Randoms, I guess.

I have so many smallish things I'd love to talk about so I guess I'll just file them together in a mishmash of a randoms post.

1. Pinterest has been treating me well lately. On Sunday I made two recipes, balsamic pork and the accompanying green beans with olives, sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts that is linked to in that pork recipe. Both were smash hits and also very easy, and I know they will be regular features in my fall recipe portfolio.

Portfolio! Miss Piggy! Lady Holiday!!!

Aside from those, you'll recall my latest food post, the Israeli couscous with chicken and peas. So good! And before that, I made an absolutely delicious chicken yakisoba and a great garlic dijon salmon too. So, yeah. Pinterest has been delighting me lately.

So has Epicurious!

Epicurious is a great app I have on my iPhone, and I've so far gotten two great recipes from it, a grilled butterflied leg of lamb recipe that Todd absolutely knocked it out of the park, and just last night I made chicken with a sauce originally tied to Chilean sea bass. Supremed lemon wedges, kalamatas, rinsed capers, oregano and olive oil on top of pan seared chicken tenders. It was delightful!

P.S. I now know how to supreme a lemon.


2. BREAKING BAD.

Okay, so I can't talk much about it because Todd and I literally JUST started it two nights ago, and are only into the fourth episode. But holy shit! I know we're late to this party considering there are only two episodes left, and I'm scared of the internet after that because I will likely get spoiled on so many things, but I'm glad we finally bit the bullet, took the plunge, got off the dime, etc.

And I'm so impressed by the acting. Bryan Cranston is a genius, and Aaron Paul deserves the role that he got extended. Apparently his character was supposed to get killed off in the first season, but the powers that be loved Paul's job so much that they made him a permanent character. That is a testament to his acting skills.

I have this weird urge to spoil myself on basically EVERYTHING I get into. I did it with the books The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, and a slew of other books too. I do it with all the shows I watch, scouring the internet for tidbits and rumors, or reading the wiki pages of TV series that are no longer playing so I can read ahead and keep myself in the story without having to wait until Alex goes to bed that night to get back into that world. I become obsessed with and starved for new worlds that are created for me and other readers/viewers to enjoy.

But not now. Oh, no. I'm not spoiling myself for this show. And that is very, very weird.


3. Exercise, man. So it is very, very true that it takes just 12 weeks of inactivity to lose all progress in a particular sportt or exercise. I all but quit biking during the summer. After a bike ride in 108 degree heat that had me nearly vomiting after just seven miles (with three left to go), I locked up my dad's bike for the season.

At that time, I had whittled my time down to 48 minutes for a 10.25 mile ride. Once I think I even got it down to 46. Well, for the past two, maybe three weeks I've been biking again and my God man, my time is so sucky. Consistently at 52 minutes and yesterday was even worse, clocking it at 57 minutes. WHAT THE HELL MAN. I was prepared for some set backs but to lose nine minutes on my time? Gross.

I'm glad summer is coming to an end, even though we'll hit 100 at least once more this week (who knows what next week has in store), because I'm ready for more moving around outside. Even the dog walks stopped, thanks to the heat and my plantar fasciitis. Oh, those HIIT workouts? Can't do them if they include any sort of explosive jumping movements. They murdered my feet worse than a weekly run did. So when I do my strength workouts, all movements have to have my feet planted firmly on the floor, save for walking lunges (which I still have to do slowly, carefully).

These past two weeks have seen a return of both bike rides and dog walks, for which I'm grateful. It feels good getting back into my regular routines again. I think it will be good for Alex, too.


4. Alex's potty woes have for the most part abated, I'm delighted to say. Wow. That trip to San Diego really and truly threw one hell of a wrench into things. Her sleep is still a liiiittle wacky (still requiring lights to fall asleep), but she's back in underpants and I'm back to being happy. Just like incorporating dog walks back into our routine, I see things are settling for her, that she's getting back into the swing of things. It's taken over three weeks, but it's happening.

