Pasta with Chicken, Bacon, and White Beans

I'm trying to be better about looking in the cupboards before I plan our meals, so that I can plan based on things that I already have on hand. It saves money, for one thing, and it also ensures that I won't have a pile of unused ingredients falling on my head whenever I open the cupboard (this has happened before with our cereal/snack cupboard; thankfully I have relatively quick reflexes).

That's how this meal was born -- I had beans and pasta in the cupboard, chicken and bacon in the meat drawer, and some rosemary that was nearing the end of its life. I combined them all together to make a pasta dish that is a new favorite in our house, and that is nothing short of luscious. The flavors are perfectly balanced; you get the earthiness of the beans and rosemary, the smokiness of the bacon, the sweetness of the cream, and the saltiness of the parmesan cheese -- all together in one creamy, delicious bite. YUM.

Pasta with Chicken, Bacon, and White Beans

1 pound penne or other short pasta

6 slices bacon, diced

1 tablespoon butter

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can cannellini beans, drained

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain.

2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Set aside on paper towels to drain. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the skillet.

3. Sprinkle the chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper. Add the butter to the skillet to melt. Add the chicken and cook until both sides are browned and crisp and the chicken is cooked through. Remove to a plate and cover with foil.

4. Add the garlic and beans to the same skillet; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Add chicken stock and heavy cream, scraping the bottom of the skillet to pick up any browned bits; stir until thickened, then add parmesan cheese until melted. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Chop the chicken and add it, along with most of the bacon, to the reserved pasta. Add the sauce and stir to combine. Sprinkle each serving with additional bacon and parmesan cheese.

Chicken Tacos with Quick Citrus-Pickled Red Onions

I don't think it's any secret by now that I love a good taco, and I especially love them during the summer months. They're such a light and quick dinner option, which makes them perfect for warm weather. Thankfully, Cooking Light has no shortage of taco recipes to choose from, and you know how I love my Cooking Light. In this version, chicken tacos are topped with citrus-pickled onions, creamy avocado, and queso fresco for a meal that is ready in minutes and tastes absolutely amazing.

This was my first time pickling onions, and I was so pleased with the results. The pickled onions were the real star for me. Boiling them for just a moment first takes away their sharp bite, and you're left with a sweet, tangy, still slightly crunchy garnish. The boys even enjoyed them, and I can see myself making the onions on a regular basis so I can use them as a topping for sandwiches and other types of tacos, too.

Chicken Tacos with Quick Citrus-Pickled Red Onions

slightly adapted from Cooking Light, April 2010

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of 2 limes

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1 pound chicken breast tenders

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

Cooking spray

Flour tortillas

1 avocado, pittled and sliced

1 tomato, seeded and diced

Crumbled queso fresco cheese

Sour cream

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves. Place onion in a small saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; drain and plunge onion in ice water. Drain onion; add to juice mixture. Chill until ready to serve.

2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Sprinkle chicken with oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper; toss to coat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned and done, stirring occasionally. Shred or chop chicken into bite-size pieces.

3. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Divide chicken evenly among tortillas. Drain onion; divide evenly among tortillas. Top each tortilla with sliced avocado, diced tomatoes, queso fresco, and sour cream.

Sweet and Spicy Pork and Asparagus Stir Fry

I know I’ve talked about this before, but Andrew really loves asparagus. Up to this point, Will hasn’t really cared for it -- but the recipe I’m sharing today is the one that made him an asparagus convert. He took a bite and his eyes literally lit up as he told me, "Hey Mommy, I like this! I like asparagus!"

Honestly, it would be really, really hard not to like this meal. My friend Sarah has never steered me wrong, and this recipe definitely delivers. It has such a perfect balance of sweetness and spice, and the flavor of the ground pork works perfectly with the asparagus and the sauce. I adapted the recipe slightly based on what I had on hand, and I was so happy with how this dinner turned out. This was a no-leftover night, which is always a sign of a great meal!

Sweet and Spicy Pork and Asparagus Stir Fry

adapted from A Taste of Home Cooking

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon chicken stock

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 pound ground pork

3 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 bunch thin to medium asparagus, trimmed, cut diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces

1 jalapeno, minced with seeds

2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal

Salt and pepper

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, chicken stock, and cornstarch. Add the pork and toss to blend.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy large wok or deep skillet over high heat. Add asparagus, jalapeno, and ginger. Toss until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer asparagus mixture to plate.

