One-Pot Cooking

Well, our house definitely resembles a train wreck more than it did in the last post. However, we're all moved in! I think we'll even have everything in its place (for now) by the end of the weekend, and I'm reeeeeeally looking forward to that.

Shoutout to the lovely Olivia, who got me a gorgeous housewarming gift (way pretty than the Spice Stack I got her, but I stand by that decision! Buy a Spice Stack, seriously.). Look at these books! The stamped leather is soft, and the books have that unmistakable smell of fresh paper and ink and love and adventure. I cannot wait to (gently and with kid gloves) read them.

*sigh of contentment*

Now to the food! I've been on a cast iron kick, mostly because cast iron is amazing and I adore it, and partly because I don't have to clean it as well as my shiny pots and pans. The other day I found a recipe for one-pot Greek chicken pasta (from the Host the Toast blog), which is highly appealing due to the fact that I am now our kitchen's dishwasher.

It was super great and provided Wil and me with one dinner and lunches for two days! You should all make it because it's easy and tasty and you can substitute any kinds of vegetables you want in it. Aaaamazing! Enjoy!

Ingredients (from the actual recipe)
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 chicken breasts, cubed
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
3 Tbsp capers
1/3 c. pitted kalamata olives
8 oz frozen spinach, thawed
1 lb dry pasta
1/2 c. white wine
2 c. chicken stock
1/2 tsp. each dried basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes
1/2 c. heavy cream
8 oz feta cheese
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Instructions (and the substitutions I used)
1. Heat olive oil in a large, deep pot over medium high heat. Cook chicken cubes with salt and pepper about 5 minutes. Add in garlic, shallots, capers, olives, and spinach, and cook for a few more minutes. (I just used a small onion, and eliminated the capers because I'm not a huge fan. I added more garlic though! Also, if your spinach is not fully thawed, just stick it in the pot - it'll thaw and break apart pretty quickly in the pot.)

Cook up that chicken!

2. Mix in the dry pasta, and add the white wine and chicken stock. Make sure there's enough to cover the pasta, and add more if you need. Stir in basil oregano, red pepper, and more salt/pepper to taste. Bring to a low boil and cook ~15 minutes, stirring often.

My partially frozen block of spinach broke up pretty quickly.

I smushed the noodles down into the liquid and they cooked up just fine.

3. Reduce to low heat and add heavy cream, feta, and tomatoes. Mix well and let the feta melt into the sauce. Simmer for 5-10 more minutes to finish off the noodles. Top with lemon zest and serve. (I didn't have lemon zest, so I added about a teaspoon of lemon juice. I also didn't have heavy cream, so I mixed our 1% milk with about a tablespoon of cornstarch.)

I should start taking pictures with a real camera instead of my phone. This looked and smelled amazing!

This easy easy dish turns out creamy and super delicious. I hope you love it!