Ohhh, this has got to be my new favorite recipe. It is so delicious. I really felt like I had to restrain myself from eating a lot more than I should have, because I loved it so much! If you make this and don’t like it, I will probably be a little judgmental. Just kidding. Kind of.
Serves: 4 to 6
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
6 T. extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1-1/2 lbs)
salt & pepper
1 lb penne pasta
1 (5 oz) bag baby arugula (Did you know they call it rocket here?)
1/2 c. chopped fresh basil
6 T. juice from 2 lemons
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Meanwhile, combine garlic, pepper flakes, and oil in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until garlic is golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. (This blooms the flavors and infuses the oil.)
2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1 tablespoon oil from bowl with garlic mixture to large skillet and heat over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest 5 minutes, then slice thin and set aside.
3. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to pot. Stir in sliced chicken, arugula, basil, lemon juice, Parmesan, and remaining garlic mixture, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.
This is definitely the quickest and easiest bread recipe I have ever tried. It is a recipe that came with our KitchenAid stand mixer, so I will put some of the instructions in italics for those of you trying it by hand.
Yield: 1 loaf (16 slices)
3 to 3-1/2 c. flour
1 T. sugar
1-3/4 t. salt
1-1/2 pkgs (3-3/8 T.) active dry yeast
1/8 c. (2 T.) butter
1 c. very warm water (120-130F)
1. Place 2-1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and butter in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer (skip this if doing by hand). Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 20 seconds (Mix ingredients with a wooden spoon until combined). Gradually add warm water and mix about 1-1/2 minutes longer.
2. Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes (Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time and stir until dough forms a ball). Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer (Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes). Cover dough with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rest 20 minutes.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle, approximately 9×14 inches. A rolling pin will smooth the dough and remove gas bubbles. Starting at a short end, roll the dough tightly. Pinch to seal the seam. Pinch the ends and turn them under. Place the dough, seam side down, in a greased 8-1/2×4-1/2×2-1/2 inch loaf pan. Brush loaf with oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 to 12 hours.
4. When ready to bake, uncover dough carefully. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Puncture any gas bubbles which may have formed. Bake at 400F/200C for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.
Things were obviously a little different for us this Christmas. We wouldn’t be driving up to my parents’ house. We wouldn’t be flying to Reno to see Andrew’s parents (or having them fly to Wisconsin). This is the first Christmas I have ever NOT been with family. Last year was probably Andrew’s first year away from family, since he was at basic training. I was really worried that I was going to be really depressed around the holidays. But I was a woman on a mission: I was not going to let distance bring me down! I was going to have a fabulous Christmas no matter what!
First thing on my list? A Christmas tree. I feel like the majority of people now have an artificial tree they put up every year. My family has always had a real tree, from what I can remember. I know there were a few early years that we just had a little fake tree, but I think that’s because we usually went to Michigan for the actual holiday.
There's our little artificial tree in the background
Yep, that’s me on the right. Cute, huh? 🙂
We left the artificial tree I had gotten in college back in Wisconsin to be put in storage. We wanted to start off our marriage (and our first Christmas as a married couple) with a real tree! When I asked around back in October, a lot of local people didn’t know where to get a real tree from. I was a little shocked! But after I looked around online, I found a nearby tree farm that sounded pretty good.
People in line with their trees
The prices were higher than I was expecting, but they were also in GBP. No matter. We still searched high and low for the perfect tree! Andrew wished they weren’t pre-cut, but he did manage to find one that he liked.
Andrew with our tree!
Did I mention that I’m a perfectionist? Well, so is Andrew. I fear for our future children… Anyway, he was very picky about the tree we got. I was a lot more easygoing about the whole thing, so I eventually just left the decision up to him. I knew I would never hear the end of it if I picked out an asymmetrical tree! And it had to have “soft” branches. Andrew knew he was in charge of putting on the lights, and he didn’t want battle wounds from poky tree branches. We really were happy with this tree — no complaints!
My favorite part of this tree farm? They had Newfoundland dogs there to pull your tree to your car in a wagon. It was free, although they were taking donations to raise money for either Dog Trust or just a Newfie rescue group, I think. We were happy to donate! Our dog was named Lucy. She was so pretty! Her handler (I assume he is also her owner) was so nice, and he insisted on taking pictures of us with her!
Me & LucyLucy & Andrew
We had such a great time at the Elveden tree farm! I’m sure we will go back there next year too. There is also a large store next to the tree farm that sells local meats, cheeses, wines, mead (and more!), and it has a restaurant too. It’s not cheap, but we couldn’t resist picking up some meat to grill and some mead!
Next step was decorating the tree. The least expensive lights we could find for the tree (since we needed ones with UK plugs) were strands of 100 with no connecting plugs! So poor Andrew ended up string 1200 lights on our tree with numerous power strips. Our tree looked nice from the front, but there were 12 cords streaming out from the back, haha! All we could really do was laugh at that point.
Andrew decorating the treeMe decorating
I loved decorating our first tree, and I’m so happy with how it looked! It’s nearly the end of January now, and we are planning to take out the tree this weekend. I’m already excited to do it all again in 10 months! 🙂
Serves: 4 to 6
On An Even Kiel 