Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Italian Chicken Bake

This week I have reverted back to day shift. All week. I have no idea how I did that and I must say I hate getting up early! But, at least it's only three days. I love having the "normal" feeling of sleeping at night and being awake during the day, especially when the weather is super duper nice! My nights have consisted of porch sitting, beer (well hard cider) drinking, Pinterest perusing, working out and talking about the future with my main squeeze. 

This recipe is something super simple! Though it takes an hour to cook it takes about 5 minutes of prep work, if you think cutting up potatoes counts as prep work! This dish was ok, lacking in flavor some but I didn't do two packets of the dressing seasoning like it called for. I have no idea why! There's different versions floating around on Pinterest and the recipe I used was from Ashley's blog. I saw one version where they used ranch packets instead of Italian. I might try that next time or I might just use two Italian packets like she did.


I used a bag of frozen green beans but I think next time I might try canned ones. The frozen ones always have that "blanched" flavor even after they cook for an hour. Anyway, I'll definitely make this again but with slightly different variations. Supper can't get anymore simpler!


How to make said dish:

Enough potatoes (peeled, unpeeled, red, yellow, whatever floats your boat) to fill one side of a 9x13 casserole dish
Same amount for the green beans (canned, frozen or fresh)
3-4 chicken breasts 
2 packets (I used zesty) of Italian dressing seasoning mix
3/4 of a stick of butter

This literally is a dump and bake dinner! Line one side of your dish with green beans, the other side with potatoes and fill the middle with chicken. Cut up butter in pieces and place all over previous said ingredients. Sprinkle packets of Italian seasoning over everything. Cover with foil and bake for one hour at 350.(You may want to spray just a bit of cooking spray on the side the potatoes. Mine stuck a little)

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Smoked Sausage and Tortellini Skillet

A few months ago I was on the hunt for a recipe that was quick and simple. Working night shift, I don't always have the energy when I get up from sleeping to cook something for dinner before heading to work. This dish is simple and only takes one pan! I'm usually hesitant about one dish meals especially when there's pasta involved because the pasta normally likes to be a hog and suck up all the glorious sauce you make. This dish is not like that at all. The pasta is not a hog and it makes this wonderful, delicious, tomato and cream sauce. I got the recipe from one of my most favorite bloggers, Stephanie, from over at Plain Chicken. I made it again last night and I must say this one is a keeper boys and girls. I'm adding recipes to my binder (which will be in another post) to have and save for future meals I am going to fix my main squeeze. 


Stephanie said she used turkey sausage and I used polish kielbasa. You can really 
use any kind of sausage you want! This dish was simple and smelled amazing when cooking, especially the sausage. 


Look at all that yummy saucy goodness. It was even good leftover when I took it for my lunch at work. This dish is a definite keeper!


I ended up fixing me a few pieces of garlic bread to go along with it. Keep on the lookout for a post about my recipe binder soon! Happy eating!

Smoked Sausage and Tortellini Skillet

1 lb smoked sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz tomato sauce
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
9 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese


In a 12-inch skillet, brown sausage in olive oil. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in  remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer on low for 12-15 minutes. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.