Chicken Balsamico with Pears

Chicken Balsamico with Pears

Servings: 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Salt

Ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 medium Bosc pears, peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Rinse the chicken in cold water. Then pat dry with paper towels. Place each chicken breast half between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound the chicken breasts to 1/2-inch thick. Remove the plastic and sprinkle both sides of each breast with salt and pepper to taste.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, turning once, until it's no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear. Remove the chicken from the heat and transfer it to a platter. Cover it to keep it warm.

Add the garlic and turn the heat down to medium for 2 minutes, or until the garlic is soft. Add the pears and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pears are soft and golden brown.

In a small bowl, combine the chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, honey and cornstarch. Pour over the pear mixture. Increase the heat to high until it comes to a boil, and then immediately lower the heat and simmer, stirring frequently for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. Return the chicken and any juices to the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

Place the chicken on individual serving plates or on a large platter. Use a slotted spoon to mound the fruit over the top. Spoon the sauce over the fruit and around the chicken. Serve immediately.

I ate it with Mini Chinese Chicken Salads

I got this recipe from the Today Show

Easy Angel Hair and Artichoke Pasta

Don't pay attention to the sloppiness of my picture taking, but I just wanted to show all the incredible flavors that you get out of this dish. (Olives,artichoke, tomatoes, capers, garlic... you can see it all!) 

I had this pasta at Johnny Carino's Intalian Restaurant two weeks ago and it was so amazing that I have not been able to stop thinking about it. Adam and I studied the dish that I was eating at Johnny Carino's and figured out that it shouldn't be that difficult to recreate. (And there was a leaf next to this dish on their menu meaning it's a low calorie dish which is always a plus!) My gift to myself for my birthday yesterday and my treat for being alone on my birthday was to try and make this dish. It took me around 10 minutes to cook it up and it probably would have taken less time if I wasn't watching Minute to Win it at the same time and was distracted. Hence the sloppiness looking of the dish and there was no one to impress so I just slapped in on a plate. But that's what I love about pasta dishes too- they don't have to be pretty because their taste makes up for it and they are supposed to get everywhere. Oh, and I have discovered that my new favorite flavor comes from a little thing called capers. Sooooo good!!

Angel Hair and Artichoke Pasta

Servings: 3-4

4 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped black olives

1/4 cup capers (or more if you love them as much as I do)

1 small jar of Artichoke hearts

Angel hair pasta 

Start boiling water to cook the pasta in. The sauteing part of everything else is really quick so you need to make sure your noodles don't put you behind.

Saute garlic in olive oil until done.

Add tomatoes, olives, capers, and artichoke hearts. Saute

Place cooked pasta in the pan with your sauce and mix it around. (I hear that's how the professionals do it)

Your done! Place on a plate and enjoy!!

The sauce. I cooked mine a little longer than I would have liked and the tomatoes began to get a little soggy, so beware of over sauteing.

Place pasta in the sauce and mix it around till it looks like......

......this! I'm sure yours will turn out prettier than mine. But it still looks yummy!!

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

Zuppa Toscana Soup
1 lb ground Italian sausage

1½ tsp crushed red peppers

1 large diced white onion

4 Tbsp bacon pieces

2 tsp garlic puree

10 cups water

5 cubes of chicken bouillon

1 cup heavy cream

1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes

¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.

3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.

4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.

5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.

6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve.

I also like to cut up a fresh tomato and place it in my bowl of hot soup as well. Mmm.... Tomatoes make everything better.

I made this last night and made it with my Olive Garden bread stick recipe and my Olive Garden salad recipe.

Eat with:
Olive Garden's Salad and Dressing 
Olive Garden's Bread Sticks 

Chicken, Cheese, and Spinach Manicotti

This was our main dish for dinner last night to celebrate Valentine's Day! I was surprised at how much I liked it. I made 10 manicotti stuffed noodles and we had 2 each for dinner, then Adam had 4 more for a midnight snack!

Chicken, Cheese, and Spinach Manicotti

Servings: 5

1-1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken breasts (When I cooked the chicken, I sprinkled pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning on it to give it a nice flavor so it wasn't so bland)

2 cloves  garlic, minced

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained (We used real spinach and that probably made it better too)

1 container  (16 oz.) Cottage Cheese

2 egg whites

1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

10 manicotti shells, cooked, drained

1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce (We used Ragu's Tomato, Garlic, and Onion flavor and I really think that it made the meal more delicious because it's a sweeter sauce, but you can probably use whatever.)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 package Good Seasons Italian Mix

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COMBINE chicken and garlic in large bowl. Add spinach, cottage cheese, egg whites, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and Italian mix; spoon into manicotti shells.

PLACE in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with spaghetti sauce. (We put a lot...mmmm...)

BAKE 25 to 30 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining mozzarella; bake 5 min. or until melted. Sprinkle with basil.

I got this recipe from Kraft foods.