Easy creamy pasta

25 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

by A Dreamer in Pasta

I know, I’ve not posted in a horrifically long time, but this is a riff on all the easy pasta reels I keep seeing on Instagram. It’s a little time consuming in that you’ll need ~10-15 minutes to get the water boiling and ~10-15 minutes to actually cook the pasta, but after that, it’s just stirring. I’ve made it like, 3 times in the past 2 weeks, and of course, I don’t have a photo. But it’s easy, tastes great, and is satisfying.

What you’ll need:
– Favorite pasta. I’ve been going with bowtie pasta, but ziti, rotini, whatever you like should work. This recipe is based on a half of a 12 ounce box.
– Butter
– Chicken broth or a bit of reserved pasta water
– Milk or cream
– Grated parmesan cheese
– Favorite seasoning
– Optional: Cooked Protein and/or Veg

Cook your pasta, reserve some pasta water if you don’t have chicken broth, drain pasta.

Put half a stick of butter in the pan (I cut it up into pieces so it melts faster) add back the pasta. Add a splash of chicken stock or reserved pasta water, a splash of milk or cream, and a good handful of the cheese. Stir well, if it doesn’t thicken up to your liking, add some more cheese.

Add your favorite seasoning to taste. I’ve gone with Montreal Steak Seasoning, and Cajun Seasoning, and both were great.

Add a protein if you want. I’ve done chopped grilled chicken breast, and andouille sausage. I’ve not tried ham & peas yet, but I think that would work, too.

Stir more, and enjoy.

Roasted Potatoes and Sausage!

15 Jan 2023 1 Comment

by A Dreamer in Potatoes, Sausage, Sheet Pan Meal Tags: , ,

Made this last night – easy and very satisfying – perfect cold day meal.

Sheet pan of roasted potatoes and sliced chicken sausage
We like easy around here

Prep is 10-15 minutes, cook time is 30 minutes.

Ingredients & supplies

  • 1 pound baby potatoes, quartered or chopped. (I chopped up mine in my awesome veggie chopper.)
  • Olive Oil
  • Your favorite sausage, sliced – I used 2 links of Gilbert’s Smoked Gouda Chicken Sausage here. You could use keilbasa, smoked sausage, andouille, whatever floats your boat.
  • Your favorite seasoning blend, probably a few tablespoons – I used McCormick’s Roasted Garlic & Herb seasoning
  • Cookie sheet w/edges to keep things from rolling off
  • Parchment paper for the cookie sheet – not required, but makes cleanup MUCH easier

To cook

  • Quarter or chop the baby potatoes, throw in good sized bowl
  • Drizzle just enough olive oil to coat
  • Shake a bunch of your favorite seasoning blend on and mix well (this is an “eyeball it” thing)
  • Slice sausage, set aside
  • Spread potatoes on cookie sheet
  • Put in oven at 400 degrees
  • At the 15 minute mark, move around the potatoes a bit, and add the sausage on top. (I made the mistake of putting it in at the start, it was a tad overdone, but still tasty!)
  • Cook for 15 minutes more.
  • Enjoy!!

Snacks!

07 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

by A Dreamer in Chicken, Cuisine, Indian, Quick Prep, Sides, Snacks, Trader Joe's, Turnovers Tags: , , , ,

So, I found myself on my own tonight and was sorely tempted to get take out, but I’m trying to not spend too much money – and I remembered that there were still some heat & eat goodies in the freezer from Christmas. Took a peek and decided it was time for Trader Joe’s Mini Chicken Tikka Samosas!

Box of Trader Joe's mini Chicken Tikka Samosas "chicken, vegetables, and Indian spices wrapped in crisp, flaky pastry"

They fit the bill for the night – very tasty, very easy, and I didn’t have to leave the house. If you’re worried about Indian food being spicy (a normal concern) – no worries here. They do have a slow building heat to them, but not “oh god my face is on fire” spicy. Personally, I think they’re better with some kind of dipping sauce of some ilk – if you’re feeling fancy, you could go with plain yogurt with dill and garlic or something along those lines. Or you could go with what I did, which was a dollop of sour cream on the side.

