Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Kitchen Sink Pasta

If you are anything like me, figuring out dinner at the last minute can be a trifle daunting.  Ya know, it's exactly one day before you were supposed to hit the grocery store, you've just gotten home from a trip, your honey's business dinner got cancelled, or it's just been a plain old lousy, long day...

....and suddenly everyone's hungry, they're looking at you (yes you!) and asking...

"What's for dinner?"

Gulp.  This is when I guiltily trudge to the fridge, open it up, and hope that a hot and fresh out of the oven casserole pops out at me, screaming "Eat me! Eat me!!"....

Yeah that never happens.

Needless to say I've gotten fairly good at using whatever I have laying around and making some sort of dinner out of it.  Here is the meal I made last night.  I literally threw everything I could find in my fridge BUT the kitchen sink into this meal.  Hence the name:)  

SO! Either from my freezer, fridge, pantry or spice drawer....voila!!

Kitchen Sink Pasta:  Serves 4

3-4 nice sized chicken breast
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
goat cheese
parmesan cheese
2 avocados
olive oil
whatever spices ya got:)
whatever pasta ya got! 
(I used rotini, but a box of fettucini, rigatoni...anything would work!)

In a greased baking dish, toss the chicken breast in and season.  I drizzled some olive oil, garlic salt, Tony Chachere's, and pepper on mine.  Cover with tin foil and bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes, or until juicy and done!  Thinly slice up the bell peppers and saute them in olive oil and some seasoning until tender (15ish minutes).  Get the pasta going and cook according to the package and drain.  Slice up the avocado.  Chop up the chicken once it's done.  Add that and the juices left over in the baking dish to the pasta.  Crumble the goat cheese with a fork and toss in with pasta (the amount of goat cheese is according to your taste...I like the whole package because it makes the pasta creamy and yummy).  Fold in the avocado, and sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese on top for an extra kick.  Serve and watch your husband's face go into culinary heaven!!

Mangia!
Kacey


Side note:  This dish turned out so tasty and very pretty too.  The colors of the bell pepper and avocado mixed with the neutral pasta and chicken was very appealing. You can add whatever you want to this dish...seriously.  Slice up and saute onion with the peppers, add some shrimp, use lemon pepper instead of Tony's...whatever!  It's fun to just experiment in your kitchen!