Everyday Food for Busy People
Today is Ingredient Spotlight: Stinky Cheese edition!
I love cheese. Recently, I’ve encountered people who say they are embarrassed to admit they eat cheese. I say that’s crazy. I refuse to be embarrassed by my fondness for cheese. Life’s too short to waste time on such a small thing. Besides, there are many other things I could choose to be self-conscious about. Cheese is just not worth it.
On that note, let’s enjoy these cheeses together! [Read more...]
It’s not often that you can satisfy the pasta lovers, meat eaters and veggie people all with one dish. That’s what happened when I served this meal though. The recipe is adapted from a cookbook that my sister-in-law gave me. She is married to a career army man. When they were stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany (2007) she helped put together a cookbook with recipes from the families of those serving with the Vanguards 18th Infantry Regiment. That book is full of wonderful recipes, including this one.
I invented this dish many years ago by heavily modifying a Fettuccine Alfredo recipe I have.
You’ll need:
boneless chicken breasts or tenders, the amount depends on how many you’re cooking for
box of bowtie pasta
broccoli, cauliflower and carrots (I like to use those steam in the bag fresh kind)
feta cheese 6-8oz, crumbled
lemon pepper
3-4 Tbs butter
1 1/2 – 2 cups half and half, warmed for a minute or two in the microwave
Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with lemon pepper and grill it. I used 4 chicken breasts for my family of 6. We had enough leftovers for the next day’s lunch.
While the chicken is grilling start the pasta cooking. Steam the vegetables in the microwave, if you bought that kind. My bag didn’t have any carrots so I cut some up.
I threw the carrots into the boiling pasta water a few minutes before the pasta finished cooking. You could do this with the broccoli and cauliflower too, just be sure to use a big enough pot and don’t fill it so full of water that adding the veggies will overflow it.
When the chicken is done, slice it into thin strips.
Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot. Add the butter and warmed half & half. Stir in the feta cheese, veggies and chicken. You may want to add a bit more half & half, if it looks like it needs it. Serve with additional lemon pepper. If it weren’t for my kids I would add more lemon pepper while I’m adding the other ingredients, but they don’t like so much of the peppery taste, so my husband and I just add it to our servings.
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