3. Add remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 tablespoon olive oil to wok. Add pork mixture and stir-fry until browned, using wooden spoon to break up pork into small pieces, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Return asparagus mixture to wok. Add honey and rice vinegar. Stir-fry until pork is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add water by tablespoonfuls if it becomes too dry. Add green onions; toss to incorporate. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve over steamed rice.

Bacon and Cheddar Cornbread Cakes with Fried Eggs

Since our lives have been so crazy lately, I've been diligently grocery shopping as usual, but then neglecting to make so many of the things I put on our meal plan. Finally, last week, I decided to cook completely from items I already had in the pantry and fridge, and only grocery shopped for our weekly staples. I didn't even plan our meals. This taught me a couple of things: 1. I am a Planner, and I definitely prefer having at least some sort of idea of what we'll eat during the week; and 2. I am much better at making meals on a whim than I thought I was.

I never used to be able to cook by just throwing ingredients together, and I don't exactly know when I got better at this. I was talking to my mother-in-law about this just the other day, and she told me that she has never, not once, cooked from a recipe. Maybe she's rubbed off on me over the years! In any case, this meal is one of the ones that I made with just what I had on hand, and you guys. It was PHENOMENAL. All four of us gobbled up these cornbread cakes.

I don't know why I even bought a box of cornbread stuffing in the first place, but I sure was glad I had it on hand for this recipe! Cornbread is typically too dry for me, but that definitely wasn't the case with these cakes. They were crispy on the outside and moist in the center, and, as they were loaded with bacon and cheddar cheese, they had tons of flavor. I thought topping them with a velvety fried egg was the perfect touch. I definitely see a Southwestern version of these in our future...

Bacon and Cheddar Cornbread Cakes with Fried Eggs

1 box cornbread stuffing mix

1 1/2 cups water

1 egg

6 strips of bacon, diced

1 cup freshly-shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup corn kernels

2 tablespoons butter

Salt

Eggs, cooked to desired doneness

1. Add cornbread stuffing mix to a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 egg and stir to combine.

2. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain and cool slightly, reserving the bacon drippings in the skillet.

3. Add bacon, cheddar cheese, and corn kernels to the stuffing mixture and stir to combine. Using your hands, shape the mixture into 12 equally-sized round patties.

4. Add the butter to the reserved  bacon drippings and heat over medium heat. Add the patties to the skillet in batches and cook until both sides are browned and crispy. Remove to a platter and sprinkle with salt.

5. In another skillet, cook eggs to desired doneness. Serve the patties with an egg on top.

Jalapeno Popper Smashed Potatoes

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Ours was busy, but lovely. I took Andrew to a birthday party for one of his friends, which was held at a massive facility made entirely of trampolines. Not surprisingly, he had an awesome time. This place also offers exercise classes, which I am strongly considering trying. The flyer claims that you can burn up to 1000 calories in one hour, just by jumping on trampolines. If that is really true, it completely cancels out the calories in these decadent smashed potatoes, and makes me feel much less guilty for indulging in them.

At this point, I'm pretty sure I can turn just about any food into a jalapeno popper, and smashed potatoes were long overdue for their makeover. These potatoes are so rich, flavorful, and delicious -- not a shock, considering that they contain half a pound of bacon, a generous amount of cheddar, and a ton of butter and cream cheese. If you'd like to bake these, you could totally add a topping of panko breadcrumbs to give them even more of a jalapeno popper-y feel. Whether you bake them, though, or just serve them straight from the stovetop, I strongly, strongly encourage you to make these. And then go jump on a trampoline for an hour to cancel out the calories. :)

Jalapeno Popper Smashed Potatoes

3 to 4 pounds red potatoes, chopped

1/2 pound bacon, chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded and diced

5 tablespoons butter, softened

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Add chopped potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until potatoes are fork tender. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove from skillet, reserving drippings, and set aside on paper towels to drain. Add the jalapenos to the bacon drippings and cook until softened and fragrant. Add the jalapenos to the reserved bacon.

3. Add butter and cream cheese to the potatoes and use a potato masher to mash. Stir in the cheddar cheese, bacon, and jalapenos until the cheese is melted. The potatoes shouldn't need any additional liquid, but if they do, add milk until desired consistency is reached. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.