30 Min Dinner: Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Hey guys, I finally found my way back to the kitchen! I normally pin a bunch of recipes in the hopes of eventually motivating myself to cook something, and this quick one caught my eye. Any easy recipe that can be done in approximately 30 min (this one was actually a little less) using "normal" ingredients (read: things I usually have on hand) is a winner in my book. I also love anything that includes pasta and cheese. GIVE ME ALL THE CHEESE! I know it seems like a lot of ingredients, but it's really just a bunch of spices. Anyway, I posted pics below the recipe for easier viewing. My notes are below those. You can find the original recipe here. 

Tuscan Chicken Pasta- Serves 6

Ingredients:

 2 cups shredded chicken* 
16 oz. box of pasta, any kind will do (we used whole grain penne) 
2 (14.5 ounces) cans diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups chicken stock
½ cup half & half (we used fat-free)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups frozen spinach (we used an 8 oz package)
½ onion or 1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried basil
grated Parmesan cheese, to garnish

Directions:

1. Defrost the spinach. Place the oil, garlic, spinach, and onion/onion powder in a large pot*. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.

2. Start cooking the pasta, until it's al dente, in a separate pot. 

3. Add the oregano, thyme, pepper, salt, basil, diced tomatoes, and chicken stock to the large pot. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then stir. Add the chicken and stir.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the half & half and flour together, making sure there are no clumps. Stir the flour mixture into the sauce, stirring continuously well mixture is combined. Allow to simmer for about 12 minutes.

5. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce and mix it up.

6. Dish it out, top with some Parm cheese, and enjoy! 

Step 3- when I remembered to take pics

Step 5- Mix things up

Bon appetit!

Notes: 

* The original recipe calls for 2 C of rotisserie chicken, but I used shredded chicken because that's what I had on hand. I made it about 2 days earlier using this crockpot recipe. It was a little dry in this dish, and honestly, this recipe doesn't need chicken at all.

* The original also calls for a Dutch oven, which I don't have. A large pot gets the job done just fine. 

What's one of your go-to weeknight meals? 

Linking up with Jessica, Jenn, Anne, Annie, and Jessi!

Weekend Updates: Hudson Valley, NY

Happy Monday friends! I'm on a serious countdown to vacation- only 2 weeks left! This weekend Blue, our friend Mark and I took a little day trip up to Hudson Valley, NY. This weekend was the perfect blend of relaxing and exploring new places.

We had originally intended to head up to Ommegang Brewery (and the neighboring wineries/breweries) for the weekend, but after hearing about their Game of Thrones inspired ticketed event, we decided "mmm, better not." (name that movie!) Truth be told, I'm not really into larping, and it sounded like it would be exactly that. So we headed to the lower Hudson Valley area instead. We started our adventure at Tuthilltown Spirits. If you're a fan of whiskey, you may have seen their Baby Bourbon Hudson Whiskey or Basement Bitters in stores. Blue and our friend Mark had been there, so this was more of a restock-the-bar trip for them. We did a full tasting, and Blue took home some Indigenous Apple Vodka and Half Moon Orchard Gin, and I got an Old-Fashioned Cocktail Mix (because I'm lazy). We also got to keep our tasting glasses, these cute little mason jars.

Our next stop was Newburgh Brewing Company. We sampled a few beers, probably the most interesting one being an Oyster Stout. It was salty and gross, but the industrial feel of the space and the overall atmosphere was great! I loved the picnic bench seating and all the board games they had available. I just wish they had some outdoor seating as the views of the Hudson River were amazing! 

Next up was Palaia Winery. I'd heard that it had a hippie feel, which seemed awesome. Unfortunately, I didn't get that vibe. It could be because when we arrived there was already a raucous bachelorette party in effect and another one with 20+ people on the way. We did our tasting quickly and got out. I think if it was any other day though, it would have been really nice.

