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!

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

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.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

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!

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!

Sautéed Chicken with Tomato Pan Sauce

You guys, this is probably the most legit meal I've ever cooked.  The flavors were complex, and the chicken was perfectly done.  It really made an at-home date night Jeff and I had a couple of weeks ago feel like a real date.  You know that commercial for Barilla Meals for Two where they start cooking and then one of them turns on music, they open a bottle of wine and light some candles?  That. Really. Happened.

Usually when I cook, I feel like I'm still making "college-y" meals.  If I don't have shallots, for example, I'll toss in an onion instead, or if I'm somehow out of onions I just leave them out all together.  Cutting corners always seems like a good idea in the moment, but leads to less satisfactory meals.  This recipe took a little longer than my usual weeknight routine of tossing a chicken breast into the toaster oven and adding some barbecue sauce (or let's be even more real, heating a frozen pizza), but it was definitely, definitely worth it.  Plus, the recipe called for wine, which meant I got to enjoy a little "chef juice" while I worked.  Win win win.

Sautéed Chicken with Tomato Pan Sauce (adapted from Keepers)

Serves 4

You'll Need:

4 bone in chicken thighs with skin

1 TB olive oil

4 TB unsalted butter, divided

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise

One handful of fresh basil, chopped

Salt and pepper

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and 1 TB butter over medium-high heat until the foam from the butter begins to subside.  Generously season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, then add to pan skin-side down.  Cook until it is golden brown, about 6 minutes.  Turn the chicken over, reduce the heat to medium, and cover the pan.  Cook until cooked through, 10-15 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a platter and tent with aluminum foil.

Pour off all but one TB of fat from the pan and return to medium heat.  Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the wine, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan, and simmer until most of the wine has evaporated.  Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring often and pressing down on them with the back of a spoon, until they start to break down, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the basil and remaining butter.  

Serve the chicken topped with your sauce, along with a fresh summer vegetable like asparagus.

Follow along with everything Kristina does via Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin!