Matt and Kate Dinner

Please excuse the lack of originality on the titles- this is how I remember the meals though!

Appetizers:
Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 cup may

1 cup grated parmessean cheese

1 box chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 can articoke hearts, chopped coarsely

Mix and bake in a pie plate at 350 until top is brown. You can put shredded cheese on top too.

Italian Quesadillas (Giada's Recipe) http://tinyurl.com/28rwxm

The fontina was out of our budget, so we substituted it with a mix of shredded Italian Cheeses


Main Dish:
Chicken Florentine (Thanks KMH)

1 cup uncooked penne pasta

6 ounces chicken breast cuts

4 cups chopped fresh spinach

1 jar (7-1/4 ounces) roasted sweet red peppers, drained and sliced

3 fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup Alfredo sauce

3 tablespoons prepared pesto

2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese


DIRECTIONS: Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute the chicken, spinach, red peppers, rosemary, garlic powder and pepper in butter until spinach is wilted. Stir in the broth, Alfredo sauce and pesto; cook for 4-5 minutes or until heated through. Drain pasta and add to the soup. Sprinkle with pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Yield: 5 cups.


Everyone LOVED this recipe! We thought it tasted like something you would get in a restaurant. I only used about 3/4 the amount of recommended chicken broth and I added an entire jar of Alfredo sauce. I will make this one many more times!

Sides:
Green Beans and Portobello Mushroom Saute
1 1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut in half
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
2 portobello mushroom caps, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry sherry

Simmer green beans in salted boiling water 5 minutes. Drain green beans and return skillet to moderate heat. Add oil and butter to the pan. Add onions and saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Saute mushrooms 3 to 5 minutes with onions, add green beans back to the pan. Heat green beans through and add sherry. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer green beans and mushrooms to a serving plate.

Dessert:
Pistachio Cake (Thanks Jocelyn)

PISTACHIO CAKE
1 box white cake mix
1 sm. pistachio pudding
3 eggs
1 c. water
1/2 c. oil

Mix all and bake in 9 x 13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I added in chocolate chips to the mix. You could add nuts, as well.