Chicken, Lettuce and Tomato Skillet

Start by sautéing the following:

8 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms

1/3 green bell pepper - chopped

1/2 lg. onion - chopped

2T butter

garlic salt and pepper

I stood in front of the open 'fridge a while before this recipe came together for me. I'm starting to feel a bit better, I can tell, because my cooking impulse never went away. I guess I'd have to be way sicker for that to happen.

As this starts to cook, over med-low heat, cover with a screen or lid for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile peel and chop the tomato and dice up 1 petite Romaine (or fresh spinach), then add that to the pan, stir, adding a little water if needed. Cover again for another 5-10 minutes. 

Cut up the chicken and measure out 2c frozen peas. Uncover, stir in the chicken and peas. Increase the temperature until any liquid sizzles, then shut off the heat, Cover and let stand another 10 minutes before serving. . .Lin

A Lovely Breakfast!

I was hungry way earlier than usual today. This went together quick and was just what I needed! Chopped up and in a bowl in no time. . .

1/2 tomato
1/2 avocado
1 green onion
1 hardboiled egg
3T spicy hummus
a little handful of pea shoots (micro greens)

Some sunflower seeds and capers would have also been good in this mix. Be creative! Make a little time. Good food is sometimes just about combinations and really doesn't have to take long to prepare. . .Lin

Summer In A Bowl - Nancy's Garden Gazpacho

I. . .♥️ LOVE ♥️. . .SALADS. . .

To me, one of my wonderful 5 Ingredient Salads is always the best. I had all the ingredients for that, then I saw the beets, 2 lonely cherry tomatoes and a nice cucumber from my daughter, Nancy's garden. I thought, GAZPACHO!?! What else could I add to make Gazpacho!?! Carrots for sure, since those are always in my favorite restaurant Gazpachos. . .then I rummaged, and found all the rest in the 'fridge.

Everything you see above, garlic, onion, green pepper, radishes, celery and tops, etc. . .went into the blender with about 1/2c of that amazing Moroccan EVOO, 2T or so of the vinegar, juice and zest of that lemon wedge, salt, pepper, and about a cup of V-8, since I needed to tomato-this-up a bit. Blend well, or leave it a little chunky, your call.

I wanted to top it with sour cream before serving, but I was low on that. I combined equal parts-just under a cup each-of sour cream and plain Chobani Greek yogurt, a drizzle of water, salt, pepper and a generous amount of dry dill. Stirred and shaken, it was perfect finishing touch to make this Wonderful Saturday Night Cold Soup Dinner! Ahhh, Gazpacho!!←click here for some history on this amazing creation. . . Lin

Tomato Cream Soup

2 ribs of celery

½ cipollini onion

1 med. carrot

a handful of peppery arugula

1 6oz. jar tomato pesto*

2 cans diced tomatoes

12oz. spaghetti sauce

24oz.± water

1c of dairy of some sort.  Heavy cream, or in this case, I used ½c each of half & half and sour cream.

Chop the first three (mirepoix) ingredients and saute' in a little water, butter or olive oil in a 3 quart pot.  After 5-10 minutes, stirring and letting it just steam, covered, add the chopped arugula.  Arrange it on top of the mirepoix so it doesn't touch the bottom or sides of the pot.  Add a little water if needed, then cover and let it steam again on low, another 5-10 minutes.  Add the next four ingredients, stir well, cover and simmer on low another 15-20 minutes.  *If your okay with the possibility of an 'icky' colored soup, you could use regular basil pesto for a Tomato-Basil Cream Soup.

At this point, you can omit the dairy if you want.  If you're using it, cool the soup until it's just warm.  Add 1c of what you've chosen and stir it in well.  Bring the pot back to a simmer to serve.

Top with crumbled croutons, tortilla strips, pumpkin seeds or whatever sounds good to you.

