Sunday, February 22, 2009

Easy Chicken Spinoccoli with Artichokes Pizza

Working full time and being a graduate student does not allow me to have a lot of time to slave over a hot stove. However, I will not  resort to frozen meals or cheap take out. I have come up with easy delicious recipes that can be done in a quick and timely matter. 
The other day I was craving pizza! I love specialty pizza. So I decided to make my own creative pizza. I recently went on a date with my boyfriend at Uno’s Pizzeria and fell in love with their Chicken Spinoccoli Pizza. I used the idea of chicken spinoccoli and added my own personal twist to it. 

Easy Chicken Spinoccoli with Artichokes  Pizza

Ingredients:

14 inch pre - made wheat crust (I prefer the wegmans brand)
5 oz canned or jarred artichoke hearts, sliced and patted dry
2 cups of spinach
1 cup of broccoli florets
½ cup of diced tomatoes (I used canned diced tomatoes with basil and oregeno)
½ cup of basil pesto sauce
2 tbs of olive oil
2 tbs of minced garlic
8 oz bag of mozzarella
8 tbs of fat free ricotta cheese
½ pound of boneless chicken sliced in inch by inch chunks

Directions
In a medium sauce pan, at medium heat, combine 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 table spoon of garlic. Add diced chicken. When chicken is fully cooked add spinach, broccoli and artichokes. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile spread pesto, 1 Tbs. of olive oil and 1 Tbs. of  garlic evenly on crust. Once mixture in sauce pan has simmered for 5 minutes, disburse mixture evenly on crust. Then add diced tomatoes, ricotta cheese, and load the mozzarella cheese. Bake  pizza at 450 degrees for aprox 7 minutes or until cheese has fully melted.

Enjoy!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Chicken, Pesto and Vegetable Medley topped over Mushroom Ravioli

I love ravioli, however I get bored with its traditional red marinara sauce. I decided to make my own sauce in a pesto base. I tried this recipe this evening and I think you will all enjoy.  

Chicken, Pesto and Vegetable Medley topped over Mushroom Ravioli

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into small                                 cubes)
Olive oil
2 tsp of fresh minced garlic
4 Tbs of store bought pesto sauce (you can find it in the                                   Italian section at your local store)
1 Cup of sliced mushrooms
1 Cup of fresh spinach
½ Cup of peas
6 sun-dried tomatoes cut Julian style
1 Cup of broccoli florets
1 cup of white wine
3 Tbs of parmesan cheese
1 ½ packages of frozen mushroom ravioli (I prefer the wegmans brand)

Directions:
In a large sauce pan, over medium heat combine garlic, chicken and a generous amount of olive oil.  Let simmer until chicken is fully cooked. Then add mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and broccoli. Let vegetables cook until tender, then add pesto sauce and white wine. simmer for 5 minutes. Then add peas.When the peas appears to be finish, turn off flame and let sauce sit for 5 minutes then add parmesan cheese. Follow package instructions for the mushroom ravioli. Once ravioli is finished  generously top sauce over the ravioli.


So there it is I hope you all enjoy :)