I know everyone is different when it comes to parenting styles but this little glitch in the system proves to me how children thrive on routine, rules and parameters for everyday stuff. That's not to say it isn't good to shake it up every now and then to strengthen them and prepare them for a life that is more chaos than control, but it did show me that a happy kid is one who knows, for the most part, what's coming down the pike for them in their little worlds.

And it shows me that taking a vacation three weeks after potty training is insane.

Green Pasta with Chicken!

Oh man, you guys, I sort of did this off the cuff, and was totally worried it wouldn't work, but it did! And it's healthy because the green is spinach and rosemary! And I never used flour or butter for the sauce!

Green Pasta with Chicken
serves two


5oz spaghetti
2.5 cups spinach, finely chopped
3 springs rosemary, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp corn starch
1 oz feta
1 tbsp neufchatel
10 - 12oz chicken tenderloins
6 oz mushrooms, quartered

Ok, so mix the first three ingredients together in a small bowl. If you can believe it, the amount of spinach used is less than a single serving, which is why we've got some tasty mushrooms in there too. Set some water to boil for that spaghetti.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, and then add the spinach, rosemary and garlic. Toss around to coat, and let it hang out while you mix the white wine and cornstarch together, stirring to combine. Now, add your broth to the veggies, and once it's boiling, add your white wine and cornstarch, but remember to stir again to re-mix.

Keep the sauce simmering, and check your pasta. If it's done, drain and drizzle a bit of olive oil, just a little, so it won't get gummed up. Add the feta, crumblin any big chunks with your fingers, and stir to combine. Add your neufchatel. By now your sauce will look far less like Italian wedding soup and more like a sauce.

Coat a medium skillet with cooking spray and set on medium high. Add your chicken and mushrooms, flipping the chicken after about five minutes. Spoon in several tablespoons of sauce over your chicken and mushrooms, which will start bubbling beautifully.

DELISH

Dump the spaghetti into the remaining sauce in the pan, tossing to coat.

Now we're ready to plate up! Pasta first, then the delicious chicken mushroom combo. Sauce on sauce! YUMMO

At this point Todd had to take a bathroom break and I think I said something like "Suit yourself, home boy, I'm eating this stuff NOW!" and I ran to the sofa, fork mid-twirl in my spaghetti.

Who's the Hamburger Helper now, little glove man?

Not sure if you recall, but recently we adopted a kitten, Bingley. That night we didn't eat until 9pm due to the extra dose of chaos that is a kitten. But if I hadn't realized how long a chicken and rice casserole takes to cook, we would have been eating closer to 10pm. Instead of that dish, I hastily whipped up a homemade version of Hamburger Helper. 

Once I realized how easy it is (and how much more healthful it is since you control sodium content and there are like no preservatives), I knew I wanted to share. Instead of a tube of ground beef, I used frozen hamburger patties we had. And instead of nasty packaged processed-foods powdered sauce mix, a simple sauce made with pantry staples saves the day and your wallet. It was absolutely delicious! I just don't know what to call it.

11th Hour Pasta

serves2

6oz ziti, or similar

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp butter

1 cup chicken broth

1/3 cup milk, cream, (a couple dollops of sour cream would even do)

3 frozen hamburger patties

1 zucchini, diced

1 roma tomato, diced

1/2 onion, diced

Plenty of cheddar cheese. 

Boil some water and cook up your pasta. 

In a small saucepan, heat up your butter and once it's melted, whisk in your flour. When it's fully combined into a sort of paste, add your chicken broth. Stir to blend thoroughly. 

While the sauce is bubbling away, get a large skillet and throw your patties, still frozen, into it. Heat on medium high by the way. As they heat through, soften and cook, break them apart with a wooden spoon. 

As the beef is cooking and all crumbled up, add your veggies. Stir it up! Speaking of stirring, keep stirring that sauce. At this point, add your dairy* to the sauce.

Once your pasta is done (and let me tell you, ziti cooks FAST), drain it and throw it in to the mix. Now, pour your sauce, toss to coat evenly, and maybe season it all with some salt and pepper. Plate it up, add the cheddar shreds and devour. 

It was so quick, easy and delicious, I was really surprised!

