Do you know what is hard to do when you are pregnant? Menu planning.
Seriously… I sat down the other day to write some recipes, make a menu plan, and write out a grocery list. This wasn’t a month-long list or anything – just a week worth of food and groceries. Do you want to know how long it took me?
I started at about 9:30am. I got home from the grocery store that night at 6:30. And that’s pretty much all that I did that day. I did have to take time to feed the kids lunch, but really. All. Day. Long. And just to think – I get to do it again this week!!
What I need more of in my life for the next 3ish months are recipes like this one. Only a few ingredients. Only 30 minutes. A delicious and satisfying dinner.
I actually made this months ago, but am just now getting around to writing about it. And I don’t know what has taken me so long, because this dinner was so easy and such a family favorite that I know that it will be back on the menu in the future. Especially as we get closer to baby day. And in the months that follow. (I’m still not quite sure how I’m going to handle 3 kids, 3 and under – I’m in for a wild ride!!)
So take a hint from me and add this Salsa and Chicken Fettuccine to your next menu plan. You won’t regret it!
- ½ pound fettuccine
- ½ cup salsa
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup cooked, chopped chicken
- chopped fresh cilantro
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente; drain and return to pot.
- In a small pot, combine the salsa, sour cream and parmesan. Cook over medium heat until hot. Pour the hot sauce over the cooked fettuccine and stir until coated. Add in the chicken and stir to combine. Serve topped with cilantro.
Like this recipe? Check out these other great versions of fettuccine:
Zucchini Fettuccine from cinda b
Slow Cooker Chicken Fettuccine from Taste and Tell
Fettuccine Alfredo with Thai Red Curry and Lump Crab Meat from Okie Dokie Artichokie
Cranberry Fettuccine Tomato Cream Sauce with Shrimps and Scallops from I Just Love My Apron
Chicken Fettuccine with Pesto Cream Sauce from Handle the Heat
This does look easy with only a few ingredients! I love the addition of salsa – helps kick it up a notch but keeps it simple. YUM!
@Colleen @ What’s Baking in the Barbershop?!, the salsa adds so much flavor, too!
I am a big fn of fettucine. This dish looks delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
@Rosa, thanks, Rosa – I love fettuccine, too!
Sounds easy and tasty!
@Kalyn, I’m loving super simple recipes like this lately – and this was definitely one of them!
Oh pasta, I’ve missed you. Why haven’t I made you in so long?
Sure love ya friend, great recipe!
@carrian, thanks, Carrian. Pasta is defninitely a regular visitor in our house!! 🙂
I love recipes like this- not too many ingredients but tasty! Pregnancy does all sorts of weird things to the brain. 🙂
@Melanie @ Nutritious Eats, so true – one minute something sounds good, and then the next minute it sounds the furthest thing from good. I think that’s why I struggle with the menu plan so much!
My boyfriend right there. Yep.
@Bev @ Bev Cooks, wish I still had some to send you! 🙂
30 minute recipes are so needed! I get way too tired to cook on a busy work day. Oh and it takes me a month to post about stuff too. Sometimes things just get pushed to the bottom without us even knowing!
@Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious, I know how that goes – I had this recipe and one more that just keep getting pushed back. Which is a shame when they are good recipes!!
I am not even pregnant and I have a hard time menu planning. This meal is perfect for when I fall behind, I love the flavors and simplicity!
@Cassie, I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only one! 🙂
easy and delicious! i love meals like that esp. when my brain is blank 😉
@Julie @ Table for Two, my brain seems to be blank a lot lately! So yeah, meals like this have really come in handy!
Yum, I love an easy weeknight meal! Looks so good Deborah!
@Shawn @ I Wash…You Dry, thanks! It was super easy!!
You would think that I would enjoy meal planning but I don’t at all. Trying to organize all the recipes I have to make for jobs, with trying to use up things I have on hand, plus reviewing what is on sale, what I have coupons for, what I need for the home besides groceries, thinking of our schedule for the week and when I’ll have time to make what before it goes bad and then the actual dread of dealing with the grocery store (long lines, not enough parking, sold out of what I need), uh I hate it! But I do love simple meals like this to make the whole process of planning and cooking easier! : )
I just realized how negative that sounded! Don’t get me wrong I love developing recipes and cooking, but the actual act of meal planning and grocery shopping is my least favorite part of the process!
@Heather of Kitchen Concoctions, I totally hear you – and no, I didn’t take your comment as negative!! It’s quite the process, and the meal planning and grocery shopping part isn’t my favorite, either! 🙂
I love how easy this is and how delicious it sounds!
@Jessica@AKitchenAddiction, it is definitely super easy – that’s one of the things I loved the best about it!
Love your use of salsa here!
@Laura (Tutti Dolci), the salsa totally makes this recipe!
Sometimes my lists take me that long too…only I don’t have pregnancy to blame anymore. Lol. This looks like a great dish that would be a hit in my family too.
@Kristy, I’m learning that a lot of people struggle with the menu planning. I’m just glad I’m not alone!!
It is so funny that I just happened to read this post now, right after I wrote my weekly menu post, lol! I’m having the exact same problem this week. Grace is gone camping till Friday *tear* and nothing sounds good to eat. So I threw the white flag and didn’t write a menu. I mean, I’ll put together a few things, but, the menu for the week, is kind of out the window for the week.
@Chels R., it makes it even harder to make a menu plan when the whole family isn’t there!! I should have thrown in the white flag… I may have to do that this week, though. I don’t know if I can handle a whole day of menu plannign again!
Oh my word. I just made this, (literally ate it 5 minutes ago), and it was great! I won’t lie, most “this is super easy AND yummy” recipes are bogus- but this one was wonderfully simple and deliciously enjoyable to eat. Love love love.
@Shellina, thank you so much for coming back to let me know! These are my favorite kinds of comments, and you made my night! 🙂
I’ve been finding it really hard to menu plan lately also…maybe it’s the heat? I need more dishes like this also!
@Joanne, I think the heat must have something to do with it. (And aren’t you on vacation right now????)
I’m all for 30 minute meals and minimal grocery planning, too. This looks so zippy and tasty Deborah!
I have given up on taking my kids shopping, but somehow even kid free it still takes me forever. This is my kind of dinner. Simple, fast and good! Adding this to my dinner menu soon.
This looks like a meal the whole family will love. And you really can’t ask for anything simpler.
Dont’ feel bad – I am not pregnant, and it can take me that long to figure out groceries for a week sometimes 🙂
I saw this recipe, saved it, and finally made it the other night. It was okay.. not something that I would make again unfortunately. I did use whole wheat noodles, but I’m not sure if that would change the taste substantially though.
@Tessa, I’m so sorry you didn’t love it – it was a favorite of my family’s. Hopefully you’ll have better luck with the next one!