Chicken Olive Anglehair Pasta; Perfect for a Summers Eve

Chicken Olive Angelhair Pasta
Light pasta with lots of flavor perfect for a summer evening.

Apologies for the vagueness of the ingredient amounts but please note the more the better so don't worry about overdoing it.

Generous handful of Italian Parsley.
2 cloves garlic
Delicate Olive Oil
2 chicken breasts diced
2 cups of green olives with pimento
1/2 small onion
1/2 package angel hair pasta
>1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1. Add 1/4 cup olive oil to pan (no heat yet).
2. Chop/dice garlic, onion and Italian parsley (remove thicker stems before chopping) and add to oil. Let sit while preparing other items.
3. Chop olives and set aside.
4. Boil pasta, when done add 1tbsp oil to stop it from sticking. Set aside.
5. Turn on heat to pan, add chicken and cook. 5 minutes before chicken is done add olives.
6. Add cooked pasta to mixture and if needed add more oil to adequately cover all ingredients.
7. Add 1/2 cup grated cheese and stir.



Serve with extra grated cheese on the table. Enjoy.


I leave on a business trip tomorrow morning so sadly I will not have another post until Thursday.  My apologies but I do promise Thursday will be worth checking in!!

Sleep well all,
xox
Dish

The Secret's Out; My Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Is Not So Secret

Everyone LOVES my chocolate chip cookies and believe you me it has taken me a long long time to find the "perfect" recipe.  The cookies are light and soft without being undercooked...I really dislike when cookies are undercooked to make you think they are moist...yuck.

The recipe isn't a secret in fact when people ask me for it and I send them to the Chipits Bag they laugh.  Yes, the best chocolate chip cookie recipe out there is on the back of the Chipits Bag.

There is one little secret that makes my cookies turn out spectacularly and personally I think they should add some Coles Notes on the bottom of the recipe to help people out.  Bakers know this little tip but I would bet that the average home baker does not.

"Creaming" together the butter and sugar in my opinion makes or breaks this recipe.  Creaming incorporates air bubbles and traps them in the fat (butter) to help the mixture rise in the oven.  Short long...throw this thing on high until the volume increases and "looks" lighter.  Now it is possible to over cream so don't go wild.

Once baked keep the cookies in an airtight container which will keep them moist and soft longer.

Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.

Mmmmm, enjoy.

xox
Dish

Quick Asparagus, Panchetta And Spinach Pasta. Doesn't Get Better/Easier Than This

Last week at book club one of the girls mentioned that the group should swap recipes as she was looking for quick homemade meals.  I thought to myself that is TOTALLY what my cooking is all about and if she was looking perhaps some of you may also be interested.

So here's one.

I have returned to pasta after many single years of shunning it.  With many people moving towards eating less and less meat (although this dish does have a bit of pork) I have reintroduced it into our lives....reintroduced also because my kids will eat it too.

This meal takes, no lie, roughly 15-20 minutes total to make. 

In a frying pan I add generously a very delicate olive oil, chopped onions, asparagus and chopped ham pieces.  I cook just until the asparagus is that brilliant green colour and still crunchy.  I then add my cooked pasta (I love angel hair), more oil if I need it and then fresh spinach.  I continue in the pan until the spinach is wilted, plate and then top with lots of fresh parmesan.

Fresh, very simple and healthy.  Try varying up the ingredients...for me it's whatever is in the fridge that night.

xox

Dish

Do You Have A Good Sugar Cookie Recipe? Print and File.

Family outing today to celebrate little LB's second birthday (Happy Birthday LB xoxo).  All the boys (there's seems to be a lot of them in our family) had a blast as we ate fresh waffles, frittata, fruit, etc.  I caught a glimpse of these beauties and after trying one I wanted to post.  I am forever on the lookout for good cookie and cake recipes and this one was certainly worth mentioning.


The Best Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe from allrecipes.com

This is the kind of thing you print and file as a staple in your baking repertoire.  Every gal should have a good sugar cookie recipe.  Way to go Mrs. B.!  Job well done on these!

xox
Dish

Valentine Cranberry & Lemon Scones

I love baking and there is nothing more perfect than waking the family to the smell of freshly baked goodies.  This recipe I got from Martha Stewart but as usual I made changes based on what flavours we preferred over the original. 

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup flour                                                         
1/4 cup granulated sugar             
1 tbsp baking powder                                            
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy milk (I used homo milk)                      
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice (from 2 lemons)                          
1 lg egg yolk                            
3/4 cup dried cranberries                                        
Coarse sanding sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and move the racks so they are as far as possible away from the bottom element.  Mix dry ingredients together then cut in butter with a knife and fork stopping when there are a few pea sized pieces of butter.  Photo 1. Add milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, yolk and stir until just combined (photo 2).  Photo 3. Put dough onto parchment paper and flatten with your hands until it is ~1 inch thick.  Use a cookie cutter to shape the scones but don't cut through the cranberries, simple remove or push them farther into the scone.  4.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake for 13-15 minutes  Rotate pans half-way. 

Valentine gift idea....wrap these up (above box from Creative Bag) with a tea bag and give to those you care about. 

Hope you enjoy,
Dish