New Recipes

I made two new recipes last night with my favorite little helper.  One was a parmesan pesto spaghetti with chicken and for dessert we had chocolate chip cream cheese cupcakes, which are basically just yellow cake with a cream cheese and chocolate chip filling.  Both were incredibly easy and delicious!  They will definitely be making it into my recipe binder as keepers.  Recipes below.

 Lucy even "helped" do the dishes afterwards!

Parmesan Pesto with Chicken

1/2 box of spaghetti (I used whole wheat)

1 package of chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

3 heaping tbsp. pesto sauce

1 tsp. olive oil

1 cup fresh parmesan cheese

1 tsp. basil (optional)

Cook spaghetti noodles as directed. Meanwhile, place a saute pan over medium heat.  Season chicken with salt, pepper and a pinch of basil on each.  When pan it hot, gently lay cutlets in pan and cook approximately 3-4 minutes per side or until no longer pink.  Let rest for one minute and slice clockwise.  Drain spaghetti and toss with chicken, pesto, olive oil, 3/4 of your cup of parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of water so that the pesto spreads evenly over the noodles.  Finish with a final sprinkle of basil and the rest of your parmesan cheese.

Chocolate chip cream cheese cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake mix

Filling:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Prepare the cake mix batter according to package directions for cupcakes.  Fill 24 paper-lined muffin cups two-thrids full.  In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg and sugar until smooth.  Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by the tablespoonfuls into batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cupcake comes out clean.