Pasta with Spinach and Sundried Tomato Alfredo Sauce

In case any of you were worried, Becca and I survived the hurricane.  We lost power for about 1/2 an hour in the early AM hours.  Mostly, we used the natural disaster as an excuse to eat insane amounts of junk food and drink.

So tonight, we were looking for a simple, delicious dinner that would use up some of the veggies that we had in our apartment.  This recipe is basically just a starting point for a delicious pasta dish with almost unlimited possibilities.  You can add mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, grilled chicken, salmon, steak, whatever you have on hand.  Spinach and grape tomatoes are what I happened to have on hand.

So here goes:

Start with some pasta.  I used linguine.  This recipe would probably work equally good if not better with penne pasta or rotini.  But I only had linguine.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the linguine.

In the meantime, chop up some garlic.

Heat up some olive oil in a pan.

Saute the garlic in the olive oil until its golden brown.  Be careful not to let it burn.

Next, grab a bag of spinach.

Add the entire bag of spinach to the pan.  It's going to look like a lot, but it will wilt down to nothing.  Do not be fooled by the quantity of raw spinach.  Cook the spinach until it is all wilted, stirring often to keep it from burning.  Burnt spinach = blechhh.

Next, get some cherry or grape tomatoes.

Slice the tomatoes in half and add them to the pan with the spinach.  See how much the spinach has wilted down already?

Now for the sauce.  I used a jar of Classico Sundried Tomato Alfredo sauce.  I'm sure the Barefoot Contessa would have made her own sauce.  On other days, I might have made my own sauce.  Today was not one of those days.

Pour the sauce into the spinach/tomato mixture.  I only used about 3/4 of the jar.

Stir it all together.

If you like a little bit of spice to your food (and I like a bit of spice in my food), add some red pepper flakes.

Add in the cooked linguine and mix it all together.

Serve and enjoy!

It was super good, and FAST.  Ok, that's about all from me tonight.  Have a good week everybody!

Sarah

Pasta with Spinach and Sundried Tomato Alfredo Sauce
1 lb pasta (I used linguine)
1 tbsp. olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic
1 bag spinach
1/2 container grape tomatoes
1 jar Sundried Tomato Alfredo sauce
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Peel and mince garlic and add to pan.   Saute until golden brown.  Add spinach to skillet and and cook until wilted.  Cut tomatoes in half length-wise and add to pan with the spinach.  Stir in alfredo sauce, and add a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Add cooked pasta to the pan and stir to combine.  Enjoy!

Peach-Whiskey Barbecue Chicken (aka Hurricane Chicken)

Today it looks like this outside:

So thanks to Hurricane Irene, Becca and I are stuck inside for the whole weekend.  We went to the grocery store yesterday to stock up on food, bottled water, batteries, wine, tequila, and bourbon (the most important things to have during natural disasters).  All day we didn't have much to do besides watch tv, cook and clean, so it was a perfect day to make the Peach-Whiskey Barbecue Chicken that we've been wanting to make for a couple weeks now.  This recipe is entirely thanks to Pioneer Woman, and her original blog entry can be found here: Pioneer Woman.  Feel free to admire her photography, because it is far superior to mine.

Start with some chicken thighs:

Heat some butter and olive oil in a large, oven-proof pot:

Place the chicken thighs, skin down, in the butter/oil mixture.

Brown until golden and then flip to brown on the other side.

Remove to a separate plate, and drain out about half the fat.

Chop up one large onion or two medium onions.

Cook the onions in the butter/oil until soft.

Now for the best part.  Pull out a bottle of whiskey.

And pour out a cup and a half.  Yes, a whole cup and a half.  

Pour all the whiskey into the pot and use a wooden spatula to scrape off all the bits of onion and chicken stuck to the pot.  Stir it around and let it reduce for a few minutes.

Next, grab a bottle of barbecue sauce.

Pour the whole bottle into the pot.

Then grab a jar of peach preserves.

Spoon the whole jar of peach preserves into the pot.

Fill the jar about halfway full of water, and pour that into the pot too.

Pour in a couple of tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.

Smash and peel a few cloves of garlic, and dump them in too.

Whisk it all together.

Put the chicken back in the pot.

Put the pot in the oven, and let it cook for 1 1/2 hours.  Now, this next part is very important.  Pour two shot glasses full of whiskey.  Find your roommate (or whoever) and drink the shots.  This is critical to ensuring your full appreciation of the chicken's flavor.

