You know… I was actually really hoping it would snow. It’s weird coming out of my mouth, because I lived in the cold upper mid-west for most of my life, and now in the south I put on a THICK winter coat when it goes below 50 degrees… cuz that’s seriously chilly. But, when it snows, my husband gets to work from home, and then I get to see him more AND he gets to actually eat dinner with us! But, sadly, the snow and ice missed us, and he actually had to drive the 45 minutes to work… boo. Oh well, I’m glad he has a GREAT job that he loves to go to! But… for the sake of my little girl, who, as all other girls her age, is OBSESSED with Frozen STILL and really wants to see snow so that she can go outside and pretend she’s Elsa. So, I’m hoping for 1 short day of snow. Then I’ll be good. 🙂

So last night I had the girls over to watch the bachelor, and my friend brought over her kit to help me put on my jamberry wraps that I couldn’t figure out how to put on with my strangely overpowered hairdryer… with her little heater thing, it worked WAY better! HA! And we had a great girls night doing our nails and watching the strangeness that is the Bachelor. It’s like a car accident… you just can’t help but watch!

So, before the girls came over I had to quick make dinner and I had been wanting to try my own version of a sun-dried tomato pasta dish for a while since I saw this one on pinterest… so, I figured… chicken and pasta is quick, I’ll do that! I did have to eat it out with the girls, but it got done in time!!! 🙂

This one a real winner… so so good.

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup julienne sun-dried tomatoes in oil in a jar
• 4 large chicken tenderloins
• 2 TB (about 1/4 of a small onion) onion diced
• 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 8 oz shell pasta (or whatever pasta you have)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or dried, if that’s what you have)
• dash cayenne pepper
• dash hot sauce
• 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)
• salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained oil for sauteing as described below:
2. In a large pan, on med-high heat, sautee garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil) and diced onion in 1 tablespoons of oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar – see note above) and 1 TB fresh olive oil for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant. (Don’t burn the garlic or it changes the flavor of the whole dish!) Remove sun-dried tomatoes from the pan, leaving the oil and onions, and add chicken tenders, salted and lightly covered in paprika and italian seasoning (for color) and cook on high heat for 5 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and cut into 2 in pieces and place back into skillet.
3. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water (to stop cooking).
4. Place the sun-dried tomatoes back into the skillet with chicken. Add half and half and parmesan cheese to the skillet, too, and bring to a gentle boil. (Don’t put on high heat or it will curdle the half and half.) Immediately reduce to simmer and cook, constantly stirring, until all cheese melts and creamy sauce forms. If the sauce is too thick – don’t worry – you’ll be adding some cooked pasta water soon. Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the creamy sauce, and stir to combine. Add 1 tablespoon of basil, and the hot sauce and cayenne. Stir to combine.
5. Add about 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water because the creamy sauce will be too thick (do not add all water at once – you might need less or more of it). This will water down the thickness of the cheese sauce and make it creamier. Immediately, season the pasta with salt and more basil, to taste, if needed. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine.
6. Note: Make sure to salt the dish just enough to bring out of the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

And… VOILA!

Dig in, and make your tummy happy!!!!

Ok, and for the quote of the day, it’s a funny play on what I’ve been working on. Especially since I LOVE the Duggars, I love how in their home, they don’t yell and scream at each other. It’s just not how they speak to each other. Since my husband and I have gotten married I’ve had to tame how I speak to him when I’m upset, and I’ve done SOO much better making sure I’m respectful with how I handle it…

With my children it’s an hourly battle. I literally at times have to step out of the room, count to ten, and then go back in. Otherwise it would at times come out as a full on scream. So… I’m gonna keep this in the back of my mind… read and enjoy. 🙂