Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Well, our week didn't start off as planned, Landon ended up sick on Sunday night, so he didn't go to school and I didn't start babysitting until today! He was better by Monday morning, but to be safe he stayed home! So, three of the five have had it no... who's next?????

I need to share a recipe that i made tonight for dinner... actually it was a combo on two them, Asiago Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta and Mushroom and Swiss Chicken! (You can find the original recipe on Allrecipes.com if your interested!)

First the chicken...
INGREDIENTS
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 cloves crushed garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I used Balsamic b/c that's what I had)
1 tablespoon Cajun-style seasoning
1 cup chopped green onion
1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
4 slices Swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine oil and garlic in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add chicken breasts and coat well with the oil and garlic. Sprinkle with the vinegar and Cajun seasoning.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
Remove chicken from oven and cover with green onion and mushrooms; then add a few more sprinkles of oil and vinegar and return dish to oven for 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and immediately place 1 slice of cheese on top of each chicken breast; cheese will melt. Serve immediately.

Now for the pasta...
INGREDIENTS
2 cups heavy cream
1 cube chicken bouillon
1 cup Asiago Cheese
1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with equal parts water
1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta
3/4 cup bacon (I used "Real" bacon bits)
1/4 cup butter (I ommitted this and used just a tiny bit of olive oil)
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
(The original recipe called for chicken too, but b/c I used the other recipe for my chicken I ommitted this part)

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook 2 cups cream until just bubbling. Watch carefully (very important, I didn't and had it all over my stove top), to ensure that it doesn't boil over. Stir in bouillon and Asiago cheese. Stir with a whisk until dissolved. Add cornstarch mixture, and simmer until sauce is thickened, stirring constantly. Mix in the sun-dried tomatoes. Set aside, or cover and refrigerate for later use.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute red onion until soft and translucent. Stir in garlic and cooked bacon, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in green onions, and 1 cup cream. Cook, stirring, until cream is heated through. Add Asiago cream sauce, and heat through. Toss with cooked pasta until evenly coated, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

This may look like a lot of work, but it was SOOOOOOOOOO good! I loved the thick, creamy and very very fattening sauce!!!!! Can't wait for leftovers tomorow!

After dinner we (Landon, Bailey & I) headed out in this bitter cold weather to go to the Christmas parade downtown Holland with Sarah adn her boys! Brooks talked to Santa before the parade and although I tried to get a picture, it didn't turn out... sorry Sarah!







It was definately cold, but not nearly as windy as we thoguht it would be! And the kids got lot's and lot's of candy (we seemed to have come home with a LARGE majority of the candy... ahem ahem ahem!!!) and to balance that out they also got toothbrushes!

No big plans tomorow, just church in the evening, aside from the normal daily routine! Hopefully you are keeping warm!