My little pot o’ herbs growing on my back deck, or my herb garden as I affectionately call it, went into our tasty, light (mostly), simple supper tonight. In fact, it was so tasty, light (mostly) and simple that I have to share it. These recipes deserve to be shared. They are that good.
Now, this aint Pioneer Woman, so there aren’t any beautiful before and after pictures. Actually, I could take an after picture but it would look like my big belly all full and jiggly. That wouldn’t be appetizing at all, so I will leave it to your imagination- the food, not my jiggly belly.
Meal prep started this afternoon about 2:30. Don’t be scared, I did not meal prep for four hours. I prepped my marinade so that the chicken could soak it up for four hours.
Here’s the marinade:
3 T Olive Oil
3 T fresh lemon juice
(note: I didn’t have fresh lemons, and used the standard bought in a store lemon bottle of lemon juice and it was fine)
3 tsp. red wine vinegar
(I’m wondering, as I type this, why I don’t hear angels singing, or shooting stars or something. This is the part that makes the whole marinade sing.)
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
2 tsp. sugar
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp. Kosher salt
(if your kitchen does not have kosher salt, shame on you. Go buy some. NOW.)
I whisked this delightful mixture together, added my chicken breast and popped it in the fridge.
The next part of the meal was Lemon Basil Pasta. I’m sorry. I have to pause and tell you how extremely annoying is Jacob’s groaning cry that he does after he is supposed to be in bed. He’s not really crying, it’s a stall tactic and it drives me nuts!!!!
Ok, back to the pasta.
Fortunately for you and me, I got this off our fave the Tasty Kitchen on PW’s website. So put a fork in it here. My notes on this recipe are as follows: I didn’t have grated parmesan, but I did have fresh grated, deliciously whole milky thick and delightful mozzarella that needed to be used up. So I did. My first taste of this concoction was that it tasted like stinky, soured heavy cream. I know that makes you want to cook it, but it does get better. Some time on the stove thickly bubbling and melting the flavor out of the fresh basil (you absolutely could not use anything but fresh basil) and it was a totally different liquid. It was deep yet mellow. Lemon, but basil. Yellow, but richly green. (Not actual colors, just how it felt to me. Ok, I’m weird.) After I added it to the noodles, I topped it with some parmesan cheese and everyone gobbled it up. Kaylen had four helpings. Her belly was almost as jiggly as mine, but a million times cuter.
To bring the meal to a nutritious conclusion, I grilled fresh squash and zuchini. All we do with this is cut, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder (go easy!) and I chopped some fresh dill to go with it. It’s wonderful. Buttery but not.
We also had cucumbers with chopped dill and ranch dressing. If you don’t have fresh dill, and have never tried it, it’s one of the best herbs out there. Just my humble opinion.
I will make this meal again and soon. It was a delight to prepare as well as a delight to eat. Tony even said that the macaroni was really good and that is my highest possible recommendation. This man likes to eat at country cookin’ restaurants and thinks that’s good food. He isn’t so into my completely homemade and as wholesome as possible meals. He eats them, but he’d rather go to Jonny’s Country Cookin.
And in case you were wondering, my herb garden has dill, rosemary and basil. Go to Home Depot, get some dirt, a pot and one of each. You won’t be sorry you did. You can buy a whole plant for what you will spend on buying a small amount at the grocery store that has a very short shelf life.
Listen to me, sharing recipes, giving tips on herb gardens….being so house wifey. Who woulda thought?
P.S. Kudos to my sister-in-law, Erin, for the marinade recipe!
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