*If you don't do dairy (Hi, Kat!), either skip it entirely or add some white wine for an extra tasty kick. 

Shrimp Pasta with Bacon and Corn

Todd, Alex and I spent the weekend camping, which is why I wasn't able to post yesterday. The only photo taken that trip was taken by Alex's godfather, Kevin, so I have to wait for that picture before I blog about the trip. But in the spirit of utter exhaustion, little patience and even less energy to cook, I thought I'd share this super yummy, super easy, super quick dinner. I mean, who doesn't love a dish like that?

Shrimp Pasta with Bacon and Corn

serves 2

5 oz penne, rigatoni

1 cup corn

3 slices bacon 

Olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

Add your pasta to boiling water and put the cup of corn into your colander. When you drain your pasta in it, the corn will be perfect. 

In the meantime, start the rest of the dish. Cook your bacon and crumble it in a paper towel:

Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet, and once it's heated through, add the onion.

Once the onion is substantially cooked, and your pasta is almost cooked through, add the garlic. You don't want it to over-cook and fully brown, so it's imperative that you add it well after the onion.

When the pasta is al dente, add your shrimp:

And when the shrimp, after ample tossing, looks likes this...

Dump your pasta over the corn in the colander!

Toss the pasta and corn to mix, and then add a little more olive oil and give it another toss. Then plate the pasta and corn first.

Top with the shrimp, onion and garlic, then with the bacon. Salt and pepper to taste!

Now, add 1/4 cup Parmesan to each plate, and end up with this awesomeness:

It was so delicious. I sort of wish I had doubled it so Todd and I could have totally glutted ourselves, but there you have it. Enjoy! In the meantime, I'm going to go shower another four times and lovingly pet my couch for being neither a camp chair nor a wooden stump.

Lots of leftover stuff, covered in cheese and beautiful.

It's pasta, mushrooms, yellow squash, onion, tomato, cubed chicken, garlic, fresh basil and parsley and salt and pepper:

It's gorgeous, hot, flavorful, and now it's baked for 30 minutes after being smothered in shredded parmesan and monterey jack:

Now it's served up and smothered with MORE parmesan because I am obviously a genius:

And, I'm thinking, it just might be your dinner tonight. Or your breakfast tomorrow. Mmmm. It was SO good.

Pork Tenderloin, Shrimp, Pasta, and So Much More:

Would you just look at this dish?!

There's a lot going on in that dish. And if you can believe it, I completely winged it. I had this idea of using both the pork tenderloin in my fridge and the pound of shrimp in my freezer. But who serves up 2lbs of meat for two people? Then we had family over!

I love coming up with new recipes, especially, as I've posted before, one dish meals. And this casserole thingy was most certainly new, and most certainly a one dish meal. It was probably 95849067 calories (thank you cheddar), but my God was it tasty.

 Now, I made this the night I learned Todd and I were going to be uncle and aunt to Scott and Amery's little 4 week old bundle of joy(!!!!!), so I was too busy flapping my hands in the air and talking babies to Amery to take any photos of food prep. Plus I wasn't entirely sure how this meal would turn out.

But now I've just got to share it, because it's somewhat unusual, but utterly delicious. It had sort of a South American exotic feel to it, thanks to the sweet potato, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon and nutmeg. I just have no idea how to classify it, or what to call it, and I made it on Friday and am a little fuzzy on measurements, so bear with me.

Pork and Shrimp Pasta Casserole Thingy
Serves 4


-10oz penne pasta
-6oz Trader Joe's sweet potato spears (they come packaged)
-1/2 red or yellow bell pepper
-1 head broccoli
-1 small red onion
-2 tbsp minced garlic
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1lb pork tenderloin
-1lb raw, peeled shrimp
-Heavy-handed dashes of cumin
-Tiny dashes cayenne pepper
-Tiny dashes cinnamon
-Tiny dashes nutmeg
-A few big handfuls of shredded cheddar

Ok, I think that's it. the most important parts are there. Set your oven to between 375 and 400 and cook your pasta. In the meantime, cut up all your veggies into bite size pieces (except the potato spears) and toss together in a big bowl with the minced garlic and olive oil. Oh hey, the penne should be done! Drain and set aside.

