This is the ultimate girl dinner. The other night the boys were at golf and I was on my own for dinner. We had leftover chicken cutlets in the fridge so I whipped up a chicken Caesar salad. And then I thought, why not serve it with some fries? Well I didn’t have fries but I did have potatoes so I did the next best thing. I made me a baked potato and topped that sucker with my chicken Caesar salad. Serve with a Diet Coke to round out the meal. Super easy, and felt indulgent!
This is a great way to use leftovers or if you’re looking for a quick family meal. Sharing my recipe below.
2.) Drizzle the potato with olive oil, and place on a parchment lined baking dish. Gently poke some holes in the potato with a fork. Bake for about 40 minutes until soft.
3.) While the potato is baking, in a separate bowl, prepare the salad.
4.) Remove the potato from the oven and slice down the middle. Add a pat of butter, salt and pepper.
5.) Top with the salad.
6.) Drizzle with Caesar dressing and shaved Parmesan.
This pumpkin goat cheese pasta is quick, easy to throw together and perfect for a cozy dinner at home.
It is pumpkin season and this recipe combines my favorite things – pumpkin, goat cheese and pasta! The result is a luxuriously creamy, velvety sauce that generously coats the pasta.
The flavors and textures make it feel fancy and gourmet but this is so ridiculously easy to make, even for a weeknight. Scroll down for my recipe and be sure to pin it for later!
Pumpkin goat cheese pasta
Ingredients:
1/2 onion diced
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 8oz log goat cheese
1 box pasta
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt/pepper
fresh sage, chopped (optional)
Parmesan cheese (for topping, optional)
Directions:
1.) In a pot, melt the butter and brown the garlic and cook down the onions until translucent.
2.) While browning the garlic and onions, bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta and cook until al dente.
3.) Once the onions are translucent, stir in the pumpkin.
4.) Add 2 ladel-ful’s (is that a word? I don’t know but let’s make it one) of pasta water and mix in.
5.) Add the goat cheese, stirring until completely melted into the pumpkin sauce.
6.) Season with the crushed red pepper, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
7.) Add the drained pasta to the pumpkin sauce.
8.) Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped sage.
This pumpkin goat cheese pasta is easy, comforting and perfect for a cozy dinner at home. The pumpkin and goat cheese creates a luxuriously creamy sauce!
This is one of our family’s favorite dinners, my chicken broccoli and ziti, or CBZ as we call it. Roasted chicken tenderloins and broccoli are served over ziti with an easy, creamy homemade alfredo sauce. This is a great comfort meal for a busy weeknight or if you are looking to take dinner off of a friend’s hands. I’ve made this meal several times for people and it is always well loved. Sharing my recipe below.
Nicolle’s Chicken Broccoli Ziti- CBZ
Ingredients
1 box pasta
2 heads of broccoli
1 pack of chicken tenderloins
salt/pepper
olive oil
garlic salt (to taste)
4 Tbsp butter
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
squeeze of fresh lemon juice to taste
Directions:
1.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2.) Line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
3.) Divide the baking sheet into two halves. On one half of the baking sheet add the broccoli. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and toss.
4.) On the other half of the baking sheet, add the chicken tenderloins. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic salt and toss until coated evenly.
5.) Bake in the oven until roasted, about 20 minutes.
6.) While the chicken and broccoli is roasting, bring a pot of water to boil.
7.) To the pot, add pasta and cook until al dente then strain and add pasta back to the pot and drizzle with olive oil so that the pasta doesn’t stick.
8.) In a saucepan, melt the butter.
9.) Add the heavy cream to the saucepan and simmer for about 5 minutes, until thickened.
10..) Stir in Parmesan cheese and continue to stir until the cheese has melted.
11.) Pour the sauce over the pasta.
12.) Once the chicken and broccoli are roasted, remove from the oven and add to the pot with the pasta, stir until combined.
13.) Top with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some more freshly grated Parmesan.
Serve and enjoy!
For more of my family’s favorite recipes check out my
Sign up below for my free meal planning sheet and more recipes right to your inbox
Nicolle's chicken broccoli ziti - CBZ
Roasted chicken tenderloins and broccoli are served over ziti with a homemade alfredo sauce. This is an easy weeknight meal and one your whole family will love.
Who else love pasta? I crave pasta all year round and this Easy Pasta Primavera is light and packed with crisp vegetables so it’s perfect for spring and summer. I have a secret ingredient that makes this recipe super quick and easy to whip together. Scroll down to see what I use and for my Easy Pasta Primavera recipe.
Easy Pasta Primavera
Pasta primavera traditionally is pasta with a creamy sauce and crisp vegetables. I love this recipe because it’s a great way to use up all of those veggies that are in your fridge. You can also throw in some chicken or shrimp for some protein too!
My pasta primavera is super easy because I cheat! I use a wheel of Boursin Cheese to make that cream sauce and it’s packed full of flavor!
Here’s my recipe.
Ingredients:
1 box pasta
Sliced fresh veggies – I used zucchini, squash, carrots, asparagus, red onion, peppers
Olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
Boursin cheese (I used the garlic and herb)
Salt/pepper
Freshly grated parmesan
Directions:
1.) Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the pasta and cook until al dente.
2.) While the water boils and the pasta cooks, sautee the veggies in some olive oil and fresh garlic until tender.
3.) When the pasta is al dente, reserve some of the pasta water and set aside in a small pot, then drain the rest of the pasta.
4.) In a small saucepot, heat up the reserved pasta water and add a wheel of Boursin cheese, stirring until melted.
5.) Pour the veggies and drained pasta into the now empty pasta pot. Top with the melted boursin cheese, combining well. Season with salt, pepper and top with some fresh parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Pin for later
Check out some of my other favorite pasta recipes!
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the pasta and cook until al dente.
While the water boils and the pasta cooks, sautee the veggies in some olive oil and fresh garlic until tender.
When the pasta is al dente, reserve some of the pasta water and set aside in a small pot, then drain the rest of the pasta.
In a small saucepot, heat up the reserved pasta water and add a wheel of Boursin cheese, stirring until melted.
Pour the veggies and drained pasta into the now empty pasta pot. Top with the melted boursin cheese, combining well. Season with salt, pepper and top with some fresh parmesan cheese.
