Tortellini Alfredo

Recipe & picture from http://joelens.blogspot.com :]

Ingredients:

-1.5 cups heavy cream

-2 tbsp unsalted butter

-Salt

-1/4 tsp black pepper

-9 oz. fresh tortellini (I used Bertolli's 3 cheese)

-3/4 cup (or more) shredded Kraft Parmesan/Romano/Asiago cheese

-1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

-1 cup frozen peas, slightly thawed

-7 or 8 pieces of bacon, chopped

Bring 1 cup of heavy cream & the butter to a simmer in a 3-4 quart sauce pan over medium heat.

Reduce heat to low & simmer until mixture reduces to 2/3 cup.. about 12-14 minutes.

Turn off the heat & stir in 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp black pepper.

While cream is reducing, bring 4.5 quarts water to a boil in a large pot.

Add 1 tbsp salt & tortellini to the boiling water & cook until just shy of al dente.

Set aside 1/4 cup pasta water & drain.

Return cream mixture to a simmer over medium high heat.

Reduce heat to low & add pasta, cheese, nutmeg, peas & bacon to the mixture.

Cook on low 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted, pasta is coated & cooked al dente.

Serve immediately.

:D So delicious.

Grilled Chicken Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

This is our favorite recipe so far! I probably make it once a week now. haha.

I got this one from kevinandamanda.com too :]

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/grilled-chicken-pasta-in-a-tomato-cream-sauce.html

Their recipe is great but here's how I do it exactly:

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts

Montreal Steak Seasoning

1.5 of penne pasta [or more.. whole grain or regular.. it's delicious either way]

butter or margarine

olive oil

minced garlic [I've been using pre-minced garlic]

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 8oz. can of tomato sauce

1 cup heavy whipping cream

kosher salt

pepper

1 tbsp. basil

1 tbsp. parsley

I don't usually buy basil & parsley fresh just because.. it's less trouble. I buy fresh garlic but mincing it is a nightmare so if a recipe calls for minced, I have a jar of pre-minced garlic.. which I spilled ALL over my kitchen floor tonite. :[ My kitchen and living room smell pretty overpowering at the moment.. which I'm trying to remedy with fall candles!

Anyway, RECIPE.

-Rinse chicken breasts & pound with the smooth side of a tenderizer mallet until they are an even width throughout.. this way they will cook evenly.

-Season both sides of chicken breasts with Montreal Steak Seasoning.

---((((You can grill the chicken but I haven't tried that yet.. there are directions for that under the cut for the link))))---

-Heat a large skillet on medium heat & add 2 tbsp of butter & 2 tbsp of olive oil.

-Once butter & olive oil is melted, add chicken breasts & cook about 5 minutes on each side (or until done of course)

-If your skillet isn't big enough to cook them all at once, add another tbsp each of butter & olive oil before starting on the next batch.

-Boil a large pot of water & add 1 tbsp of salt. Add pasta and boil for about 12 minutes

-After chicken is cooked, add another 2 tbsp of butter & 2 tbsp of olive oil to the skillet (still on medium heat)

-Add about 1.5 tbsp of minced garlic & cook until tender.. doesn't take long AT ALL

-Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth & turn heat up to medium-high

-Let broth reduce by HALF

-Once it has reduced, pour in tomato sauce & heavy whipping cream

-Stir it all up & add about 1 tsp of salt & 1 tsp of pepper.. more salt if you prefer. Taste it to see!

-Turn heat to low and add parsley & basil to sauce and mix it up.

-Slice chicken into pieces & add pasta, sauce & chicken together and EAT.

I just ate a big bowl and I'm a happy girl right now. :)