Now, cut up your pork and toss that, and then the shrimp, into the bowl with the veggies and toss around until evenly mixed. Add your cooked pasta and toss around some more.

Dump all that into the biggest pyrex you can find. You'll need a big one. If you don't have one, I think a big cookie sheet would work.
Now add your spices, and then top with all that divine cheddar cheese. Throw in the oven for about 30 minutes. Check a big piece of the pork to see if its done and then presto, serve up with some sriracha. Scott was so enamored he basically painted his entire dish red. Amery bought him a bottle the very next day.

Oh, and here are the proud parents to be!

Scott used to have a mustache. True story!

Pistou Pasta with Chicken and Zucchini

If you aren't a fan of garlic this isn't really for you. Pistou is the French answer to pesto but with less calories. It's merely olive oil, basil and garlic. Delicious! I of course intensified the garlic, and it's only lightly cooked before being served so there you go.

Pistou Pasta with Chicken and Zucchini
serves 2


-Pasta (plus salt and olive oil for the pot)
-1 tbsp olive oil
-20 leaves basil
-1 heaping tbsp minced garlic
-2 Chicken breasts
-2 zucchini (or 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash), sliced lengthwise and cut into pieces
-1 oz shredded Parmesan, plus more for garnish

I forgot to put the olive oil and Parmesan in this picture, I hang my head in shame:

Get your water boiling and add your pasta. No need to start the other stuff beforehand, because this dinner truly doesn't take long (especially if you have pre-minced garlic). Once the pasta's in, add some salt and olive oil. Interesting fact, the olive oil doesn't keep the pasta from sticking to itself BUT it keeps the water from boiling over, due to it forming a film on top of the water. Interesting, non?

Pistou
-1 tbsp olive oil
-20 basil leaves, finely chopped
-1 tbsp minced garlic

Easy breezy!

Heat 1/2 tbsp in a skillet on medium high.

Look, my beloved tongs! Hi, tongs!! When the chicken is browned, add your zucchini and squash:

I like them to hang out together, share their flavors, get acquainted before becoming my dinner, and then lower the heat a bit and remove the chicken to slice it up:

Deliiiiicious! Your pasta should be done by now but be sure to preserve some starchy water before completely draining it. I just put my measuring cup under the sieve and got this rich looking stuff:

Look at that! Completely opaque and you can see the olive oil, still mellowing out on top. Anyways, now, add your pasta to the skillet, the pistou,  a splash of the concoction above and the 1oz shredded Parmesan:

Toss continuously until everything is well coated with the pistou, and you can smell the garlic begin to cook. If you want to mellow the flavor, keep cooking until it turns golden. Once the Parmesan is basically melted up, throw this stuff in bowls:

All that's left is adding some more Parmesan and digging in like a no limit street soldier.

Feta Alfredo

You heard me, I said FETA alfredo. And here's why: I just made the most delicious pasta like, ever (except the other times that rocked), and the sauce consisted solely of a hefty pat of butter, about 1/3 cup starchy salty pasta water and 2oz feta crumbles. Yep, that's it.

I don't have photos because it's super fast and super easy and also I am not lying when I say, I literally just made it. I pushed my empty, scraped-clean plate away, opened the lap top and here I am. Well, I replied to some FB messages and crap but whatever, you don't own me. Although blog-wise, you do. I'm yours, my beloved 2 readers. ALL YOURS.

Ok, so after I cooked the linguine fully (I'm weird, I don't like al dente), I reserved about 1/2 cup, maybe more, but didn't use it all. I strained the pasta, tossed it back in the pot and put it back in the saucepan to cook off any remaining moisture.

Then, I heated up a large skillet with, like I said, a hefty pat of butter. Honestly, it was probably closer to 2 tbsp than 1. Anyways, I sprinkled a shit ton of garlic powder on the still-unmelted butter, and once it was sizzling away, I added a good splash of the pasta water.

Once butter and water were one, in a union similar to Todd's and mine (hot, saucy, slightly naughty but forever together), I added the feta. I definitely recommend busting up the bigger chunks with your fingers.

