Penne in a White Sauce

I'm sorry I haven't posted a lot lately. We have had so many expenses this month that we have been eating as simply as possible. Lots of quesadillas and taco rice. lol. But this is a dish that I threw together with things that we just had around the house the other night. When I make a dish up it is usually because it is a bunch of things that just sound good. We really liked it and it was really easy - so here you go! It was really late when we made this and so I didn't take a picture. But the picture looks a LOT like it and is courtesy of this site.
PENNE IN A WHITE SAUCE

8-12 oz. penne noodles
3 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup sliced green onions
juice of 1 lemon
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup - 1 cup milk to desired consistency
1 - 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (optional, or you can just use canned chicken)
Paremesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. In the meantime, in a large skillet, saute the garlic until golden brown on medium heat. Mix in green onions and lemon juice and mix together. If you are using chicken, add it to the skillet and mix. If you want to make this a vegetarian meal you can add cooked broccoli or peas instead. Mix in cream of chicken soup and milk. The sauce should be slightly thick so don't add too much milk. Also, the thicker the milk you use the creamier your sauce will be. Mix in the cooked penne and toss to coat. Serve warm with paremesan on top.

Beach Street Lemon Chicken Linguini

Oh.My.Yum!!!!!! This is one of my new FAVORITE pasta dishes. Such a great flavor and, as long as you remember to marinade ahead of time, relatively simple to make. The flavors are a rich combination of so many different kinds of flavors that they just roll over your tongue. And it is still subtle and light without the thick creams added to so many pasta sauces.

Don't be afraid of the lemon zest. Just rub a lemon on the small part of a cheese grater. It takes about 2 minutes, if that. And the picture shows SHREDDED  parmesan, but we used grated and it was wonderful.  Seriously, this is one you will WANT to try! It ranks up there in my book with the Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl!

The recipe and picture are courtesy of My Kitchen Cafe and can be found here.

BEACH STREET LEMON CHICKEN LINGUINI

From My Kitchen Cafe
**This recipe requires marinating the chicken for 3-12 hours so plan ahead!**

1 lb. linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Zest from one lemon
Juice from one lemon
3 green onions, chopped (white and green parts)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Marinade:
½ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
Juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 chicken breasts, sliced

Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk lightly before pouring into a ziploc plastic bag. Pat chicken dry and toss in marinade to coat. Refrigerate 3-12 hours.

When ready to cook, preheat skillet over medium heat and pour contents of plastic bag (both marinade and chicken) into the skillet. Saute over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked.

Combine juice of one lemon, lemon zest, olive oil, green onions and fresh parsley together in a small bowl. Set aside.

While the chicken is sautéing, cook linguine in boiling salted water until done; drain and return to warm pot. Pour lemon juice/olive oil/green onion mixture over pasta and mix lightly. When chicken is finished cooking, add hot pasta mixture to the skillet with the chicken and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and toss in parmesan cheese. Serve warm.