Aud's Easy Peasy Pollo Pesto Penne

I made this one up without aid, so I reserve the right to give it a ridiculous alliteration and rhyme-filled name.  And yes I said "pollo" instead of "chicken" to keep the P trend going.  And yes, I am aware that the names "pollo" and "penne" are from two different cultural styles of cooking... but it's actually just an Italian dish...


Now on to the food...

Tonight I made penne pasta tossed in pesto and topped with cubed chicken breast which was sauteed in white wine.  And it didn't suck!  So here is the recipe I made up for those who may be in the same cooking rut that I am in...

Ingredients

• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• McCormick's Pesto spice pouch (and accompanying ingredients which were 1/2c. water and 3 tbsp. olive oil)
• 1/2 c. white wine (I used Chateau Morrisette's Our Dog Blue, which is probably sweeter than it should have been, but way tasty, and I recommend.)
• Olive oil to coat the skillet
• Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour (a sprinkling... PS: So obsessed with this healthy alternative to white flour...)
• Whole Wheat Penne Pasta (as much as you want.. I used like half a box so Matthew had plenty of leftovers to pack in his lunch)
• Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder

The Steps

1. Cook pasta per box directions.

2. Prep pesto "sauce" per pouch directions, adding cooking pasta once it's combined well and heated throughout.  Simmer, stirring occasionally.

3.  Cube two chicken breasts into small bite size pieces.

4. Meanwhile, we cook the chicken in a separate pan.  Coat pan in olive oil, add chicken.  Sprinkle generously with garlic powder and black pepper.

5.  Once outsides are starting to whiten and cook a bit, add white wine. Then sprinkle a little bit of whole wheat flour over the chicken (not too much- I added this step just to thicken things up a bit).

6.  Cook chicken until done (I let mine brown a little on the outside).

7.  Add cooked chicken to pesto pasta.  Stir and heat throughout.  Serve with an oversized glass of white wine and enjoy!

XOXO,

Nostalgic Late Night w/ Husband

Last night after work, I was hyper and wound-up.  I was so energetic, in fact, that before I knew it, it was 11 o'clock and Matt and I were just hanging out in the kitchen watching the top 100 songs of the nineties re-run on VH1.  That was so fun. We were laughing at the comedians' commentary of the songs and critiquing the order of the list.

Before I knew it, M slipped downstairs and returned with a large black binder case.  Enclosed in the case were all of his old cds.  He asked me if I wanted to laugh at him and placed a stack of strategically pulled mix cds in front of me to listen to.  I love nothing more than a good mix.  In fact, playlist crafting is an art of mine. I enthusiastically accepted his offering of cds.

One by one, we popped the cds into my computer and laughed and bonded over all the old tunes.  The best part was when a song reminded me of fun times I had during my junior year of high school and he simply responded, "I was in the middle of college...think about how much fun I had with that song."  Guess that's a fair response to get as I was trying to play the "you're-older-than-me" card.

We sat around in our pajamas for hours listening to these mix cds...until 2AM, to be exact.  I got to interject some of my old music into the conversation, as well.  It was so fun, and to top it all off, I now have some new old tunes to import today.

I know you're dying to hear some titles we came across.  Maybe they will make you smile, too.
They included but were not limited to:

Chemicals Between Us Bush
What's My Age Again Blink 182
Show Me Love Robyn
Da Rain Missy Misdemeanor Elliot (Remember this crazy video?)
Goodies Ciara
Seven Days Craig David
Mr. Jones Counting Crows
Deep Inside of You Third Eye Blind
Inside Out Eve 6
Butterfly Crazy Town
Beautiful Snoop and Pharell (sp?)
You Give Love a Bad Name Bon Jovi
Groove is in the Heart Dee-Lite
Ruff Ryders' Anthem DMX (Worth mentioning here that M says this was his "main jam".  I have never heard him use the term "jam" to describe anything before...)
Get F*&^ed Up Iconz
Informer Snow
All Mixed Up 311
Slide Goo Goo Dolls
It's Gonna Be Me N Sync
Jerk It Out Caesars
Turn Off Light Nelly Furtado
Hear it From You Gin Blossoms
Change Clothes Jay Z
Put It On Me Ja Rule (Who in fact, I forgot existed)
Hey Pretty Poe
Everywhere Michelle Branch (in my husband's collection, not mine!)
Shine Collective Soul
Tom's Diner Suzanne Vega (I like Luka better personally)
Shake it Like a Salt Shaker Ying Yang Twins
Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover Sophie B. Hawkins
Weapon of Choice Moby
Clint Eastwood Gorillaz
Fat Lip Sum 41
Ride Wit Me Nelly
Rearrange Limp Bizkit
Days Go By Dirty Vegas


XOXO,

Six Best Foods for Healthy Skin

I read an article from Yahoo's front page yesterday that detailed six foods that are good for giving you that healthy, glowing complexion that so many strive for.  Luckily, I like all of these foods.  Maybe you do, too!

1. Salmon
Yum!  The article also interjects that a good way to achieve a standard salmon intake is through the ever-lovely choice of salmon sushi. Double yum!  Omega 3 fatty acids in salmon protect skin from looking dry and also battle sun-related damage.

2. Carrots
If I had a dime for every time my Grandma Frances told me carrots were good for my eyesight, I would be a rich lady.  But I never knew that carrots were also good for my skin. Betacarotene in carrots can even out skin giving a healthy glow and also has been studied as a preventative for premature aging due to sun damage.  Sign. me. up.

3. Avocado
I don't typically eat avocados plain, but I would definitely eat the heck out of some guacamole.  The author of this list says avocado trumps olive oil because of its added B vitamins.

4. Beans/Legumes
Of all varieties from chickpea to peanut, according to this article, are beneficial to skin.  My favorite is edamame, but I have to be careful not to overload it with too much sea salt, which is all too easy to do!

5. Grapes
Polyphenol antioxidants in grapes are proven to keep skin tight and sag-free because it improves skin elasticity.  Not that that's a huge concern in your 20s, but I am sure as we approach 30, this becomes increasingly important.

6. Water
Oh water...our friend and our foe.  It's so difficult for me to get enough water.  But from my own experiences, when I do get enough, my skin typically looks a lot better because it is hydrated.  That's just common sense!

XOXO,

A few new tunes...

Updated my mixpod.com playlist to the right by adding a few songs to it.

Enjoy!

XOXO,

So I cried during "Up" this week and...

... now I have this greater sense of gratefulness about the mundane activities of my life.  I know that sounds so stupid because Up is a Disney Pixar film, a cartoon, created for children... but I have been thinking about life and have kept thinking about life since watching it this week... For those of you who have not seen it, it's a must-Netflix cartoon, but bring your box of Kleenexes to the couch.  Sobbing tears in the first ten minutes for me... but let's keep in mind my incredibly sensitive empathy when watching movies. Matt tried to calmly reminded me, "it's just a movie, sweetheart."  I think I cried harder.

So, for awhile now, I have been transitioning from this barfly of a freshly-turned legal drinking age young lady into this woman, no longer thinking for myself alone, planning for a shared future with Matt and enjoying being home so much more.  

Tonight, I got off work earlier than normal and left the restaurant a little after eight.  Instead of scheming up Saturday night plans out, I could hardly wait to get home.  Home to my doggies and to wait on Matt to get home from his friend's house.  I did pit stop by said friend's house to meet their big white Great Pyrenees puppy, Winter.  And meeting her was great because she's absolutely precious and full of energy, but it made me think about my little loves at home and all I wanted was to watch Ivory roll around on her back for a couple hours and watch Tassel curl up at my feet and fall asleep.  As absolutely eventless as this sounds, it's all I wanted to do on my early night off.

Matt and my Dad worked together on our sliding glass door today, which, by the way, has been jacked up far before I lived here.  This is sappy, too.. but it was nice seeing my two favorite men work together in such a cooperative manner.  They both analyze and problem-solve well and have a really nice dynamic and it makes me feel blessed.

I don't want y'all to think I never want to leave home or have fun ever again, because hello, I'm not becoming boring here.  I have a lot on the horizon this fall- weddings, bachelorette parties, Hokie football and student teaching. It's just that I am learning to see the beauty in the smaller things that make our life what it is, the moments between the momentous count, too.  And I think this self-reflective epiphany is worth a moment of documentation.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

XOXO,