I cook all the time and I'm completely and totally obsessed with organizing lists and making sure I know what's going on the table on any given weeknight. I have spent countless hours making sure I have the best system for making my grocery shopping as easy-breezy and as organized as possible. I can't say the same for my pantry right now, which DESPERATELY needs an organizational intervention. Anyway, I use GroceryIQ, which syncs with my iPhone, my iPad, and my husband's phone. So I can make lists on my computer, iPad, wherever and it will automatically sync with all of the aforementioned devices without me having to do anything. Love it. I know that has nothing to do with a recipe, but I wanted to share anyway.
On to my recipe! I am going to share what I am getting ready to make for dinner tonight, once I can peel myself away from my blog stalking. I recently found another fab app/website that I can use to search for recipes to use for inspiration: BigOven. I NEVER follow recipes down to the last ingredient. Never. Mostly because most recipes out there include unnecessary fat and I know ways to eliminate - or at least reduce - the amount of fat that is included. Case in point: below is my updated version of this recipe that I found on BigOven.
Spicy Cajun Chicken Pasta
1 lb. chicken tenderloins, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 package of Jennie-O smoked turkey sausage
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 lb. whole-wheat linguine or spaghetti
1 roma tomato, diced
Old Bay seasoning
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons LIGHT butter
1/2 to 1 cup of 2% milk
Season the chicken with Old Bay and cook through along with the sausage. Set aside. In a large sautée pan, cook onion and peppers in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until tender. Add butter and melt. Add flour and cook flour for about 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and Old Bay. Slowly add milk and whisk continuously. The goal is to make a nice thick cream sauce - without having to use heavy cream. Hooray!
Cook the pasta according to directions. Add the meat to the cream sauce/veggie mixture and stir in your pasta. Allow flavors to marry and get happy over low heat for about 5 minutes. Top with diced roma tomato and VIOLA! Dinner is served, with significantly less fat than necessary.
Hope you enjoy your dinner tonight, whatever you may be making. Kudos to Julie for this yummy linky!
Thanks for linking up! I am now your newest follower! Isn't it amazing at how time just gets away from us while we are blog stalking! My poor husband gets so irritated. Lol
ReplyDeleteMy Journey to 5th Grade
Julie
Hooray! So glad to have your support! And yes, I could literally spend all day looking at blogs. There are so many fun activities that blogs share...it just helps me maintain my level of excitement for teaching. Love it!!
DeleteAdding that to my list! We love turkey sausage! New twist.
ReplyDeleteFabulous Fifth Grade Fun
This looks so yummy! Found you through fabulous Julie:) I teach fifth too. Following you now...get ready to be blog-stalked!
ReplyDeleteToodles,
Brandi
My Teacher Friend
YAY! I love blog stalkers!!
DeleteMade if for dinner this evening! Big hit...I need to work on the sauce a bit!
ReplyDeleteFabulous Fifth Grade Fun
The sauce is very tricky! But once you get it down, you can use it as a base for all kinds of things - like homemade cream of mushroom soup, baked potato soup, or even a lower-fat version of Alfredo sauce! It's all about adding the same butter to flour ratio (2 tablespoons of light butter and 2 tablespoons of flour, for example)and then slowly adding in the milk, not all at once. I love making this cream sauce base because I definitely do not use as much fat as "regular" cream sauces tend to use. I loved this cajun dish, too and will definitely be making it again. :)
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