Garlic Basil Pasta & Chicken

(There's chicken in there, I swear!!)

Do all of the dinner recipes I post involve pasta? Seems like it, huh?! I guess I have a type haha. I don't think I could ever do a low- or no-carb diet because I seriously need it ;) Jeff even bought me a pasta drying rack for my birthday so we can up our pasta-making game. Or rather so that next time we make pasta, I don't make him take his shirts off of the hangers so I can use them for hanging pasta ;) 

I came across this recipe on Pinterest from Pinch of Yum and had to give it a try because, well, pasta, and loved it. It tastes so fresh and brings back dreams of summer, so of course it's a winner in my book. We do a lot of sausage in this house which is not the healthiest, so I love that this recipe uses chicken instead. 

I made a couple of modifications to the recipe, so here's my version:

Garlic Basil Pasta & Chicken

Serves 4

16oz spaghetti noodles

3 TB olive oil, divided

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs 

Salt & pepper

1 28oz can diced tomatoes 

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 handful fresh basil, cut into strips

1/4 cup salted butter

Parmesan cheese for topping

Bring a large, salted pot of water to boil. Cook noodles according to package and drain. Toss with 1 TB olive oil and set aside.

While cooking the pasta, rinse chicken and pat dry. Place between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound (or use rolling pin) to flatten to an even thickness, about 1 inch. Season both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Heat 2 TB olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy bottomed pan. Add the chicken and cook 3-5 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked through. Set aside.

Reduce heat to medium, let the oil cool for a few minutes, and then add tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to thicken into a sauce-like consistency. Stir in garlic and butter until butter is fully melted. Add chicken back to sauce and cook for an additional two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. 

To serve, top spaghetti with chicken and sauce, and add some parmesan. Enjoy!

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The Best Scrambled Eggs

Okay, I know. You know how to make scrambled eggs. (Unless you're my friend from college, who used to beg her roommates every Saturday to make eggs for her.) I thought I knew how to make scrambled eggs. In fact, I thought I did a pretty damn good job. Then I heard about "low and slow" scrambling, and my life has changed. I've tried a couple of different "low and slow" methods, but this one is definitely the winner. They turn out super fluffy and not the least bit dry. I made them for Jeff without telling him I was trying something new, and he totally freaked for them.

So what does "low and slow" mean? Well basically, you cook the eggs over super low heat for a long amount of time, instead of over higher heat for a short amount of time. Oh, you didn't need that explanation? My bad. 

(Also, no I don't eat cream cheese on my bagels. I know, I know, what a weirdo.) 

So what you're going to do is take two eggs. Or three, or four, you know, depending on your appetite. You're going to crack them into a bowl, add a splash of milk, and then mix them up with a whisk (or a fork if you don't have a whisk, or, ahem, are too lazy to find yours). 

Then take your favorite pan and give it a mist of olive oil if you're lucky enough to have an olive oil mister, or you know, a spray of some other non-stick spray would work. Then add the eggs to the pan while it's still cold, and then put it over low heat. If you're feeling crazy, add a glob or two of butter into the mix. 

So here's the key part of this particular "low and slow" method: stir continuously. Make sure you're scraping the bottom of the pan as you go so that everything cooks really evenly. The eggs should slowly get less opaque, and then start to cook. When they're bunching up and just starting to look done, turn off the heat (they'll continue to cook a little after you take them off the heat, and you definitely don't want to overdo it). At this point, I like to stir in a little bit of cheese. And then I dig in. 

And voila! The best scrambled eggs you'll ever make! 

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5 Cookie Recipe

So tell me if you ever have this problem: you bake a whole batch of cookies, and then realize that you now have so many cookies that you could never possibly eat? No? Well then, this post may not be for you. I personally love a good cookie warm out of the oven, but Jeff and I can somehow never finish a batch, so it always feels kind of wasteful to bake them. That's why I freaking love this recipe - it makes just five cookies and is super easy and fast to whip up, plus it doesn't make a huge mess. And, you know, cookies. It's hard to go wrong with those.

This recipe is also gluten free (say whaaaaa, I know!) and this super gluten eating girl still likes them (which can be hard for a gluten free baked good), so, go and make them all of you non gluten eaters!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies (from Plated)
Makes just 5 cookies! 

1 egg (you're only going to use half though!)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 TB peanut butter chips (or semi-sweet chocolate, I used those once and they were really good)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a baking sheet (preferably with butter, but I know some of you are going to use cooking spray and that's a-okay too.

In a small bowl, whisk egg. Reserve half for eggs in the morning.

