This chicken spaghetti recipe post is written with bittersweet sentiments. One of the first friends I made when I moved to Little Rock was my friend B. I have some fine memories of our times together – like the time he poured a shot or two of Jagermeister into my chocolate chip cookie batter. The cookies turned out fine…maybe a little chewier than I would have liked. I opted not to take them to the school potluck. READ MORE
Ricci Alexis: Chicken Fajita Pasta
Chicken and Fajitas are two of my favorite things. I could seriously eat Mexican food all day every day. So combining that idea into a pasta? YES PLEASE!! I am a pasta-holic from way back when. I have been trying to cut back but sometimes you just need something hot and warm and this recipe fits that bill perfectly! It may just be my new go-to comfort food. Plus it’s a one pot meal and you just can’t beat that! READ MORE
Debbie Arnold: Pappardelle Bolognese
I love a a deep, rich, almost intoxicating Bolognese. The joy of gathering the ingredients, mincing, dicing — I enjoy all of it. And I especially like the all-day cooking of it about as much as I love, love the way it makes my kitchen smell all homey and welcoming. And the taste? Oh my goodness. READ MORE
Gina Knuppenburg: Cheese Tortellini with Garlic Sauce
Thom’s back in the kitchen! And, that means my taste buds are happy again {not to mention-the poor guy has lost ten + pounds having to eat my dinners over the last two months}. For his first real-thrown-together meal he’s prepared post surgery-he knocked it outta the park. Or, off the stove. READ MORE
Anita Stafford: Lemon Basil Pasta Salad
This colorful salad is quick to make, but it tastes like a dish that takes hours to prepare. The wonderful fresh taste makes it a favorite of mine. Any type of tomato can be substituted for the cherry tomatoes. READ MORE
Ricci Alexis: Bang Bang Pasta
For this recipe I just sautéed my shrimp in a little Rice Bran Oil, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and then I mixed them with my pasta and sauce. For the pasta I actually used a brown rice penne pasta that I picked up at Trader Joe’s when I was in Dallas. I have professed my love of brown rice many times here on this blog and I love brown rice pasta just as much! What can I say, I love brown rice! READ MORE
This pasta salad is crunchy and full of healthy goodness. Not everyone loves broccoli, but I think this salad could change minds. Even a skeptic might be converted when the broccoli is tossed with all the red grapes, pasta, toasted pecans, bacon, and tangy dressing. READ MORE
Debbie Arnold: Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad with Edamame
This salad is an adaptation of one I read about in Better Homes and Gardens. Since the garden is beginning to flourish with fresh summer vegetables, I decided to make use of those and create this salad to have for lunch recently. It’s great to make ahead and have on hand for a light lunch or dinner. I think you could easily add chicken or shrimp if you’d like although there’s plenty of protein already with the addition of edamame. READ MORE
Pat Downs: Pasta Primavera with Grilled Chicken
I do my Primavera a little differently. My husband loves corn so I use corn often in lieu of green peas. I also love the Pasta & Roni Angel Hair Pasta with Herbs. It contains just the right amount for the two of us. It will yield 4 servings after you mix all the other ingredients in. READ MORE
Amy Gramlich: Tallerine – Southern Family Favorite
If you love a good Southern dish ooing and gooing with cheese, you must try our tallerine – a longtime family favorite of my Arkansas family.
One of my fondest recurring activities while growing up was going over to my aunt and uncle’s house on Sunday evenings for tallerine. My Aunt Rosie made the best (and only) tallerine I had ever eaten. If you don’t care for processed cheeses like Velveeta, you may want to stay clear. But if you do like Velveeta, hold your appetite because you will want seconds. My whole family in Arkansas is about as southern as it gets. We know what’s good! READ MORE
Ricci Alexis: Creamy Chicken Spinach Mushroom Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes
For this recipe I was originally going to lighten it up and make it with zoodles but I forgot to grab some zucchini from the store and had half of a box of bow tie pasta in my pantry so that was that, regular pasta it was! I also love that the “sauce” you can eat alone, which I did when I ran out of noodles, HA!
The original recipe didn’t call for spinach but I love to throw spinach in pasta to kick up the nutritional value and make my food look prettier. Plus, just like in smoothies, you can’t really taste it. I tried throwing substituting kale for spinach but it just tastes a little too bitter for me. Do you like kale?? READ MORE
For fifteen years I lived a dairy-free life and a gluten-free life for five of those years. Those were challenging years, to say the least. Those were the days where you had to travel to large cities and specialty shops to find pre-packaged goodies and staples. Oftentimes it was a crapshoot on whether that $6.00 teeny tiny bag of pasta was actually going to taste anything like pasta… or disintegrate in the boiling water.
