Saturday Afternoon Lunch Recipes..

I was in the mood to cook lunch today, so I whipped up a few recipes of my own. I had several veggies in the fridge that I needed to use up, so I wanted to cook with those. I usually only buy fresh veggies, so I always have to make sure to use them in a timely fashion. I went a little "overboard." I fixed a lot of food, but we love left overs around here. :) I fixed Parmesan tomatoes, kale salad, roasted butternut squash with fingerling potatoes and carrots topped with parmesan cheese, and came up with my own recipe: Chicken with cut up asparagus and mushrooms in a tomato cream sauce. It actually turned out well!

I used the same butternut squash and fingerling potatoes recipe I have always used, but I had carrots I needed to use up, so I added those as well. I covered with a little kosher salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and shredded parmesan cheese. I have never covered the veggies with cheese, so I was not sure how it would turn out, but it was good! It changed the taste up a little.

I found the parmesan tomatoes recipe on Pinterest, so I thought it would be another good side item. I also had several tomatoes I needed to use up, so it was perfect. I sliced the tomatoes kind of thick, added some salt and pepper, dry oregano, and topped with parmesan cheese. They were so easy! I put them on a baking sheet, stuck them in the oven, and they were finished in 15 mins! They were great.

I ALSO had kale that I needed to use up, so I made the Tuscan Kale salad recipe that my friend Christin gave me. I have a new obsession, kale. It was delicious.

I had fresh asparagus and mushrooms in the fridge that needed to be used up, also. I wanted something with chicken in it, so I cut up several chicken breasts, cut up the mushrooms and asparagus, and added it to a 9x9 baking dish. I was also craving a cream sauce, so I used a can of Hunts tomato sauce, whipping cream, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and oregano to make my sauce. I added a bit of corn meal, so the cream sauce would not be too runny. It was AMAZING! I was quite impressed with how it turned out, because I was not using a recipe. I will definitely be adding this to a list of "regular recipes."

I know a lot of my posts have been about food lately, but I can't help myself...I love to cook ;)