Spicy Tomato Cream Chicken Rigatoni

Ingredients: 

Chicken tenderloin

Rigatoni 16oz

Marinara sauce 28oz (we use our homemade sauce, recipe coming soon)

Sweet onion 1/3 cup

2 cloves of chopped garlic

Olive oil 

¾ cup of chopped orange bell peppers

3 Tsp of chopped jalapeno 

2 Tsp Italian seasoning 

1 Tsp crushed red peppers 

1 Tsp salt 

Pepper to taste 

Chopped fresh Basil 

1 cup heavy whipping cream 

1 Tsp sugar 

1 Cup of shredded Parmesan Cheese 

*if you do not want this spicy you can leave out the Jalapeno and red peppers, but you may lose some of the flavor.

• Coat the Chicken in olive oil and Montreal steak seasoning to rest while you are preparing your sauce. 

• Coat the bottom of your pan with Olive oil and let the Oil heat up until it is "crackling."
• Sauté the onions and garlic until the onion are almost cooked through, about 2 minutes. 
• Add your Bell peppers and jalapeno, continue to sauté for a few more minutes. 
• Add in your tomato sauce and your heavy cream. 
• Mix in your basil, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. 
• Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes. 
• While your sauce is simmering prepare your noodles and chicken. 
• Thinly slice your chicken and place in a pan with some olive oil on med high heat.

• Cook chicken for 3 to 6 minutes depending on how thin you sliced your chicken. Remove from heat.

• Once your sauce is done simmering add in 1 Tbl of sugar and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. 

• Toss in your cooked noodles and chicken in your sauce and enjoy. We tossed in warm pan and found that really combined the flavors well.

This recipe was inspired by an Episode of Diners, Drive-In & Dives.  We've made several changes to fit our tastes but the idea looked so delicious on tv we just had to try!

Pinterest Craft and Food Party

If you are like me, you have a long list of  Pinterest "Pins" and a very short "done" list.  I am absolutely in love with all the ideas I get from the website but I was seriously lacking motivation and time to complete any of the 100 crafts I want to complete.  Thanks to my friend Cheryl's idea I recently hosted a Pinterest party, it was a totally success and lots of fun!

We each brought an appetizer that was from or inspired by a Pinterest idea and the supplies to make a craft. Everyone ended up making wreaths but it was not planned that way.

From the right: Casey made her own inspired yarn-wrapped wreath, she wasn't quite done when we snapped this pic.  Cheryl added flowers to hers and plans to add a monogram letter in the middle.  Michelle, Becky and LuLu were inspired by this pin, I love that LuLu added her own flair.

I actually ended up making two different wreaths:

The one on the left I actually made with Dollar Store flowers!  The ribbon came from Joann Fabrics.  The other wreath was inspired by this pin but I changed it up a little.

I found both my wreath forms at the Dollar Tree.  The yarn, flower pedals, and ribbon are all from Joann Fabrics.  The flowers I actually made out of leaves from a Hydrangea flower and colored pins.  I was not happy with the ribbon used in the original tutorial and couldn't find the right pre-made flower.  The flag says "Bare Feet Welcome", it is perfect to welcome spring.  I just love how it turned out!

Update:  Here is Casey's finished Yarn Wreath

As far as food we had quite a spread, but I forgot to grab a picture of it!

I made this cake, it turned out well but next time I am going to poke a lot more holes it, the actual cake part was a little dry.

Casey made this delicious Thai dish, she actual used low carb noodles so it was even semi-healthy!

Cheryl made this dip, she has made it before & it was so good that I had requested she make it again.  It does have mayo in it though so I may try to make a variation without the mayonnaise.

What have you made lately from Pinterest?  I love seeing completed Pinterest ideas and recipes and hearing how they turned out so please share!

This was not sponsored by Pinterest in any way, we just love the site.

C & D Salsa of Death

This salsa is HOT HOT HOT.... so keep the milk and bread on hand.

2 cans diced tomatoes
3-6 Jalapeño peppers, chopped finely
2 Habanera peppers, chopped finely
Half Cup loosely packed fresh Cilantro (if in a quick salsa mood can sub dried cilantro 1 Tablespoon)
1 tsp. Cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. salt
4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder

Blend together in blender until finely processed, serve.

To tone it down a bit and not lose the flavor, drop to a half a Habernero pepper, deseeded. with two jalapenos.

Corey's Turkey Meatballs

Finally a delicious meatball with no egg or rice!  Since we like spicy food even the meatballs have a little spice, but just omit the Red Pepper Flakes if you prefer milder tastes.  These are perfect for Meatball Subs, Spaghetti and Meatballs, or Meatball Stuffed Buns.  I also love to snack on them by themselves.  We will be posting Corey's marinara recipe shortly that we used with these.

Ingredients:
1lb Lean Ground Turkey
2 Small cloves Garlic, chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Hot Sauce
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Teaspoons A1
2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (omit if you do not want them spicy)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Dashes Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
1/4 Teaspoon Dried Ground Mustard
1/2 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1/4 Cup Milk
2 Dashes Montreal Steak seasoning

Heat oven to 400 Degrees.

Chop Garlic finely, make sure to remove the skin.  We love the taste of garlic in this so you may want to cutback the 2 cloves to your taste.  

Combine Turkey, Garlic, and all remaining ingredients.  

Mix by hand until well combined.

Lightly grease cookie sheet.  Roll into 1-1/2inch balls.

Yields 20 about Meatballs.

Cook until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Spicy Fried Turkey Focaccia

This was super filling, which was great for  lunch to keep us full until Super Bowl time.  This recipe yields about 4 sandwiches, but could be easy to increased using fresh Turkey.

Ingredients:
1 package Carving Board Turkey (chunks of Turkey)
1/2 cup egg
1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (omit if you do not want it spicy)
1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Jar Jalapeno Jelly
Sliced Swiss Cheese

Whisk Egg & milk until blended.

Mix together Bread Crumbs, Cumin, Red Pepper Flakes, and Parmesan cheese.

Coat the bottom of your frying pan with Virgin Olive Oil and heat until sizzling.

Coat Turkey in Egg mixture.

 Then coat in the bread crumb mixture

Once your oil is heated (sizzling), drop turkey in pan. 

Cook until golden brown on each side.

Place each piece of Turkey on a plate lined with paper towels and let cool for a few minutes.  In the meantime, slice your Focaccia in half, spread each side with the Jalapeño Jelly.  Once Turkey is cool enough to handle, add Turkey and Slice of Swiss Cheese.  You may want to warm it for a few seconds to melt the cheese.  Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!  Joanna and Corey