While I am no longer gluten-free or dairy free (read the story on nwafoodie) , ninety percent of the time I still gravitate towards gluten-free dishes. All those years proved to me that eating with limitations has merit. You learn to cook, for instance, because no longer can you mindlessly dial the pizza delivery guy or make something quick, easy, and simple as sandwiches or reach for the pint of ice cream if you had a sweet craving.
For those of you who are still living a gluten-free or dairy-free lifestyle or have a loved one who is, this recipe is for you. Actually, scratch that. This recipe is for all of us, including myself. It’s delicious and deliciousness knows no boundaries.
½ cup So Delicious dairy free coconut milk creamer
¼ cup Toffuti milk free Better Than Cream Cheese imitation cream cheese
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 ounces gluten-free spaghetti or fettuccini
Instructions
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, creamer, cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir approximately five minutes until bubbles appear and turn off heat. Cover.
In a large pot, cook the pasta according to directions in boiling water for approximately twenty minutes until cooked al dente and turn off heat.
Reheat alfredo sauce and add one tablespoon of the pasta water and stir.
Using tongs, remove pasta from water and add to the alfredo sauce and mix until pasta is thoroughly coated with sauce.
Arkansas Women Blogger member Lyndi Fultz writes about living and eating well from her life in beautiful Northwest Arkansas at nwafoodie. Much of her blogging inspiration comes from this gem of a place, which she refers to as the proverbial land of milk-and-honey. Read more related to cooking, entertaining, gadget suggestions, ingredient explorations, local finds, local restaurant treasures, kitchen tour spotlights, and always with a healthy and simplistic approach.
A couple years ago I was flying to a blog conference in Dallas and grabbed a bite to eat in the airport before I left and had the most amazing Queso Chicken Pasta of my life. Who knew some queso and chicken would taste so good over pasta??
When I got home from that conference I decided to try to make it myself and it turned out to be super simple and super delicious! I have tried several variations of the recipe over the year but this is one I keep going back to, the simple one!
You literally just boil your pasta, boil your chicken, and make some two-ingredient queso and mix it all together. In the past I have added garlic, bell peppers and onions, Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup, milk and some other things but so far the four ingredient recipe I am sharing with you today is my favorite!!
I am a huge fan of any and all Mexican food but sometimes I get tired of the same ole tacos, burritos, nachos, etc and I think this pasta is a yummy shift from traditional Mexican recipes. Plus it’s pasta so it’s a total comfort food. I haven’t tried it before but I bet it would be good with taco meat as well. I mean anything is good with queso, right?
16 ounces extra-wide egg noodles, prepared according to package directions
1 can Rotel
16 ounces Velveeta
Instructions
"In a large stock pot put the water on to boil your pasta. When it is boiling put your pasta in and boil until done. Drain the pasta and put it in a large mixing bowl.
In a medium sized saucepan boil the chicken until it's done; set it aside.
When it has cooled off a little chop it up into bite size pieces and put it into a large mixing bowl with the pasta.
In the same medium saucepan, make your queso.
Cube the Velveeta and add it to the saucepan with the can of Rotel; mix well over low/medium heat until well blended.
Add the queso to the mixing bowl with the pasta and chicken.
Ricci is an Respiratory Therapist by day and a lobgger by night. She loves big hair, anything monogrammed, traveling and living in the natural state. She has one fur child, a dog named Sophie, and thoroughly enjoys being the “cool Aunt” to her many nieces and nephews. You can catch up with her on her lifestyle blog, Ricci Alexis, or find on any social media platform as @riccialexis
I have loved Cajun food for as long as I can remember. I grew up in Southwest Arkansas and lived a couple miles from the Louisiana line so a lot of our food was Cajun inspired. My Dad put Tony Chachere’s Cajun seasoning on everything we ate and I still do to this day. I eat it on chicken, veggies, in soups, on garlic bread, and even on my eggs in the morning! Trust me, its good stuff.
As much as I love Cajun food I may love pasta even more so any recipe that combines the two is a win in my book! I have been making my not-so-famous One Pot Cajun Pasta for a few years now and it is always a huge hit with my friends. I love that you can put whatever meat you want in it and it still tastes good. I usually use chicken and sausage because that it what I usually always have on hand. I have also made it with chicken and shrimp and shrimp and crawfish before and it is good no matter what meat combo you use!
Now this is a one pot dish but despite the name you don’t just throw everything in to the pot and hope for the best, there is actually a method to the madness. So let’s get to it!
First you cook both the chicken and sausage through with some Cajun seasoning and then you add the veggies. I use red, green and yellow bell peppers, an onion, 3 cloves of fresh garlic and some sliced mushrooms. You can totally add more veggies or substitute any of these for something else, this is just what I like!
