Creamy Chicken, Bacon and Zuccini Pasta - HEALTHY!

Last night I was trying to work out what to do for dinner. I didn't really want to cook, but I had a BBQ chicken and some bacon I had to use up. I had some fettucini I and a zuccini on hand and decided to whip up a pasta dish. I began to get out some tomato puree but as I was cooking the bacon I thought, "I really don't feel like a tomato pasta tonight" but I didn't want to use pure cream because I am trying to cut down on that and I also couldn't be bother opening a can of evaporated milk(lazy I know!).So what to do? I opened the fridge door and there before me was my answer, cream cheese spread!  I also happened to have the Weight Watchers one because it was on special, but you can use the original Kraft Philly kind as well. So in it went with some water and a little chicken stock powder and voila!  A super tasty, quick meal that is definately low in fat and healthy and of course making use of  your food storage and pantry ingredients.

Ingredients

1 packet fresh/dried fettucini ( I used San Remo)

6 pieces of short cut bacon cut into strips

1 tsp garlic minced or clove of fresh

1 zuccini peeled into ribbons

2-4 tblsp cream cheese

1 cup chopped BBQ chicken

4 tbspn water or water from cooked pasta

1/2 tspn chicken powder stock

1-2 tspn dried/fresh basil

salt and pepper

Method

1. Cook fettucuini according to instructions on pack and set aside when al dente.

2. Heat pan and add at least a tablespoon of olive oil and add bacon and cook through until brown.

3. Add zuccini ribbons(you can achieve this by using a mandolin slicer or a potato peeler) and cook through for a couple of minutes.

4. Add garlic and keep an eye on it, if pan is too hot it will burn and go bitter.

5. Add chicken and stir through to flavour the meat.

6.Add cooked pasta and then the cream cheese.

7. Mix stock into water and add to pan and mix through. Add basil and season with a little salt and lots of black cracked pepper.

8. Serve with some grated cheese of choice.

This dish is so versatile because you don't have to limit yourself to these ingredients. You can make it vegetarian or just have bacon with mushroom or some red onion. You could add some dried chilli or ground chilli at step 7 if you like a bit of heat.  It is rather inexpenisve meal and you can use any type of pasta as well. Using the BBQ chicken saves a bit of time too, but you could poach some chicken and use that liquid as well to moisten the dish.

HONEY DIPPED CHICKEN

I haven't posted a recipe in while so here is one I did last year. It is a good one for your 3 month storage and I actually got the recipe from a a awesome book, "I can't believe it's Food Storage" by Crystal Godfrey. But of course I have tweaked it a bit and made it better, if you ask me!!

While it utilises some of your food storage ingredients it is also rather healthy and very low in fat. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup honey

1-2tsp djon mustard

1-2tsp whole grain mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh or concentrate)

dash white wine vinegar

1-2 cups bread crumbs

dried or fresh parsely

dried or fresh garlic minced

1kg breast chicken cut into large chuncks or strips

Salt and pepper to season

Method

1.Microwave or heat the honey so it becomes runny. I use the microwave for convience and zap it for about 20 secs and allow to cool.

2. Add djon and whole grain mustard, lemon juice and, dash of white wine vinegar to the honey and stir to combine.

3. Mix parsely and garlic through the breadcrumbs, if you make your own crumbs add the parsley and garlic to the blender/processer so it is well combined.

4. Line a baking tray with foil and spray with oil. Preheat oven to 180C.

5. Dipp chicken strips/chunks into the honey mixture and coat well, then cover with bread crumbs and then lay in prepared pan. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.

6. Spray chicken in pan with a good coating of oil and bake in oven for 20mins.

7. Carefully turn chicken after 20mins and spray a little more and bake again for 10 mins or until brown and crispy.

8.Serve with steamed vegetables or salad.

I have made this dish several times and its always a family and crowd pleaser. The chicken is so yummy and while it tastes sweet its definately not too sweet because the other ingredients neutralises the flavours. It is 100 time better than store bought nuggets and so much healthier.

MOTHS IN THE KITCHEN

I currently have a problem of moths in my kitchen cupboards and it is driving me crazy. I want to make sure they go and NEVER return. 