Once those started to meld, but when the feta was still definitely in chunks, I added my linguine. Toss, toss, toss, with your tongs. Mentally, perhaps vocally, curse my name when it doesn't seem to thicken. Curse more, because damn shit hell that feels so good. Then marvel as the liquid starts to bubble, and keep tossing. Marvel once more, as it starts to thicken. Praise the god of starchy pasta water, the goddess of feta and the nymph of Smart Balance butter.

Turn off heat.

EAT.

Godfather Pasta

When Todd and I were still young whippersnappers ("but you're only 31!") and still dating, he finally convinced me to watch The Godfather. Before then, no one could come close. It seemed violent, scary, boring and too boy-world for me. Well, color me wrong and color me delighted when I realized it was violent, scary, AWESOME, intriguing, complex, and fascinating. I had graduated college by this time though, and had an 8am - 5pm job, so we had to split it up between a couple of evenings. In the first half however, we got to watch the scene where that big fat guy shows Michael how to make pasta. So I told Todd, hey, let's have pasta like these guys.

Well, I did it all wrong, added too much sugar, not enough wine, and had something of a mini-meltdown because I cooked my boyfriend sugar pasta (Buddy the Elf would have approved though). The next week, though, when we watched Godfather Two, I made it again and added my own little tweakings. Ever since we've called it Godfather Pasta, which has a deliciously wicked ring to it, which fits because it is wickedly delicious.

Godfather Pasta

First let me start off by stating that this is all from memory. I haven't made this dish in quite some time but it stands out in memory because it's just that good. And before I forget, let me add Todd's own tip: using tomatoes just this side of being too ripe makes for an extremely flavorful sauce. One time I made this using several nearly-questionable cherry tomatoes and he could not shut up about it.

-Penne, as much as you need to a: stuff your faces b: fill however many guests you have c: have leftovers d: all of the above

-Hot and mild italian sausages, the number depending on the same extenuating circumstances listed above

-Olive oil, couple of tablespoons

-4 cloves garlic, more if you're feeling froggy, minced or slivered

-Yellow onion, at least half of a medium one to take yourself and your pasta seriously

-6-8oz mushrooms depending on preference

-Dry red wine

-Several handfuls chopped, overripe cherry tomatoes

-Tomato paste, at least 1/2 a can, more if needed

-Dry red wine, at least half a cup, more depending on preference.

-Dried oregano and basil, the more the merrier

-Salt and pepper to taste

-Red pepper flakes if you're really hot for heat

-Parmesan, grated, about 4lbs (kidding... sorta)

Cook your spaghetti.

Meanwhile:

-Sear your sausages on all sides in a big skillet set to high. Pour yourself a glass of wine and threaten severed horse heads on anyone who disturbs you. When the sausages are fully seared, remove. Reduce head on skillet to medium.

-Add your olive oil. Add garlic and onion and cook a couple of minutes, til soft and slightly golden.

-Toss in the mushrooms and cook til they release their moisture and soften and shrink up all deliciously like they do.

-Add a splash or two of the red wine, preferably from your glass so you can pour yourself more. Let that cook down and then proceed with your tomatoes.

-When the tomatoes have cooked down and lost some of their structure, add the tomato paste, stirring to break it up and melt it into gooey goodness. If your sauce needs thickening, add more.

-Add the red wine, and use your sniffer to see if you should add more. The red wine will add an instant amount of depth and complexity to your sauce. Your nose will tell you if you need more.

-Let that cook and meld together for several minutes. While it does that, return your attention to your sausages. Cut them in 1" pieces and return to the skillet.

-Add herbs, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Since I'm a whore for garlic, I will usually add even more, or at least garlic powder, at this stage to freshen up the garlic flavor.

-By this time your pasta will be done, just drain and return to the hot pan to cook off any residual water.

-When the sausages are completely cooked through, turn off the heat.

-Put a mound of penne in a big bowl and top with as much sauce as desired. Top with a disturbing amount of parmesan.

-Devour.

-Make someone an offer they can't refuse.