“From morning till night, sounds drift from the kitchen, most of them familiar and comforting. On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart, the kitchen is the place you can find it; it dries the wet sock, it cools the hot little brain.”
E.B.White
Before I go on to the recipe, I’d like to thank Turmeric n Spice for having me over in her series “Inspiration form the Blogging Community“. I truly enjoyed being there.
[print_this]Recipe: Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake 
Summary: Creamy, cheesy, indulgent and comforting, this is a great one bowl meal for cold winter days. Make ahead and bake just before serving. Maybe you can do a broccoli salad and oven baked wedges alongside. Serves 6-8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp extra vigin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped fine
- 1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 200g button mushrooms, sliced fine
- 750g chicken thigh tenders, cut into bite sized pieces
- salt & pepper
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bell peppers {1red/1yellow}, chopped fine
- 4-5 garlic greens, chopped fine with stalks
- 1.5 tbsp plain flour
- 1.5 cups plain milk
- 200ml low fat cream {or half & half}
- 50g cheddar, grated
- 350g fusilli, cooked al dente
- 100g mozzarella, grated
- 1tsp smoked sweet paprika {from Juberfam & Mittal}
Method:
- Heat butter and olive oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add the chili flakes, dried rosemary and garlic. Saute until garlic turns light golden and fragrant.
- Add the mushrooms, sprinkle a little salt and saute over high heat until mushrooms turn golden brown and give up all their moisture. Add the Worcestershire sauce and mix well; then add the chicken tenders. Season with salt and pepper and saute over high heat until lightly browned.
- Sprinkle over the flour, mix to coat chicken pieces, and then pour in the milk. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens.
- Reduce heat to simmer, add the cream and grated cheddar and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped bell peppers and garlic greens, taste and adjust seasoning, then stir in the cooked pasta.
- Divide the pasta and chicken mixture into serving dishes, casseroles etc, top with grated mozzarella, sprinkle over smoked paprika and some more garlic greens if you like.
- Bake at 180C for 15 minutes, allow to stand for 10 minutes and serve.
Recipe: Simple Broccoli Salad 
Summary: Crisp, flavourful brocolli salad.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2-3 heads of broccoli, broken into florets
- 1-2 tsp salt and 4-5 cups water
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Dressing
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 cloves garlic, sliced fine
- 1-2 tbsp pickled red & green peppers {or jalapenos}, sliced
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- Sea salt & pepper
Method:
- Blanch the florets in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, drain well and toss in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Reserve.
- Dressing
- Heat remaining olive oil in small saucepan, add the garlic and sliced pickled peppers. Simmer until the garlic is fragrant and light golden.
- Add the sesame seeds and simmer until they turn light brown and begin popping.
- Pour over broccoli, toss, grind pepper over it, throw in some sea salt and serve warm or at room temperature.
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