I suppose I have nothing but meaningless excuses to make. You know, too busy. Uninspired. But I know you don't want to hear my excuses because the truth is that maybe I've been just a bit lazy recently. You have time for the things you make time to do and that's all there really is to that!
I will say that I tried a new recipe this week and it turned out just fantastic. While we were eating, Casey said that it may just be his new favorite dish! Mine too, hubs. (Maybe I shouldn't have just said that? Oh well.)
The funny thing is that my aunt Dee commented on this picture on Facebook asking, "Is the oregano considered the vegetable? ;)" to which I just laughed and informed her that "No, of course not! There's tomatoes in the sauce, silly!"
That's when I found out that tomatoes are indeed a FRUIT and not a vegetable. Who would have known.
Anyway I'm sure you're curious as to how I made this delightful little delicousy come into being! I got the original recipe from Julia's Album AKA Pinterest. She used shrimp which actually sounds fan-freaking-tastic but I had chicken because it was cheap so that's what I used. And it turned out delicious!
I did tweak her recipe just a tad, so here is basically what I did:
Ingredients
2 TBS Olive Oil
1 LB Chicken/Shrimp
Crushed Red Pepper (depends on how spicy you like it!)
Paprika (didn't have it so I just used a little cayenne pepper/chili powder, once again to taste)
Salt
1 Small Onion, chopped (I just omitted because I didn't have one but would be good)
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes (or 1 3/4 cup of fresh)
1/4 cup Chicken Broth
1 TBS Basil
1/4 TS Oregano
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
8 oz. Penne Pasta, cooked according to box directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet at medium to medium-high heat. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook until done, about 5-10 minutes. While it is cooking, sprinkle with crushed red pepper, a little chili powder/cayenne pepper/paprika, and salt.
2. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
3. In the same skillet in the leftover oil, add the onion and minced garlic and cook on medium heat and cook for about 2 minutes or so.
4. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, basil and oregano. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with more crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt if needed. In the last couple of minutes, add the heavy cream and stir. Immediately remove from heat.
5. Add the chicken/shrimp and pasta to the sauce. Reheat on low to a simmer. Because of the heavy cream, stir frequently and do not bring to a full-on boil.
That's it! This recipe is decently easy, and I personally keep most of these ingredients on hand so it's fairly inexpensive also. The best part is that there are no cream of chicken soup or packet of mix or jarred sauces in this recipe, which is great if you're like me and trying to avoid as many processed foods as possible. If you're trying to avoid calories, try substituting the heavy cream for cream cheese or greek yogurt! And if you're like my Aunt D, you could easily brighten up this dish with some greens like broccoli or spinach.
Do you like to make your own homemade pasta sauces? What are your favorite recipes? :)
And if you try this one out, let me know what you think!
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