Super Simple Chicken and Pasta

One of my most favorite meals growing up was chicken parmesan and spaghetti.  There's something comforting about the smell of homemade spaghetti sauce filling the house.  Since it's summertime, I decided to play with my childhood favorite and keep it light with a yummy grilled garlic chicken, rather than fried breaded chicken, and I paired it with homemade spaghetti sauce and thin spaghetti.

Laela really enjoyed her first chicken and spaghetti dinner...

After Kyle called me on his way home from work to tell me it'd been a really long day, I topped his pasta with a ton of shredded parmesan cheese.  I thought this was the perfect time to utilize my brulee torch (yay!), so I lit that sucker up to amp up the "goo factor" of the cheese.  I tried to catch a picture of Kyle eating it, but he ate it so fast I didn't get a chance.  Luckily I snapped a pic before he walked in the door!

I have a feeling spaghetti is going to be one of Laela's favorites too...she didn't seem to get as much of her dinner on her as she normally does! She scarfed it right up!

For the chicken:

1 whole boneless skinless chicken breast

1 tsp chopped garlic (or 2 chopped cloves of garlic)

1/2 tsp onion salt

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tb olive oil

Slice the chicken into 1/4 inch strips.  This will help the chicken cook quickly and evenly, and will also help to keep the portions of the chicken more even.  If you aren't kitchen knife friendly, the absolute easiest way to butcher boneless chicken is to get a pair of really clean, sharp scissors and just cut the chicken into even strips.  Scissors make it easier to trim fat without losing any of the good meat.  In a medium skillet (I prefer cast iron, as it distributes heat more evenly), heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic to the skillet.  Dry the chicken and sprinkle the seasoning on each side.  The typical rule of thumb for chicken strips is three minutes per side, but if they seem to be cooking quicker (the chicken will start turnign a white "cooked color" up the sides), flip them and when you can touch it and it's firm to the touch or bounces back at you, it's done.

I like to make my own pasta sauce, but if you don't feel up to it, that's more of a personal choice.  This recipe yields quite a bit, and is extremely easy to freeze.  I love to put it in individual containers in the freezer, so I always have extra on hand!

Super Easy Tomato Sauce

(1) 29 can tomato puree

(1) 29 oz can tomato sauce

(1) 6 oz can tomato paste

2 tsp garlic, finely chopped (4 cloves)

1 Tb olive oil

2 Tb Italian seasoning (if you like it very seasoned, feel free to add more)

1 Tb sugar

2 Tb onion powder

Water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Place a medium sized pot on medium-low heat, and add the oil and garlic.  When you can see that the pot is beginning to heat up, stir in the italian seasoning, onion powder, and tomato paste with the garlic and oil.  Next add the sauce and puree.  After they have been added, fill each can with water and add to the pot.  Stir all of the remaining ingredients in the pot.  If you have any fresh herbs, such as basil, thyme, italian parsley, or rosemary, add them to taste.  This is one of those things that the longer it cooks, the better it tastes, but it still tastes pretty great if you only cook it for ten-twenty minutes.

I've got to be honest, this is the SUPER easy version.  The version I make for my family is a bit of a secret that a girlfriend of mine gave me, and I'm pretty sure Carly would chop off my head if I gave it to the general public.  So all of my Italian friends out there, stop slapping me with your culinary dirty looks, this version is still a heck of a lot better than jarred sauce (and let's be honest, a lot easier than Grandma's recipe)!

All you need now is some pasta.  I'm a sucker for angel hair and thin spaghetti, but you can use just about any kind of pasta you can think of.  It's not even bad with rice, but I'm one of those people that would eat just about anything with rice.

Lastly, if you're feeling cheesy, slap some on top of your chicken and pasta and bust out the blow torch!  (or pop it in the microwave until the cheese melts).

Happy eating!  And as usual, if you have any questions, just ask!  I promise this recipe is easy enough for ANYONE  to make!!

Catch Up

Whew!  It's been a rollar coaster ride the last week and a half!  After finally recovering from strep, my peanut got a little cold, and we had to drive down to Charm City for our great friends Thomasina and Poirot's wedding!  While the wedding was beautiful and great fun, Ms. Laela was a little listless and sleepy, instead of her super-fun lively self.  Poor kid couldn't sleep the night before the wedding because of her cold and sleeping in a strange place, so of course, I didn't sleep much either!   Thanks to lots of coffee, some help from the fabulous Lizy and Wyatt, and driving Laela around Charm City so she would nap, Laela was the sleepy version of her sweet, social self.

After this crazy weekend, I realized that I never posted any of my Labor Day goodies photos!  So here they are!

The trouble with writing this post is that my husband is looking at the pictures going "hey now!  When are you making me some goodies?!"

Guess I'd better get myself back in the kitchen!  (Whoa!  That was very 1950's of me.  Do I need to burn a bra or something?)

Starting Wednesdays I'm going to have a recipe a week.  If you have any recipe requests or questions, just email me and I'll post the answers to your cooking and baking questions.

Have a great Monday!!

One Sick Mama, and Some Easy Veggie Soup

Sorry for not posting last week. I got wailed with strep, or something like it (we're still waiting on my test results), and it pretty much put me out of commission until today, and I have to say, I'm still not feeling myself.
One of the many things that no one will tell you about being a Mom is that you really can't afford to get sick.  You might be thinking, "Well duh, you're Mom, everyone needs you."  What you don't realize until you're a Mom that you could be dying, and you'd still have to do the dishes, or clean up the overflowing diaper pail, or make sure the baby ate all her breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack.  You don't realize that no matter how fabulous your husband is, or helpful your parents are, that you are Mommy, and no matter how much codeine cough syrup the doctor may provide, you will wake up when your baby is crying at 2 AM for you.

I don't know about other Moms, but I'm a crazy person when it comes to my kid.  I nannied for 9 years.  I had my share of sleepless nights because of a kid with the flu, or a baby with croup.  I had my 4 AM morning wakeups because of a belly ache or a bad dream.  I also had my share of nights where I slept through babies crying and little ones complaining, because I knew then, as I know now, that the children will survive crying for a while until they pass out and go back to bed. 

The thing that's different about being a Mom rather than a Nanny is how difficult it is for me to give up my control and just let things be.  It's why crying it out wasn't really and option for me for a long time because it literally made me cry too.  When we finally did it, she really didn't do it for too long, and I truly believe that because I wasn't anxious over it, Laela had an easier time.

This past week was as awakening as it was challenging.  Kyle was extremely helpful with the baby.  The poor guy had to work from home all week while taking care of the baby.  I think in a way it was good because it was the first time he really got to see all that I do, and that it's not all playtime and reading books.  It wasn't easy to not be the one to snuggle the baby back to sleep, or give her the giggles, but it was really sweet to watch Laela and her Daddy bond in a new way.

The moral of the story?  Let your husband, partner, or friend help you out when you're sick.  We are Mommy, we are Superwoman, but even Superwoman needs to accept some soup and some help now and then.

Of course...I've got to end this post with my most favorite, and of course ridiculously easy vegetable soup recipe ever..

Easy Vegetable Soup
1 bag soup mix veggies
4 peeled and chopped carrots
3 large chopped potatoes
1 quart veggie or chicken stock
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I make my own, but it you want to use premade, that's ok)
1 minced clove garlic
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything in a big soup or spaghetti pot.  Bring to a boil.  Cook on medium low for 20 minutes.  Serve immediately, refrigerate for one week, or freeze for 3-6 months.  I personally don't like how the potatoes and carrots taste frozen, so when I freeze it I leave them out and add them when I defrost it.