Recipe: Jalapeno, Bacon, and Chicken Pasta with a White Cheddar Sauce

Last week, I planned out my meals for the week, buying all of my groceries in one go at the beginning of the week and assigning different meals to each day. My plan got a little kink in it at the end of the week when I didn't end up making the jalapeno-and-cream cheese stuffed chicken I had planned on making and instead used the cream cheese in my lemon and raspberry cheesecake. I also had green onions stashed in the veggie drawer that I had bought for a tuna dish I thought I would be making but couldn't (due to the fact that my crappy local grocery store never has tuna; I grabbed the green onions before making my way to the fish counter and finding out they hadn't gotten any tuna in for the day). So, I had jalapenos and green onions to use, plus the cheddar cheese that was called for in the jalapeno-and-cream cheese chicken recipe, plus half of a red onion from another dish I made, plus some heavy cream. I went through my quite common "What can I make with this assortment of ingredients?" routine and settled on making a spicy, cheesy pasta dish with chicken and a little bacon, for good measure. The resulting meal was quite tasty—tender chicken and pasta tossed with crispy bacon, lightly cooked green onion and red onion, jalapenos (minus the seeds, to help cut back on the spiciness), and a light and creamy white cheddar sauce.

Serves: 4

Prep. time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 8 oz. rotini, or other small/short pasta
• 4 slices bacon
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes and seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 jalapenos, seeds removed, finely chopped*
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2-1 cup heavy cream
• Approx. 4 oz. white cheddar cheese, shredded
• Butter, as needed
• Salt and pepper
• Cornstarch-and-water mixture, as needed

*When removing the seeds from the jalapenos, use gloves or whatever is available to cover your fingers so as to avoid getting the seeds and oil on your fingers. The oil in jalapenos is very spicy/hot and stays on your skin for quite some time, even with frequent hand-washing. I made the mistake of not using gloves and I could still feel and taste the jalapeno on my hands after two days. On a related note, if you want more spice in your dish, add in some of the seeds—they're where the real heat is. 

Directions

Heat water in a medium-sized pot over high heat. While waiting for the water to boil, heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add the bacon. Cook until crisp, but not overcooked, and remove to a paper towel-covered plate to drain. Leave the bacon grease in the pan and add the chicken, cooking until golden brown and cooked almost all the way through. When the water in the pot is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package instructions (approx. 10-12 minutes). To the pan with the chicken, add the green onion, red onion, and jalapeno and cook over medium heat until they are tender. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper (and butter, if needed) and reduce the heat to low. Crumble the bacon and add the bits to the veggies and chicken. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add the heavy cream and heat slowly over medium high heat. Once simmering, slowly whisk in the cheddar cheese and some salt and pepper. Allow the cheese to melt into the cream. Add some cornstarch-and-water mixture if the sauce seems too thin. Cheddar doesn't always melt very well, so the sauce may not be as smooth as you want, but once mixed with the other ingredients, this isn't noticeable. When the pasta is done, drain it and return it to the pot. Add the chicken and veggie mixture to the pasta and toss to combine. Pour the cheddar sauce over the pasta mixture and toss to combine. Add more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve topped with shredded cheddar cheese.

This dish is a perfect mix of spicy, salty, cheesy, and savory. The cheddar sauce pulls everything together and helps mellow and evenly distribute the heat from the jalapenos. Tender chicken and crispy bacon add a little dose of flavorful protein and the flavors of the green and red onions really kick the dish up a notch. 

Recipe: Baked Chicken with Blue Cheese, Pears, and Wilted Spinach

I came across this recipe while looking for dinner ideas for earlier this week and loved the flavor palate it featured. Sweet pears and tangy blue cheese are a fantastic combination and perfect for the fall, and combined with lightly seasoned chicken breasts and wilted spinach, they make for a light, filling meal. This meal is very easy to pull together and topped with some lightly toasted walnuts, for added texture and crunch, it's absolutely delicious.

The dish, sans walnuts, because, to be honest, it wasn't until I sat down with the dish in front of me that I realized that walnuts were just what the dish needed to be just right.

Serves: 4-6
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness (I serve each person 1/2 chicken breast and that's more than enough)
• Salt and pepper, for seasoning
• Olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a few pans)
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 4-6 cups (1 large bunch) loosely packed spinach (stems removed) or 3-5 cups baby spinach, washed and dried (I used regular spinach, but baby spinach would also work and it's a lot easier to clean and handle)
• 2 ripe D'Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 - 1 inch thick slices (I just cut the peeled pear in half, then cut slices/wedges out of each half and cut off the bit of core on each piece)
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup blue cheese crumbles (I bought a small container, garnished each plate with a spoonful or two, and put the rest on the table so more could be added if desired)
• 3/4 cup toasted walnuts (spread walnuts out on a baking sheet and bake for just a few minutes at 350*F in the oven, until fragrant and slightly golden-brown)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a medium, oven-safe skillet/pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and add them to the skillet, cooking just enough to brown each side. Remove the skillet from the heat and place it in the oven, then bake the chicken for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. While the chicken is baking, heat a little olive oil in a large pan and add the red onion, cooking until the pieces are slightly tender. Toss the spinach in and cook until it wilts (it should darken in color and "shrink" up)—if you're using regular spinach, make sure to thoroughly wash the leaves before cooking them because they tend to have a lot of sand and dirt on them and that's no fun to bite into. Once the spinach is wilted, plate it on dinner plates and set aside. Wipe out the pan and add in 1 tbsp. olive oil and the apple cider vinegar and heat over medium or medium-low heat. Toss the pears in and cook until they are heated through and slightly browned on both sides. Add the parsley in and toss to coat, then remove from heat. Plate the chicken breasts atop the spinach, place a few pieces of pear over and around the chicken, and sprinkle the dish with blue cheese crumbles and toasted walnuts.

