Pesto Chicken Florentine

This delicious, creamy, and flavorful dish was a hit at our house! My little girl had 4 helpings all by herself! I really loved how this alfredo had a different twist on it with the spinach and the pesto. There are a couple of things I would change and I have listed my altered recipe below. The original recipe only calls for 2 cups of spinach but the full bag is absolutely necessary. Also, the original recipe calls for 1 pkg dry Alfredo mix that you make up - but it was cheaper to buy the jar of already prepared Alfredo sauce. Because of this, however, we had a TON of sauce so I would double the amount of noodles that are called for, or just bite the bit and make the dry Alfredo mix. I would prefer to double the noodles, however, so that the dish will go further and the sauce won't be so overwhelming. Whatever you do just add the sauce slowly so you get exactly the amount that you want. All of these changes are reflected in the recipe below. The original recipe and picture are courtesy of Allrecipes.com and can be found here.

PESTO CHICKEN FLORENTINE

From Allrecipes.com
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts - cut into strips
• 1 full bag fresh spinach leaves
• 1 jar Alfredo sauce
• 2 tablespoons pesto
• 1 (16 ounce) package dry penne pasta
• 1 tablespoon grated Romano/Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute; then add chicken and cook for 7 to 8 minutes on each side. When chicken is close to being cooked through (no longer pink inside), add spinach and saute all together for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat Alfredo sauce. When finished, stir in 2 tablespoons pesto; set aside.
3. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Rinse under cold water and drain.
4. Add chicken/spinach mixture to pasta, then stir in pesto/Alfredo sauce. Mix well, top with cheese and serve.

*SIDE DISH DELIGHT!*

GARLIC FRENCH BREAD

1 loaf french bread, thinly sliced
Butter
Garlic powder
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan

Butter both sides of a slice of french bread. Continue with remaining slices until your cookie sheet is filled or you have the amount of slices you need to feed your family. Sprinkle top side with garlic powder, italian seasoning, and parmesan. Place in oven and turn broil on LOW. If your oven doesn't have the heat option turn it on HI but WATCH CAREFULLY! The bread should take about 5 minutes on LOW and only 2-3 on HI. Bread should be slightly crunchy and golden brown when done.

Sweet, Sticky and Spicy Chicken

This chicken was very flavorful and delicious; however, Jake and I both agreed that we would change some things the next time I made it: 1. The chicken did NOT end up sticky - it just doesn't have enough time or heat before the chicken would dry out too much. Next time we will dredge the chicken in flour before browning it to help with the stickiness. 2. It needed more substance: cooked veggies like green beans, onion, broccoli, and water chestnuts. We will definitely add these things next time we have this dish.

Like I said, overall this dish had a great flavor and was very tasty and good enough that we want to make it again. The recipe and picture are courtesy of Allrecipes.com and can be found here. I have posted the original recipe below.

SWEET, STICKY AND SPICY CHICKEN
From Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger root
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Mix together brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and hot sauce in a small bowl.
2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken strips.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken strips and brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

Ham and Cheese Melts

These were delicious! So easy to put together and much tastier than I was expecting. I liked the flavor so much that I didn't dip mine in any kind of sauce. I even used a generic (cheap) brand of biscuit and they were great! I didn't use cheese slices either. I used a mix of mozzarella and cheddar shredded cheese. And although I doubled the recipe I could only manage to eat one and my hubby could only manage 2! This recipe will DEFINITELY be a repeat in our house! Thanks to Pillsbury.com for the recipe and picture which can be found here.

HAM AND CHEESE MELTS
From Pillsbury.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (16.3 oz) refrigerated biscuits (any variety)
8 slices American cheese
8 oz thinly sliced deli ham
1 egg
1 teaspoon water

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Press 4 biscuits into 5-inch rounds on ungreased large cookie sheet. Top each with 2 slices cheese and 2 ounces ham.
• Press remaining 4 biscuits into 6-inch rounds; place over ham. Press edges with fork to seal. Beat egg and water with fork; brush over biscuits.
• Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cut each in half. Serve warm.