Leek, Laugh, Love

What do you do with those last few tall, hearty leeks from the garden? Make a little Leek-n-Shroom Penne Pasta I say! A bowl of this nice warm veggie-filled, bacon-topped pasta dish will make you happy. It's fast, easy, and delish!

This all started with me, clearing out a garden bed to plant radish seeds--those things love the cool March weather, and they will be done in four weeks, so I devoted one of the raised beds to my beautiful radishes--well, they will be radishes, soon. However, along with some stray plants and weeds, I still had three hearty leeks right in the middle of the bed that were from last summer--and those things stay all winter if you let them! I didn't have a dinner plan...so fresh leeks led the way.

Having been in the garden quite a while, it was really important to wash them well--slicing them length-wise first to get all the sand out under cold water.

LEEK-N-SHROOM PENNE

1-cook several slices of chopped bacon in a large pan

2-set cooked bacon aside, drain the pan leaving just a tiny bit of bacon dripping, and add two tablespoons butter and a splash of olive oil to the pan

3-Saute sliced leeks (about three) and add several sliced mushrooms--let saute a minute or two

4-Add about 1/2 cup white wine and let it reduce

5-After a couple of minutes toss in about 12 ounces of cooked penne pasta

6-Continue to saute and toss it all together, and serve topped with bacon bits and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

 I think I will have more roma tomato plants than I know what to do with! But they are some of my favorite for Italian dishes--especially pasta. I can't wait to eat from the garden again!

Pasta Portabella

It was a hectic Monday, after a super-busy weekend, and we were hungry. So I threw together some baked chicken and pasta portabella. 

It all starts with the fact that Italian dressing and presliced baby portabella mushrooms are my crazy Monday friends.

I took frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts out and placed them right on a baking sheet, and baked at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, I cooked up a pot full of noodles and tossed them with olive oil, soy sauce, Italian dressing, a tablespoon of butter, a little chopped onion, the baby portabella mushrooms, and fresh snipped basil. All of these ingredients are to taste, no big measurements on any of them really. Just lots of splashes.We sprinkle on Italian cheese after the pasta hits the plates.

The chicken comes out, half baked, and each piece of chicken is turned and splashed generously with Italian dressing. I salt and pepper, and then put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes to finish it off. That simple.

While I was grabbing some basil out of the garden, I got a few of those sweet late-August tomatoes and whipped up a little batch of bruschetta. It can go on both the French bread slices, toasted in the oven, and spooned over the pasta. My family loves it all--pretty nice Monday meal and nothing had to be thawed or planned!

I got back, pretty quick, to knitting my little squares. They are starting to stack up and I'll be able to make my little wall hanging pretty soon! Happy eating, writing, dreaming and stitching!