Creamy Chicken with zucchini and corn

Making dinner last night went like this, "What should I make?" Open the fridge,"What's in the fridge?" Closing the refrigerator door, "Oh I don't know." Open the fridge again, "Ok I have corn to use up, zucchini and I took chicken out of the freezer last night." 

As I took the ingredients out of the fridge I quickly came up with a yummy dinner. I totally made it up, but it was so good, even as leftovers today, that I decided to write it down for myself to make again and post it here. It's simple, not that good for you, but delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of pasta, your choice of the shape. (I used bowtie.)

1 package of boneless chicken breasts

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 tub whipped cream cheese or 4 oz regular cream cheese

1 zucchini (or 1/2 depending on the size) cut into quarters

2 corns on the cob

1/2 bell pepper either yellow, orange or red diced

Fresh shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese, about 1/3 cup worth

Salt & Pepper

1. In a stock pot boil salted water for the corn and the pasta. Once boiled add the pasta and corn. Boil the corn for 12 minutes and time the pasta accordingly. (My pasta said 11 minutes so I did both the pasta and corn for 11 minutes.) Once cooked pull out corn and set aside; drain and rinse pasta. Cut the corn off the cob and set aside.

2. Mean while in a large skillet place 2 Tbsp of cream cheese, garlic and chicken in a frying pan. Set the heat to medium low, cover with a lid and cook. A few minutes in to cooking the chicken add approx 4 Tbsp of water to help cook the chicken but not burn the cream cheese. Once the chicken is cooked removed from pan to the cutting board. Mean while in the same skillet add zucchini and bell pepper. Salt and pepper this to taste. Also add 1-2 more Tbsp of cream cheese. Cook until vegetables are soft about 4-5 minutes. Then add the cut up chicken and corn to vegetable mixture. Add shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese. Stir well. Add 1-2 Tbsp more of cream cheese IF NEEDED.

3. In a large serving bowl place pasta and skillet mixture. Stir very well until all coated. Serve hot. Feeds approx 6 people.

Orzo with Chicken, Corn, and Green beans

I made this tonight for the first time and throughout the whole meal all I could think about was posting it to the blog. Yum, yum, and yum! Oh and did I mention it's easy and the kids love it. Total win!
One thing is very important about this dinner though. Are you ready? It's ALL ABOUT THE CORN. Trust me. Don't use frozen. You will notice a difference if you use fresh. (Disclaimer: I've only made it this way, not with frozen, but it did taste amazing this way.)
I bought bi-colored corn on the cob at the growers market on Saturday. It was so incredibly sweet and delicious in this meal! It totally made it amazing.
By the way, it's out of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food cookbook, with a tweak.

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 box orzo pasta
- 1 package of fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
- 3 ears of corn on the cob
- 1 package of chicken breasts
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 Tbsp pesto
- Olive oil
- Salt & Pepper

1. In a large skillet place 1 Tbsp of pesto. Add chicken and stir it around to coat well. Cook on med heat until no longer pink, covered so it stays juicy.
2. Meanwhile, boil water for the pasta and cook according to package. Also in a separate pot cook corn. (Once salted water is boiled, add corn and cook for approx 10 min.) For the last 3 minutes of cooking the corn add the green beans. Drain everything well. Rinse the pasta and place in large serving bowl. Set corn aside. Cut green beans into bite sized pieces; add to orzo.
3. Stand the corn on end and slice it off the cob over a cutting board. In a small skillet heat olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper. Add corn and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes; add to orzo.
4. Once the chicken is fully cooked, shred it and add to orzo. Drizzle everything with some swigs of olive oil, add salt & pepper, stir well, and serve. This meal can be served at room temp or cold.

Grilled cheese with Zucchini

It's summer and that means zucchini! I think we eat zucchini at least twice a week; on pizza, with pasta or just sauteed as a side. Here's a go at a delicious lunch I made the other day. Oh man, I could have eaten two sandwiches.

INGREDIENTS:
- 2 slices of really good bread, like from your favorite bakery. (Don't use regular sandwich bread.)
- 3-4 slices of monterey jack cheese (like the block cheese from the food store)
- 7-8 slices of zucchini, sauteed
- olive oil
- garlic powder
- salt & pepper
- butter

1. In a small pan heat the olive oil. Add the zucchini. Season with a bit of garlic powder, salt & pepper. Stir occasionally for a couple of minutes until tender.
2. Meanwhile butter the bread and cut the cheese. In the same pan, clean it if you wish, place the bread, cheese, zucchini and second slice of bread. Cover with a lid so the cheese melts well. Only turn the sandwich once. Serve with your favorite sides. Mine are chips & a pickle!