Ahhhh, soup!  MmmMmm Good??  No. . .  Homemade soup is MmmMmm Excellent!! . . . Lin

Chili-Tomato Chicken and Pasta

Every so often I find I'm really craving pasta.  Last year I found a wonderful specialty pasta that has the best flavor.  It's called Chili-Tomato little hats pasta - but - I only bought one package 😒

I'm usually pretty good at tracking down such things online, but when the only option was to order this from a company in Germany, it seemed a bit laborious.  So, I'm going to use the last little bit of it to create something yummy and just hope to find this particular brand of pasta again someday.

I'm still deciding on the ingredients, but so far I'm thinking chicken with a tomato and sour cream base, kalamata olives, green garlic-stuffed olives, garlic, onion. . .and we'll see what else emerges. . . Hmmm, maybe artichokes. . .although those are usually better in a pasta salad recipe using Italian dressing.  Lots of options though.

1¼# chicken breast meat

½c dry white wine

¼c Tuscan Herb flavored olive oil

¼c minced garlic in olive oil

⅓ lg. onion - finely chopped

6oz. chopped roasted red peppers

4oz. sun dried tomatoes - chopped

3oz. GOYA Sofrito tomato base

Combine these ingredients in a 5qt. pot and bring to a quick simmer.  Turn of the heat and let everything marinate an hour or so.  After an hour, add the following ingredients:

a few leaves of dark green 'bubble' kale - chopped

14oz. petite diced tomatoes

2 sm.-med. zucchini - chopped

1 yellow pepper - chopped

⅔ lg. onion - chopped

1½c sliced kalamata olives

al dente cooked sm.-med. pasta

1c sour cream

This turned out amazing.  It was just what I was craving.

I omitted the artichokes and green olives, but I'll be doing something with those in the not too distant future.  A variation on one of my many Mediterranean Pasta Salads sounds like a good idea. . .Lin

Chicken, Kale and Pasta in Pink Garlic Sauce

1#± chicken breast meat

½c flour

butter, oil or bacon drippings

8oz. kale

1½c dry sm.-med. pasta

1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes

5 lg. cloves garlic

1c cottage cheese

1t Italian seasoning

1t sugar

1t sea salt

½t fresh ground pepper

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and put in a plastic bag with the flour.  Shake to coat the chicken.  Put it in a large colander and shake to get rid of the excess flour.

Heat up the pan and butter, oil or bacon drippings.  Add the flour-coated chicken and sauté to brown.  Cook the kale and pasta together until pasta is al dente.  Combine the chicken with the kale and pasta in a 3 qt. casserole dish.  Blend the remaining ingredients to create the Pink Garlic Sauce.  Pour over everything in the casserole dish and bake, covered for 30 minutes.  Stir, and bake another 10 minutes, uncovered.  This is a VERY strong garlicky sauce!  Be forwarded!


If you're not a big garlic person, maybe cutback to 2-3 cloves.  We loved it though!  Just be sure to have lots of breath mints with you for the next couple days.  Serve with a green or tossed salad. . .Lin

Chicken and Vegetables with Tomato Cream Sauce

1#± chicken tenderloins
2 med. zucchini cut in cross-sections
6 sm. Yukon gold potatoes - quartered
1 med. onion - chopped
2/3c chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 4oz. jar diced pimentos

3oz sun-dried tomato pesto

1/2c sour cream

1c plain Greek yogurt

salt and pepper

Arrange the chicken, zucchini and potatoes in a 9x13" glass pan.  Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a non-stick pan, sauté' the onion until translucent, add the remaining ingredients and let stand while chicken and vegetables bake.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.  Makes about 6 servings. . .Lin

Spicy Rosemary-Tomato Chicken Soup

1# chicken breast meat

3 cloves garlic

1 med. onion

2T coconut oil

½t Penzeys Black & Red Spice

8oz. tomato sauce

1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes

1 can water

2t powdered chicken soup base

2t ground rosemary

¾c sour cream

Cut chicken in small cubes into a 3-5qt. pot with minced garlic, diced onion and black and red pepper blend. Saute' in coconut oil until all is lightly browned. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water, soup base, rosemary, and simmer for an hour. Cool slightly, then stir in sour cream, bring back to a low simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with crusty bread. . .Lin