In a medium bowl, stir together half of egg, sugar, peanut butter, and baking soda until well combined. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Roll cookie dough into 5 evenly sized balls and evenly space on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Let cool 3-5 minutes and serve warm (preferably with a glass of milk!)

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Undone Salad Dressing

I don't know if you know this about me, but I am super, super lazy, especially in the kitchen. I buy pre-washed/pre-cut fruit at the grocery store because I know I'll never eat fruit if I have to do that stuff myself, I'll often plan elaborate dinners only to decide it's too much work and order something instead, and I try to use as few dishes as possible when I cook to avoid having more to clean up, which means I cut a lot of corners (like refusing to use a whisk when a fork can do almost the same job).

This always turns into a problem when it comes to salad dressing. I know I should make my own, it's healthier and cheaper and tastes better yada yada yada. I have all of the ingredients and recipes and even a special salad dressing mixer bottle to use, but when push comes to shove I always reach for the pre-made dressing so readily available in my fridge.

I tried out this quinoa bowl recipe a couple of weeks ago during a Bachelor viewing party/dinner date with one of my girlfriends (because Jeff would never, ever consider a quinoa bowl to be dinner!) and we basically freaked over how easy and good the dressing is. I call it an "undone" dressing because rather than getting out a bowl and whisking all of the ingredients together, you just sprinkle and drizzle everything over the top of your salad. No extra dishes, no extra mess!

This particular dressing is geared towards a southwest salad, but you could easily swap the lime for lemon, take out the honey, or add fresh herbs depending on your preference.

Undone Salad Dressing

You'll Need (for one salad):
Salt and Pepper
1/2 TB Olive Oil
1/4 TB Honey
1/2 Lime

Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to the top of your salad. Drizzle olive oil and honey over the top. Squeeze lime juice over everything. And you're done! I prefer to eat it as-is, but if you prefer you could mix the salad to combine the flavors. Easy peasy.

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One Pot Sausage Red Pepper Pasta

If there's anything that get's me in a recipe title, it's the words "One Pot." I mean, seriously, washing dishes isn't that hard, but I loathe it above all other chores, so cutting down on the dishes is a major score for me. 

The thing about one pot recipes though is that they're usually a little weird, because meals usually really shouldn't all be made in one pot. Not this one. In fact, when I asked Jeff if he liked it, he said, "Yeah, I love when you make this." Turns out he was confusing this one pot pasta with this other roasted red pepper pasta recipe that was waaaaaay more time consuming and make my kitchen look like it was attacked by a band of two year olds. A side note: do I make too many roasted red pepper pastas? Nahhhh....

One Pot Sausage Red Pepper Pasta (adapted from Host the Toast)

Serves 4 very hungry people or 6 regular people

You'll Need:
1 lb spicy italian sausage, casings removed
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB olive oil
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 16oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and pureed in a food processor
12 oz pasta
5 oz spinach
3.5 oz goat cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
Salt and pepper

In a large pot, sautee sausage, garlic, and olive oil over medium heat until browned. Add milk, chicken broth, pureed red peppers, and pasta. Stir to combine. Let pot come to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until pasta is just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted. Stir in goat and parmesan cheese until melted. Remove from heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper as necessary. Serve and top with copious amounts of shredded parmesan.

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Mashed Cauliflower

So I always seem to have this problem, where when I try to cook something really healthy, I end up adding so much stuff to it to make it taste good that whatever I'm making ends up being decidedly not healthy in the end. Such was the problem with mashed cauliflower. It never seemed to have enough flavor and wasn't quite the right texture, so I'd add tons of butter, cream, cheese, and whatever else I could find to the point that it was probably worse for me than regular old mashed potatoes.

Then I found this recipe, which includes a turnip. Yep, you read that correctly. It may have been the first time I've ever actually had a turnip in my life. I was always scared of them because my American Girl doll, Molly, had to eat turnips in one of her books and thought they were awful (I think until her mom added some cinnamon and milk to them and mashed them up? Yeah, I agree, it's pretty weird that I remember that).

So anyways, one of our Plated meals included a cauliflower mash that included a turnip, and it was so good without having to add tons of extra calories to it.  Of course, I added garlic, because, duh, and the rest is history.

Turns out, turnips aren't so scary after all.


Mashed Cauliflower (adapted from Plated)
serves 4

1 head of cauliflower, cut into chunks
1 turnip, peeled and cut into chunks
4 cloves of garlic, whole
2 TB butter
1 TB fresh chives, chopped
Salt and pepper

Add cauliflower, turnip, and garlic to a large pot and cover completely with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook 12 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to pot. Add butter and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in chives. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

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Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Shrimp

I saw this recipe for Vegan GF Roasted Red Pepper Pasta on Pinterest, it looked so good that I had to make it for dinner ASAP. The only thing is, I'm not vegan or gluten free, and didn't particularly want to buy almond milk or nutritional yeast for one recipe. So, instead, I quickly went about making it a lot less healthy. Heavy cream? Check. Oh, and I added shrimp, because I'm pretty pro- protein.

