Asian Noodles with Chicken and Pineapple

6 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved lengthwise (2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced lengthwise
8 ounces rice noodles
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into bite-size wedges (2 cups)
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook beans until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add bell pepper, and stir to submerge. Using a small sieve, transfer vegetables to a bowl. Add noodles to boiling water, and cook until al dente according to package directions, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain, rinse thoroughly with cold water, and reserve.
2.Meanwhile, in a small skillet, bring 1 cup salted water to a simmer over medium heat. Add chicken breasts; cover, and cook 5 minutes. Turn off heat; let steam until chicken is cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken with a fork.
3.In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, soy sauce, and sugar. Add reserved vegetables and noodles, chicken, pineapple, mint, and 1/4 cup peanuts; season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat with dressing. Serve immediately, topped with remaining 1/4 cup peanuts.


Note: Angel-hair pasta can be substituted for the rice noodles in this recipe. To save time, you can use store-bought roasted chicken, and skip step two. Also, this salad can be prepared up to a day ahead of time and refrigerated in a covered container, but the pineapple should be added just before serving.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Sorry I'm late. I hope I'll take next week off because next week at this time I hope to be busy with a new baby!

4 ounces linguine pasta
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 green onion, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


1. Cook Pasta, drain.
2. Place the chicken and the Cajun seasoning in a plastic bag. Shake to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the chicken in butter or margarine until almost tender (5 to 7 minutes).
3. Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms and green onion. Saute and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat.
4. Add the cream, basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper. Heat through. Add the cooked linguine, toss and heat through. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Chicken, Peppers & Pasta

1/2 red pepper, cut up
1/2 green pepper, cut up
1/2 yellow pepper, cut up
red onion (you decide how much)
tomatoes, cut up (optional)
2-3 chicken breasts
penne noodles
1 jar alfredo sauce (I use Ragu Classic Alfredo)
pepper
cajun seasoning (I use Tony Cachere's)

In a pot cook penne noodles (I don't even know how much I use - what ever looks good or falls into the pot). While the noodles cook...

Cut chicken into small pieces. Cook in pan & season with pepper and cajun seasoning.

Cook peppers & onion in frying pan. Add tomatoes at very end if wanted.

Drain noodles. Add chicken, pepper mix, and alfredo sauce. Mix well.

This is really easy to make and I can never have just one serving. If your husbands don't like veggies (like mine) this is one way for them eat them.

italian sausage pasta

Italian sausage pasta.
1 package of Italian sausage
1 can diced tomatoes - drain an tiny bit of the juice off and use the rest
Parmesan cheese. I use the Kraft bags of parmesan shredded cheese
1 tablespoon rosemary
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup cream
between 2 and 2 1/2cups penne pasta.

Start the pasta cooking. Cut the Italian sausage into pieces, maybe about 1/2 inch thick, and fry them. Add the tomatoes and juice, rosemary, and bay leaves. Let that simmer while the pasta cooks. When the pasta is done take out the bay leaves (and throw away) and mix in the cream and cheese. Add the pasta and mix it all together. Put in a casserole dish and bake at 350 - if I am really hungry I only bake it for 20 minutes, if I can wait I leave it in a little longer. Enjoy!