On the way home, we stopped at Growler and Gill, a Craft Beer Shop and Restaurant. I had some bangin' mac n cheese (carb load!), Blue got the fish n chips, and Mark had some pulled pork sliders, and all of the food was delicious! They had a huge beer selection, both on tap and bottles, to the point where I was a little overwhelmed. However if I was looking for some craft beers, this would be my first stop! We rounded out the day with a cocktail and (fittingly) the movie Strange Brew. Have any of you seen it? I think it was Rick Moranis's first movie. If you like slapstick comedy, you'd probably enjoy this one!

Sunday was spent cleaning, relaxing, cooking a cheesy, chicken, pasta dish that I mentioned on Friday, trying out this new mud mask I got, and watching Game of Thrones. In case you didn't know, if you have HBO Go, you can watch the show 10 min after it originally airs instead of waiting until the next day!

And in case you missed it, it's April 25th. This will never get old! 

So, how was your weekend? 

Linking up with the lovely Biana! 

Friday Favorites

Yesterday I took a much-needed personal day after sleeping like shit the night before. I took the day and slept like my body told me to. Because sometimes you just have to stop and listen. I slept until 11 and it was divine. And then I got up and tackled some chores that I had been putting off without realizing how heavily they were weighing on my mind. It was the best decision I made all week. I woke up today refreshed and feeling much more free from those worries than I have in recent weeks. Note to self: stop procrastinating and just do it. Good grief. Anyway, here are some other favorites from this week!

Favorite Song: Apparently this is a year old, but I just heard it yesterday on Spotify's Happy Hits! Old Thing Back- Matoma and The Notorious B.I.G. ft Ja Rule and Ralph Tresvant

Favorite Recipe: Trying out this 25 min Tuscan Chicken Pasta on Sunday!

Favorite Moment: Purging 129 items from my apartment aka surpassing my 101 in 1001 List goals. 5 bags to Vietnam Veterans (picked up from my doorstep), and 3 bags to a friend collecting for the victims of the Ecuador earthquakes. BOOM. Oh, I also finally washed my dishes. There were a lot.

Favorite Mail: Limited Edition Gilmore Girls themed LitCube! I've never ordered from LitCube before, but they are a YA themed subscription box. This one was a one-time purchase though. It came with a tee, Luke's coffee mug, chew-able coffee, a YA novel, GG pins, pro/con list pad, No Cell Phone sign (from Luke's Diner), and Dragonfly Inn tea towels :) 

Favorite Reads:

• Did you know you can now deposit cash money into your Paypal at CVS and Rite Aid through their app? There are fees though, so be sure to read the fine print. 

• Samsung is taking technology to the next level by trying to get a patent for "augmented reality" contact lenses. It would be used paired with a smartphone to do the processing, and basically have an always-on camera directly in your eye. Um... that's a bit too much if you ask me. 

• April 28th is National Superhero Day. Wear a cape to any participating Krispy Kreme location for B1G1 free donuts. Okay, you don't really have to wear a cape, but it is encouraged. 

Favorite Video: You didn't think you'd get through a post today without a Prince mention did you? Last night, Jennifer Hudson and the cast of The Color Purple paid an amazing, chilling tribute to him.

Favorite Funnies:

Happy weekend friends! What's on your agenda?

Linking up with Amanda!

Things I'm Trying

It's Wednesday and that means it's time to confess! We all have things we could "fix" or improve in our lives. Call them goals or making better choices or creating habits, but I'm trying to change some things up in here. Nothing too crazy or Earth shattering, but I need to start somewhere. Here are some things I'm currently working on.


- Getting to work early
Yes, this should be a no-brainer. But when your boss regularly comes in late, you figure you might as well too, right? Just a few more minutes of sweet slumber and a later train won't hurt anyone. No one will even know! Wrong. Apparently the new Big Boss is a stickler about time, and has actually been scanning the office to see who arrived when. I would think someone in his position would have more important things to do than watch the clock, but no. He called a meeting with his direct reports to discuss the issue, who then met with us. Oddly enough, I'm the only one who now arrives on time/early. Sigh.

what my floor looks like when I arrive daily.
Please note all the closed doors. The lights aren't even on!