I'd never roasted a pepper before and was truthfully a little nervous about it (the last time a recipe called for it, I bought jarred red peppers instead!) but it turns out it's super easy. They just cook in the oven over high heat for a while, then you pull them out and peel all of the skin off and you're good to go.

Jeff said we should add this to our regular rotation, which was basically a standing ovation from him. I'm not sure how often we'll make it because it took about an hour to pull everything together, but damn was this good.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Shrimp (adapted from Minimalist Baker)

Serves 4

You'll Need:

2 large red peppers

8 oz spaghetti or linguine noodles

6 oz frozen shrimp, uncooked and deveined

5 TB olive oil, divided

2 shallots, minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or just a pinch if you don't like things spicy), plus more for serving

Parmesan cheese, grated

Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Rinse peppers and place on a baking sheet. Roast 25-30 minutes, until the outside is lightly charred. Remove from oven and wrap in tin foil for ten minutes to steam. Peel off skin (should come off easily) and remove stem and seeds. Set aside.

While peppers are roasting, bring a heavily salted pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, then put back in pot and toss with 1 TB olive oil. Cover the pot and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, defrost the shrimp and then peel. Set aside.

Heat 2-3 TB olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Sautee until golden brown and softened, 4-5 minutes. Season heavily with salt and pepper and remove from pan.

Add additional TB of oil to pan and sautee shrimp until cooked through and opaque, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from pan

Put roasted red peppers, shallot/garlic mixture, cream, and milk in a food processor (or blender if you don't have a food processor) and blend until creamy and smooth. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as necessary.

Pour sauce into your pan and turn heat to medium high until sauce begins to simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce thickens, 2-3 minutes. Add pasta, shrimp, and a little dash of olive oil, and toss to combine. Serve, topping with red pepper flakes, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Like, a lot of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

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Review: Plated

Have you heard of Plated? It's a service that delivers all of the ingredients and recipes you need to make gourmet meals at home. Jeff and I have been trying for a couple of weeks. I actually first heard of it over a year ago, but decided to finally give it a try when I accepted my new job and knew that I would have a lot less time for making dinners during the week.  

So how does Plated work? Each week I go online and pick which meals I want from their weekly menu and the day I want everything delivered. Then on the afternoon of my delivery date, a refrigerated box shows up on my doorsteps with all of the ingredients I'll need for the meals as well as recipes with step by step photos.

Steak au Poivre with Spinach Potatoes au Gratin 

While there have been a couple of misses (like a salad that was really just raw brussels sprouts), we have made some pretty amazing meals. I've always felt most comfortable making chicken and salmon, so it's been fun to branch out and discover other proteins, as well as vegetables I've never had before (like turnips!).  I also like that they send you the exact amount of ingredients you need, so I don't end up with tons of extra spices and oils I don't know what to do with. What I don't like? How much waste the process entails - each week we throw away tons of packaging and ice packs. We also had one box come with a rock hard avocado, but Plated was quick to give us some free meals to make up for it. Overall, I really like the service, and I can see us using it for a long time.

 

Kale Pesto Ravioli with Roasted Carrots and Anchovy Chicken with Roasted Carrots and Turnips

Have you used Plated or a similar service? What did you think?

This post is not sponsored. I actually reached out to Plated to see if they had a coupon to share with you guys so you could try it out yourselves, but they declined. I have seen lots of offer codes floating around though (especially on Facebook) so a quick Google should find a discount for you.

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Irish Carbomb Cupcakes

Yes, you read that title correctly.  These are, in fact, Irish Carbomb Cupcakes, and the ingredients list includes Guiness, Irish Whiskey, and Baileys.  Except, unlike the drink, they don't tend to make you fall off of your barstool, and are super delicious.  

The first time I made these was for a friend's 21st birthday a couple of years ago (okay, it was a younger friend, it has been a loooong time since I was 21). We took a limo into Chicago from the burbs and ended up dancing til 4am at the Hangge Uppe, where we somehow managed not to get kicked out despite being repeatedly told to stop climbing on things and hanging off of the ceiling. 

My life has changed a little bit since then.  I haven't seen 4am in years, and the thought of attempting an Irish Carbomb makes me a little nauseous.  Despite the fact that I'm massively more lame these days, I'm still quite fond of a good old fashioned alcoholic dessert.  

