Pesto Chicken Florentine

Because I'm on a beach right now, with nearly a dozen exquisite restaurants at my resort, I can promise you that my mind is on food. Home or away, my mind is always on food. Cooking food, eating food, looking at food....

Yes, that's right, I'm on a beach! Well, right now, as I type this - I'm not on a beach. Its a Monday night and I'm on the couch. But, when this recipes posts on the blog, I will most certainly be on a white-sand beach, listening to waves crash and sipping a mango martini.

I recently went in search of a new pasta dish with fresh, bold flavors, and I found just what I was looking for. With no red sauce, no ground turkey, no chopped onion - this is more than your everyday weeknight pasta. This is loaded with spinach and tomatoes, and held together with garlicky pesto sauce and creamy alfredo. Juicy chunks of chicken make this pasta very hearty, so I promise that you won't be hungry after a big bowl!

Now, I must get back to my martini :-) Here you are, with the latest favorite pasta from my kitchen:

Pesto Chicken Florentine

1 TBS butter + 1 TBS olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

3 chicken breasts, fat trimmed and cut into chunks

10-oz bag of fresh spinach*

1/2 C Classico alfredo sauce

2 TBS Classico basil pesto sauce

1 package whole-wheat penne

1 large tomato, diced

*I know that a full bag of spinach leaves seems like a lot, but trust me, it wilts down and becomes a mere fraction of what you expect it to be.

1. Melt butter and oil in large skillet. Add chicken. Feel free to season chicken (I used salt, pepper, dried basil, and paprika.) Sautee until cooked through. Add garlic to pan, and cook one minute. Add spinach. Stir spinach, chicken and garlic over medium heat for several minutes until spinach is completely wilted.

2. Meanwhile, cook penne until al dente.

3. Toss pasta with alfredo and pesto (add more of either of you like it saucy.) Add chicken and spinach from pan. Throw in some diced tomato, and use to garnish as well.

Tequila Bars!

One Wednesday per month, I play Bunco with co-workers. A different person hosts each month, and generally the host will provide dinner and drinks. It's so fun to see my co-workers in their own element - there are both the pizza-and-beer type of people, and homemade-gumbo-and-cajun-eggroll type of people.

Last Wednesday, I traveled to Halstead, KS (about 30 minutes from Wichita) for Bunco and some seriously delicious food and drink! The host made teriyaki chicken salad, with romaine lettuce, sliced almonds, crispy asian noodles, mandarin oranges, sesame vinaigrette, and teriyaki-marinated chicken. I ate two bowls! In addition, the host provided several types of margarita. I was feeling under the weather and had a long drive home, so I didn't go too crazy...but I DID decide to bring these yummy tequila bars as the perfect compliment to an already tequila-infused evening.

A word of warning: these tequila bars have bite. As in, you can really taste the tequila. The tequila does not seem to "bake off" as alcohol does when simmering in a pan. These aren't something you eat alone in front of the TV - these are definitely a treat to share with others, preferably on a hot summer evening when everyone has a drink in hand! The crust is buttery, crunchy, with lots of vanilla flavor. The meringue makes the dessert bars very light and creamy, without too much sweetness. And if you decide that you do want to eat these alone in front of the TV - they could easily be made without the tequila, and then they would essentially be creamy lime bars.

Eat (and drink!) up!

Tequila Bars

1 12-oz box vanilla wafers

1/2 C chopped nuts

1.5 sticks butter, melted

1/3 C tequila

1/2 C fresh lime juice

5 large egg yolks, plus 2 egg whites

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 TBS sugar

honey for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 350. Pulse the wafers and nuts in a food processor until well ground up. Add the butter and blend until evenly mixed. Set aside 1/3 C crumbs; press the rest evenly into a 9x13 pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool.

2. In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together the tequila, lime juice, egg yolks and condensed milk.

3. In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer on high, until soft peaks form (this took me about 4-5 minutes.) Gently fold the egg whites into the tequila mixture. Spread the filling evenly over the crust and bake for 25 minutes; cool. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Drizzle with honey before serving.

Bang Bang Shrimp

One of the cooking magazines that I subscribe to is "Food Network Magazine". Each month, this magazine does a feature page called "Copy That!" This allows readers from around the country write the food editors and request that they replicate recipes from popular restaurants.

This past April, I was flipping through my newest issue of FNM. I was more than excited (giddy! jubilant!) to see Bonefish Grill's Bang Bang Shrimp featured and replicated. For those of you who have been to Bonefish Grill and experienced what is known as Bang Bang Shrimp, you will understand what I mean when I say that this creamy, spicy, crunchy, sauce-y shrimp is one of the best things around. I know more than one person who orders Bang Bang Shrimp (listed as an appetizer on the menu) for their main entree.

