Chicken-Mushroom-Vegetable Alfredo

6-8oz. pasta - Cook the pasta about half way, then drain and rinse in ice water until well chilled to turn this into resistant starch. While this is chilling, combine the following ingredients for the sauce.

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 jar of your favorite Alfredo sauce

1/2-1c chicken bone broth

1/2c Marsala cooking wine

Simmer the sauce over low heat, season with black and cayenne pepper, granulated garlic and garlic salt until it bubbles and thickens a bit. Sauté 8oz. mushrooms over low heat in 2-3T black truffle oil. Add a little more Marsala. When the mushrooms are nicely browned add the chopped vegetables:

4 big ribs of celery
4 seedless mini peppers

1/2 large onion

Simmer over low heat, covered until the celery is crisp-tender. Add 1 can drained-rinsed diced water chestnuts, the chilled-drained pasta and 11oz. roasted chicken. Mix together gently, pour into a glass baking dish and sprinkle the top with 4oz. crushed salad croutons. Bake 20-30 minutes.

Serve with a big mixed green salad, which is what I'll have next time. This time it was some of those red white and green lemon-butter vegetables. . .Lin

Italian Chicken, Beans, Pasta and Greens

15oz. jar of Alfredo sauce

6-8oz. chicken bone broth

6oz. olive tapenade

~ Whisk these together

8oz. dry white beans - cooked

~or~ 2 cans - drained and rinsed

1 bunch green onions - chopped

12oz. cooked chicken - chopped

a couple big handfuls of fresh kale - chopped and simmered 8 minutes (these are all shown in the big bowl)

12oz. dry pasta - cooked al dente'

1# zucchini - sliced-diced

3 ribs of celery - chopped

1 skinny sweet orange pepper - sliced

1½oz. packaged sun-dried tomato - diced

~ Drizzle these with EVOO and season with dry rosemary, Himalayan pink salt and a mix of red and black ground peppers.  Roast at 400° for 15 minutes. (shown at the left, above, after roasting)

shredded parmesan cheese

This is a pretty time and labor intensive recipe if you do it all from 'scratch,' start to finish. So pick and choose how, and/or if, you want to cut corners = rotisserie chicken, packaged/canned chicken broth, canned beans, fresh spinach instead of fresh kale (spinach doesn't need pre-cooking) are all examples.

Once everything is assembled as shown in the second picture, put a layer of each in a glass baking pan. First the chicken-kale mixture in the bowl, then the pasta, then the roasted vegetables. Drizzle with the Olive-Alfredo sauce, top with shredded parmesan. Refrigerate or freeze now if you'd like.

When ready to eat, (defrost) then bake at 300°
for 20-25 minutes. . .Lin

Lamb and Vegetable Stroganoff

10oz. cooked lamb roast - cubed

1c sliced or chopped onion

2 stalks of celery - diced

1 carrot - diced
2T butter

Penzey's Black and Red Spice
Rosemary Seasoning *
1-2c lamb broth

4-8oz. sour cream
4oz. black truffle Alfredo sauce

Saute' the first group of ingredients until the butter melts and everything's sizzling.  Add the seasonings, a little at a time.  After all the flavors come out and blend, you can add more at the end if needed.  The black and red is a great blend of finely ground black and a little cayenne pepper.  Cover this and turn down the heat.  Let simmer on low about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook up some chunky pasta.  Just before serving, add the sour cream and Alfredo. Stir in some of the starchy pasta water to both thin and thicken it.  (it's magic!)  Check the flavors to see if more seasoning is needed.  As I was serving this, I remembered I have 8oz. of gorgeous mushrooms in the 'fridge - how yummy would those have been in this?  Also some really great frozen peas, which might also have been good.

However, this was beyond delicious!  It'll forever ruin me for regular (beef) stroganoff.

This would be a great recipe to also use with tender bison, elk, venison or goat, which is what the butcher at the European Market told me this roast was.  I love lamb though, so it worked out well.  And. . .I did buy goat chops!!!  So, if you love goat, stay tuned! 😉. . . Lin

Chicken Zucchini with Pasta and Pink Sauce

12oz. lean chicken cut in cubes

5 cloves sliced garlic

½c dry white wine

Tuscan seasoning

Salt and Pepper

2T butter

Combine these ingredients in a 4 quart heavy-bottomed pot, simmer-saute' 10-15 minutes then add:

½c chopped purple onion

another ½c dry white wine

1 sliced mini yellow pepper

1 sliced mini orange pepper
½c chopped sun-dried tomatoes

12oz. of your favorite red sauce

4 sm.-med. zucchini - quartered lengthwise

Simmer all this together, covered, over low-medium heat.

¾c dry medium pasta

8-12oz. Alfredo sauce

Meanwhile, cook the pasta separately, in a 2 quart pot, until barely tender.  Drain, then add the pasta to the pot, saving a little of the pasta water to add if needed.

When the zucchini is turning translucent, but not mushy, add the Alfredo sauce, stir, heat again, to a slow bubble, before serving.  The combination of Alfredo and red sauce is called 'pink' sauce, which I feel is a misnomer.  It's actually orange.  Regardless, it's really good.😊. . .Lin