When the veggies get soft you add in the dry pasta and chicken broth and stir, stir, stir! I tried that pot sized pasta the last time when I made this recipe and I have to say that I really loved it!no more breaking pasta and having it all different sizes! You bring all of that to a boil and then let it simmer for 10 minutes while making sure to stir it a lot so the pasta doesn’t stick!
After 10 minutes, or when most of the liquid is gone, you add in the heavy whipping cream (my fave) and Parmesan cheese and keep stirring. I turn the stove off at this point and let it sit for a few minutes to let it thicken up a little.
After that you just dish it up and eat! You can eat it plain or top it with green onions, more Parm, and it you’re feeling frisky a little more Tony Chachere’s. I always add a little more Tony’s…HA!!
So there you have it, my secrets to a super yummy, super easy, One Pot Cajun Pasta! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!
Ricci is an Respiratory Therapist by day and a lobgger by night. She loves big hair, anything monogrammed, traveling and living in the natural state. She has one fur child, a dog named Sophie, and thoroughly enjoys being the “cool Aunt” to her many nieces and nephews. You can catch up with her on her lifestyle blog, Ricci Alexis, or find on any social media platform as @riccialexis
Southeast Arkansas is the best place in Arkansas to hunt the big bucks.Even though I grew up in Lake Village, Arkansas, I was unaware of this fact up until three weeks ago when I went on a conservation hunt. What makes this realization even more astounding is the fact that my father, Paul Michael, owned a hunting camp called Georgetown that practiced wildlife management. I went all the time for social purposes; the best meals are made around a campfire but I never went on a hunt.
Three weeks ago, I went on Georgia Pellegrini s Texas Big GameAdventure Getaway. I wasn’t sure I would bite the literal bullet and hunt. I went through all the motions hunter’s safety, bought my hunting license, sighted in my rifle, and practiced – I was actually a good shot! Surrounded by a group of like-minded, supportive women, I decided that yes! I can do it! As Georgia says, in hunting, I learned to pay the karmic price of my meal.
We learned about wildlife management, foraging edible plants, tracking animals, falconry, and, yes, processing and cooking your deer. While I didn’t get my deer that weekend, I went back to my roots and hunted in SoutheastArkansas the very next weekend. My patient brother-in-law took me. We woke up early. Shooting first light. I harvested a doe.
I insisted on processing the deer. Here’s what I learned. You may be wondering what this has to do with the recipe, but it is VERY important for the flavor of your dish. Full disclosure, if you are a vegan,vegetarian or pescatarian
you will probably be disgusted beyond this point (if you haven’t already been.)
In Texas, our deer was aged. Mine was not. When you harvest a deer you must, must, must get as much blood out as possible. I recommend aging it if you can.
I did not have a way to age my deer in Downtown Little Rock. First, I gave the meat an ice bath for about 12 hours, changing out the water and ice about every four hours. Apparently, that was not enough. Also, Georgia warned me not to do the ice bath for too long because I could “waterlog” the meat.
My good friend told me to truly remove the gaminess, soak the meat in milk, preferably buttermilk. I did this for about another four hours.
While I cannot tell you the best method (aging, ice bath, buttermilk), I do know you must do this before you proceed.
Sixty pounds of meat later, we’ve tried tons of different recipes and preparation methods. I ground about 20 pounds of the meat, and have been trying a lot of recipes involving ground venison. This has been our favorite.
Lizzy Michael: Venison Bolognese – From Harvest to Table
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup minced onion
1 cup minced carrot
1 cup minced celery
3 pounds ground venison
2 cups of sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 cup of broth (venison, beef or chicken)
1 cup of white wine
1 cup of milk or buttermilk
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and black pepper to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Pasta (penne) or sub for brown rice or quinoa
Grated Romano and/or Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
Melt butter over medium-high heat in a big heavy pot. You will not need a lid.
Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook gently, constantly stirring. Sprinkle with salt as they cook and do not over cook. They do not need to be browned.
Stir in the chopped mushrooms, splash of water and tomato paste and allow everything to cook for 3 to 4 minutes while constantly stirring.
When the mixture turns from bright red to a burgundy, add the ground meat, mushrooms and broth. Reduce from to a medium-low heat and allow to simmer, stirring from every once in a while. Continue until the liquid mostly evaporates.
Add the white wine and repeat the process. This is a great excuse to open and drink a bottle of white wine. Continue until the liquid mostly evaporates.
Begin to cook your penne, rice or quinoa. You should probably know how to cook these three things. If you don’t... Google it, or something.
