I have been working on different projects which have been a major distraction.
Then there is the swimming. Yes, you heard right, my big butt in a swim suit in a public pool, not drowning. At first the plan was to go back to the gym but I decided to face a few fears and swim instead. Now, its probably being incredibly gracious calling it swimming. What I do for an hour at a time is probably not much more than an advanced form of the doggie paddle with a touch of the breast stroke, but for two months I have managed to keep myself from drowning at least three times a week.
Writing and cooking have taken a back seat for some time now but after talking to my friend Michael (code for he talked, I listened), the desire to write and cook is back.
Here's your chicken with vegetables and pasta, darling. Bad news is, I was out of quinoa. Good news is, its belly rubbing nap time.
CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES AND PASTA
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, each cut in quarters3 c. flour, seasoned
3 tbsp. grapeseed or EVOO
½ medium red onion
2 c. mushrooms, sliced
3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 stalks asparagus, heads cut off, stalks cut in half and then into bite sized pieces
1 large can stewed tomatoes, drained, juice reserved
6 c. pasta, cooked
Method:
-cut chicken breast in half; turn each piece on its side and cut in half again
-place flour in a container with sides and season the flour with paprika, oregano, and thyme (1/2 tsp. each)
-heat oil in a large pan on medium high heat
-dredge chicken in flour and then place in pan, cooking about 4 minutes on each side depending on thickness of chicken-once cooked, remove from pan and set aside
-immediately add vegetables and stir fry until al dente
-add reserved tomato juice, reduce heat to medium, and reduce juice to desired consistency-cook pasta
-when pasta is finished cooking, drain
-warm chicken in a pan
-plate chicken on pasta and vegetable mixture on chicken
