Rigatoni with Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese

I made this quite awhile ago but just recently thought about it as I was going through my pictures and dreaming of carbs. I have been trying to avoid them for  a last-ditch effort to de-bloat before Vegas. HA. At this point I would do some serious damage for this pasta, it was absolutely fantastic! It was a little time consuming with caramelizing the onions, but totally worth the effort. I have expressed my obsession with cheese before, and rigatoni is the perfect vessel for the two types of cheese that go into this dish. So if you aren't currently low-carb-ing yourself into misery, give it a shot! You will be pleased :)  


    Ingredients:

• 2 tbs butter
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 3 medium or 2 large onions, sliced
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 lb cremini mushrooms (baby portobellos) 
•  1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 3 tbs fresh chopped parsley
• 3 oz soft goat cheese
• 3 tbs grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish 

   Method:

   1) In a deep skillet, melt 1tbs of better with 2tbs of olive oil over medium   high heat. Add the onions, 1/2tsp of salt and the sugar. Cook, stirring frequently until the onions become browned and caramelized. This will take approximately 20-30 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside when done.

  2) In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook the rigatoni according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water, then drain.

  3) While the pasta boils, In the same pan that you cooked the onions, melt the remaining 1tbs of butter with 1tbs of olive oil. Add the mushrooms, cook stirring occasionally until they are tender and slightly browned. Add the remaining salt and pepper as well as the caramelized onions back into the skillet. 

  4) Toss the rigatoni with the onion and mushroom mixture, 1/2 cup of the  reserved pasta water, the goat cheese and the Parmesan cheese. If the  pasta seems too dry, add more of the reserved pasta water. Top with extra Parmesan to serve. 

Light Chicken and Mushrooms in a Garlic Wine Sauce

I made this recipe last night and it was fantastic! I slightly adapted it from Skinny Taste, and mostly by accident because I forgot to flour the chicken pieces, but it turned out really good and probably has a few less calories and is gluten free this way.


This recipe was also great for a week night because it was super quick! Took about 20 minutes total. I served it with mashed potatoes (I know, shame on me, but I had them already and I LOVE potatoes). Next time I would definitely make some cauliflower mash or brown rice to go with it. :) 


Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• salt and pepper 
• 3 tsp butter
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• One package (8oz) mushrooms 
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup chicken broth 
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley 

Slice chicken into strips and season with salt and pepper. 

Heat 2 tbs butter and the olive oil on medium heat. When hot, add chicken and cook about 5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Add the mushrooms and remaining 1 tbs butter to the pan, cook for a few minutes then add the garlic. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. 

Add the chicken back to the pan with the wine, chicken broth and parsley. Stir everything slightly to combine and get all the yummy brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook for a few minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chicken is warmed through. 

Serve and enjoy! 

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe is one of my new favorites, I will definitely be making it again! Being from Texas, Mexican food is my weakness and it's hard to find good Mexican food in Chicago (hence the reason I started this blog, tortillas!). The greatest part about these enchiladas is they combine two of my favorite foods, Tex-Mex and buffalo wings; doesn't get any better if you ask me! It was also fairly quick since I had pre-cooked the chicken. I can't wait hours to eat after work, I would die. Anyways, if you love buffalo chicken as much as me, try out this recipe, it will become one of your favorites!

Adapted from: Prevention RD

9 corn tortillas

3 chicken breasts, shredded 

3/4 cup red enchilada sauce

3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce (I like Franks)

1 cup Mexican blend cheese (I used 2%)

3 oz blue cheese, crumbled 

2 scallions, chopped 

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional, I skipped this because I despise cilantro :-P) 

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°

Pour the enchilada sauce into a medium bowl, add buffalo sauce and mix well. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. 

Add the shredded chicken and about a 1/2 cup of the enchilada/buffalo sauce, plus 1/2 cup of the Mexican blend cheese. Still until thoroughly combined. 

Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a small amount of the buffalo/enchilada sauce mixture, set to the side. Fill each tortilla with a couple tablespoons of the chicken mixture and roll, placing seam side down in the baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and cover with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese (being serious here, I used a lot more than that, maybe the whole bag, oops! I love cheese). Bake for 20-25 minutes.

While the enchiladas cook, chop the scallions and crumble the blue cheese. Sprinkle the blue cheese on top of the enchiladas immediately after removing from the oven. Garnish with scallions and if desired, cilantro and serve. 

ENJOY! :)