Which means she'd stop by our beyond-interesting house when I was in diapers. She mentioned to me that she often found me leashed to the front porch with dirty, drooping diapers and she'd pick me up and change me.
I've loved her ever since.
:)
To this day I get a really bad internal reaction whenever I see kids on a tether or a leash, but we won't talk about that TODAY....
Because today I'm sharing one of Patti's recipes with you and it's one that has ensured clean plates for decades, for multiple families. And it's SO EASY....
Trim and cut up boneless, skinless chicken breasts into serving sized pieces.
Coat thoroughly with paprika.
Brown in olive oil until almost burnt (Paprika should be dark) over medium-medium high heat in heavy skillet with room to spare.
Turn once or twice. Season with salt and pepper.
Once chicken is well-browned and pan is sizzling and kind of spitting at you (big grin here) Add 2 1/2 cups of water (more or less depending on how many are eating. This feeds 4-5 comfortably.)
Add the Chicken base or six bouillon cubes. I get Chicken and Beef base in big tubs at Sam's Club and it's reasonably priced there. Very pricey in the grocery stores!
Now I could have made the broth first, then added it in, but why dirty another bowl? Right?
Stir the chicken base or cubes in until dissolved. Cover and let simmer while you cook delicious pasta.
Cook 1 or 1 1/2 pounds of pasta according to directions. I use Barilla because I love it, but use your fave. It's all good.
When pasta is al dente, put chicken pieces on platter for serving. Drain pasta. I'm telling you this because what would happen if you didn't drain it???? That would be bad.
Add the chicken sauce to drained pasta and mix to coat.
Eat all you want because it is that delicious.
You lost me at 'Trim and cut up boneless, skinless chicken...' Somehow I don't think I can fudge the chicken with a block of tofu, can I? LOL. I have pictures of me as a baby harnessed and leashed within an inch of my life. This was apparently because I took off crawling after every dog or cat I saw and I hadn't learned the command 'stay' yet. :-)
ReplyDeleteRuthy, this dish looks like a quick, easy, delicious week-night staple...I'll have to put it on next week's menu and see what the guys think.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, we did use a leash in some situations - my oldest decided he was too "big" to hold hands when he was about 2 years old. I wasn't about to let that fly in crowded places like the zoo or the mall, so I bought a strap made to loop around my wrist and his. He called it a "hand holder" and was happy. I was happy. He was safer than wandering about on his own.
But he was the only one who used it. When the two little guys (18 months apart) were that same age, they didn't have a choice. They held my hand or we didn't move.
One of those boys was the subject of a "Code Adam" at Walmart one too many times...
I don't remember what we did when our daughter was that age...she must have been perfect.
Ruthy, this sounds so good! I love paprika. And bless Patti's heart for watching out for you like that.
ReplyDeleteKav, no, I don't think tofu would suffice. Then again, I'm not a fan of tofu. :) You know, I have a great recipe for eggplant parmesan. I need to share that sometime.
Jan, I used one of those wrist straps with my son once. I can't remember where we were, but it was very reassuring.
My daughter pulled a disappearing act on me at Target once. Was hiding under a rack of clothes. After grabbing another mother and salesperson to help me look for her (while I was screaming her name, in total panic), we finally located her--hunched under those exercise clothes, grinning. I almost threw up right there in the store. Left my cart full of stuff (pantyhose. I remember I had gone for pantyhose) and walked out of the store. I couldn't even finish shopping or check out. It was horrific. I'll never forget it!
Ooohhh! What a great, easy recipe! I can see playing with this one - trying different seasonings to keep my crew from getting bored. I make what I call "skillet chicken." You basically cook the chicken the way you said here using whatever seasoning you're in the mood for. But I've never thought about adding chicken base and then pouring that over the cooked pasta. I usually smother the pasta in olive oil or butter, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and somethings fresh ground pepper. If I'm making the chicken lemony, I'll add lemon juice to the noodles, too. Once the noodles are olive oiled and seasoned, I toss to coat and serve with chicken. Mmm... I'll have to remember your soup base trick, though!
ReplyDeleteYes Missy - the rack of clothes was the favorite place. Just imagine two boys and two different racks of clothes and the intercom going "Code Adam, Code Adam".
ReplyDeleteWe didn't go back to that particular store for a long time.
