Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Feel Bad- Chicken Malano

I feel bad, I can't help it. I just looked and there were almost 70 of you last month who checked the site for something new and I let you down. I am sorry! Last month...is a month that I will not soon forget. I really had to tell myself to stop so I could catch my breath! I officially launched my cake business so I made about 400 phone calls regarding that, filled several orders and participated in two shows, not to mention I hosted my own version of cupcake wars with some of my best girlfriends that lasted until 1:00AM! I hope to keep blogging regularly, I love it, I long for it. I think if things constantly I want to write and share with you but finding the time to sit is always tricky. So, today I am going to share with you a simple quick and easy recipe for those of you who are in a time crunch like me. I know three people who just had babies and several who have had other life drama so I am needing things I can throw together to quickly wrap up and deliver to someone in need. This is perfect for that quick meal. Ingredients are usually super cheap when you hit them on sale and as much as I don't like to buy things "bottled", I couldn't resist how easy this was.
I hope you will enjoy. My little ones ate this up! This is enough to for 6-8 adults. Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Chicken Malano (from Macaroni Grill)
3-4 chicken breasts
1 cup bottled Italian salad dressing
salt and pepper
Pour the above in a bowl and allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes.
1 box pasta (I like bow tie for this but you can use any long noodle, just preferably nothing hollow)
1 jar classic Alfredo sauce (I know, just go with me)
10-15 sliced mushrooms
1/4-1/2 cup half and half, heavy cream, milk
6-8 sun dried tomatoes diced
1 box frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
3-4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
2-3 Tbsp prepared pesto (I used trader Joe's brand and it rocked)
Bring 2 quarts water to a boil, add 2-3 Tbsp salt, dump in pasta and let it cook until al dente (not total mush!)
In a large saute pan, drizzle in 2-3 Tbsp olive oil. Toss in mushrooms and allow them to simmer 5-6 minutes. Meanwhile, go heat up your grill and start grilling the chicken breasts, approx ten minutes per side until cooked through. Bring them in and allow them to rest.
Back to that saute pan, to the mushrooms add the sun dried tomatoes, spinach, Alfredo sauce, and 2-3 Tbsp of the Parmesan cheese. Throw in a good dash of salt and a good heavy turn on fresh cracked black pepper(because you should have no other kind in your pantry. When I mean heavy I mean a good 10-13 turns) Turn the heat to low, stir then slowly stir in cream.
Once the pasta has cooked, quickly drain and return to the pot. Pour over cream sauce. Thinly slice chicken that has rested and add to pasta, stirring to coat. If it seems a bit dry, ad a splash more cream. Pour into individual plates or large serving bowl and drizzle with pesto and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. If you have fresh parsley on hand you can chop some and sprinkle on the top. Yummy!!

No comments:

Post a Comment