Pasta Again...

I might have a slight obsession with pasta. Not sure...

Well, I dressed up my blog a bit and felt guilty about not posting as well. So, I've had these pictures on my desktop... anxiously waiting to be used in [yet another] pasta recipe blog update. *sigh*

Last week, my good friend, Jen, came over for lunch and a playdate with her two kiddos. Her son Elijah is just about the same age as my Mason and her Haya just turned a year old (so has about six months on my Collin). Much fun was had by all and (remembering this was one of her favorites and just happening to have all the ingredients on hand), I whipped up this chicken pasta salad.

It's so good when the kids behave (big and small) and you get a few minutes of mommy time to visit and share with a good friend. Jen and I had a great visit and vowed not to let it go another six (yes, six! embarassing, but true) months between visits. The kids started getting tired (we'd planned during naptime just so we could see each other!) and we had to call it a day. But I'm excited to say that we are planning a kid-free coffee date soon. And I cannot wait.

::

Pasta Salad
(from my friend Melanie)

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubes
BBQ'ed is best, but in these cold, winter months, pan-frying will do

2 cups penne pasta, cooked, drained, and cooled

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halfed

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2-1 cup italian dressing, to taste (try Kraft FREE Italian)

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (drained, if canned in oil)

1/4 cup green onions, chopped

8-10 leaves fresh basil, finely chopped

Preparation:

At least 2 hours before serving, cook your penne pasta. Drain. Rinse with cool water. Refrigerate. Half tomatoes, grate cheese, drain sundried tomatoes, chop green onion and chop basil.

Toss to combine.

Prepare your chicken (on the grill, in a pan or in the oven), cube and add to cool salad.

Add dressing to taste and serve. Garnish with fresh basil.

Serves 4

::

Easy Asparagus

(Thank you, Amy of The Mommy Chronicles)

Ingredients:

1-2 bundles asparagus

2-4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

4-6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped or minced

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

Align asparagus in your favorite Pampered Chef stonewar bar pan (or whatever you have on hand)

Drizzle with olive oil.

Sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper.

Bake at 300 for 15-20 minutes or until asparagus is fork-tender.

enjoy~

ps: LuLu... these photos are the leftovers!

love!