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.

Memorial Day Party...and one cruiiiisin' baby!

I'm so excited!  My little bug had her first Cheerios with Mommy and Daddy this morning!  It's so amazing how quickly she's growing up.  I remember when she was this cute little wiggly cuddlebug, then when she started sitting up, then crawling around like a little speed demon.  Now my little girl is almost half my size (yep my eight month old is 32 inches tall folks), is cruising around the house, and is eating all the big girl food she can handle.  Sometimes I wish we could slow down time a bit, so that she enjoyed Mommy feeding her mush just a little longer, but I guess this is one of those times where you have to let go a little bit as a parent and say, "here ya go kid, eat the Cheerios...and don't choke or I'll have a heart attack."

I'll do a post next week with all of the fun party food I'm making today for our Memorial Day barbeque tomorrow- including some great treats for the little ones.  Have a great holiday weekend everyone!!

It's a....Skeletor!

This is a pic of my buddy Dawn at her baby shower.  We all call her impending nugget Skeletor, hence the little skeleton dude in the pirate ship on the cake.  Dawn's also got a thing for sharks, so I had to toss one on there as well.  As simple as they were, the waves were my absolute favorite part of the cake.  Isn't Dawn the cutest pregotini pirate you ever did see?

Here's a close up of the cake:

Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Cauliflower Mash

So Laela is over mushed food and is on to big girl goodies!  Since I don't want her to grow up a picky eater, or a Fatty McFatterson, I'm trying to feed her a wide variety of healthy, nutritious, natural, flavor-packed meals as possible.

The tricky thing with feeding an 8 month old is that I have to make sure it's easy for someone with only four teeth to chew.  Thankfully, she's really good at understanding that she needs to chew her food, and doesn't try to stuff her mouth and just swallow her food.

Kyle and Laela both LOVED this chicken recipe that I snagged from my Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Cookbook:

Garlic Parmesan Chicken

This crumbing technique is so versatile—you can cook pork or even cod in exactly the same way. As there is butter in the crumb mixture, you can grill, fry, roast or bake the meat dry in the oven and it will turn lovely and golden.

Servings: Serves 2 (plus a peanut)

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic

1 lemon

6 cream or plain crackers , such as Jacob's

2 Tbsp. butter
4 sprigs fresh Italian parsley
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 heaping Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 large egg , preferably free-range or organic
2 skinless chicken breast fillets , preferably free-range or organic
Olive oil

Directions:

To prepare your chicken: Peel the garlic and zest the lemon. Put your crackers into a food processor with the butter, garlic, parsley sprigs, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whiz until the mixture is very fine, then pour these crumbs on to a plate. Sprinkle the flour on to a second plate. Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork. Lightly score the underside of the chicken breasts. Put a square of plastic wrap over each one and bash a few times with the bottom of a pan until the breasts flatten out a bit. Dip the chicken into the flour until both sides are completely coated, then dip into the egg and finally into the flavored crumbs. Push the crumbs on to the chicken breasts so they stick—you want the meat to be totally coated.

To cook your chicken: You can either bake or fry the chicken. If baking, preheat your oven to its highest temperature (475°), place your chicken on a sheet pan and cook for 15 minutes. If frying, put a frying pan on a medium heat, add a few good lugs of olive oil and cook the chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through, golden and crisp.

To serve your chicken: Either serve the chicken breasts whole, or cut them into strips and pile them on a plate. Beautiful and simple served with a lemon wedge for squeezing over, and a tiny sprinkling of salt. Great with a lovely fresh salad or simply dressed veggies.

For a deliciously healthy side, try a cauliflower mash..if you're a little nervous, toss a potato in so that it has more of that yummy potato flavor that everyone loves!

Cauliflower Mash

1/2 head of cauliflower

salt and pepper (to taste)

2 Tb shaker parmesan cheese

butter (taste)

1 potato (optional- I prefer Yukon Gold)

Steam or boil cauliflower head until fork tender (it'll mush like a potato when ready).  If you want a potato in it as well, boil the potato until mashing soft.  Toss all of your ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend it all together. 

Laela really enjoyed "dipping" her chicken pieces in her mash!  (so did I!)  This is really great paired with some peas or broccoli.

Happy Birthday Ali!

Sorry for not posting anything last week.  My husband was away for work, and I have to tell you, I'm still recovering from Laela crying for Dada, and screaming whenever she can't see me.  All you single parents out there, and other fellow families with a spouse that travels for work from time to time, I give you tons of credit. 

So here's all that came out of last week:

My girlfriend Ali's birthday was on friday, so I whipped up a cake while Laela was sleeping.  It's not one of my best, but it was the best I could do while half asleep.

Hopefully this week I'll be more productive!