3 cups uncooked wagon wheel pasta
1 1/4 cups half and half
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp butter
1 pkg uncooked chicken breast tenders (not breaded), cut into bite size pieces
1 can diced tomatoes (diced)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 bag (6 oz) fresh baby spinach leaves
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Cook and drain the pasta as directed on the package. In a small bowl, stir 1/4 cup half and half, the flour, salt, and nutmeg until smooth and set aside.

Melt butter over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook 6-8 minutes or until browned. Stir in the tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach. Cook about five minutes until mushrooms are tender.

Reduce the heat to low Stir in the pasta and half and half mixture. Cook about 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of half and half. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and cover. Let stand 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

We are a pasta family. That is why when we were asked to try Dreamfields pasta, we were so excited to try it. I love that Dreamfields pasta has twice the fiber (5 grams), fewer digestible carbohydrates, and a lower glycemic index than regular pasta.  How does it taste?  Well, I love when healthy food tastes good, and this pasta is good.  Actually, I thought it tasted better than my normal generic pasta!  I also loved that the angel hair pasta I tried actually took half the time to cook too!

I’m not the only one who like this pasta.  Dreamfields pasta earned the Good Housekeeping Seal which is one of the most prestigious and trusted honors for consumer goods.  Dreamfields is available nationwide in most grocery stores.  You can also purchase it online via Amazon, carbsmart.com, netrition.com, and vivalowcarb.com  I know I’ll be purchasing this pasta from now on.

I hate to admit it, but we are a chip loving family especially Bill and Will. I swear that these two have not met a chip they didn’t like. When I was asked to try the new Risotto chips, I knew I couldn’t turn it down!

Risotto Chips are a healthier for you snacking option.  They are made from Arborio rice flour, risotto, whole grain corn flour, and sesame seeds.  They are lightly seasoned with natural herbs and spices.  They also are all natural and gluten free.  Each serving offers 11 grams of whole grains.  They come in three flavors:

• Spicy Marinara – Tomato, onion, green pepper, and red pepper
• Parmesan & Roasted Garlic
• Sea Salt

What we found nice about these chips is that you can eat them alone.  You don’t need a dip for them, because they have plenty of flavor on their own.  Our favorite flavor is the Spicy Marinara chips.  That being said, they all have great taste, and it’s nice to know that my family is eating healthier alternative.  You can find these Risotto chips in the deli section at your local grocery store.

Since we like them so much, I’ve arranged for one lucky reader to get a bag for themselves to try.  Here’s what you need to do:

Tell me which flavor you’d like to try.

These will give you additional entries:

1. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify. If you want, use something like this:

Win a bag of Risotto Chips from @blm03 http://lisacooking.com/2010/02/02/risotto-chips-review-and-giveaway/

2. Add this post to social media sites like Stumble, Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc. (1 extra entry per site)

Each one of these gives you 5 additional entries:

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add blm03 to any of your Twitter lists.
5. Add my badge to your sidebar:

<a href="http://lisacooking.com"><img src="http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk258/blm03_photos/125ad.png" border="0" alt="Lisa Cooking" /></a>

Good luck! This contest will end Feb 16, 2010 at 12:00 PM CST.

My mom found this recipe in the newspaper and we tried it out for Madison’s birthday.  They turned out great!  This makes 20 servings.

Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
6 cups water
12 tablespoons ( 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 teaspoons onion salt
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, cubed and softened
2 cups milk
1 (16 oz.) container sour cream
1 (15.3 oz.) package Hungry Jack Mashed Potatoes
Paprika
Cooked bacon, chopped
Chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with no-stick cooking spray. Heat water, butter, garlic salt and onion salt to boiling in a 6-quart Dutch oven or saucepan. Remove from heat. Add cream cheese, milk and sour cream, stirring until cream cheese is dissolved.

Stir in the potato flakes, mixing until all ingredients are well combined. Spread mashed potato mixture into prepared pan.

Sprinkle with paprika and bake 1 hour or until bubbling around edges and golden brown. Top with chopped bacon and parsley, if desired.

If you want to make this ahead, cover the potato mixture (before adding paprika and baking) and store in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Sprinkle with paprika and bake as directed above.

This recipe calls for broccoli. However, as you can see from my photo, we didn’t use it just due to nobody eating broccoli in my house.

1/2 pkg of cooked linguine (8 oz)
1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets
2 tbsp butter
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cubed
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground pepper

Prepare linguine according to the package directions. Add the broccoli for the last four minutes. Drain.

Heat butter in a skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned.

Add soup, milk, cheese, pepper, and linguine mixture and cook through. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

This contest is over. The winner is Cheryl F. {The Lucky Ladybug}! Congrats!

Who would like dinner for $10? I know I do, and Pizza Hut has now made that possible. Seriously! You can get any pizza, any size, any toppings for only $10! How great is that??!!??   For example, Bill likes a Meat Lover’s pizza.  That normally costs us $17.99.  We now get that pizza for only $10!  If you do want a stuffed crust, it will be a $1 more.  This is only for a limited time, so make sure you order yours today!

Since we are huge Pizza Hut fans here, I have arranged for one of my lucky readers to get a Pizza Hut Gift Card for $10, so you too can order a pizza for your house!

Here’s what you need to do:

Tell me what pizza you would order with your gift card.  My hubby would get the meatlovers.  I’d get a pepperoni pizza.

These will give you additional entries:

1. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify. If you want, use something like this:

Enter to win a $10 Pizza Hut Gift Card from @blm03 http://bit.ly/4EyuUC

2. Add this post to social media sites like Stumble, Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc. (1 extra entry per site)

Each one of these gives you 5 additional entries:

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add blm03 to any of your Twitter lists.
5. Add my badge to your sidebar:

<a href="http://lisacooking.com"><img src="http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk258/blm03_photos/125ad.png" border="0" alt="Lisa Cooking" /></a>

Good luck! This contest will end Feb 2, 2010 at 12:00 PM CST.

This is a pretty easy to make recipe that can be easily customized to what your family likes.

1 15oz package folded refrigerated unbaked pie crusts (2 crusts)
1 lb Italian sausage
2 8oz can pizza sauce
1 10oz package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Let the pie crusts stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and drain. Stir pizza sauce and spinach into the ground beef and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Line a 9 inch pie plate with 1 of the pie crusts. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the crust. Top with the beef mixture. Place the remaining pie crust over the filling. Seal and flute edge. Cut slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.