- Creating a morning/night beauty routine
On the first day of Operation Get To Work On Time, I got up with enough time to actually do the full face cleanse, tone, moisturize, makeup thing. My initial thought was Seriously? People do this twice  day?! I haven't gotten up early enough since. Obviously, this is still a work in process.

- Not posting on days when I don't have/make time to respond to comments
Last week I made the mistake of posting here every single day, on a week that including three popular linkups. Bad idea, especially when a work project was due by Friday afternoon, leaving no time or energy to comment back properly. If you still haven't received a response, my apologies, I'm getting there!

- Purging the closet
I'm getting sick of just writing this, but it's a big undertaking, since I don't think I've ever done a full purge before. Currently the "unwanteds" of my closet sit in bags around my apartment- this pile for ThredUp, this one for Plato's Closet, another for donation, oh this this other pile of clothes that I need to launder before sending to those places. My issue is that some of the stuff is nice and I would like to get back as much as possible for the items. I've attempted to just let it go, but I can't shake the feeling that my stuff is worth something and why would I throw out free money?

- Getting back into reading
I fell off the tracks after reading 5 books in one month. I know this is nothing compared to some, but I'm a slow reader, and usually only get through about 3 a month. It was like I had a book hangover, and I needed a break. But I'm having a hard time getting back into the habit. Has this ever happened to you? How do you get past it?

What are some things you're working on?

Linking up with Nadine and Kathy!

Weekend Updates- Coming Out Of Hibernation

I feel like Mondays are always harder after a really fun, jam-packed weekend. I mean, they're hard after a whole weekend lazing around as well, but it's worse when it's nice weather and you've actually gone out and done things and seen people. This was the first time in a long time that we actually went out and socialized, and I think I can say that I'm officially out of hibernation!

I don't like going out on weeknights other than for dinner, but it was a good friend's birthday on Thursday so out we went. We kept up with tradition and watched Netflix and had pizza on Friday night. I was a little sad that my Tituss wine didn't arrive in time for the Kimmy premiere, but we haven't finished the series yet so there's still time!

 

Saturday morning we were up and out early to go tell off my mailman at the post office (short story here) and drop-off my ThredUp bag. We ran a few other errands and came home to put together Blue's booze shelf. It took about 2 hours to put together something that ultimately took 15 min because the parts were mislabeled. The top pic is the before, her wine table with booze on top; after on the left, the booze shelf and restyled wine table. We actually put a wine painting up too, but I couldn't capture it here.

The rest of the evening was spent catching up on our shows and stuffing our faces. We finally got the grill out and Blue made an awesome London broil.

Sunday was Keebler's 4th birthday. I ordered from KitNipBox and it was so awesome! Lots of toys, hairball treatment supplements, and treats. He was one happy cat!

Of course his fave was the crown, as he is king of the land. 

The rest of the day was spent beer tasting. We met up with our friend Mark and headed to the grand opening of Jersey Girl Brewing Co. Luckily it wasn't too crowded, so we were able to snag a table and enjoy our flights. I didn't think the beer itself was too great, but I love that these guys had a dream and made it happen.

Next up was Jersey Spirits Distillery.  We've been here before so Mark had a gin/vodka/whiskey flight and Blue and I had cocktails. Mark has dabbled in home brewing, and we've been trying to talk him into doing it full time and opening a place like these because he loves doing it and has a great palette, so he was chatting up one of the owners. We finished up at Magnify Brewing right next door. I love the industrial looking space and the mason jar lighting; the whole vibe in there is fantastic. I was a bit disappointed because they were out of about half their menu, but we did get to sample ones we hadn't tried before and I found one to refill my growler with for deck beers.

So, how was your weekend? Did you get out and enjoy that spring-y weather? 

Linking up with Biana.

