Simple Chicken Tetrizzini

Made this last night and the family loved it. Mom used to make it and I loved it(hers is still probably better). As per usual I use whole wheat noodles because its easier on us diabetics. And served it with an oven heated bole of sourdough bread.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 frozen boneless chicken breasts(depending on how much meat you like).- Cubed small- dime-sized. I like to place them in cool tap water for 5 min's then cube them.
• Large container of Sour Cream( more or less depending on how creamy you want the sauce).
• 2 Cans Cream of Chicken soup( can use Cream of Mushroom, if you like).
• 1 small jar of Pimentos( they have no heat, so don't worry).
• 1/2 Cup of onions diced very small( do not want the onions be detected by the kids).
• 1-2 Tbsp. of minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil(to cook chicken).
• 1/2-1 Tbsp. of Parsley flakes
• 1 1/4 box of whole wheat pasta shells.
• Italian bread crumbs(enough to cover top of this dish).
• 1 Jar of Shredded Parmesan Cheese
  
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by cooking your pasta( using salt and olive oil in water). Cook them strain and rinse with cold water, to stop the cooking, set aside. While doing that, combine Sour Cream, Cream of Chicken soup, Parsley, 3/4 the Jar of Parmesan Cheese and salt and pepper in mixing bowl. Set that aside. Now, in a skillet heat to high heat with your Extra Virgin Olive oil and cook your cubed chicken( adding salt and pepper). When chicken has a nice brown "char" on it add the chopped onions and Garlic and turn down the heat to medium, so you do not burn the onions and garlic. When they are about cooked(clear color), add the drained jar of Pimentos. Mix that a couple of times, you do not want to burn them, just heat them.
Get a deep casserole dish, I use a Cruet( or simply a dutch oven covered in a ceramic coating- dang the French!). Place your shells in the dish, then the chicken, and then the sauce. Mix well, sprinkle the remaining Parmesan Cheese and cover the top with the Italian bread crumbs. Place in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through.
And that's it, hope you enjoy it.

Teriyaki Meatballs

Okay, this is a dish I threw together for a "linger-longer" at church. It tastes great over rice and is easiest if you do it in a slow cooker. I use a specific brand of teriyaki sauce because it tastes the best and the serving size is just about right(though a little more expensive to buy). Not to mention it has the lowest amount of sugar content that I could find, which is good for my son and I.

Ingredients:

• 1 Bottle of "Veri Veri Teriyaki" Teriyaki sauce. Made by Soy Vay.
• 1 sweet bell pepper, like to cut this in large pieces.
• 1 Onion, cut in large pieces(your choice as to onion type).
• 1 Bag of frozen meatball(come as 2 lb bags, I believe) ** you can use frozen sausage meatballs if you want to spice it up.
• Salt and Pepper to your taste. *** I like to add Worcestershire sauce and minced garlic---you figure it out the amount you prefer : )

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker, give it a stir, and place the cooker on low for 6 hours( or over night. I like to stir it after 4 hours to evenly cover the meat balls. FYI: frozen meatballs will produce liquid while they are thawing/cooking so you want to cook them long enough for the sauce to reduce enough to make a nice sauce consistency( that is why I say 6 hrs it could be more or less depending on slow cooker brand).
** Another quick tip that I use is frozen bell pepper melange. I have bought them and used a couple handfuls.
When done lay them over white rice of rice noodles.

Salsa Casera Chicken Pasta

This dish can be spicy, but you can turn down the heat of it easily. Salsa Casera is different from regular salsa because it contains cilantro and bigger chunks of vegetables( and garlic, I believe).
It can me found usually in the latin food section of any super market and is in a small can.
Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Salsa Casera(small)
• 1 Box of Bowtie pasta( we prefer wheat)
• 3 bonless chicken breasts- cubed
• 1 medium size package of Sour cream
• Additional items- a su gusto:

1. Onions
2. Sweet Bell Pepper ( lots of vitamin C, I hear)
3. Minced Garlic
   
4. Tomato sauce

**** The extra items are if you want to weaken the heat, for the kids. Remember, the longer the chicken cooks in the salsa casera the more potent the jalapenos in the salsa are.

Directions:
Start by combining the cubed chicken and salsa casera in pot that you can "stew" them in, I place them together with approx. 1/2 cup of water and bring it to a boil. This would also be the time when you would add diced onions, peppers, and garlic. This will do two things add richer flavor and make more portions.
If you want to make it not so hot you cut the can of salsa casera in half and replace the amount with tomato sauce. Also, you can add more sour cream to turn the heat down.
Let these ingredients boil until chicken is tender(** if you cook too long or let it reduce too much the sauce will be hotter). When it is done take it off the heat and cook your pasta. Once pasta is cooked run cold water over it to stop the cooking process in the pasta. Next return to your chicken an add the sour cream. It will turn a nice pink color, which my girls think is cool, then salt and pepper to taste. Add your pasta and place over heat if needed.
In my family we enjoy this because it is a quick pasta dish and creamy. If you add enough vegetables and pasta, it can feed more people. Also it looks nice( if you are hosting a dinner).
Usually this will feed the seven of us, depending on pasta box size and chicke breast size.


You won't see me using measurements and how much the recipe will yield, too often. I guess I am too A.D.D. to stop long enough to measure every detail( and am usually multi-tasking at the same time). Plus, I think it is more interesting to leave it up to the cook to vary ingredients from time-to-time which will vary the way it tastes each time(just a little).
Tim