Pesto Chicken Pasta

6 oz. spaghetti

2 carrots, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

2 large skinless, boneless breasts, cut into bite size pieces 

1 pkg. basil pesto mix

½ cup finely shredded Italian cheese blend

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet cook carrots in butter over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add chicken; cook and stirring until no pink remains in chicken. Make pesto according to package directions.  Add 4 tablespoons pesto; toss to coat.  Drain pasta. Return to pan; toss with remaining pesto. Toss in chicken mix and cheese.  Makes 6 servings.

Martha:  This is, of course, a recipe I found and made changes to.  The original called for refrigerator pasta and jar pesto.  I used ½ a package of spaghetti and bought a dry package of pasta mix.  I’ve used the jar a well as the mix and like the mix better.  The original had the chicken served on top of the pasta but I just made it easy and mixed it in with the spaghetti.  I also changed the cheese from Parmesan to an Italian blend which had some Parmesan in it.  This turned out so good.  I shared with 4 of my food testers and they all loved it.

Chicken Bake

1 2/3 cups hot water
1 pkg Stove Top stuffing mix
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken cooked
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup sour cream
6-8 slices Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Mix soup and sour cream.  Spread over chicken.  Add a layer of Mozzarella cheese slices over soup mix.  Mix hot water and stuffing mix.  Spread over cheese.   Bake 30-35 minutes or until bubbly in the center.  Serves 6

Martha:  The original recipe came from Kraft and I did make my usual changes.  I used packaged stuffing instead of the stove top.  I did this for 2 reasons.  I'm not crazy about the seasoning packet in the stove top and I also had 3 cups of the packaged stuffing in the pantry (I use Pepperidge Farm blue package).  The sour cream was increased to 1/2 cup and the Mozzarella cheese addition was not in the original recipe.  Out of the 5 food testers that were lucky enough to get this dish, they all raved about the different flavors that blended so well.  This is a good one to make quickly after a long day at work.

Shaved Brussel Sprouts and Farro Salad

 

1 Brussels sprout stalk (I used 1 lb. frozen)

1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon or Spicy Brown Mustard

1 small shallot, minced

1/3 cup Sherry vinegar (I didn't use)

1/3 cup and 1 tsp Extra virgin Olive Oil (I used 1/4 cup and 1 tsp.)

1/4 cup Shaved Parmesan, or to taste

1/2 a Lemon (I didn't use)

3/4 cup farro

1 teaspoon Butter

Salt and Pepper

Directions

Use a paring knife to trim the sprouts from the stalk. Separate and reserve the big leafy tops, and any leaves that fall while you’re trimming the sprouts. Wash the sprouts and the leaves separately. Set the leaves aside for now. You can shave the brussels sprouts in a food processor, with a mandoline, or with a knife.  (For the frozen sprouts I allowed them to thaw just slightly and then cut them into 1/4s).  Once your sprouts are shaved, lightly toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast at 425ºF until brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir them at least once while they’re roasting. (When using frozen sprouts you may want to turn the heat up to 450.  They don't brown as well or quickly as fresh).

In a saucepan, cover 3/4 cup farro with plenty of water, and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Drain the farro and discard the cooking water. In a saute pan, melt 1 teaspoon butter with 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium-high heat, then toast the farro until it’s golden.  (For some reason I couldn't get my farro toasted but that turned out ok for my dish.  This is also when I added 1/4 cup of olive oil and the shallots, letting them cook slightly.)

While the sprouts and farro are cooking, make the dressing. In a jar or tupperware, combine the shallot, vinegar, olive oil, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Shake or whisk thoroughly.

Toss the roasted sprouts with the toasted farro and the dressing, and serve on a platter with shaved parmesan scattered over.  (For my dish I eliminated this step completely.  I mixed the sprouts, farro and cheese, tossing it while everything was still warm allowing some of the cheese to melt.)

Comment:  This recipe came from John Spottiswood at CookEatShare.com and it caught my eye immediately.  I did make a few changes because I'm not a lemon nor vinegar fan when it comes to my farro nor Brussel Sprouts.  I ended up tasting as I went along determining what I wanted to add.  There was one other ingredient that I haven't listed and that was a few sprinkles of Greek Seasoning (can be found at Walmart).  The 4 food testers that ate this dish all loved it!  And so did I.  I'll make it again.

Tamale Pie

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped bell peppers (I added)
1 envelope (1 1/4 oz.) taco seasoning mix
1 can (8 oz.) stewed tomatoes drained & chopped (I omitted)
1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed & drained (I omitted)
1 jar (16 oz.) Your Favorite Salsa (I added)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I added)
1/2 cup Bisquick Mix
1/4 cup Yellow cornmeal (I used white)
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a pie plate (I use cake pan) with cooking spray.  Cook beef until brown.  Drain.  Stir in onions, (bell peppers) and taco mix.  Spread in pie plate.  Sprinkle with tomatoes and corn.  (I spread the salsa over mine instead of the tomatoes & corn and sprinkled with the cheese.)  In a medium bowl mix the remaining ingredients until blended (this works best with a whisk or fork).  Pour evenly over the ingredients in the pie plate.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Comment:  This is another one of those simple, yet delicious, Bisquick Impossible Pie recipes.  As you can see I did make a few changes but have given you the original recipe as well.  I must say that mine turned out so delicious.  I topped it with a little sour cream.  Serve it with a salad and you have a meal that's ready in no time with very little preparation.  These forgotten recipes from my earlier years are worth bringing back.

