Sunday Recipe #3 - Healthy Chicken Pasta

Hello all!

I hope you've had a lovely weekend. I had a relaxing one - I slept in, went swimming, and went out to eat with Mr. G and some friends. Nothing crazy, but it was great. We were due a chill weekend.

To keep with the theme of my weekend, I'm posting a ridiculously simple recipe tonight. It also happens to be one of Mr. G's favorites - we eat it once a week. What makes it even better is it's actually super healthy. The best time to make this pasta is when you have leftover chicken, which - if you're like us - you always have. We pretty much live on a chicken diet.

Healthy Chicken Pasta:

• Ingredients:
• 1 box penne pasta (penne is Mr. G's favorite, but bow tie and linguine are also good)
• 2 cooked chicken breasts - grilled chicken is healthiest
• 1-2 cups broccoli (I don't measure - put however much you like)
• Olive oil
• Directions:
• Cook/grill chicken, if not already cooked.
• Cook pasta according to box directions.
• While pasta is cooking, cut chicken breasts into cubes and cook broccoli (we just microwave frozen broccoli). Cut broccoli if desired.
• Strain pasta when it is finished cooking, then add chicken and broccoli and toss to mix.
• Divide pasta onto plates and top with olive oil. I also use parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
• Enjoy! This recipe serves 2-3.

Speaking of recipes, I finally used my rhubarb crisp recipe! I baked one with raspberries a couple nights ago when Mr. G's grandparents came over for dinner. It looked a little undercooked when it came out of the oven, but it tasted delicious, so I consider it a success! It's especially good with vanilla ice cream and French vanilla whipped cream. Yum!

In other news, is anyone else going to see the last Harry Potter movie this week? I'm going at midnight on Thursday (with poor Mr. G in tow) and I can't wait! I love Harry Potter, and I don't care if that makes me a nerd. I grew up reading the books, and I've loved them ever since. I'm going to attempt to watch all seven movies before Thursday, but so far I've only managed to watch the first one - I have a long way to go. Marathon anyone??

<3 Mrs. G

Garden Inspiration: Lavender & Rhubarb

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend! I spent mine out in the country with my in-laws while Mr. G was away at a business conference in Canada. We grilled burgers, went shopping, played with my dog, and tried to avoid the humidity. I made chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes for the occasion (recipe forthcoming!), and considering my father-in-law ate about 6, I think they were a success. I also tried rhubarb for the first time and made a rhubarb crisp with Mr. G's mom, who has a rhubarb plant in her backyard - can't get any fresher than that! The crisp was fantastic, and I chopped up some stems to take home with me. :)

Here is the recipe for the rhubarb crisp:

Ingredients:

• Filling:
• 8 cups fresh, cut rhubarb
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup additional fruit (optional - raspberries were delicious!)
• Topping:
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• For filling:
• Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl until coated.
• Spoon into 9x13 pan.
• Drizzle with vanilla extract.
• For topping:
• In another bowl, mix all topping ingredients until crumbly.
• Sprinkle over filling.
• Bake 35-45 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and topping is golden-brown.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Speaking of fabulous plants, I have also developed a fascination with lavender after seeing it on several wedding blogs. It is such a soft, fragrant flower with colorful blooms and an almost ethereal quality to it. 

Source: Style Me Pretty

Source: Style Me Pretty

Source: Style Me Pretty

See what I mean? Lavender is so dreamy... Tiffany blue will always be my favorite color, but lavender is definitely a close second. To me, it is reminiscent of the French countryside, and it evokes a vintage-y feel while still being colorful and pretty. 

On Memorial Day, I decided to turn my fascination into a hobby by buying my very own lavender plant! It will be my first experience gardening, if you can even call it that (baby steps). I bought lavender provence, which is a French lavender that is very fragrant and low-maintenance. I also got talked into buying lime basil, which I can't wait to use in salsa. What's great about it is that you can eat the leaves right off the stem. Also, as a plus, both are organic! Here are my baby plants:

my little herb garden!

And speaking of vintage, I did more thrift shopping with my mother-in-law yesterday and found some great stuff - my favorite is a lime green wooden mail sorter. It doesn't really match anything I have, but I love the bold color so much that I'll figure out a way to incorporate it... Hopefully.

Anyone else have herb gardens? Or any rhubarb recipes to suggest??

I'll post my cupcake recipe soon! The frosting is the best part - I may or may not be eating leftover frosting by itself right now...

<3 Mrs. G

P.S. Happy June!