Sizzling Surf and Turf Pasta

Recipe Title: Sizzling Surf and Turf Pasta
Recipe Link: http://quickiesonthedinnertable.yolasite.com/recipes/sizzling-surf-and-turf-pasta
Status: Approved
Rating: 8/10

Jen's Notes: This recipe is not specifically gluten-free, but it's easily made that way by substituting gluten-free pasta. The prep for this is pretty simple - just slice up the chicken and dice the garlic. If you start the pasta at the same time as the chicken and shrimp concoction, it should all be ready at about the same time. You can have this on the table in twenty minutes, no sweat. Always a nice thing on week night!

If you can't find chili paste, you can also substitute garlic chili sauce, found in the Asian section of most supermarkets. If you go this route, and you aren't a garlic fanatic like me, you'll probably want to cut back on the amount of diced garlic. Also, if you don't like spicy food, cut the chili paste back to 1 or 2 tablespoons. I used the full three tablespoons, and the result was extremely spicy.

We really enjoyed this dish - the combination of shrimp and chicken is unusual but tasty. The recipe recommends adding some salt to the final dish, but I think this could be cut. I added about a teaspoon of kosher salt, and found the mixture to be a little on the salty side. I also would have liked for some veggies to be mixed in there, so I think next time I'll add some spinach so that this is a complete meal.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Start to Finish: 25 minutes

Chicken Breasts with Wild Mushrooms, Marjoram & Marsala

Recipe Title: Chicken Breasts with Wild Mushrooms, Marjoram & Marsala
Recipe Link: http://www.celiac.com/articles/1092/1/Chicken-Breasts-with-Wild-Mushrooms-Marjoram-and-Marsala-Gluten-Free/Page1.html

Status: Approved
Rating: 9/10

Jen's Notes: Another great-tasting, easy-to-make recipe today! I made this for dinner last night, along with some green beans and homemade mashed potatoes. Picky husband took one bite and said he loved it.

There were very few bumps in the kitchen while making this. I only have a few recommendations for this recipe:

• If you have thick chicken breasts (which seems to be the trend these days), cover them while they are cooking so they don't take forever to cook completely.
• You may want to add some potato or corn starch to the sauce to get it to thicken properly. I followed the instructions in the original recipe exactly, but I ended up adding some potato starch to get it to thicken up the way I wanted. Keep in mind that it will thicken up a little more when you remove it from the heat, but not a tremendous amount.
• To save a little cooking time, start the sauce in a separate skillet after you get the chicken going. Then, once the chicken is done, transfer the sauce to the chicken skillet so it can absorb all the chicken goodness.
• Homemade mashed potatoes work really well with this - just pour a little of the sauce on top of the potatoes before serving.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time:  20 minutes
Start to Finish: 30 minutes

Chipotle Orange Chicken

Recipe Title: Chipotle Orange Chicken
Recipe Link: http://www.elanaspantry.com/chipotle-orange-chicken/
Status: Vetoed by hubby
Rating: 3/10

Jen's Notes: I made this recipe almost exactly as specified, except that I substituted chicken breasts for the whole chicken, and there were no chipotles because they didn't make it home from the grocery store somehow.

It was a very easy to make recipe. The marinade took maybe fifteen minutes to prepare, including chopping garlic and squeezing oranges. I let it marinade overnight, then tossed it in the oven when I got home from work. Because I used chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken, the bake time was only 30 minutes.

Unfortunately, I was very disappointed with the flavor. The orange flavor is very overpowering. None of the flavor of the garlic or the herbs de provence came through. For the same effect, I could have just marinated hte chicken breasts in orange juice. I imagine the chipotles, had they made it home from the grocery store, probably would have come through because chipotles have such strong flavor. However, I don't think I'll making this one again. Making this with a whole chicken might make a difference, but I prefer to use chicken breasts because of the fat factor. So, for me, this recipe is failed out.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Start to Finish: 45 minutes