Simple Summer Chicken Pasta

Maybe it's just me but Summertime makes me crave simple ingredients and lots of veggies! Grocery stores and markets are absolutely stocked with delicious, fresh fruits and vegetables at this time of the year. Summer also makes me feel like spending less time in the kitchen, so my recipes must be quick! 

 

This is a quick pasta that I often make and serve with a salad. You can use virtually any vegetables you find in your fridge, carrots are always a nice addition; not featured in this recipe, as I didn't have them in hand.  My staple ingredients for this pasta are mushrooms, zucchini, shallots, garlic, parsley or any other fresh herb, along with parmesan cheese and tomatoes. Sun dried tomatoes are featured in this particular version but honestly, whatever you have in your fridge will do!  If you'd like to whip up your own sun dried tomatoes, follow this link:

http://melsbigideas.blogspot.ca/2017/07/oven-sun-dried-tomatoes.html?m=0

I always start "kid friendly pastas" with a mix of shallots and garlic, in butter and olive oil. Shallots have a more subtle taste than onions, my kids are particularly accepting of them. I then I add mushrooms and meat, in this case, chicken thighs. 

Once my flavours blend and my chicken cooks, I begin to add additional ingredients. In a separate pot, I boil noodles in salted water. The starchy, salted water will help to stretch our  sauce, two ladles should be fine, if you're worried about not having enough to dress your pasta, set some aside. If you'd rather skip the starch, chicken broth works extremely well in place of the salted water. Though doesn't stick quite the same way to your noodles! 

Zucchini doesn't need to cook for very long, so quickly mix it into the pot and begin to add the rest of your ingredients.  This should be completed after the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and chicken are completely cooked. If you're adding carrots, be sure to add them at the first addition. Hard veggies and vegetables you'd like to cook down, like onions, add first. Anything that cooks quickly must be added toward the end of your cooking time. This way, your pasta will be filled textured vegetables, which adds interest and palatability to your dish. Lastly, add your cheese, fresh herbs and tomatoes, sun dried or otherwise. 

I always toss my unrinsed noodles directly in with my veggies, sauce and additional olive oil on the stove top. After a crack of fresh pepper, I love to serve this meal "family style" at the table from a large serving bowl or straight from the pot!

Simple, quick, delicious; that's my kind of fast food!!! Thanks for reading! Please feel free to comment below if you have any questions, concerns or if you just liked this Big Idea!!

Oven Sun Dried Tomatoes

I just returned from a holiday in British Columbia. Though it's early in the season, the produce is fresh and ample. Every time I leave BC, I stop at the fruit stands along the roadside and load up on fresh goodies. These grape tomatoes simply had to come home with me. 

Along with the delicious produce came some unwelcome holiday bloat. Salt bloat. I so rarely eat out, I struggle anytime I holiday. Even when I'm surrounded by delightful produce, I puff up like a balloon if I'm eating at restaurants. On my way back to Calgary, I did some research on diminishing salt retention and bloating. It seems that potassium is key. Potassium helps your body to process additional sodium and passes it along with your urine.  (Did I seriously just use the word urine in a blog post? Yup. Yup I did). Needless to say, my next move was to research foods that were high in potassium. Dried fruits, specifically apricots, were at the top of the list, along with bananas, skin on baked potatoes and tomatoes...even more so, sun dried tomatoes. That last one got me thinking. I can make sun dried tomatoes!  

What a cool way to preserve the flavour of my days away. Who am I kidding? The flavour of my holiday was definitely wine!! Regardless, I tried something new and it worked!

Oven Sun Dried Tomatoes 

1/2 lb of grape or cherry tomatoes, tops removed and sliced in half

1 tsp of olive oil 

1 tsp-tbsp of oregano 

1 tsp of olive oil

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 200F

Mix your sliced tomatoes with your olive oil and seasoning. 

Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 2.5 to 3 hrs. 

The tomatoes are complete when they are mostly dried out with only a small amount of moisture left. 

Cool and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. I ate mine in 24 hours, I'm sure they'd love happily in your fridge for 7-10 days. 

I loved my delicious tomatoes, they found their way into salads, pastas and straight out of the refrigerator!!  Sprinkle these things everywhere!!!!  

Thanks for reading!!  If you have any questions, comments or you just liked this Big Idea, feel free to comment below.