we eat out about every meal during the weekend, so i am always ready for a good homecooked meal on mondays. maybe it will be healthy, maybe it wont. but at least i get to choose what's going into it.
so there i was at the grocery store, uninspired, & completely undecided on what i was going to cook. pinterest app open but nothing sounded awesome.
i stumbled upon a pasta dish from one of my favorite food bloggers, smitten kitchen {go check her out HERE now, you will fall in food love too!}, that looked tasty enough & simple & quick, so i decided to go for it.
actually, you know me, a version of it. but she definitely was the inspiration. in fact, please do read the post. {post + original recipe HERE} she created the dish when she was having the exact kind of day i was:
it was getting late & i still didn't know what to make for dinner, only that i wanted it to take no time at all because somethings you look so hard for dinner inspiration, you sap all of your cooking energy en route...
EXACTLY!!! could not have said it better myself. {alas that is why she is a food blogger & i am just one who talks about food :) }
goat cheese & chicken pasta
inspiration from smitten kitchen
1 chicken breast {because boys seem to appreciate animal in their food}
1 lb whole wheat noodles
1 lb asparagus spears, trimmed & cut into 1-inch pieces
evoo
minced garlic
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 red onion {now lovingly referred to as a "vanity onion"... thank you, matthew}, sliced
{do i ever make a dish without evoo, garlic, & onion?}
1 bag baby spinach {probably could've used 2 bags}
a few springs of thyme leaves
half a bunch of flat-leaf parsley, rough chopped
1 lemon, zest & juice
5ish oz soft goat cheese
1. cook the chicken breast in your favorite vinagrette until done. set aside to cool & chop.
2. cook pasta until almost tender, about 3 minutes shy of what the package says. add asparagus & continue to cook until al dente, another 3 minutes. drain, reserving a cup or so of the pasta water. set aside.
3. meanwhile, heat evoo in a big & tall skillet-type dish with a lid {my favorite le crueset piece that blakey got me for christmas is perfect for this! it's called a "buffet". get one.} over medium high heat. add garlic & heat until it smells awesome. turn the heat down to medium low. add onions & herbs. saute until just starting to get soft, maybe 5 minutes. add the spinach & stir until it is all a little moist. cover & cook for a few minutes until the spinach is dark & wilty. {technical term.}
4. turn the heat down to low. add the lemon zest, juice, & goat cheese. stir until the cheese is melty & looks like the most brilliant sauce you've ever created. well done, you. throw in the pasta, asparagus, & chicken. toss toss toss. if it needs a little more liquid, add that pasta water you saved. season with a good amount of salt & pepper.
5. taste it. are you completely shocked at how good it is?? you should be! such simple ingredients that added together to create so much flavor! if it isn't perfect, you need to add more salt & pepper... maybe some more lemon juice.... or parsley.
6. sprinkle some extra thyme leaves or parsley on top for a garnish, if you are into that sort of thing. & enjoy!!
a few of notes:
a.) the chicken is completely unnecessary. vegetarians, go wild without it. i just know blakey would be more into his dinner if animal was involved. also, i'm not sure why i've been cooking with so little meat lately. i eat meat. i actually love it. remember my birthday breakfast??
b.) herbs & acid from the lemon completely make this dish. before i worked in a kitchen, i had no clue how important fresh herbs were. they were expensive & time consuming to chop, so i didn't deal with them much. but if there was one thing that would make your food better, it would be to add delicious herbs & an acid, like lemon juice. do it.
c.) smitten kitchen called for tarargon, but it is my least favorite herb in the entire world. you might think i am being all foody here, having a least favorite herb, but i am not. go smell some tarragon. it smells exactly like liquorish. if i blindfolded you, & made you smell tarragon & liquorish, you could not tell me which one was the herb & which was the candy. & liquorish is gross. so no tarragon for me.
sorry for the tarragon rant. but i hope you learned some things! & i hope you make this dish. yum yum yum.
love love,
kjp.
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