This dish is wonderful for an autumn meal and can easily be served casually or plated formally and served at a dinner party, as the flavors of the blue cheese and pears add a certain degree of elegance to the dish. The various components of the dish all tie into each other wonderfully, creating a well-balanced and well-flavored dish.

Recipe: BLT Pasta

As soon as I saw the bacon in the fridge, I knew I had to make something with it besides the stereotypical bacon-and-eggs breakfast. Fortunately for me, this month's Food Network magazine had a little recipe booklet nestled inside called "50 Things to Make with Bacon." Number 18 on the list was BLT Pasta—something that I'm sure the newest winner of The Next Food Network Star, Jeff Mauro, host of The Sandwich King, would appreciate—and I thought it sounded like the perfect use for that salty bacon staring back at me from the fridge. Juicy grape tomatoes, crisp red onion, wilted arugula, and of course bacon, all tossed with pasta makes for a summery, but filling dish. Oh, and did I mention the tomatoes and red onion are cooked in bacon fat? As some of my sorority sisters are fond of saying (quoting a famous Wife Swap moment), "Bacon is good for you!"—okay, so maybe it's not, but it's definitely delicious.

Serves: 4-6
Prep. time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 8 slices bacon, cooked then chopped
• 1 red onion,chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (don't be heavy-handed, unless you want a spicy dish)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 5 cups grape tomatoes
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 12 oz. penne pasta (I used mostaccioli, which looks like penne without ridges)
• 4 cups arugula
• Basil leaves

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the penne. Follow the package for cooking times (about 11 minutes), then drain. In the meantime, cook the bacon slices in a large skillet. Remove once crispy and lay out on a paper towel to soak up some of the grease. Save 3 tbsp. of the bacon fat/drippings in the skillet. Add the red onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook until slightly tender. Add the grape tomatoes and cook for 12 minutes. In the skillet with the tomatoes and onion, add the heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes. Toss the mixture with the penne, arugula, and basil. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.
(Side note: I used about 10 oz. pasta, 3 pints grape tomatoes, and 3-5 oz. arugula, since I'm only feeding three people, and it worked out just as well)

This dish is both light and rich—the plump grape tomatoes and bitter arugula add brightness while the bacon fat blended with cream creates a rich creaminess in the dish. The freshly cooked crispy bacon is so much better than any imitation salad bar bacon-in-a-jar could be and adds a nice crunch. To be completely honest, I don't even like BLT sandwiches, because I'm not a big fan of raw tomatoes, but this dish reinvents the sandwich and makes it worth the few pounds you'll gain eating the bacon fat.

Recipe: "Cowboy Caviar" (Veggie Salsa)

I got this recipe from my best friend, Emmie, and her family, and it quickly became my go-to dish for picnics, parties, and summer snacking. I can't, for the life of me, remember where its name came from, but it's essentially a chunky vegetable salsa served best with tortilla chips. When I first encountered this dish, Emmie and I were preparing it for a Stanley Cup party at her place back in 2009 (the Pittsburgh Penguins were the champs that year! So awesome!). I wasn't that enthusiastic about the ingredients at the time (I'd never had avocado, I wasn't a fan of tomatoes, and I was pretty sure I'd hate the black beans), but Emmie insisted it would all come together perfectly and I'd love it—and she was right. It's chunky, packed with flavor, and a great way to get your vegetable serving for the day.
 

Served in Tostitos Scoops chips

Serves: Many
Prep. time: 10-20 minutes
Cooking time: No cooking necessary
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 lime, juiced (or approx. 2 tbsp. bottled lime juice)
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 4 avocados, chopped
• 1 (14.5 or 15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes (I like to drain some of the liquid from the can, but it's not necessary)
• 1 (14.5 or 15 oz.) can black beans, drained
• 1 (14.5 or 15 oz.) can yellow corn, drained
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions
Add the black beans, corn, red onion, tomatoes, and avocado to a large bowl. Be sure the red onion pieces are small, because the flavor is very strong and getting a huge chunk of red onion in your mouth is not very tasty. Gently stir the ingredients together to mix, being careful not to crush the avocado. Add the lime juice and salt and pepper, to taste, and stir a little more to mix. Add cilantro if desired (my mom hates cilantro, so I only add it if she's not around to eat it). Serve with tortilla chips or pita/flat bread.
It keeps for 3-5 days in the fridge (though my dad will keep eating it for a week or more)—the avocado will start to brown fairly quickly, but while the mixture may not look as appealing after the first day, it's just as tasty! If you use fresh limes, I highly recommend keeping the zest and using it in another dish. It's such a shame to waste such a delicious ingredient. I'm planning on using the lime zest from today to make mini lime cheesecakes tomorrow—recipe to follow, of course!

Close up of those delicious veggies

This salsa is delicious, and pretty healthy (if you don't eat too many tortilla chips with it). It's great for parties (I made it for a Super Bowl party during my junior year of college and it was a big hit), but it also works great as an easy summer snack.