Butternut Squash and Chicken Sausage over rice

I completely made up this recipe myself. I originally made the squash, craisins and onions as a side. Then I thought of making it into a meal. If you try it and like it, great! If you make your own changes, perfect! That's what sharing recipes is all about.

INGREDIENTS:
Al Fresco (the name of a brand) Chicken Sausages
1 med sized Butternut squash
1/2 - 3/4 cup of craisins
1/2 large onion, diced
1 or 2 cup of rice (depending on the rice and how many you are serving)

1. Take the sausages out of the packaging and slice them into approx 1/2 slices. In a large skillet heat up 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add the sausages and cook until no longer pink. Meanwhile cook rice according to package.

2. With a vegetable peeler, peel the butternut squash. Cut off both ends and then slice it half. Spoon out the seeds and discard.  Cut the squash into bite size chunks. Once the chicken is cooked, set aside. In the same pan add the squash; season with salt & pepper. Cook on med to low heat, covered and stirring occasionally. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until soft and tender.

3.  Add onion and saute 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add craisins and chicken sausages and heat through. Serve over rice.

Summer Mexican Salad

This dish makes a great appetizer for parties. Make it a meal by serving it with quinoa. Quinoa is considered a superfood. In just 1 cup of this grain you'll get 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tsp salt

2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cuos frozen corn or 4 cobbs of corn, cooked and shaved
1 avocado, diced
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 container of grape tomatoes, cut in half
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 container of feta cheese (optional)
1 bag of tortilla chips

1. Combine lime juice, olive oil, garlic & salt in a small bowl. Shake well and set aside.

2. Combine beans, corn, avocado, pepper, tomatoes, green onions and optional feta in a large serving bowl.   Pour dressing over salad and serve at room temperature. Can be made one day ahead of time. Refrigerate and let sit out about 30 minutes to serve at room temperature. Stir well before serving.

Summer Corn Chowder

This is an excellent soup in summer or winter. I must say that unless you have air-conditioning, save it for a cooler day. Feeds 4-6.

INGREDIENTS:
- 6-8 slices of bacon, I like turkey bacon because it's meatier and healthier.
-1/4 of a large onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 large russet potatoes, chopped
- 2 large sweet potatoes, chopped
- 3 corn on the cobb stalks, shucked, cooked and sliced down in a bowl
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk or cream (I used whole milk and it tasted great.)
salt & pepper to taste
1 sprig of rosemary

1. Cook the bacon according to the packaging. (I find cooking it in the oven is wonderful. Easy and much cleaner.) Chop bacon into small pieces.
2. In a large stock pot heat olive oil. Add carrots, onion and garlic. Season with salt & pepper. Heat about 8-10 minutes until soft and tender. Add broth, bacon and potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender.
3. Stir in whole milk or cream and corn. Add the sprig of rosemary and let simmer for about another 20 minutes. Serve hot with your favorite side of a salad and/or bread.

Easy as 1, 2, 3 chicken tacos

I am not kidding you; this is the easiest meal you will ever make. And it's so tasty! It is 3 ingredients, sort of, and just 3 steps!!! It's good for casual dinner guests because it goes a long way too.

INGREDIENTS:
1. one package of chicken breasts
2. one jar of salsa
3. one taco seasoning packet

Step 1. Get out your crock pot, and plug it in. Set it to low.
Step 2. Put chicken, salsa and seasoning packet in the crockpot. Give it a good stir.
Step 3. Walk away, leave the house, go to work, whatever...when you come home for dinner it will smell so good! Oh sorry, I guess part of the 3rd step is to shred the chicken. Since it's been in the crock pot all day it will simply fall apart with 2 forks. Place it in a bowl to serve.

MORE INGREDIENTS:
bell peppers, diced
tomatoes, diced
spinach or lettuce, chopped
shredded cheese
avacado, chopped
sour cream
Trader Joe's, handmade tortillas, or which ever brand you love

Make me a Shandy!

This is my new favorite summer drink! Even if you don't like beer, try this anyway. I think you might just love it. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 very cold, Blue Moon beer

Organic lemonade, or a brand with no high fructose corn syrup

1 sprig of fresh mint

Get out a glass, fill it 2/3's of the way with beer. Add the mint and top off the glass with lemonade. You can stir if you wish. Enjoy!