Easy Chicken Puttanesca Penne

You only need 30 minutes & 5 simple ingredients to whip up this family-pleasing Easy Chicken Puttanesca Sauce on a busy weeknight...

This recipe was created in partnership with Barilla, Walmart, & No Kid Hungry. All opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

Is anyone else's head spinning from the fact that back to school is just a few short weeks away? And for some of you all, the first day of school has already come and gone! (<<My mind is still blown over that one.) 

While I am definitely looking forward to reclaiming my 6 hours of kid-free time on the weekdays, I am also a little sad that summer break is almost over. We had all these grand plans for this summer, but a few things (like that promised weekend camping trip in a tent) didn't get crossed off the family checklist this time around. That seems to happen just about every summer, right?

But now I am getting ready to switch gears from a summer break bucket list to all of those checklists that come with the beginning of a new school year. The school supply list, checking off all that required paperwork that has been signed in and turned in for kindergarten registration, shopping for the necessary back to school clothes, dorm room essentials, and last but certainly not least- weeknight meal planning. 

Parmesan Chicken Corn Chowder

This creamy Parmesan Chicken Corn Chowder with its hearty potatoes, roasted chicken, and the addition of Parmesan cheese takes the traditional corn chowder to a whole other level of deliciousness...

I was provided a copy of 100 Creative Ways to Use Rotisserie Chicken to review. I was not compensated for this post in any other way. All opinions expressed below are 100% my own.

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One of my goals in 2016 is to get my family around the dinner table more often. Last year that rarely happened unless it happened to be a special event- like a holiday dinner. So, yeah. It was a pretty rare occasion. 

Often times, my husband and daughter eat dinner in the living room. Sometimes I join them, but more often than not I find myself having a working dinner at my laptop. My teenage son makes a beeline for his bedroom where he hides away with his dinner plate watching Netflix. So this year I have decided that I am taking back our family dinners around the kitchen table! 

And just how I am going to do that? For one, the kitchen table is no longer permitted to be everyone's dumping ground when they walk through the door after coming home from school and work. If the table is clear, then we are more likely to use it.

Another way I am working to achieve this goal is by finding more and more home cooked meals that I can make easily and more quickly. If I can get dinner on the table a little faster, then that means more time around the table as a family. That is why I am so glad that I was asked to check out & review my friend Trish's (from Mom On Timeout) new cookbook, 100 Creative Ways to Use Rotisserie Chicken. :) Her cookbook is packed with no fuss, delicious chicken dinner recipes- from casseroles to 20-minute dinners to slurpable soups. Since we are full swing into soup season, I chose to whip up a pot of her Parmesan Chicken Corn Chowder (on page 217). This creamy chowder with its hearty potatoes, roasted chicken, and the addition of Parmesan cheese takes the traditional corn chowder to a whole other level of deliciousness...

Weeknight Lasagna Soup

Enjoy all the gooey, cheesy goodness of a homemade lasagna in just 30 minutes with this easy to make Weeknight Lasagna Soup...

Having Italian roots and all, I am a sucker for homemade lasagna. It is just one of those classic Italian dishes that you just can't go wrong with. 

My only gripe about it? Making it. Call me lazy, but why does a good homemade lasagna have to take so much time to assemble and bake? 

From the browning of the meat, to the layering of the noodles with the filling, to the actual baking time, it can take up to two hours to whip up a dish of lasagna! 

And of course my homemade lasagna cravings always seem to hit me on a busy weeknight. The last thing I have on a busy weeknight is two hours to kill on making dinner. 

My solution? This easy to make Weeknight Lasagna Soup. :)

Seriously, folks. If you want all the gooey, cheesy goodness and flavor of a homemade lasagna without waiting hours for it, then this lasagna soup is about to become your new dinner time best friend...