Penne Pasta with Vegetables and Ground Chicken

This is a very easy recipe and has a lot of room for modifications to fit your tastes.  That is what truly makes this recipe fun.

Ingredients:
1 lb Penne Pasta
1 lb Ground Chicken
1/2 bag Baby Spinach
1 lb Sweet Peppers (your choice of pepper)
5 Roma Tomatoes - diced
1 pint Mushrooms
1 can Tomato Paste
2 tbsp Minced Garlic
1 tbsp Dried Oregano
1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper

Brown the ground chicken in a skillet over a medium high heat along with the minced garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper.  Remove the chicken, but do not remove the drippings.  Add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add the sliced sweet peppers and stir occasionally until the peppers begin to soften.  Add the coarsely sliced mushrooms and diced tomatoes along with the oregano.  Stir frequently until the tomatoes begin to break down.

Lightly chop the spinach and place it into the sauce and let it begin to sweat down.  Stir it in and add more as you continue.  The sauce will appear soupy at this time.  Add some or all of the tomato sauce into the sauce along with the ground chicken.  Continue this process until you achieve the consistency that you desire is achieved. 

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir.  Serve the pasta topped with some Parmesan Cheese.  Enjoy!

Turkey Habanero Quesadillas

Looking for  a quick, simple and inexpensive lunch?  Try these.

Ingredients:

Flour Tortillas
Olive Oil
Shredded  Cheddar Cheese
Diced Turkey

Heat a skillet and add a small amount of olive oil.  This helps to crisp the outside of the tortilla.  Place a tortilla in the pan and add a tablespoon each of diced turkey, habanero salsa, and cheddar cheese onto one half of the tortilla.  Fold the tortilla over and let it warm until the bottom of the tortilla begins to crisp, approximately 2-3 minutes.  Turn tortilla over and repeat for the second side.

Serve with additional salsa, sour cream or guacamole. 

A great dish to let the kids help with!

Grilled Asparagus

Asparagus is coming into our local markets and what a great idea it is to put it out on the grill.  Simple and easy to make, it is an awesome dish to add life to your meal.

The trick to asparagus on the grill is to skewer it using 2 skewers.  Using 5-10 spears per group makes it easy to turn them and quick to grill.  These were skewered, drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of lemon juice.  Place them over a medium heat and cook until a desired tenderness is achieved.

Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash

This is a simple and easy recipe to make.  Cut a butternut squash in half and remove the seeds.  Remove the skin from the outside of the squash.  Cut the squash into about 1/2 inch cubes.  When completed, place into a bowl and add in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp hot sauce per cup of squash.  Add salt and black pepper to taste and combine to coat the squash.

Place the squash onto a baking sheet and place into a preheated oven at about 350 degrees.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until the squash is tender.  Enjoy!