On a previous post I have advised that you freeze all your grain purchases in the freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight. I have heard some people only freeze for a couple of hours but I will not take any chances with these little suckers, I will freeze for the maximum time which is usually over night.  While I am writing I have remembered there was a purchase of bread crumbs, which I forgot freeze and this could be the culprit! I inspected the box and unfortunately it was infested with moths and their eggs and even larvae. Basically it was a little town of moths hanging out, muliplying and replenishing!!! Needless to say it was chucked out as well as a bag of aborio rice which was also infested. Before I chucked them out though, I taped up or covered any openings and tossed them into the freezer to make sure they were dead before I threw them out. 

The two items which cost me a total of about $6 or so is now gone.  In the past I have thrown out a lot of food and money due to these horrid creatures. So of course, I am fed up and want them out for good.

Usually, I clean out my cupboard and wipe down the shelves and hope that will do the trick, but unfortunately this is not good enough. I have done a little research and found some solutions to my problems.

1. Clean out the cupboards with either soapy and/or vinegar water and allow to dry. Vacuum the cupboards to make sure as many crumbs as possible are sucked away as this is a source of food for the disgusting creatures!

2. I have read that fresh sprigs of rosemary keep them away and also bay leaves spread around the cupboards and placed on lids of containers.

3.  Pheremone traps also come in handy. These are sticky and attract the moths and then they get stuck. These are good to use after you have cleaned out your cupboard so you can monitor how effective your methods have been. If it attracts alot you will need to go through your cupboards and see where they are living.

4. It is also good to clean out your toaster regularly too so there is nothing to attract the moths into staying around.

Where do these varmits come from? The saddest and somewhat scarey truth is that the moths come from the food you purchase in the supermarket. When purchasing grains and other food in boxes, pouches, and bags be sure to examine them as best you can for any signs of infestation. You can then freeze your items at home before you store them in the appropriate containers.  A container with a lid that is closed as tight as possible is the best way to keep the moths at bay.

I will be purchasing some bay leaves and rosemary(I might dry it) as well to see if this works. I will also be purchasing the pheremone trap too and I will keep you informed of how effective these methods are.  

Good Luck with your efforts and if you have any tips you'd like to share I would love to hear from you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! NOW WHO WANTS SOME FREEBIES???

Happy New to all, i hope you all had a great christmas as I did. I am looking forward to wonderful adventures before me. I have some great plans in the works and hopefully a website!!  I have the domain name, and I am working on the content, I will just need hubby to help me put it altogether. I am planning for the website launch to take place hopefully by March/April, but I will keep you informed.  The last chocolate order was another success, and I have people asking me when I will do the next one. I would say possibly in March, but I'll wait and see.

To get the year going, I have decided to tell you where you can get free samples and another site I have come across where you can score some great bargains. I will endeavour to add these items each month if I can. So follow me or keep checking back each month.  I am also planning some of my own giveaways too! Its going to be an exciting year!!!

Most of these I have used already to test if you actually get the sample and how quickly they arrive. Some arrive within a week or two and others take up to 6-8weeks, but they still arrive!! The websites where you have to become a member sometimes send you an update e-mail to let you know when you sample will arrive.

First place to get a free sample is:

Snugglers

I got mine just before christmas and  I recieved two for the category I chose. They are good to have on hand for spare nappies or to put in a 72 hour kit.

Huggies little Swimmers

You have to join the huggies club, which doesn't take long. As a member you get to enter draws and also request samples for all their nappy and pull-up ranges. It's a great way to pick up some freebies and have them on hand as back ups or for your 72 hour kits. 

GAIA 

Read the details on the site, you have to send them a stamped self address envelope for the samples, so it will actually cost you, but if you have ever wanted to try them, this is a good way to do it.

Poise

Fill in the form, I have tested this one out and I got a sample rather quickly!

Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula

Its a small sample but its free!

Waxaway

Mini wax strips

Sweax

Underarm liners!!! I haven't received mine yet but it was one of the companies that e-mailed me to let me know when it should arrive, worth a try when its free!!!

Santitarium

Free cookbook

That should keep you busy for now! You should also have a look at Ozsale I have purchased a few things from here. The postage is a little pricey if you are interested in small items like earrings. It will start at $8.50 regardless of how small your item is, but it doesn't get too high after that. I purchased a pair of shoes that took about 6 weeks to arrive. I also got some thongs/flip flops and they only took 7 days to arrive, so its a little bit unpredictable in that respect.  I have not yet decided whether or not to become a priority member. I should have done it when it only cost $60, it now costs $100 and I think it might be per year (double check that!) but you do get a $30 voucher when you pay the $100 fee. You do get discounts and you do get priority access to all sales.