view from the nest

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day [from nature]

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Chicken Bow Tie

This is a favorite at our house...

...at least with the adults

Oh well, more for us~

Shall we begin?

I won't be including measurements, just ingredients.

Adjust to fit your size family

Your mileage may vary ;-)

Start with boneless chicken breasts. Cut into bite sized cubes. I cook them in olive oil and garlic until all sides are white but not cooked all the way through.

Forgot the picture, but add basil to the chicken and toss.

Use a LOT of Basil, you can't overdo it, really!

Trust me.

Cook Bow Tie (Farfalle) pasta, drain and set aside.

Let's talk about Sun-dried tomatoes shall we?

(yes, they're in the recipe)

But seriously, these are the best. I buy them at Costco. They're marinated in Olive Oil.

Add these to the chicken. (see the basil now?) You can chop them if you like, but I'm lazy and just toss them in whole.

Next comes the broccoli florets. I use flash frozen for convenience. Did I mention I'm lazy?

Toss and simmer covered for about 3-5 minutes.

When you think everything is 'married', place some butter in the center of the pan and let melt.

This forms sort of a roux but without the flour.

Next, add 1 cup of chicken broth. Don't worry about being precise with the measurements. I used a cup here but mostly b/c I think my new stainless measuring cups are pretty [wink].

Next add a cup of wine. Whatever you have on hand works.

I just happened to have a bottle of this open.

Yes there's a glass poured for me too. Don't Judge -- What's good for Julia Child is good for me. We're tight like that!

Anywho....getting back to the recipe

[taking a l-o-o-o-o-o-ng sip of wine here]

....and I'm back

OKAY! Here's where you combine the veggies/chicken mixture and the pasta. I find it easier to pour the chicken mixture into the pasta pot, but sometimes I mix the pasta into the deep frying pan with the chicken mixture

[I like to shake things up like that]

Simmer for 3-5 minutes until the pasta absorbs the flavors

Voila!

This is the finished product.

I like to serve this up in my pasta bowls from Crate and Barrel

Bon Appetit!

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Today: brought to you by the letters 'S-N-O-W'

Hello

News around here is one word

SNOW

oh and lots of it

It started about 3pm on Tuesday exactly as predicted

and by the next morning I woke to this when I opened my garage door

Then the snow removal began.

Of course my husband is out of town so the kids all pitched in

I don't think if they knew it would take 8 hours to remove it all they would have been as willing.

This is my porch swing having a time out.

My oldest had to remove her from where she hung out because the wind kept swinging her into the support beam and I thought it might break which would be bad (wink)

This is the damage she caused to the beam!

This is the side garage door (imprint in the snow of the door panel)

In the previous snowblowing pic this drift was about 3 feet deep. Then the street plower came and buried us under 5-6 feet of newly 'delivered' snow (sigh)

The following two pics show how we deal with blizzard stress. Oh and I've been sick since Sunday.

The kids say I'm funny when I take cough syrup with codeine.

At least I can still make soup.