Leftover Madness turned Lunchtime Delicacy

So you are sitting in your house after just finishing your morning chores, you're tired and hungry and don't want to have to make a big deal for lunch. You could always make a cold cut sandwich, again, but thats so boring and lackluster. It's time to mix it up and have a delicious lunch that is super easy to make, and the best way to do that is to look at the other meals you didn't finish in the fridge.

I had sliced tomatoes sitting in a plastic container from a BLT made over the weekend, some extra Farfalle noodles from my moms Mac N' Cheese, and a few extra chicken breasts from the previous week. As I stood there, I thought, how can I use these seemingly unrelated items and make a meal out of them? Then it hit me, a fall pasta with grilled chicken! A simple, light, meal that won't take more than thirty minutes to prepare and will fill me up until dinner time.

To start, preheat the grill to 300-350 degrees. If your chicken breast has the rib meat attached, go ahead and pull that off. You now have chicken tenders for another meal later in the week! Now, drizzle the chicken in EVOO and sprinkle about a tablespoon of basil and a teaspoon of garlic powder over the top. Allow the meat to sit while the grill preheats to allow the oil to begin to penetrate the breast. Once your grill heats to 300 degrees, place the chicken on the grill, basil side up. with the grill on its Medium-Low setting, allow the chicken to cook on that first side for fifteen minutes. It is important to allow most of the cooking to be done on that first side to allow the basil and garlic flavor to infuse with the meat. After fifteen minutes, gently flip the breast over and allow for ten more minutes of cooking time. After the ten minutes, flip the breast one more time, and gently press down with your spatula. If the juice is flowing clear at this time, remove the chicken from the grill and allow it to rest for about 2 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, there is a lot to get done! At this point you will want to get your Magic Bullet System out, or a basic food processor will work. Put your sliced tomato in along with about a quarter cup of
EVOO, two tablespoons of butter, a teaspoon of garlic salt, and a dash of basil. Blend this all together until you achieve a smooth consistency. Pour the sauce into a medium sized wok, add a quarter cup of water to help thin the sauce a bit, and heat over medium heat until the sauce begins to simmer. Stir the sauce often to keep a "skin" from forming on the top. Once the sauce is heated through, add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste and stir together. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and begin to stir in to coat the pasta thoroughly. Once the pasta is totally coated in the sauce, cover and turn the heat down to low to allow it to simmer, stirring occasionally. The pasta will heat and cook until the chicken is done.

Once the chicken is done place a small "lunch sized" portion of pasta on the plate along with the grilled chicken breast. Since this is lunch, you don't have to worry about serving anything else with this meal; however, if you decide to make this for dinner, serve with a side salad with a light vinaigrette dressing and a chilled glass of Chardonnay.

What you need

1 Sliced tomato

EVOO [Extra Virgin Olive Oil]

Basil

Garlic Powder

Butter

Cooked Pasta [Spaghetti style noodles not recommended]

Chicken

Salt and Pepper

Family Traditions

So my family doesn't have very many traditions, we don't even have Christmas routines! I am totally O.K. with that too. But one tradition we do have is Carbonara! It is amazing! It is my mothers specialty dish, one that she makes almost every time me and my sister visit. I have started making it myself whenever I begin to feel a little homesick or just have a mad craving for an amazing pasta dish. It's pretty simple to make, as I have learned.

Start with a large pot of boiling water. Put a pound of spaghetti noodles in it and season with salt to taste. Allow those to simmer until tender. While the noodles are cooking put in your serving bowl a quarter cup of heavy cream, a quarter cup of butter, a cup of parmesan cheese, and four eggs. Stir all that together, breaking the yolks, until well mixed.

After mixing together the sauce, fry up a pound of bacon. I recommend using the real stuff here, like the got it from the butcher and its wrapped in paper real stuff! You want the bacon to be crispy but not burnt. Once you have fried the bacon, allow the grease to drain onto a paper towel and break the pieces up into smaller bite size pieces.

Once the noodles are al dente, drain the water and place the noodles in your serving bowl over your egg and cream mixture. Mix the noodles with the sauce, the heat of the noodles will cook the eggs gently, not causing them to scramble. Once the noodles are fully coated in sauce and all the butter has melted, add the crumbled bacon on top. Mix it all together a few more times to evenly distribute the bacon.

Place a large serving in the middle of each plate and top with a small serving of extra parmesan cheese. The dish is best served with some garlic bread and a light garden salad!

This meal is great for someone that wants to serve a lot of people with a simple meal that will impress the socks off of everyone! Serve with a nice sweet white wine or a big glass of sweet tea.

What you need

1 Lbs spaghetti noodles

Heavy Cream

Butter

1 Lbs real bacon

4 Eggs

Parmesan Cheese [shredded]

salt

[Garlic bread and garden greens optional]