Add the milk, nutmeg and black pepper and stir well. Bring to a simmer and add salt to taste. Let this cook until the liquid evaporates and you are happy with the consistency.
Once the sauce is thick, pour it over your pasta, rice or quinoa. Toss to combine, if desired. I served it family style in a large pasta bowl.
Elizabeth (Lizzie) was born and raised in the Delta, then left “the most southern place on Earth” for Villanova University, near Philadelphia. She then returned home to Arkansas and the family business, the Paul Michael Company. She now work at Arkansas’s best ad agency, CJRW, where she works in the digital department as the director of content and social strategy. In her free time, she plays tennis, cooks and constantly redecorates. She grew up in a big hunting family but had never hunted herself – until now. Her new found love of the hunt is inspired by wildlife management and conservation efforts.
It’s the day after Thanksgiving and not many of us want to spend any more time in the kitchen since that’s probably what most of us have done all week! Perhaps you’ll spend the day shopping the Black Friday sales. Not me. But I have family members who were up and off at the crack to do just that.
Or, perhaps you’ll be among the hundreds of thousands who will be traveling back home from “over the river and through the woods.” Be safe. I hope you make all of your plane connections or have clear highways.
Will you be continuing the family football game with a post-Thanksgiving bowl or heading out to watch your favorite team at the real thing? I hope your team wins.
Christmas decorating plans? For many of you, this is the day the tree goes up. I wonder, will yours be covered in precious handmade handprints and clothespin reindeer? Or will it be one of designer dreams? Whichever you choose, it will be beautiful.
For me, I’ll be spending the day sharing time with family. I won’t be decorating or traveling, and I’ll not be cooking much This pasta dish is the perfect choice for allowing me the time to create a gingerbread house with my little artist-to-be 6 year old granddaughter. Or maybe we’ll make a handmade Christmas surprise for her parents. Or cookies. Those are always a favored option.
For Perfect Boy, my 8 year old all boy grandson, there has to be a ball involved. There could be Legos. I expect to find NYC replicated in Legos one of these days. How does he do that so easily?
And while we are finding opportunities and ways to share and be thankful for our thanksliving time, we’ll be sharing some of the corniest jokes ever. It’s always a challenge to find one they haven’t yet heard or told. We sometimes get a serious case of the giggles just trying to one-up one another. I am blessed.
Need a little laugh today? Here are some both of the Perfects shared with me today.
Blessings on you and yours. (If you need any more jokes, we’ve got ‘em!) Now go enjoy your day then make this easy pasta. You’ll be glad you did.
1. What do hippies put on their Thanksgiving potatoes?
A. Groovy
2. Why was the quarterback crying during the game?
A. Because he was playing footBAWL.rom
3.. Why don’t you eat fish on Thanksgiving?
A. Because Thanksgiving never falls on a FRYday!
4 Rich people eat what on Thanksgiving?2
A. Eighteen Karats
5. Why IS Plymouth Rock so brave?
A. Because it’s a little boulder
6. On which holiday do you play a lot of jokes on people?
A. PRANKSgiving
7. How much did the Mayflower weigh?
A. A PuriTON
8. What is big and green and goes “gobble-gobble?”
A. A Turkeysaurus Rex, of course!
9. What do monsters have on their Thanksgiving tables?
A. Knives, forks and goons!
10. What do policemen eat on Thanksgiving?
A. Corn on the cop!
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, set aside
1/4 cup sliced black olives
freshly shaved Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Bring a large pan of salted water to boil.. Follow package directions for cooking the pasta. Drain and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
While the pasta is cooking, crumble and partially cook the Italian sausage in a large skillet. When the meat is mostly done, drain it in a sieve and rinse with warm water. Return it to the skillet.
Add the tomatoes and onions to the sausage and cook until the onions are soft; add in the roasted garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook 10 minutes, stirring well to incorporate.
Add the kale to the sausage mixture and pour the broth over. Cover and simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the beans and black olives. Stir in the cooked pasta. Add pasta water as needed to create a little sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately sprinkled with some of the shaved Parmesan.
Notes
*Turkey sausage may be substituted.
By Debbie Arnold of Dining With Debbie
Adapted from Cooking Light, November 2007
Adapted from Cooking Light, November 2007
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
Debbie is in her second year of retirement from a 30-plus career in education primarily as a PreAp and Regular English teacher at the middle school level. While she enjoyed teaching and interacting with students and staff, she is thoroughly enjoying this time in her life. She has been married to her husband for almost 44 years, and they have one child, a daughter who lives in Fayetteville with her husband and her two perfect grandchildren who are 8 and 6. Debbie and her husband spend lots of our time traveling back and forth to NWA in order to spend as much time with them as they can and the Perfect Ones will allow.
