Being adventurous...

In the two years that I have been with Scott, I am finally starting to feel slightly comfortable with my cooking abilities. Two Thursdays ago, he asked me to prepare dinner (on my own, mind you). Usually, we are in the kitchen together, each with our individual roles. He's usually the slicer and dicer, and I'm normally the seasoning queen. (Those are thoughtfully prepared names, by the way). 

Anyway, Scott had been at work all day, and had to run to a soccer game after, so the least I could do was cook dinner, right? I wanted to try something totally out of the box, but something that I could still pull off in a reasonable amount of time. I saw this recipe for a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce on Pinterest, and it definitely piqued my interest. It seemed a little too expert for me, but I said "what the hell" and gave it a try. If Scott didn't like it, at least I tried, right? So, off to Publix I went. 

These are the ingredients I used:

• 3 red bell peppers
• 1/2 of a medium white onion 
• 2 tbsp garlic
• a coupe sprinkles of basil (the original recipe called for fresh, but it was too expensive, and the dry worked just fine).
• 3 tbsp oil 
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 tbsp flour (again, the original called for cornstarch, but flour seems to work just the same).
• 1/3 cup grated romano cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1lb cheese ravioli

Preheat your broiler to high, while you the cut the peppers in half and remove the stem and seeds. Coat them with oil, and place on a baking sheet cut side down. Broil the peppers until they are charred. After about 10 ish minutes, they should be ready. Transfer them to a bowl and cover it for another 10 minutes. The skins should be easy to peel off by now.

Once all your peppers have been peeled, chop them up with the onion and garlic, and add to a saute pan. Add the basil and cook for another 10 minutes. At this point, in a separate bowl, you can mix the flour and half and half until there is no lumps. (And don't forget to boil some water for the ravioli. Cook them according to the package)

Carefully transfer your pepper mixture to the blender and puree it until it's mostly smooth. Return to the saute pan. Add in the half and half, butter and cheese. Season to taste, and let the sauce simmer for a final five minutes. Add the drained ravioli to the sauce and voila! 

I stuck with the Italian theme that night and made a salad with mescaline greens and balsamic vinaigrette. I also toasted up some garlic cheese Texas Toast and called it a night. Scott was so pleased, and to be honest, I was beaming! 

I made the recipe for my family about a week and a half later, and they enjoyed it as well. This time around, I completely omitted the flour, and just added more half and half. It worked out just fine! It was my mother's idea to add ground pork. It definitely stretched the meal out, and made it more heartier for a family of four (that eats like a family of 8). 

My younger brother suggested that we use Penne pasta next time. What pasta would you choose?

Buffalo Chicken Pasta

After two months of not writing, I think it's time to update. My break was unintentional, but I have had a lot on my plate lately. At long last, I will finally bring everyone up to speed with my culinary adventures. 

If you like it spicy and you actually like carbs, then this Buffalo Chicken Pasta is the recipe for you! If I do remember correctly, Scott and I prepared this meal before we went away for the weekend of my 23rd birthday back in April. It was a Thursday night, obviously, and we needed something fast, simple and delicious. So, I decided to boldly go to Pinterest, where I found the recipe.

The Blog where I found the recipe is super cute and super easy to follow. As usual, Scott and I varied from the original, but our version still turned out pretty good! Here is what we used:

• Marie's Bleu Cheese Salad Dressing (1 jar)
• Hot Sauce (whatever was on sale that day at Publix, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the jar)
• 1 diced red onion
• Diced chicken breast (about 2 depending on their size)
• pasta (we used spirals)
• 1 pkg diced mushrooms

Now, just add everything in a large mixing bowl and stir it all up! Alli's Blog instructs you to add salt and pepper to taste, and to chill the mixture. I discovered that it is delicious both hot and cold! Here is how ours turned out!

Instead of using celery, Scott and I substituted shrooms. I'm not too big on celery...and instead of rotisserie chicken, we used chicken breasts, which are a lot less messy. This recipe was super fast to make, and there was so much of it that Scott had left overs for days! 

I love pasta and I love different sauces, so this was a homerun for me! What do you like to drown your pasta in?