Pasta alla Igor

I'm not a chef but I do enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes.  A few weeks ago I was getting ready to make lunch and I looked to see what we had to cook.  I was out of a few ingredients for my normal stand by dishes so I improvised and came up with my own recipe.  I call it Pasta alla Igor...I know it's a strange name but I decided to name it after my brother-in-law who rarely uses recipes and just mixes together ingredients he thinks will be good together.

I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Prep Time:
10

Cook Time:
40

Ready In:
50

Servings  

6

Ingredients

• 6 Large Asparagus Stems
• 1 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 Onion Chopped
• 3/4 Cup of Peas (Frozen or Canned)
• 2 Chicken Breasts (Optional 1 TSP of Butter for Cooking Chicken)
• 1 TSP of Butter
• 12 OZ Box of Medium Shell Pasta
• 3 Quarts of Water

Directions

1. Cook Chicken Breast as preferred (I use 1 TSP of melted butter in a skillet and cook thoroughly).
2. Add 3 quarts of water to a large pan and allow to boil. Once the water has started to boil, add the pasta and cook for 10-12 minutes. After the pasta has cooked, drain the pasta and return it to the pan.
3. Cut the asparagus stems 1" from the bottom and discard the end. Cut the remaining stem into thirds (or smaller).
4. Using a steamer, add (frozen) peas and asparagus stems into pot and let steam for 3-4 minutes or until soft. After the vegetables have softened, remove from heat and cover.
5. Once the Chicken is cooked, chop it into small bite sized pieces.
6. After chopping the chicken, chop half an onion into small pieces.
7.  In a large sauce pan, add 1 TSP of butter and allow to melt. Once the butter has melted, add the chopped onion. Continually stir onion until cooked (and turns translucent).
8. After the onion is cooked, add 1 cup heavy cream and stir. Add vegetables and chopped chicken. Leave on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Cover sauce pan and remove from heat.
9. Allow sauce to sit for 2 minutes then mix with pasta.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

This is one of my favorite recipes ever!!  A former coworker brought in this delicious dessert every year for the holidays and she was kind enough to share the recipe (so if you love it you can thank Sharon from Petaluma).

Please note that I did change this recipe a little but not too much.  I simply reduced the amount of pumpkin required.

This recipe has three parts: the crust, the filling and the topping so I will list all the ingredients below and tell you how much to use in each part of the recipe.  

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Pillsbury Yellow Cake Mix
• 3/4 cup of butter (1/2 cup for the crust and 1/4 cup for the topping)
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• Baking spray or grease
• 15 oz can of pumpkin 

Alright, now that you have everything you need, let's get started.

Getting Ready:

1. Spray or grease the bottom of your 13x9 inch pan.  If you are using glass, I'm pretty sure you can skip this step.
2. Set aside 1 cup of yellow cake mix to use later for the topping.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

The Crust:

1. Combine the remaining cake mix, 1/2 cup of melted butter and egg in  a mixing bowl
2. Once everything is mixed, press the mixture into the bottom of your pan.  I find that using a spatula helps spread it somewhat evenly. 

The Filling:

1. Combine the 2/3 cup of milk, 2 eggs, and the 15 oz can of pumpkin pie mix (the original recipe calls for 3 cups of pumpkin pie mix or a 1 lb 14 oz can, but I only use a 15 oz can), blend mixture until smooth.
2. Evenly distribute the filling over the crust.

The Topping:

1. Combine the 1 cup of cake mix, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of butter.
2. Sprinkle the crumbs over the filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until thoroughly baked.  To check if it is thoroughly baked you can use a knife or a toothpick and put it in the center of the pan, if it comes out clean then it is cooked.  After it is baked, let it cool and add a little whip cream on top.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!