A couple of weeks ago some of our friends decided to plan a progressive dinner through our neighborhood, where we stopped at different houses and had a couple of small plates and a drink at each.  We were the last stop, and so were tasked with making dessert, and I thought it was the perfect time to pull out my favorite recipe once more.

A couple of tips for making these: 

1.  You may be very excited about the idea of making an alcholic cupcake.  You may think, "Hey, there's not much booze in this at all!  I can barely taste it!  Maybe I should add some more..."  You're going to want to ignore that thought.  Don't, whatever you do, add more alcohol.  If there's one thing I've learned after years of making these babies, it's that people really like the idea of eating booze, but don't actually like it in practice.  Really, would you want to take a big bite of something that's normally sipped or shot?  I've made the mistake of adding too much booze before, and they are not fun to eat.  

2.  I don't care what Deb from Smitten Kitchen says, add a normal amount of frosting to them for god's sake.  The frosting is the best part, so don't skimp.  

The original recipe can be found at Smitten Kitchen.

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Lemon Herbed Chicken

I honestly am not sure how I haven't shared this recipe before.  My mom made Lemon Herbed Chicken for us all of the time growing up, and now it's one of my favorite things to cook.  It's so easy, but still so flavorful, and so much more exciting than another boneless skinless chicken breast.  Of course, you could still make this with boneless skinless chicken breasts, just lower the temperature and decrease the cooking time.

The key to this recipe is actually giving it time to marinade.  Mixing everything up and letting it sit the night before is really the best option, and that way when you get home from work all you have to do is turn on the oven and pop the chicken in.

Lemon Herbed Chicken (recipe originally from Chicago Tribune)

Serves 4

You'll need:

3-4 lbs chicken (I either use whole chicken pieces or skin on/bone in thighs)

2 tsps minced fresh garlic

2 tsps Dijon mustard

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 TB soy sauce

1 TB each, minced: fresh chives, basil, and rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)

1/2 tsp salt

Fresh ground pepper

Put chicken and other ingredients in a gallon size Ziplock bag.  Secure bag next to chicken and squeeze out air so that marinade coats chicken.  Refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight.  

Pre-heat oven to 425.  Line a shallow baking pan with heavy duty foil.  Remove chicken from marinate and place skin up in pan.  

Roast chicken until sizzling and deeply browned, about 45 minutes.  

Linking up with Little Friday.

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7 Stuffed Cookie Recipes

Cupcakes and brownies have been doing it for years, but cookies are just hopping on to the newest dessert trend: stuffing. People are putting candy, peanut butter, caramel, marshmallows, and anything else they can think of into cookies these days. Flipping through my Pinterest lately has literally been leaving me drooling. Here are some of the stuffed cookie recipes I can't wait to try:

Brownie Stuffed Cookies

I've put cookies into brownies before, so why wouldn't you want a brownie inside of a cookie?

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

Like a giant, amazing peanut butter cup.

Marshmallow Stuffed S'mores Cookies

A chocolate chip cookie is sounding so much better than a graham right now.

Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

Seriously, nutella inside a cookie? I may need some alone time with these guys.

Oreo Stuffed Funfetti Cookies

The only problem with these guys? You can't eat the Oreo frosting first! I think I'd get over it somehow.

Reese's Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookie

Why put a Hershey's Kiss on top of your peanut butter cookie when you can put a Reese's inside one?

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

o. m. f. g.

Have you hopped on the stuffed cookie train?  Have any amazing recipes to share?

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Easy Summer Veggie Pasta

Between my carbohydrate obsession, frequent overpurchasing of produce during the summer months, and a desire to make all of my meals quick and easy while the weather is hot, this easy summer vegetable pasta recipe is my new best friend.  What's nice about it is that you can customize it based on what veggies are your favorite or what's hanging out in your fridge.  Oh, and that there's wine involved, which means you can enjoy a healthy glass of chef's juice while you're putting it together.  Sounds like the perfect summer meal to me!

Summer Veggie Pasta
Serves 4

You'll Need:
12 oz uncooked pasta
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 colored bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow), sliced in small chunks
1 yellow squash, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
Grated parmesan

Boil a large pot of salted water.  Add pasta and cook as directed.  Reserve 1/2 cup of starchy water before draining.

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add bell pepper, squash, and zucchini and cook for 2-3 minutes, until vegetables start to soften but are not cooked through.

Add wine to the pan, scraping up the bits from the bottom, and cook until the wine reduces by at least half.

Remove the pan from the heat.  Add your cooked pasta to the pan, as well as some of the starchy cooking water.  Toss everything well to combine.   Stir in the fresh basil.  Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary.  Top with some parmesan cheese and you're good to go!

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