Monday, June 1, 2009

Quick Chicken Fettucinne Cacciatore & Speedy Summer Fruit Salad

This Pasta dish is one of my family's favorites. It is packed with veggies, chicken marinated in Italian dressing, tossed with fettucinne noodles, and seasoned with fresh basil & cheese! It has the perfect zing, and is great for a quick summer dish. I found this recipe in the Kraft Food & Family magazine years ago, and have been making it for my family ever since. The breadsticks on the side will have to be posted another day...but I will tell you that they were delicious!

Quicke Fettucinne Cacciatore

1/2 lb. fettuccine, uncooked
2 tsp. oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup each: green pepper strips and sliced fresh mushrooms
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Italian* Mozzarella-Parmesan Cheese Blend
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil


COOK pasta as directed on package.
MEANWHILE, heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink. Add peppers and mushrooms; cook 3 min., stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes and dressing; simmer on medium-low heat 5 min. or until chicken is done.
DRAIN pasta. Toss with chicken mixture; sprinkle with cheese and basil.

***I like to marinate my Chicken with about 1/2 cup Italian Dressing prior to cooking the chicken. It adds a bit more flavor to the cooked chicken.

We have been enjoying strawberries for a good month now, and I found a way to whip up a fast fruit salad with whatever fruit you have on hand. We eat a lot of fruit, and probably serve it at every meal so this was perfect for us. At the end of the day I usually have a half eaten banana and an apple with a few bites in it that need to be used. I cut them up and combine them with whatever berries I have. My boys also love yogurt, and would eat it all day if I let them. This is a perfect combo, and it took just minutes to have a fabulous, healthy fruit salad.

Speedy Summer Fruit Salad

1/2 cup each of bite size fruit (strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries with bananas, & apples)
Vanilla Yogurt

Combine fruit and enough yogurt to coat the fruit & serve!

***I make just enough for the family to eat at that meal. That way the bananas won't go brown. We always eat it all up! You could try different flavors of yogurt. Strawberry or Lemon would be wonderful!

3 comments:

The Newmans said...

When we make that fruit salad we toss in a few mini white marshmellows too. It adds a little sugar but it is fun and the kids seems to like it!

Anonymous said...

Pasta is a favorite at our house and this one looks wonderful! I love the idea of marinating the chicken in the dressing; I'll have to try that.

Janis said...

The pasta looks really good. I will have to try that. I have a dinner blog too, maybe I can get people over to your blog by linking over to some of your recipes. :)