Jammie's Pasta

I created this recipe a few years ago for a wedding reception. We needed an inexpensive way to feed a LOT of people and what a better way to fill hungry people up, than pasta! A family friend requested the recipe for her daughter's wedding reception, so I thought that I would share it with everyone. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, and so on to feed as many as you need to...I hope you enjoy!

Hugs,
Jennifer 

Jammie’s Pasta

1 stick plus 2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 Tbsp minced garlic

6 green onions (white and green parts), sliced

16 ounces sliced mushrooms

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

1 pound smoked sausage, sliced

Cajun seasoning to taste

32 ounces of your choice of pasta (I like to use different pastas with a variety of colors to make for a pretty presentation).

Bring a large stock pot full of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and return to stock pot; toss with 2 Tbsp butter and set aside.

 Melt remaining butter in a large skillet; add olive oil.  On medium heat add onions, garlic, bell pepper, mushroom, salt and pepper; sauté until all vegetables are tender. Remove vegetables and set aside. Add chicken and sausage and cook until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. 

Combine pasta, chicken, sausage, and vegetables to a large serving bowl; sprinkle with Cajun seasoning to taste; stir thoroughly to incorporate all ingredients. Enjoy!

Servings: 8-10 Dinner Servings or

Approximately 20-25 Party/Reception Servings

Ashton's 21st Birthday Dinner..."This Ain't Paula Deen's Shrimp Scampi!"

Now, don't get me wrong, my family LOVES food and down home cookin'! BUT we are trying to do better and since Ashton has been doing so well on her new healthy lifestyle journey, I didn't want to sabotage her with her special birthday dinner. After throwing out several ideas, she settled on shrimp scampi.

Now, my normal shrimp scampi recipe is loaded with FAT and calories but OH SO TASTY! Well let me back up, I don't ever really use a recipe; I usually just throw stuff together without measuring and it always seems to turn out the same; which makes it hard to publish a recipe because I have to mentally go back through my steps and type it all up. 

My fat gram-carb lovin' family never skipped a beat when they sat down to enjoy this dish. We served this with a healthy green salad and a NOT so healthy slice of toasted garlic bread...you gotta have somethin' to sop up all those delicious juices, right?

So, here is the recipe...try it out and judge for yourself. 

Light Shrimp Scampi with Spaghetti Squash

3 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ stick of butter

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth

1 medium onion diced

16 ounces sliced white mushrooms

4 green onions, sliced

1 ½ Tbsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 Spaghetti squash (or your choice of cooked pasta)

Butter Flavored Pam cooking spray

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Onion Powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place the spaghetti squash in the microwave on high for 6 minutes or until the squash is tender enough to cut in half. Once the squash has been cut in half; scoop out the seeds; trying to keep as much of the pulp intact as possible.  Spray the squash with cooking spray and sprinkle a generous amount of garlic powder and onion powder over the entire inside of the squash; then add salt and pepper to taste.  Place on the cookie sheet face down and bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven then scrape with two forks.

In a large skillet, melt butter then add olive oil. Sauté mushrooms, onions, and garlic until mushrooms are soft and onions are transparent. Add chicken broth, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper then bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp is pink.  Stir in parsley and serve over a bed of spaghetti squash or your favorite al dente pasta.

The spaghetti squash was such a great pasta swap...we will definitely use this swap again! 

Enjoy! 

Jennifer  

Busy Corner Designs & Bake Shop: Happy 21st Birthday Ashton!

Busy Corner Designs & Bake Shop: Happy 21st Birthday Ashton!: Today my youngest daughter, Ashton turned 21...if that wont make you feel old; nothing will! It just seems like yesterday when she came home...

Happy 21st Birthday Ashton!

Today my youngest daughter, Ashton turned 21...if that wont make you feel old; nothing will! It just seems like yesterday when she came home from kindergarten with her bangs cut. When I asked her what happened; she replied, "we were cutting and pasting today and my bangs were in my way, so I cut them!" We should have known then that she was going to be something! She is our laid-back-go-with-the-flow-child. We are so very proud of the young woman that she has become. We love you BIG Ashton! 

Ashton has been working very hard to try to eat healthier and exercise daily, so I had to put some extra thought into her birthday cake this year. Since I decorate cakes for others on a regular basis; my family doesn't really get too jazzed about having a decorated cake fore their birthdays. Ashton LOVES banana pudding and after seeing a cake recipe on Pinterest for Banana Pudding Cake; I thought that I would try to make a lighter version. Now don't get me wrong...just because it says "light," doesn't mean you can devour the entire cake with NO GUILT. It just allows you the indulgence of enjoying a piece of cake without having to spend hours in the gym to work it off. Here is what I did...let me know how you like it by commenting on this post. 