Apple Dumplins

2 Granny Smith apples 

2 cans crescent rolls

2 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla

cinnamon

1 small can (7 1/2 oz.) coke

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour over apples. Pour coke around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and walnuts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

Comment:  While in the mountains I bought a bag of apples.  I probably should have inquired what kind of apples they were but didn't.  Turns out that they are VERY tart apples that weren't good for eating raw but only good for cooking.  I had found an Apple Dumplin recipe some time ago but just hadn't tried it yet but knew these apples would be great to use instead of the Granny Smith.  (These apples had more tartness than the Granny Smiths!).  The recipe called for 2 Granny Smith but since my apples were a little smaller I used 4 and cut them into 4 slices each.  This may have been even better since I ended up with larger pieces of apples in each dumplin.  The recipe also called for regular sugar and Mountain Dew.  I decreased the sugar to 1 cup of  UNPACKED brown sugar and a small can of coke.  I also added the walnuts.  This turned out to be an OMGoodness dish!  Easy, quick and so delicious.

Cherry Pie Cake

1 yellow cake mix
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick butter, melted
1 can (21 oz.) pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.  To make the crust - In a medium bowl combine cake mix, eggs and butter.  Press into baking dish.  Spread pie filling over the crust.  Bake 40-45 minutes or until cake is done.  A toothpick will not come out clean in this so watch for a spring in the center when pressed down.

Comments:  I had a can of cherry pie filling, that had been forgotten, in my pantry.  The use by date was still about a year away but I didn't want to forget it again so I started thinking about ways to us it other than as a pie or cobbler.  I remembered some cookies that I make using a cake mix so decided to see how that would work out as a crust.  Boy did I hit it right!  I used the cookie recipe which uses the ingredients above but instead of making them into cookies I just pressed the mix into the baking dish to form a crust, adding the pie filling as a topping.  The flavor from the butter along with the cherry filling gives this dish such a rich flavor.  It's good hot, warm or cold and you can change the filling to your own favorite.  I can't wait to try this with strawberries or black berries or mixed berries or blue berries or, or, or----

Corned Beef Casserole

1 box (8 oz.) pasta
1 can (12 oz.) corned beef
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup grated cheese
French fried onions, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.  Mix corned beef with soup and cheese.  Stir until well blended.  Fold in pasta.  Pour into 2 qt. baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.  Top with French fried onions.  Serves 4

Comment:  This recipe came from an old cookbook that I found at an Estate sale.  The book had been well used and was in pretty bad condition.  The directions for making this dish listed the 4 main ingredients but the directions were incomplete so I assumed my method was correct but maybe not.  I did add the French fried onions as a topper and I also used the beefy mushroom soup instead of the plain.  This did come out as a really tasty dish.  Due to the salty corned beef I wouldn't add salt until tasting.  For changes you can save some of the cheese to sprinkle over the top, I didn't.  This is a dish for anyone who needs something quick.  Don't like corned beef?  To me this tasted nothing like corned beef but more like a beef and gravy type sauce dish.  This could also be made into a dip by leaving out the pasta.  Heat and serve with corn chips or bread cubes.  It can be kept warm in a fondue pot.

Chicken Delicious

2 chicken breasts - cooked, cooled, cut up into bite size pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup celery, chopped (about 2 stalks)
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 cups stuffing mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix chicken, soup, chestnuts, mayo, celery and cheese.  Spread into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Mix melted butter and stuffing.  Pour over chicken mix.  Bake 45-50 minutes.

This dish has a story.  Here is my co-author, Lillian Mort's portion of the story.

When our sister was ill, my sister, Lorretta, brought dinner to us (I was there helping to care for my sister and, when Lorretta brought dinner, she did the whole thing from salad, to entree, to home made rolls and to dessert!). This time, the entree was Chicken Delicious and it stood up to its name.  Later, after I came home, I added Water Chestnuts and, sometimes, thinly sliced green onions, to her recipe and have been making it ever since.  It's always a hit with shut-ins from church, too.  Sometimes, I make two smaller casseroles and freeze one before baking for a meal on another day.

Now for my part of the story.  When I went to FL for the release party of our cookbook Think With Your Taste Buds - Desserts, Lillian cooked this dish.  It's such a simple recipe that required very little preparation time, giving us more time to spend together just talking.  I really enjoyed the dish so I copied down the recipe and decided to make it myself.  But...I decided to add one more ingredient.  Lillian had added the water chestnuts giving it an extra texture so I added the cheese.

You can bet this recipe will be in our next book Think With Your Taste Buds - Meats.  In the meantime, make it our own recipe by adding your own ingredients.