I ate half the package myself. And the rest is going to get popped in the toaster oven tomorrow for lunch.

20 minutes from turning the oven on to ready to eat. And I threw parchment paper on the cookie sheet, so easy clean up to boot.

Next time you’re at TJ’s, give them a whirl.

New Year, Let’s Eat!

06 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

by A Dreamer in Chicken, Pasta, Quick Prep Tags: , , ,

OK, so there was a time I would have called this a lazy day meal, but no – we’re not lazy.  We’ve all been dealing with a minimum of SIX YEARS of collective trauma, including but certainly not limited to, bad people in charge, a pandemic that won’t go away, an insurrection, and other things I am sure I have simply blocked out.  Oh, and we’re currently missing half of our federal legislature. 

In short, YOU ARE NOT LAZY.  YOU ARE TIRED AND IT’S UNDERSTANDABLE.

So, I want to take a minute to tell you about a nice “Fuck, I’m tired” meal kit I picked up at the grocery store.  It’s Chef Rana’s Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. 

Package of Chef Rana's Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo meal kit

It’s very tasty, AND VERY EASY.  You literally take the fresh(!!) pasta out of the bag and loosen it up and put it in the cooking container (which is included.)  Cut the corner of the sauce pouch, pour over.  Open bag of chicken, place on top.  Put two paper towels over the container and pop it in the microwave for 8-9 minutes, give it a good stir, and it’s done.

Because the prep is so fast, it’s good if you can’t stand for long periods of time, or you could even easily put it together sitting down at your kitchen/dining room table.  I usually make some garlic bread to go with it.  Add a salad or some veggies (frozen peas in butter sauce comes to mind!) and you have a total meal.  If you’re having a “we’re having pasta with a side of pasta” night – it will still work, it is filling and satisfying.  

It runs $15 at my market, but you’re getting 2 pounds of food there.  Still cheaper than MickeyD’s for four.  Or two for that matter. And it has a decent fridge shelf-life, so you don’t have to buy/make it the same day.

I took a snap after it came out of the microwave – but I’d already stirred it and all the chicken sank to the bottom, LOL.  I swear, there is chicken in there!

Square black container with egg noodles and cream sauce

Hashbrown Casserole

25 Dec 2022 1 Comment

by A Dreamer in Cheese, Potatoes Tags: , ,

Perfect for Christmas brunch, or frankly, anytime. Prep time is maybe 5 minutes. Leftovers hold up very well.

Casserole dish with hashbrown casserole, golden on top and browned a bit on the edges
  • 1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • Half pint sour cream
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray one 9×13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. (I use a 10×10 inch and always forget the Pam, no problems.)

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, butter, salt, pepper, onions, soup and cheese. Gently mix and pour into prepared pan or dish. (Stand mixer on low works very well for this since there is a fair amount of volume.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Enjoy!!

Quick review

22 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

by A Dreamer in Chicken, Dinner, Quick Prep, Reviews Tags: ,

Hey I cooked last night! Hashbrown casserole and chicken tenders. I would have just gone with the casserole on its own, but I figured we needed a protein. But, like so many of us, I am flattened.

Grabbed some heat & eat chicken tenders at the store – Perdue Simply Smart Organics/Gluten Free Breaded Chicken Tenders.

Ease of Prep: 10/10. Straight from the tray to the cookie sheet, 11-12 minutes in the oven. Couldn’t be easier.

Taste: 6/10. They’re not *bad* – they didn’t dry out in cooking, but the breading has zero seasoning in it, so they’re a bit on the bland side. Easily solved with some BBQ or Honey Mustard sauce, but not much on their own.

But, they got the job done. I didn’t intentionally look for gluten free, it’s what was at the store, and I genuinely don’t know if that accounts for the plainness of the seasoning or not.

