Pinterest Meals....HUMMM

So I challenged myself to a week of nothing but Pinterest meals. I will share a few with you and what we thought about them. So lets go... 1st up~Michael Symon's Fresh Rigatoni with Chorizo

Ingredients:
1 pound rigatoni (fresh or dried)
1 tablespoon olive oil 1 28-ounce can chopped San Marzano tomatoes ( I don't buy special tomatoes so I used hy-vee diced tomatoes with garlic)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound fresh chorizo (removed from casing and crumbled)
1 1/2 cup yellow onion (diced) 4 ounces dry white wine (optional)( I don't cook with white wine so again I used chicken stock)
1 cup grated Manchego cheese (didn't have it in my budget to buy this so parm cheese it is :)
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley (chopped)(dried, cut the amount WAY down of course)
salt and pepper to taste

Here's how to make it~ Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. If using dried pasta, add it the water and then move on to preparing the sauce. Stir the pasta occasionally so it doesn't stick together.

  Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the chorizo (removed from casing and crumbled) and let it brown for 2-3 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.

Move the chorizo to one side of the pan and add the onions, with a pinch of salt, and cook for about 1 minute. If using fresh pasta, add it to boiling water now (as it will only take 3-4 minutes to cook).

Deglaze the pan with the wine aka chicken stock, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get up all the tasty bits. Reduce the wine by half. This will take less than a minute.

Next, add the tomatoes and bring up to a simmer. Check for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary. Add the pasta and toss to coat the noodles.

Remove from the heat and mix in parsley, extra virgin olive oil and parm cheese. Serve, garnishing with more cheese if desired.

I liked that this dish came together for me in 10 minutes! It would be a great go to meal for those evenings when you need something really quick. My family said it was good, I got the feeling that they liked it but not something they will be asking for in the near future because there was a lot left in the pan. I will warn you it's spicy, not anything my 4year old couldn't handle but my a 2 year old no way. We had a friend over that night as well and she didn't like it at all.

Next up...Healthy cajun chicken pasta This was really good!
Even my picky eater ate this one but I'll show you how I tricked him later :-)

Here's what you need.
8 ounces uncooked linguine 1 pound chicken breast strips
1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or to taste) 1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced ( I used a green pepper)
1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced ( Again green pepper but I only used 1 for both)
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red onion,
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium tomatoes diced (again Hy-vee diced tomatoes w/garlic)
1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth 1/3 cup skim milk (2%)
1 tbsp flour
3 tbsp light cream cheese
Fresh cracked pepper
2 scallions, chopped (didn't add)
1 Zucchini ( the orginal pin didn't have this but I wanted to add another veggie) salt to taste
Smart Balance cooking spray (EVOO)

Directions: Prep all your vegetables. In a small blender make a slurry by combining milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside. Season chicken generously with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and salt

Prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions. Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray and add half of the chicken. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done, set aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Set aside. Add olive oil to the skillet and reduce to medium; add bell peppers, onions, and garlic to skillet, sauté 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season with 1/4 tsp salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low; add chicken broth and pour in slurry stirring about 2 minutes. Return chicken to skillet; adjust salt and Cajun seasoning to taste, cook another minute or two until hot, then add linguine; toss well to coat. Top with chopped scallions and enjoy!

                                             Here is what my picky eater's plate looked like...

 

How did I get my picky eater to eat it you might ask. Well first I cut my veggies up really small this was for both of my kids, after the dish was complete I took out some sauce and veggies and pureed them in my food processor. He NEVER saw it coming! He LOVED it!


Last one...Paula Deen's Goulash

What you need~
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 large yellow onions
3 cloves garlic chopped,
3 cups water
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce ( I couldn't find mine, the kids lost mine playing Bowling with my cans...I'll show you that one day :-) So for this ingredent and the next I just used my Hy-Vee diced tomatoes and garlic I pureed them.
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
3 bay leaves
                                                                                    3 tablespoons soy sauce (this seemed like an   lot to me so I only added 2) 1 tablespoon House Seasoning, 1 tablespoon seasoned salt, 2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked

Directions In a Dutch oven, sauté the ground beef over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sautéing. Spoon off any grease. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and sauté until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, House Seasoning, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes more before serving. This one was another home run for my house!