I decided to use this home recipe as my main entree tonight, by piling it on top of fresh spinach leaves and slices of ripe avocado (my favorite salad base for just about anything.) I made a quick dressing on the side by whisking 1/3 C of the sweet thai sauce with 1 TBS of soy.

I think the pictures speak for themselves. Alone (out of the bowl...with a fork) or atop lettuce, or alongside rice - this Bang Bang shrimp will totally be the star of your show. We already can't wait to have it again!

Bonefish Grill's Bang Bang Shrimp

1/2 C mayonnaise

1/4 C Asian sweet chili sauce

2 tsp honey

sprinkle of salt + pepper

2 large eggs

3/4 C flour

1/2 C cornstarch

1.5 lbs shrimp, thawed w/ tails removed

canola oil

1. Make the sauce and set aside in a large bowl: mix mayonnaise, chili sauce, honey, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

2. Whisk the eggs in a shallow dish. In a separate dish, combine flour, cornstarch, and another pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Heat oil in a large, deep pot: you'll want enough oil so that you have about 2 inches in the pan. Let your oil get very hot. I let mine heat on high for about 4 minutes before getting started.

4. Working in batches, dredge shrimp in flour mixture, then dredge in egg mixture, then dredge once again in flour. Get your hands dirty - it will be messy! This is part of the fun. Carefully drop each batch into the hot oil. Give each batch about 2-5 minutes to cook, depending on how hot your oil is. When they are light golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels.

5. When all the shrimp is done, place into the bowl with sauce and toss carefully.

Red Curry Chicken Noodles

It's been awhile since I've tried a recipe that's reminiscent of Thai flavors. For awhile there, I was making so many Asian dishes - too many Asian dishes - and I got very tired of garlic, ginger, red chili sauce, rice noodles, and jasmine rice.

With that said - I think that sometimes, its okay to step back: I refuse to ever be a "same ol, same ol" home cook. I would hate for Brett to ever say, "oh, we're having that AGAIN?" I like to keep my flavors interesting and I'm always on the lookout for a recipe that's totally new to me. Also, just because I go in search of something different does not necessarily mean something more challenging or complex. While its important to attempt new cooking techniques, let's be honest: I have a day job. I'm planning a wedding. And I'm not made of money. I need to put a healthy meal on the table for myself and my soon-to-be-husband, almost every night of the week. Finding a meal that is healthy, cost-effective, filling, and TASTES good - is a challenge in and of itself.

Lessons learned?

First, don't get stuck in a cooking rut. If you're sick of cooking Mexican dishes, stop cooking Mexican dishes. Come back to it in a few months.

Second, try to seek out new recipes, but don't concern yourself too much with worrying that you aren't pushing your cooking limits. Its okay to keep it to the basics; we've all got lives.

Now I suppose that I should probably introduce this recipe - which, for me, meets both criteria above. These red curry chicken noodles are full of flavor, primarily stemming from ginger and coconut. There is also something really cool about the way the chicken is cooked: the "fat" in this recipe is not olive oil or butter, but the coconut milk. I had no idea that coconut milk is LOADED with fat. What a fun and unique way to impart flavor! This recipe is a quick weeknight meal and took no more than 30 minutes. Eat up!

Red Curry Chicken Noodles

3 chicken breasts (boneless/skinless) - cut into 1-inch cubes

1 can coconut milk

2 tsp red curry paste (I used about 2 TBS, we love it)

1 TBS fresh, grated ginger (please don't use dried!)

1 TBS fresh cilantro (basil is an excellent Thai substitute)

1/4 C sweet thai chili sauce

2 C chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 onion, julienne-cut*

2 bell peppers, julienne-cut

1 C broccoli slaw

salt + pepper to taste

1 pkg rice noodles

*for the record, I am physically incapable of correctly cutting vegetables into julienne. If you're able to do so without a mandolin, please enlighten me!

1. First, start with the biggest pot that you own, over medium high heat. Open the can of coconut milk and scoop the cream off the top with a spoon. Put into the pot. Add the ginger and curry paste and simmer for 2 minutes.

2. Add the chicken. Cook the chicken through.

3. Add the remaining coconut milk, chili sauce, cilantro, and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, heat water to boiling in a second pot.

4. Add all veggies to the first pot. When water is boiling in a second pot, add rice noodles. Watch them closely, as they cook in about 5-6 minutes.

5. Serve: place some rice noodles in a bowl and pour the coconut milk soup over the noodles.