Friday Favorites: Mid-April Edition

Hey hey! Happy Friday friends! It's been one heel of a week and I am so excited for the weekend! After snow and hail last weekend it appears that this weekend we'll finally see some sign of spring with temps reaching into the 70's! I will (finally) be stopping by the Post Office since my mailman decided to be a complete douche by not only not taking my clean out bag, but also removing my friendly notes explicitly saying to do so, and moving it outside my apartment building. I also plan on finding out his name and registering a formal complaint, because that is some serious bullshit. Also on deck is watching The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt with some pizza and "Peeno Noir" (if you have not heard this song, please do so here- it's ridiculous and hilarious), visiting Jersey Girls Brewing Co., a brand new craft brewery, heading to Outback Steakhouse to celebrate Blue's promotion (!!!), and possibly do some grilling. Woot! Kicking it off with Amanda and some favorites from this week! 

Favorite Song: Magic! ft. Sean (de) Paul- Lay You Down Easy

Favorite Lust Item: I am in LOVE with these arrow earrings, but of course I only discovered them after the ShopBop sale and they are currently sold out. Le sigh.

{via}

Favorite Reads: 

• I love this different perspective on technology and disconnectedness by Joy on For The Love of Tuna. 
• This determined little octopus was done with the aquarium life and escaped to the ocean!
• A photographer took pics of people after 1, 2, and 3 glasses of wine. I think I like the 2's the best. You can definitely tell who the lightweights were! 
• In honor of National Library Week, I'm sharing this heartwarming article of libraries helping the homeless with mental health services. 

Favorite Video: His parents told him he was going to a broccoli farm and surprised him by taking him to the circus. He was so distressed when he found out!

Favorite Funnies:

Happy weekend friends!

Stuff and Things: The Last Episode

Welcome to the very last Stuff and Things linkup! Here are some stuff...and things... going on lately.

I didn't do a weekend update this week because I didn't do a whole lot this weekend and ICYMI, I had a very important announcement to share on Monday. So I'm sharing it now. On Friday, Blue went to the grocery store solely to buy beef for a beefy/cheesy pasta dish she was going to make (it was delicious but not pretty, hence no pic), and Cheez-Its. Beef and Cheese. Cue one of my favorite movie lines ever, from Elf.

Saturday kicked off with eggs and corned beef hash, which I love and has quickly become a weekend staple. The rest of Saturday was spent being sloths and watching Daredevil. Spoiler alert: we finished it in about a day and a half. I am displeased with the ending. Anyone else watch it?

beef and cheese/Daredevil

On Sunday we made our way to the mall, which I haven't been to in ages. I heard somewhere that malls were closing down because no one goes to them anymore due to the increase of online shopping. I call bullshit. After circling the parking lot for 20 minutes, we finally got in only to fight crowds through a department store en route to the main entrance. You know you're old when you don't recognize 3/4 of the stores in the mall you've been going to since you were 5 anymore and the music in several stores is too loud and you need to leave immediately. Anyway. I got a few goodies for vacation, including a bikini top that I actually paid full price for (unheard of!). But it's perfect and it's one of the few things I deem worthy of spending a little bit more on. We also got Cinnabon, which is worth a trip to the mall by itself in my opinion.

Keebler attacking the TV, eggs/corned beef hash, a sad looking but delicious Cinnabon

I got a notice the other day that one of my favorite magazines is kaput. ALL THESE THINGS ENDING! DISLIKE! I loved this magazine because a) it was a free subscription b) they offered coupons and c) they had really great tips on hausfrauing, organizing, eating, and general living. They are honoring the remainder of the subscription by swapping in Real Simple. I already get that magazine (also free). I like it, but it's too "pretty" (much like the clean, all white staged photos on IG that I don't like). And it doesn't offer the same down to Earth advice and price points on things that All You offered. Sigh. I will forever be hoarding the All You issues I haven't yet recycled. 

goodbye, old friend

And now a final farewell to the linkup. While I'm sad to see it go, it had a really great run, and I appreciate that the hosts gave me an outlet to share all the "other" or "etc." minutia of my days and random thoughts weekly, while meeting new bloggers and visiting the other regulars. Thanks for the ride Kristin and Joey!