PASTA & CAJUN CHICKEN

Ingredients:

4 ounces linguine pasta

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

2 tablespoons butter

1 green bell pepper,chopped

1/2 red bell pepper,chopped

4 fresh mushrooms,sliced

1 green onion, minced

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguini pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes; drain. Meanwhile, place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, and toss to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in butter until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, sliced mushrooms and green onions; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat, and stir in heavy cream. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper, and heat through. In a large bowl, toss linguini with sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Yield: 2 Servings

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 large onion, sliced

8 garlic cloves, minced

6 Tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional for

frying tortillas

7 green chiles, stemmed and seeded

4 cups water

5 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

8 cups chicken broth

Salt and Pepper to taste

12 corn tortillas, cut into strips

1-1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2 avocados

Directions:

In a stock pot, cook onion and garlic in 4 Tablespoons oil over medium heat, stirring until soft. Increase heat and add chiles, stirring to avoid burning. Cook for 1 minute or until soft. Remove 1 chile and cut into 10 strips, reserve for garnish.

To the pot, add 4 cups water and tomatoes and bring the liquid to a boil. Simmer mixture for 30 minutes.

In a blender, puree the mixture in batches.

In pot, heat 2 Tablespoons of remaining oil over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Return the puree and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, salt and pepper. Simmer soup for 15 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat 1/2-inch of additional oil over high heat until hot, but not smoking. Fry the tortilla strips in batches, stirring for 30 seconds until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Divide fried tortillas among 10 heated bowls. Pour the soup over them and top each one with 1 strip of the reserved chile. Sprinkle each serving with some shredded cheese and top soup with sliced avocado wedges.

Note: Serve with warm buttered tortillas and a fresh fruit salad.

Serves: 10

Fresh Apple Fritters

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted

1 egg, beaten

Juice and grated zest of 1 orange

1 cup finely chopped unpeeled apple

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups vegetable oil

Confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Combine the milk, butter and egg in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the orange juice, orange zest, apple, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until moistened; do not overmix.

Heat the oil in a skillet to 350 degrees. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides; drain. Let stand until cool. Roll in confectioners' sugar. Serve with a salad or as a desert.

Serves: 10 - 12

Chicken Potpie

Ingredients:

4 to 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped celery

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup flour

1 cup frozen pearl onions

1 cup milk

1 cup chopped fresh or frozen carrots

1 cup frozen peas

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 refrigerator pie pastries

Direction:

Combine the chicken, onion, celery, bay leaf, salt and pepper with enough water to cover in a stockpot. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat. Cook until the chicken is tender. Strain, reserving the chicken and 2 cups of the broth, discarding the vegetables and bay leaf. Chop enough of the chicken to measure 4 cups.

Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir until blended. Cook until bubbly, stirring constantly. Stir in the pearl onions and cook until the onions are tender, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper. Add the reserved broth and milk gradually and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in the chicken, carrots and peas. Add the parsley and thyme and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Spoon the chicken mixture into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Unfold the pie pastries and place overlapping on a lightly floured hard surface. Roll to fit the 9x13-inch baking pan, allowing a slight overhang. Arrange the pastry over the top of the chicken mixture. Flute the edges and cut vents in the top of the pastry. Bake at 450 degrees until light brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes longer.

Serves: 8 - 12