Starchy Chicken Cesar Pasta

Chicken Ceasar salads are delicious. Especially when served with pita chips on the side or stuffed inside a warm pita pocket with a side of butter noodles. Not having access to delicious salad ingredients, a Chicken Cesar Pasta was made with a side of pan seared fresh zucchini.

Modifications Made:

Just one simple modification was made with no effects to the dish itself. Regular spaghetti was used instead of angel hair.

Scaled for Likability: No, Thank You

In reading this recipe, the opening paragraph secured my decision to make this meal. "So, the idea of Chicken Caesar Pasta is extremely enticing. That being said, the balance of flavors, amount of sauce, and the consistency of the sauce is key in order to make it work without it being overpowering."

Tender well seasoned chicken, perfectly cooked pasta, capers providing lovely bits of salt, a very rich, well coating sauce made with the absence of butter or cream.

Consistency of the sauce is KEY. Well, that is what she wrote but that is not what was achieved. What was achieved was wall putty. What went wrong? Cooking pasta in the sauce results in a gritty starchy sauce. Be it tomato sauce, milk/cream sauce, or a pesto sauce, when the noodles are cooked in the sauce the sauce will become thick due to the starch of the pasta itself. This starch then overpowers the sauce making for a paste pasta. Should have known from the start to cook the pasta on the side and created a rich, creamy sauce for the chicken to simmer in and then combined the sauce and the pasta before serving. Should have known.

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes for flavored tomatoes, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one can tomato sauce, two low sodium chicken and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots, juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green beans and corn tossed in, heat t

So Sad Cake Brownies

Oh my word how does a space as small a pantry becomes so disorganized? And in such a short time, nonetheless? While reorganizing the four 2x4 pantry shelves yesterday a golden back of the box recipe was discovered. Milk Brownies. Replacing yogurt for milk or applesauce for oil, these are commonplace alternatives. Milk for water in a box brownie, this had to be tried. Stat. Modifications Made: Per the box, 1/3 cup milk replaced 1/3 water. Half cup of chopped walnuts were added along with two tablespoons of Hershey chocolate syrup. Because why not. Scaled for Likability: No, Thank You The milk was fine, the extra chocolate was fine. Walnuts could have been doubled. The problem was the brownies themselves. I accidently made cake brownies with two eggs instead of fudge brownies with just one brownie. So sad. These were given to the neighbor who prefers cake brownies. If the neighbor liked fudge brownies (they are the best kind) these would have gone to the chickens. They have no

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add potatoes. Cover and reduc

Eating Waffles

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