Mmmm, Linnette! Your version sounds yummy, too!
I make turkey stock to use as my soup base. If I'm out I buy Swanson broth. Most bouillon cubes and soup bases have MSG in them, and I'm so sensitive to it I'm miserable for hours if I eat it.
BUT, I add that flavor perk to almost every dish - I cook rice in it, make sauces with it, you name it.
I thought I was the only leashed kid in that era... Now I feel better! Hey, Kav, umm.. tofu... Probably not. But I love noodles in any kind of sauce and this is so definitely NOT CARB FRIENDLY but then neither is the French Toast Bake I made today for Thursday...
ReplyDeleteOh dagnabbit. (be strong, be strong, just one more little 2 inch square can't hurt, right....? Be strong, be strong...)
Clothing racks and kids. Perfect hiding spot. I just used this in His Mistletoe Family and it's so true. Little guys... Girls.... hiding... And what about the ones that fall asleep????
In closets? Or behind chairs? Or under clothing racks???? Leashes are sounding better and better, LOL!
Brats.
No MSG, Jan? Hmmm.... I love the flavor enhancement but if it does a number on your intestines, that's not fun.
Chickeny-goodness.... I love chickeny goodness. And apply goodness. I just love food.
Not sure which is better today, the recipe or the stories. Gotta love the cafe. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso gotta love Patti for rescuing our Ruthy. That's a friend.
My oldest pulled the runaway through the clothes rack to follow daddy in the mall when she was 2. Problem was she ran the opposite way and I had a double stroller that wouldn't fit. It took at least 20 of the longest moments of my life to find her. I was trying to look while some man regaled me with stories of a child kidnapping ring.
She eventually came back hand in hand with the security guard. She was fascinated not by her gun (which I thought she was saying) but by the gum she was chewing.
Apparently we were very lucky that she'd been attracted by the huge sun in the bathing suit display and had wandered that way rather than into the huge storage area that opened next to it.
Mary C - that's the stuff nightmares are made of!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a yummy recipe. And I must say country living seems to have its benefits. The electric fence around the cow pasture kept my kids in place :P
ReplyDeleteargh my internet was out Monday :-( and part of Tuesday - had a big storm(slept through it!) and then no internet or phone since my phone works off my dsl.
ReplyDeleteI wish my friend had a leash for little dude - her hubby was opposed to it enough that she never did it(the harness thing) but he still tries to dash when he gets out of the carseat - he did it to me 3x- they were on my deck and he dashed through the garage really fast and he came really close to getting hit - the car squealed its breaks though he wasn't in front of it yet. I'm terrified to take him anywhere alone and she knows it. I don't remember ever doing that- proababy wouldn've gotten the poo beat out of me if I had - though my brother hid under the clothes in Sears one day -thought for sure my mom would smack him but she kept crying and hugging him..I think boys get away with more stuff :-(
chicken sounds good but I don't know what 'base' is and last time I bought bouillon it sat in the pantry after one use -t oo salty for me. I like looking at the pictures though!
Susanna
Susanna, you're wonderful! And yeah, I had one kid who probably should have had a leash. We didn't dare take the family to Letchworth Park (gorgeous river gorge runs through it) or Niagara Falls because Matt feared NOTHING. He was on the roof top before he was two... A total climber. The cool thing is that if you want a roof fixed, you can call Matt because he'll scale ladders and peaks. And he was an amazing award-winning athlete who pole-vaulted, ran distance races for an Ivy-league school, placed in the national Decathalon as a senior in high school.... But he was so hard to raise. To keep alive!
ReplyDeleteMary, oh, that story brings back memories. Sarah got away from me twice. Once in the mall (my fault for sending her to get a drink next door. Dumb.) And then once at the local but huge apple festival.
I didn't go back to the festival for years because it was too crowded for me to take them all safely.
Yes. I was a scaredy-cat, LOL!
Valerie, we had electric fencing too. Matt loved to grab it, see if it was hot enough...
ReplyDeleteAnd there was that one time that Scotty-the-bull (the only bad-tempered Scottish Highland I've ever met) tried to kill him. And none of us heard him yelling for help.
I'm getting depressed by what a really bad mother I was. Oh my stars...
Anyway, I think the bull got the worst end of that deal. We ate him.