Date night: Chicken and pasta, with a twist

Hey foodies! For this week’s cheap date theme, I am bringing you a super easy chicken recipe with a side of pasta, sure to impress any date.

Things you will need for chicken:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 lemons
• ¼ cup dry white wine (I recommend chardonnay or Pinot Grigio)
• ½ tsp. poultry seasoning
• 2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• ½ tsp. dill
• Salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, juice both lemons; add the white wine, thyme, poultry seasoning, dill and some salt and pepper. Then, slowly add in the olive oil, using a whisk to vigorously combine them. In a zip lock bag, pour the marinade over the chicken breasts and let them marinade in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Once you are ready to cook them, preheat the oven to 375⁰, put the chicken in an oven safe dish and bake for at least 30 minutes. You could also grill them if you have a grill and the weather is nice; this would add some good flavor to the freshness of the marinade. Hint for guys: watching you man a grill is a big turn on and it can give you and your date an opportunity to talk while you finish grilling. Once the chicken is cooked through, aka not pink in the center, you are ready to enjoy.

Things you will need for pasta:

• Leftover marinade
• 2 tbsp. butter
• ½ box bowtie pasta
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

To go alongside the chicken we have a great pasta side dish, using the left over marinade. First, boil water for the pasta (I recommend bowtie for date night, but I used angel hair) and cook according to the package. While the water is boiling, put the marinade in a bowl over medium heat and bring to a boil for at least 2 minutes. Then let simmer on low. When the sauce is no longer boiling add in two tablespoons of butter and let it melt. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, pour a little of the sauce over the pasta and toss (do not drench the drench, a little will go a long way). Then toss in some parmesan cheese and enjoy. I suggest bowtie pasta because you can eat it in one bite so there is none of that slurping noodles awkwardness that can happen on a date. Note: this is a great date meal because there is no garlic or onion involved in the recipe and lemon is actually great for your breath, so no need to run for a mint right after you eat (it is date night after all). Plus, this recipe is fairly cheap and very healthy. Enjoy foodies and happy dating!

-Kelsey-

Baked: Makeshift Mac and Cheese

Hey everyone,

I was feeling macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight but I did not want to eat a boxed macaroni and cheese with the powdered cheese, if you can even call that cheese… So I decided to make my own makeshift mac and cheese from some pasta noodles, cheese and a few other ingredients.  It was quite cheesy and easy.  Hope you like it.

What you need:

• 2 cups raw pasta noodles
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• shredded mozzarella
• bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 lb Velveeta cheese

1. Boil water and put the raw pasta noodles into the water and leave them in there until they are 3/4 cooked.  Drain the water from the pasta and add the Velveeta cheese until it completely melts into the noodles.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
3. Put the pasta in an oven safe dish and mix in the chopped onions and milk.  Top the mac and cheese with the mozerella cheese and bread crumbs and put the dish in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese on top has melted.
4. Enjoy

-Ryan

BYOBowl: Pasta Salad

Happy Friday foodies! I don’t know about you all, but I am so ready for the weekend. For our last Bring Your Own Bowl recipe of the week I decided to make pasta salad. For this recipe you will need:

• 1 box bowtie pasta
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• ½ of a sweet onion
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 small can sliced black olives
• ½ can sweet yellow corn
• ⅛ cup white wine vinegar
• ⅛ cup apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

First you will need to start boiling water and then cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. While the pasta is cooking, chop the peppers and onions into small pieces. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse in cold water. Dry the pasta a little and then put it into a large bowl. Add the peppers and onions to the bowl and then drain the corn and olives and add them also. Pour the oil and vinegar over the pasta salad and add a little salt and pepper for seasoning. Then toss it all together and serve. After I made this, I thought a little crumbled feta cheese might be a nice addition, so if you are looking to be adventurous, give that a try. You could also add any other vegetables that you want. This is a cheap and easy recipe that is great for a potluck or barbecue, especially in this nice weather. Enjoy your pasta salad foodies and have a great weekend!

-Kelsey-

BYOBowl: Alfredo Pasta

This weeks theme is Bring Your Own Bowl!

Today I decided to make a delicious shrimp and chicken alfredo pasta!

Ingredients:

• tomato
• broccoli
• pasta
• alfredo sauce
• chicken
• shrimp
• parmesan cheese
• seasoning

I use frozen shrimp and cooked chicken so once thawed it is ready to go. First, I filled a pot with water allowed it to boil and then added a serving of pasta.  I prefer whole wheat penne, but anything works! I put the chicken, shrimp, chopped up tomato and broccoli in a pan and allowed it to simmer in some seasoning and olive oil until the pasta was fully cooked.

I then drained the pasta and added alfredo sauce, the mixture from the pan and a dash of parmesan cheese. I was able to enjoyed this bowl full of delicious pasta next door with some friends as they ate their meals brought home from campus. I definitely had a best meal there.

-Katie