Yummy Creamy Goodness!!

This is a picture of last nights dinner...also known as todays lunch!! Yumm-o!!! I have been seeing a lot of recipes in magazines from Philadelphia Cream Cheese...and they all seem easy and yummy...so I gave one a try! It was a hit, it is rich...and I found it easy to adapt to what I had on hand.

Creamy Chicken Penne

This recipe makes 4 servings...of decent size!

2 cups penne pasta, uncooked (you can use bow ties too!)

3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced (I used 2 breasts)

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 package (6oz) Snow Peas.....I left this out because I did not have them.

1 small red pepper chopped ( I keep chopped peppers in the freezer, as a convenience)

2 tsp minced garlic (I used garlic powder)

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

4 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes

1/2 cup shredded pecorino romano cheese (I had a three cheese shredded parmesan blend that worked out perfectly)

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (all I had on hand was dry...and it worked fine)

salt and pepper to taste

Cook....

Cook pasta as directed, meanwhile cook chicken and onions in olive oil until chicken is done. Add snow peas, red pepper and garlic, cook and stir one minute. Remove from heat, cover to keep warm.

Melt....

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Stir in flour and stir until well blended. Gradually add milk, bring to a boil on medium heat 2 minutes or until thickened...stirring constantly. Add cream cheese, grated cheese and salt and pepper. Cook 1-2 minutes until cheeses are melted and sauce is smooth, stirring constantly.

Drain.....

Drain pasta when finished cooking, place in large bowl (I just put it back in the pot...so I did not make even more dishes to clean up). Add chicken mixture and sauce. Mix so that sauce evenly covers chicken and pasta, add parsley on top.

Enjoy!!!

Lemon poundcake.....yum!

Holy macaroni!! This was a yummy cake...so yummy that it went too fast for me to get a picture of it!! The recipe is below...another Taste of Home recipe. When my cousin Rhonda came to visit she gave me some lemons from her uncle yard in Palm Springs....these lemons were huge. I did not wan to waste them to I zested the peel and juiced them. I put the juice in an ice cube tray and froze everything for later use. That was a great idea...I am so proud of myself for remembering to do it! I did not frost this cake though....it has so much sugar in it, that the crust of the cake was delicious!! That sugar makes the cake stick to the pan...don't be lazy like me and only spray a little Crisco on the pan....grease and flour it, or use a silicone pan (which is on my list of things to get).

Lemon Poundcake

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups sour cream

ICING:
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in lemon juice, peel and extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Beat just until combined.

Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For icing, in a small bowl, beat the sour cream and butter until smooth. Gradually add confectioners' sugar. Beat in lemon juice and peel. Drizzle over the cake. Store in the refrigerator.

Yield: 12 servings.