Do you ever look at a child and wonder “what on earth are they thinking?!” Yeah… I think that a lot. Especially with my 3 year old. I’ve also thought that with my dog… Today, I thought that with my 5 year old girl. She honestly, and I’m trying to not brag, is exceptional. She is sweet, tender hearted, obeys quickly, and was a very easy baby. It was God, not me. She’s easy to discipline because she immediately feels bad that she’s disobeyed and cries and apologizes and tries to not make the same mistake more than once. She is still a child though, and she makes childish mistakes…

For Valentines day she got $1 from my Grandma (whom she calls G.G.) and she got fluorescent pink hair chalk. Yeah… So, she absolutely LOVES it. She thinks it’s so fun to color her hair, and see it be so bright pink! Well, she made the mistake of showing her little brother this cool little thing she has, and being the normal 3 year old boy, he shoved his finger into the hair chalk. (This is shaped very similar to the E.O.S. round ball chapstick.) Then, suddenly, with the help of her dropping it, and his fingers COVERED in BRIGHT PINK hair chalk.. it now covered her BRAND NEW bed spread, sheets and new sham. I looked at her, and I’m just sitting there, knowing that she’s a child, and finding it so hard to believe that she thought that opening that and showing her brother that it was just a good idea to show him that, in her room, and on her bed. So, we’ll see if it comes out!!! Otherwise, pink goes well with purple… right?! Ha… she will be without that hair chalk for a couple of days… but at the moment, it’s kind of funny to think about. 🙂

So, is it bad that I comfort myself with pasta? It is isn’t it.

I made chicken scampi. And it was really good. Like REALLY good. 🙂

I am going to relay the recipe as best I can.

Try it!!!

Scampi Sauce:

3 tbs butter
2 TB minced sweet onions
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups low sodium free rance chicken broth
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp fine Himalayan sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbs fresh parsley
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice (Added BEFORE the cream)
1 cup organic half&half

The Pasta Dish!!

1 16 oz box angle hair pasta
4-6 frozen chicken tenderloins (I prefer Trader Joes brand)
salt and pepper
4 tbs olive oil
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
dash cayenne pepper
3 mini sweet peppers (I used 1 red, yellow and orange)
1/2 sweet onion diced
splash of white wine to deglaze the pan (or you can use a bit of chicken broth)

Directions:

In a medium sized sauce pan add butter, minced onion, minced garlic and saute over medium heat for a 1-2 minutes. Don’t let the garlic burn! Add in chicken broth, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, dash of cayenne, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Simmer for 15 minutes on med-low heat.

After 15 minutes is up slowly add the half and half and simmer on LOW, without boiling for 10 minutes.

While the above is going on, in a separate pot, boil the angel hair pasta according to the directions on the box. SHORT time!! You don’t want over cooked angel hair pasta! Cook it al-dente!

To prepare your chicken tenderloins, sprinkle with salt and pepper and a bit of italian seasoning. Fry in a skillet over medium heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil 5-8 minutes on each side (from frozen) until golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Set aside. Add a splash of white wine (1/4 cup) to the skillet that had the chicken in it, to loosen  up all the “yummy bits” from the bottom of the pan to ready the pan for the onions and peppers. Add the remainder of the lemon juice and lemon zest.

Take your onions and bell peppers and cut in julienne strips, making sure to remove all seeds and the white membrane on the inside. Place them into the skillet. I cook on high for 3-5 minutes until they get soft and caramelized in the white wine and lemon juice and olive oil. Dump the cooked pasta into the skillet with the onions and lightly toss with tongs or similar. Take the creamy garlic sauce and pour over the pasta, peppers and onions. Mix together well.

Dish up pasta, adding the chicken on top. Garnish with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and a bit of fresh parsley.

And ENJOY! DE-LISH!!! I LOVED the leftovers the next day too! YUM!

And now, for the quote of the day: