Quick Meals | Modern Hen home

Garlicky Spinach & Angel Hair Pasta

This savory dish is one way to stretch a meal with leftover pasta. Generally, I serve it as a side to chicken or fish, but it’s a family favorite all by itself. We prefer the thinner Angel Hair pasta over traditional spaghetti noodles, and I add extra red pepper seeds and parmesan because we like the heat and pungent flavors.

Be sure to have all ingredients, cooking utensils and serving bowl close to your cooktop because this dish is prepared in 3 fast steps ~ saute, toss to mix, and serve hot.

Garlicky Spinach & Angel Hair Pasta

Servings: 4
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Ingredients –
½ lb angel hair pasta (cooked/drained – about 1/2 box of Barilla brand)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper seeds (or to taste)
1 tbsp minced garlic (Spice World Squeeze bottle brand), or 3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 cups frozen fresh chopped spinach, thawed/drained, or 1/2 lb fresh spinach, loosely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
coarse salt to taste

Step 1. In skillet on medium-high, saute olive oil, garlic and red pepper seeds until brown, 1-2 minutes.

Step 2. Add spinach and coarse salt to pan, stir 1 minute until wilted. Fold in cooked pasta, butter, lemon juice and mix lightly.

Step 3. Add parmesan cheese, toss to mix in, pour into serving bowl.

* For a twist, add marinated artichokes, Kalamata olives or capers. Be careful on the capers though, they can add a lot of saltiness to the dish. I would start with half a teaspoon and then add to taste from there.

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Homemade Chicken Potpie & Creamy Chicken and Noodles

Easy to make in a 9″ pie shell or as mini pies like the one pictured here.

Here is a great how-to make homemade chicken potpie video you can view at the link below. I’m on a comfort food kick since the weather is still too cold to grill outdoors. Be sure to pick up a roasted chicken from your grocer and dice up the breasts to make this potpie even easier to prepare.

Chicken Potpie recipe link: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-pot-pie-ix/detail.aspx?src=VD_Summary.

Creamy Chicken & Noodles

Servings: 8
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Diced leftover cooked chicken
2 packages of Old-Fashioned Noodles (I used Inn Made Wide Noodles)
1 cup each: diced carrots, celery & onions
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
1/4 cup oil
favorite soup spices on hand
2 tablespoons creamy chicken base (Gordon Foods has great bases.)

Saute onions, carrots, celery in oil until slightly softened. Add your favorite spices (I add a pinch of red pepper, and a dash of onion powder, garlic powder, along with a liberal amount of thyme, basil or a favorite Italian spice.)

Once the vegetables are carmelized, add 2 tablespoons creamy chicken base, and 6 – 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Taste the broth, add a small amount of base if needed.

Add the old-fashioned noodles, peas and cooked chicken and simmer. The flour in the noodles will thicken the broth. Once the noodles are cooked turn off the stove and allow the pot to rest. The longer it rests the creamier and less broth you will have.

I hope you find these meals fairly easy and a pleasure to make. Don’t forget to sign up to receive Modern Hen Home posts in your mailbox and also Like my page on Facebook and then share. Have a blessed day!