And now I have one!
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| Benjamin Moore First Light |
But I'm cheap, and not about to repaint, so I forge ahead and after the 2nd coat I always love it.
This time, it was love at first light (uh, sight).
I still need to prime, paint and hang the trim. Install new blinds. And new closet doors. One of those closet organization systems would be nice...
It'll be a while before it's "done".
I also made this recipe for Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes that I've been seeing all over Pinterest and it was GOOD! I didn't include the chicken so it took less than 30 minutes. (Nice!)
Ingredients
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small jar (3-4 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 1 lb chicken breast tenders (or not)
- salt
- paprika (just a little bit for the chicken)
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 8 oz pasta
- 1 tablespoon basil (if using dry basil), if using fresh basil you can add more
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (at least, add more to taste)
- 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- If using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), drain the tomatoes, reserving 2 tablespoons of oil for sauteing.
- In a large pan, on high heat, sautee garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained) in 2 tablespoons of oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar) for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.
- Remove sun-dried tomatoes from the pan, leaving the oil, and add chicken tenders, salted and lightly covered in paprika (for color) and cook on high heat for 1 minute on each side.
- Remove from heat.
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water (Note: I think this is SO gross so I didn't do it and the sauce was just fine).
- Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water (to stop cooking).
- Slice sun-dried tomatoes into smaller bits and add them back to the skillet with chicken.
- Add half and half and cheese to the skillet and bring to a gentle boil.
- Immediately reduce to simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until all cheese melts and the sauce is creamy.
- Add cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Add 1 tablespoon of basil, and at least 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
- Optional (in my book): 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 red pepper flakes, to taste, if needed.
- Let simmer for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine.
