Pasta Bake with Green Beans

I made this a while ago (I'm a little backlogged on these recipes--been busy job hunting and getting a part time job since my real job hunt hasn't been going anywhere). It was very easy and very delicious. The original recipe was double this one and also had a bit of wine in it, but I thought it was just as flavorful without. For the vegetables, I used celery, broccoli, carrots, and an orange bell pepper. It may not have met the exact measurements of the recipe, but so long as you have the cooking times down it's a very flexible recipe! I served the pasta bake with some store bought garlic bread and the green beans (recipe below). The beans were a bit spicy so I'd probably limit the pepper flakes next time!

Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Bake
Recipe adapted by me from Lisa's Dinnertime Dish

2 cups assorted vegetables
olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 box whole wheat penne pasta, cooked for 7 minutes (you still want it to have a bite)
1.25 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chop vegetables into bite size pieces.  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread on a baking sheet.  Roast in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until softened and starting to caramelize.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

While veggies are roasting, cut up chicken into 1 inch chunks and season with salt and pepper.  Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook until starting to brown (you don’t want to cook the chicken through at this point).  Pour wine over chicken, bring to a boil and reduce for about 2 minutes.  Stir in marinara sauce.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, roasted veggies and chicken mixture.  Transfer mixture to either one large 9×9 baking dish, coated with cooking spray or two smaller baking dishes.  Sprinkle cheeses over the top.

If baking right away, cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through.  If you froze one of the pans, defrost before baking and you may have to add an additional 5-10 minutes to the cooking time.


Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic
Recipe from foodnetwork.com

2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blanch green beans in a large stock pot of well salted boiling water until bright green in color and tender crisp, roughly 2 minutes. Drain and shock in a bowl of ice water to stop from cooking.

Heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and the butter. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans and continue to saute until coated in the butter and heated through, about 5 minutes. Add lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.

Cajun Shrimp and Rice

This was easy and delicious! You can use either cooked or uncooked shrimp--I accidentally used the precooked shrimp in my mom's freezer because I didn't see any uncooked shrimp but it worked fine and the recipe didn't overcook the shrimp. I made this while my mom was out of town a few weeks ago because she doesn't like seafood.

Cajun Shrimp and Rice
Recipe adapted by PheNOMenal from The Food Network Magazine

1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and pepper
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups COOKED white rice
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Lemon wedges

Heat the butter, olive oil, and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat for about a minute. Add the Cajun seasoning (or spices) and shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes and green onions to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Add the rice and 1/4 cup water and continue to cook until the rice is warmed through and the shrimp are opaque, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes

If I'm making another vanilla buttercream in my life, it's going to be this frosting. SO. SO good. The cupcakes were great too--the frosting and cupcakes went perfectly together. It tastes best on the first day (after you refrigerate it the frosting hardens a bit) but is still delicious no matter what! A great alternative to storebought funfetti!

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes
Recipe from Annie's Eats

1 cup whole milk, divided
6 large egg whites
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
2¾ cups cake flour, sifted
1½ cups sugar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. (¾ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup multi-colored sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a liquid measuring cup, combine ¼ cup of the whole milk, egg whites, vanilla and almond extracts.  Whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Mix briefly on low speed to combine, about 30 seconds.  Add in the butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles wet sand, about 30 seconds.  Mix in the remaining ¾ cup of milk, then increase the speed to medium and beat for about 90 seconds more.  With the mixture on low speed, add the egg white mixture in three additions, mixing for about 20 seconds after each addition.  Scrape down the bowl as needed.  Gently fold in the sprinkles with a spatula.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds of the way full.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes.  Let cool in the pan briefly, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Prepare the vanilla buttercream.  Add the buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip.  Frost as desired.  Garnish with additional sprinkles.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Recipe from Annie's Eats

1½ cups plus 2 tbsp. (3 sticks plus 2 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)
2 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar to the bowl and mix on medium-low speed just until incorporated. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean pod (if using) into the bowl and add in the salt. Continue to beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Mix in the heavy cream and vanilla on low speed just until incorporated. Increase the mixer speed and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed, about 4-5 minutes.