They were easy, which was nice, but I think next time, time and energy allowing, I’ll do my own coating & breading. (Coating: Mayo & Country Dijon mustard, Breading: Italian Breadcrumbs w/Parmesan cheese.)

ETA: Just reheated one with a bit of garlic salt on top – very good! Trick may be to put some of your favorite shake-on seasoning before cooking, flip at the halfway point and hit the other side.

ETAA: Just had another one, this time with some Italian Seasoning – also, very good. Definitely recommend putting your fav seasoning on before cooking.

Screenshot of Perdue Organic Gluten Free Chicken Tenders package

Lessons learned

18 Oct 2020 1 Comment

by A Dreamer in Disasters, Kidney Beans Tags: ,

So, earlier this week, my brother mentioned that it was chili weather and he was right, so last night I tried to make chili.

I’ve made it hundreds of times. The only difference this time was dried kidney beans. But, I soaked them overnight and wasn’t really worried about it.

Well, as it turns out, my chili recipe does not have enough liquid in it to really cook the beans, and somewhere between an hour and a half and two hours, I had burnt chili and crunchy beans. (Hence, the cheesy sour cream & onion mashed potatoes for dinner.)

We’re giving it another whirl today with my beloved Hanover canned kidney beans.

And it’s not that I won’t ever make chili again with the dried beans, I just know now that I need to just cook them up separately ahead of time. (And today I don’t have the patience for it, so, canned it is.)

Long time no post…

18 Oct 2020 1 Comment

by A Dreamer in Cheese, Potatoes, Sides Tags: ,

You’d think with the pandemic, I’d have a ton of food posts cause of all the cooking. What I discovered is that I have a very narrow repetoire and I’ve been very exhausted.

After a culinary disaster last night (more on that later) I “saved” dinner with cheesy sour cream & onion mashed potatoes.

They’re simple and an excellent comfort food, and we all need that now.

Take your favorite instant mashed potatoes, throw a handful of chopped onions in with the water & butter at the start. Reduce the milk by roughly 1/4 to 1/3, and add in a couple dollops of sour cream. Stir well, move to casserole dish and top with cheese (I’m a fan of cheddar-jack or colby-jack for this) and pop under the broiler for a couple minutes til the cheese is bubbly and melty.

The lighting is utter shit in my kitchen, it does look better than this, LOL.

A red casserole dish with mashed potatoes covered in cheddar-jack cheese
Who doesn’t love cheese & potatoes

French Bread Pizza

08 Jan 2020 Leave a comment

by A Dreamer in French Bread, Mozzarella Cheese, Pepperoni, Snacks, Spaghetti Sauce, Spaghetti Sauce Tags: , , ,

Or, “fun with Sunday’s leftover spaghetti sauce”

A slice of French Bread Pizza on a white plate

Mmmm, easy.

Had some leftover bread from spaghetti night, toasted it a bit, added the sauce, cheese and pepperoni and popped it back into the toaster oven on broil.

Perfect for a weeknight where I really did not feel like cooking.

Cats can have little a cheese, as a snack?

07 Jan 2020 Leave a comment

by A Dreamer in Bacon, Cheese, Snacks, Swiss Colony Tags: , , ,

So, every year, as a “Merry Christmas to ME”, I get a goodie box from Swiss Colony. It’s filled with a ton of snack sized cheeses, sausages, sweets and spreads, and they’re all very tasty. And it’s just great to have on hand when you get the munchies.

Today I broke out the Smoked Bacon Cheddar Cheese spread with some crackers to snack on while I was working.

Label of Swiss Colony Smoked Bacon Cheese Spread

Smoked Bacon Cheese Spread – NOM!

Let me say, it’s pretty delicious – smoked bacon and cheddar, what’s not to like?

Well, my cat Lily would agree, given that no sooner had I opened it, she was all over me trying to get to it.

So of course, she got a taste.

Lily, a black and orange tortoiseshell cat, licking some cheese off my finger

Yum!!

Given that her usual interest in human food is pretty much zero, it’s high praise. 🤣

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