Thursday, April 3, 2008

Man-Meat: A Recipe

Usually I cook (not because my boyfriend won't, or can't, but because I like to so much), but I wasn't feeling it last night. Alas, we still needed to eat, so I asked (politely commanded) that the boyfriend take over the dinner plans. Despite my not wanting to cook, I found myself drawn to the kitchen every four seconds. You know, just to check in. What he made, Quick and Easy Chicken Spaghetti, was delicious. He and I both loved it, and that's a hard combination to come by (unless its pizza and cold beer, which we both love to an outrageous extreme). What's great about this recipe is that it's super easy to modify, and a *fabulous* way to use left-over chicken or turkey.

The Recipe:
1 12-oz package whole wheat pasta (we used the loose squiggly kind, yes, that one)
1 10-oz can diced tomatoes with green chili peppers (we didn't have the tom+chil, so he added a tablespoon or so of medium-heat salsa)
1 10-oz can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
8 ounces cheese, cubed or grated (we used grated mozarella, only because we buy it in the biggest bag they sell and we're trying to use it before the expiration date...)
2 cups chopped/ground cooked chicken/turkey
4 oz sliced mushrooms (we didn't use these, neither of us like fungus)

The Operation:
-If your meat isn't cooked, go ahead and cook it through while the water for the pasta is boiling.
-Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; add pasta and cook till al dente. Drain and return to pot.
-Add to the pasta the diced tomatoes, cream of chicken soup, cheese, chicken, mushroom, and salt/pepper to taste. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted and mixture is heated through.

The Music:
Truth be told, I was too tired to pick out a soundtrack for this recipe. Looking over it, some up-tempo Johnny Cash would work well, even the Walk the Line soundtrack would be okay. Let's go with "Walk the Line," "Jackson," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Cocaine Blues," "Orange Blossom Special," and of course, "Ring of Fire."

1 comments:

Kathleen said...

Man-meat. Deeeee-lish!