Pasta Carrabba Copycat Recipe

I found this recipe on Pintrest shared by the blog "Plain Chicken". I loved it and I have made it twice now so I thought I would share. At Carrabba's they incorporate peas and mushrooms but I leave them out.

What you'll need:

Chicken Marinade
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tsp Dried Basil

Alfredo Sauce
1 c Heavy Cream
1/2 c Parmesan Cheese
1 Medium Shallot (Finely Minced)
2 Cloves of Garlic (Finely Minced)
4 Tbsp Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Fettuccine Noodles

Put all of the ingredients under Chicken Marinade in a bag and let marinate overnight. Grill chicken and slice to mix in later.

Start boiling your noodles when you start the sauce. It goes quickly. For the sauce, place butter in a pan on medium heat. Saute shallots until they become tender. Then add your garlic.

Saute the garlic for about a minute or two and then add your heavy cream. Bring to soft boil and reduce to simmer. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir in until smooth and creamy.

Once the noodles are done add both the chicken and noodles to sauce and mix together until everything is coated with the Alfredo.

Serve and enjoy!

Chinese Shrimp and Broccoli

This recipe is one my mom passed along to me. Traditional she made it with chicken. I love shrimp and decided to use them instead. I also added baby corn because its yummy! This recipe taste exactly like Chicken and Broccoli with brown sauce from the Chinese delivery place.

What you'll need:
-1 1/2 lbs Medium Shrimp (peeled)
-1 Package of Broccoli (I used Steamfresh and cooked it first)
-A can of baby corn
-A can of Sliced Water Chestnuts
-3-4 slices of Green Pepper
-A can of chicken broth
-3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
-2 Tbsp Corn Starch
-2 tsp Brown Sugar
-1 tsp garlic powder
-a pinch of ground ginger

First saute your shrimp in a little bit of vegetable oil like so...

Then add all of the veggies to the same pan. I usually saute it all together for about 10 minutes. 





Mix the last six ingredients in a bowl and then pour over the shrimp and veggies. Bring to boil for 1 minute and then reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

Skinny Sister Pizza Casserole

This recipe comes from one of my sisters. She's a low carb dieter, I think she follow Atkins in her own adaptation, so this recipe is semi-diet friendly. Instead of crust, she uses shredded chicken as a base.

What you'll need:
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Your Favorite Pizza Toppings ( I used a green pepper, purple onion, mushrooms, and olives)
2 Jars of Pizza Sauce
1 Lg Bag of Mozzarella Cheese (Reduced Fat)

First you will need to boil your chicken for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. While my chicken was boiling I chopped all of my veggies.

Once the chicken is cooked, shred with a knife and fork and layer the bottom of the casserole dish with it.

You will then use half of the veggies for the next layer.

Followed by a layer of 1 jar of pizza sauce.

Then layer with half of the cheese.

Repeat the veggie, sauce, and cheese layer again.

Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy without the guilt! ☺

Dad's Chicken Kabobs

I have to give credit to my father in law for this amazing recipe. The best chicken kabob I've ever had. It is time consuming for the prep but definitely worth it. In this version, I did mine in the oven since we're in an apartment. It would also be good to make this way if its too cold to grill. Normally you would just place on a skewer like normal kabobs and grill until the chicken is well done.

You'll need:
1 of each - Green, Yellow, & Red Peppers
1 Onion
1 Large Can of Diced Pineapple (Drained)
1 Package of Mushrooms
1 package of Bacon
6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
Jamaican Jerk Marinade (We used Lawry's)

Dice all the veggies large enough for a skewer or about 1-1.5". Place them in a casserole dish by themselves.

Cut the thigh meat into bite size pieces, trimming fat along the way. Cut the bacon strips in half. Wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place the chicken in a bowl and pour the entire bottle of marinade over it.

Cover both dishes and chill for several hours. Once you're ready to cook, pull them out, and preheat the oven to 350°. Layer the chicken directly on top of the veggies and pineapple in the casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over and continue to bake for another 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Intro

A little about me-

1. I'm married to a Marine Sniper. I love saying that! It's like having a personal body guard at all times.
2. I have a 3 year old boy. He is convinced the only thing I cook is dinosaur food. It works for us.
3. I work full time as a glorified secretary/ "Office Manager" and book keeper. I am not spending all day in the kitchen. I try to have dinner on the table no later than 6:30 or the boys start going crazy and raiding the fridge. This time frame gives me about 30 minutes to an hour from the time I get home to food in their bellies. It depends on traffic. On Sundays, I try to do a big meal or something that takes longer than I have time for on the weekdays.
4. I am actually a very picky eater. I will try anything with shrimp, crabmeat, or lobster in it.
5. My husband does the dishes. Its our agreement. Almost official enough to put in a pre-nup.
6. I am NOT a nutritionist, so please don't be offended when my meals are not all that healthy. In my opinion, if its not fried or fast food, its healthy.
7. I am also not an English major. I try to proof read myself but sometimes I will make grammatical errors. It will annoy me when I find it and I will feel dumb.

That's all I've got for now. I hope you enjoy the recipes!