crock pot
2- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours

**Serve with cheese, sour cream, fresh avocado, and tortilla chips [crushed] on the top!  Yum!

Serves 6-8 people [and still have some leftovers]

Easy German Pancake

This recipe was contributed by Rachel.

This recipe can be whipped up in 5 minutes and baked in 20!  We sometimes have it for breakfast on a lazy Saturday morning or for dinner on a night when we don't want to cook anything.

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 t salt
2 T butter**
    **Sarah's recipe is exactly the same EXCEPT they use a full stick of butter.  It is less healthy but MUCH more moist and buttery.  Yum!

As you are preheating the oven to 400, place butter in the bottom of a 9x13 glass casserole dish and place in the oven to melt.  Tilt the glass dish to coat the bottom with the melted butter.

Blend remaining ingredients.

Pour into buttered baking dish.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve with powdered sugar, whipped cream, fruit, syrup...whatever you would like!

**When my husband and I make this recipe for just the two of us, we half it and use a smaller glass dish.

Meatball Soup

This recipe was contributed by Tia Hammer Stokes via Sarah McKenna.  Here's what Tia has to say about it:


This is extra nice to come inside to after you've been out in the snow. It was created by my mother-in-law, Pearl Stokes. Our house LOVES it! Even my picky toddlers love the noodles.

Meatball Soup

2 small package frozen meatballs (cut in half)
Note: if you like more or less meatballs, just adjust to taste.
1 jar Ragu PIZZA sauce
1 large can chicken broth. **If you have bullion handy instead of a can, I use about 8 cups of water and 8 cubes of bullion.
1/2 package of bow tie noodles (we use the whole package) **these noodles will soak up a good deal of your broth so add broth/bullion as you like.

Here comes the easy part. Put it all in a big pot and let it simmer until everything is tender. Done! Yes! Even the UNCOOKED pasta! It will cook in the soup itself and soak up all the yumminess. 

Note: I let my meatballs thaw so they are easier to cut. My mother in law serves this in bowls over fresh spinach (this keeps it from getting slimy), but no one but me in my house likes spinach so I don't. It's great on it's own!