"Lighter" Banana Pudding Cake

(2) Yellow Cake Mixes

(2) Cans A&W Diet Cream Soda

1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract

(2) Small Containers of Cool Whip Free

(2) Sugar Free Instant Vanilla Pudding

16 Ounces of Non-Fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt

1/3  Cup Skim Milk

6 Ripe Bananas

1 Box of Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers

In a large mixing bowl combine milk and pudding mixes; whisking until there are no lumps. Fold in Cool Whip and yogurt. Place in refrigerator until set. 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl; combine cake mixes, cream soda, and vanilla extract. Mix on low for 30 seconds; scrap down bowl. Return mixer speed to medium and mix for an additional 2 minutes. Grease and flour (3) 8 inch cake pans. Divide the batter equally among the cake pans. Bang pans on counter top to remove any bubbles. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Allow cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes; then cover pans with plastic wrap. Allow cakes to cool COMPLETELY before assembling.

Take the pudding mixture out of the refrigerator and stir. If the mixture is too stiff; add more milk 1 tsp. at a time until the mixture is creamy and spreadable, but NOT runny. 

To assemble cake; place one cake layer top side up on a cake plate. Spread a generous amount of pudding mixture on the cake layer. Slice and cover with a single layer of banana slices. Top with a second cake layer; top side up and repeat the process. Add the last layer; top side down and cover the entire cake with the pudding mixture. Starting at the bottom of the cake; add the Nilla Wafers; covering the sides of the cake completely.With a pastry bag, add a decorative border to the top and bottom of the cake (COMPLETELY OPTIONAL). Pile any remaining pudding mixture on the center top surface of the cake. Slice any remaining bananas and pile them on top of the cake. Add additional Nilla Wafers as garnish.

This recipe made 3 large layers; but the recipe could easily be altered to make a regular two layer cake by reducing the ingredients by half. Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think by commenting on this post or emailing me at busycornerdesigns@gmail.com

Hugs, 

Jennifer

Jake and the Neverland Pirate Birthday cake for Payden

Busy Corner Designs & Bake Shop: Bread Bowl Take Two...

Busy Corner Designs & Bake Shop: Bread Bowl Take Two...: Last week I posted the recipe for my Bacon Cheeseburger Soup, which I served in a bread bowl.  Although it was delicious, I wasn't reall...

Bread Bowl Take Two...

Last week I posted the recipe for my Bacon Cheeseburger Soup, which I served in a bread bowl.  Although it was delicious, I wasn't really happy with the look of the bread bowl, so I didn't post the recipe. Well, I needed an excuse to work on my bread bowl recipe, so I made a pot of Broccoli, Ham & Cheese soup and both turned out beautifully! Here are the recipes. I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to leave me a comment telling me what you think of the recipes.

Bread Bowl

2 ½ Tbsp of rapid rise yeast

2 ¼ cups warm water

2 tsp sugar

3 tsp kosher salt

1 stick butter, melted

6 ½ cups bread flour

Cornmeal

Egg white

Add yeast to warm water and allow to bloom for 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl add sugar, salt, melted butter and water/yeast mixture and combine.  Add dough hook to mixer and turn on low. Slowly add flour to mixture one cup at a time. Mix on medium low for 5 minutes or until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl in a round ball.  Lightly oil a large bowl and add dough ball; turning to lightly coat in oil. Cover dough with a linen dish towel and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm dry location. Punch down dough and divide into 6 equal portions. Cover two large cookie sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll each portion into a 4” ball and lay onto cookie sheets then sprinkle with cornmeal. Cover with linen dish towel and allow to rise for another hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with egg white. Return to oven and bake for 15 more minutes or until golden brown. 

Broccoli, Ham, & Cheese Soup

1 ½ sticks of butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 ¼ cup of flour

2 heads of broccoli, chopped

1 32 ounce carton of chicken stock

2 cups water

2 cups milk

2 cups half & half

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 ½ cups cheddar jack cheese, shredded and divided

16 ounces diced ham

Saute' onions in melted butter until transparent. Sprinkle with flour and stir until incorporated. Cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, water, milk, half & half then whisk until smooth. Add chicken bouillon cubes and bring to a boil.  Add broccoli then 2 cups of cheese and stir until melted. Add diced ham and simmer on low for 1 hour.

Serve with reserved shredded cheese.