After 1 1/2 hours, take the chicken out of the oven.  By this point, the meat will be falling off the bone, and the sauce will have become "magical" (according to Pioneer Woman).

Serve the chicken with a big piece of cornbread and some sort of vegetable (so that your meal is healthy).  It's incredibly, wonderfully, beautifully delicious.

Enjoy!  Hopefully the next time I write, I will have gone a few days without earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, or natural disasters of any variety.  Also, I'm off to Switzerland for a few days, so you can expect a non-food-related blog post about that!

Much love,
Sarah

Peach Whiskey Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients

• 12 whole Chicken Thighs, Bone-in, Skin-on
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced
• 1-1/2 cup Whiskey
• 12 ounces, fluid Barbecue Sauce
• 1 jar Peach Preserves
• 1/2 cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 4 cloves Garlic, Peeled
• 3 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat oil and butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs, four at a time, in the pot, skin side down. Brown both sides, then remove to a plate and repeat until all chicken is browned.

Pour off half the grease, then return pan to stove. Add onions to pan and stir, cooking for 2 minutes. Pour whiskey into the pot, being very careful if you're using an open flame. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan, allowing whiskey to reduce for a minute or two. Pour in barbecue sauce, peach preserves, water, and Worcestershire sauce. Throw in garlic cloves. Stir until combined, then return chicken to the pot, skin side up. Cover and put pot in oven.

Cook for 1 1/2 hours, then remove from oven.

Lasagna

Hey everybody, Sarah here.

I'm writing this blog post while watching Tripoli fall to Libyan rebel groups, so I apologize for all the pictures I may have forgotten to take while cooking...I was a little distracted by CNN reporters talking to the sound of machine guns in the background.

Anyways, tonight I decided to make lasagna using my grandmother's recipe, which happens to be my favorite.  I was originally planning on making Peach-Whiskey Barbecue Chicken for dinner but I was kinda prevented from doing that due to the lack of available whiskey in the entire state of Virginia on Sundays.  In this stupid state, you have to buy all hard alcohol from the state-owned ABC stores.  On Sundays, the ABC stores are only open between 2 pm and 6 pm, because of God or something.  Rebecca and I were seeing a movie between 2 and 6 pm and were thereby prevented from buying any whiskey.  We were quite disappointed.  So we decided to make Lasagna as a back-up plan.  Here's how its done:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and start with 1 lb of Italian sausage.

Brown it in a pan over medium heat and break it up into little pieces until it looks like this:

Chop up a few cloves of garlic and add them to the pan.

Add in 1 tbsp basil, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and some pepper.

Also add in one 1 lb can of diced tomatoes, a 14-oz can of diced tomatoes, and a 12-oz can of tomato paste.

Simmer the sauce uncovered for 30 minutes.

Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water until they look done.  Note: I've found over the years from cooking too many and too few lasagna noodles that it works best to measure out first how many will fit in the pan for two layers.  For my pan, it's 8.

In the meantime, make the cheese filling.  Start with 3 cups of ricotta cheese.

Add in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Then add in 2 tbsp of parsley flakes.

Then add in two beaten eggs, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp of pepper.

Here's what it should look like when its all mixed together.

Place half the noodles in a 9x13 dish.

Spread on half of the ricotta cheese filling.  I kinda forgot to take a picture of the ricotta cheese until halfway through putting on the mozzarella cheese layer, so just look at the left side of this picture.

Add 1/2 lb of mozzarella cheese.

Then add 1/2 the meat sauce.

Repeat the layers, but this time, finish with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake in the oven for 375 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Let stand for about 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

Another picture of the finished lasagna:

Enjoy with garlic bread and salad.

Have a great week everyone, and stay tuned on events in Libya!

My Grandmother's Lasagna


1 lb Italian sausage
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbsp basil
1 1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
1 lb can + 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 12 oz can tomato paste
8 lasagna noodles (or however many it takes to fill your pan)
3 cups Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp parsley flakes
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown meat evenly, spoon off excess fat.  Add next 5 ingredients, simmer uncovered 30 minutes.  Cook noodles as on package.  Combine remaining ingredients except Mozzarella cheese.

Place 1/2 the noodles on the 9x13 baking dish.  Spread half the cheese filling; add 1/2 the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 the meat sauce.  Repeat layers.  Bake at 375 degrees about 40 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares.