Measuring cups are for the birds...

This weekend was less drab than usual, thanks to the company of a few friends. And where there are friends, there is food. Love it. Friday night my friend and coworker Ashley came over so we could cook dinner. Her hubby would be getting in late, and I won't be seeing mine for months, so I'll definitely take advantage when my friends become suddenly "single but married" on Friday nights. :) Ashley considers herself somewhat of a novice cook, but I blame her kitchen. Cooking is about love, and it's hard to love anything in the closet of a kitchen she described to me.

Anyway, we cooked a chicken pasta recipe that I've cooked several times for family, and it's always a huge hit. I guess you could call it Cajun Chicken Pasta, if you were so inclined. It goes like this:
Cook half a box of penne for 8 minutes. (Al dente is 11, but go with me here...). Set it aside. Meanwhile, heat EVOO in a skillet and liberally season a chicken breast with salt and pepper. Leave the chicken alone once it's in the pan, and flip it only once. Throw in some smoked sausage to the mix -- cut into bite-sized pieces.

When it is cooked through, remove it to a cutting board to rest, and add just a bit more EVOO to the pan, if you need it. At this point I added half a green bell pepper, chopped, and half a medium onion, chopped. A minute or two later, I added one chopped garlic clove.

Pour in a can of diced tomatoes (my fave for this: Rold Gold with basil, garlic, and oregano) and heat through. Pour in about one pint of heavy cream (MMmmmMMm). Add the mostly-cooked pasta to the pan, and let it simmer for a few minutes. The pasta will soak up the sauce in the most wonderful of ways. A quick taste will let you know if you need more salt or pepper. Add some fresh basil on top, and serve with parmesean cheese and toasted baguette bread. YUMMY!

When I make this for a brave crowd, I use a noticeable (that doesn't mean large) amount of Cayenne. Shrimp is also a great addition, if you have the patience to peel and devein the little suckers.

For dessert, Ashley and I had our own little individual Cherry Crisps, made from canned Bing cherries in a personal-size baking dish, and a topping made from 1 box Jiffy (this is a must) white cake mix with one stick of cold cubed butter cut in and chopped pecans added. We baked it for a little while and topped it with vanilla ice cream when they were ready. Heaven!! My hubby hasn't had this dessert quite this way, and I know he's gonna LOVE it!

Saturday night I took the dogs to Mark and LuCretia's house for burgers -- Ashley and her hubby Casper were there too -- and I was taken aback by the wonderful pineapple burgers we had. Mix some teriyaki marinade into the ground beef, as well as just a little of the juice from a can of pineapple rings. Press the pineapple rings into the patties, and grill pineapple side first. So. Good.

Then, for Sunday lunch, I wanted to use up some of my leftover ingredients from Friday night. So I made one of those dishes I wouldn't get to make if my husband were home, and it was delicious! I cooked up some more penne, and started to brown some chicken, but had one of those chicken breasts that is really thick on one end, and very thin on the other. If this happens to you, don't worry. Place the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap, and use a can of Ranch Style Beans (no substitutions, please) to pound the chicken into an even layer. Change directions, or you'll get ski-slope shaped chicken breast. Not much better than what you started with.

So I salt and peppered the chicken, browned it in EVOO, and juiced a lemon. When the chicken had cooked, rested, and been cut into little pieces, I threw it into a bowl with the pasta, and poured the lemon juice over it with a little bit of cream. Topped it with parmesean and basil and had a yummy lunch. Leftovers for lunch, too!