Friday, April 25, 2014

Friday April 25, 2014

We almost had two keepers this week!  Almost!  But as I was typing up the chicken dish I thought of a way to really put it over the top, so we just may try it again this week!  I'll let you know how it turns out!

In any case, we did have one absolute keeper!  Creamy garlic shells was an instant keeper side dish.  While not quite as easy as the packaged pasta side dishes from the grocery store, this certainly was more flavorful and every ingredient was known and pronounceable.  You should have seen the kids devouring these noodles.  They were a great accompaniment to the main chicken dish, and it was a quiet few minutes at the table while everyone was happily chewing away.  I do love those dinners when all 5 of us really enjoy all the pieces to the dinner-time puzzle. 

One more week to go in my semester, though it just rolls right into the next. No rest for the weary, but at least I shouldn't have winter weather to contend with during my twice weekly commute to class.  I do wish I had one week between classes but then I suppose the summer class would push one week further into the heart of summer.

I wonder what keepers we'll discover this week!

Happy Cooking!

New Recipe
Creamy Garlic Shells

Creamy Garlic Shells


Ingredients
* 8 oz pasta
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 tbsp butter
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 tbsp flour
* 3/4 cup chicken broth
* 3/4 cup milk
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 tsp garlic powder
* 2 tsp dried parsley flakes

Directions
1. Cook the pasta as directed on the package.  Drain and then set aside in a serving bowl.  Cover to keep warm.
2. Using the same pot, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk for one minute.
3. Slowly pour in the chicken broth, then the milk, whisking constantly until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir the sauce continuously for 4-5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
5. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and parsley flakes.  Pour this over the pasta and stir to combine.  Serve and enjoy!

Notes
Garlic shells - yum!  This is a fabulous replacement for those convenience pasta side dishes that you can pick up at the grocery store.  It was easy - the hardest part was prepping the ingredients and that wasn't hard.  :)  I used skim milk and it worked well; you can use whatever kind of milk or cream you have in your fridge when you try this (which you should!).