GARLIC PARMESAN PASTA with CHICKEN & MUSHROOMS

Ihave lost count of the number of times I've made this recipe in the last one year. It is such a favorite amongst us and I even made it this time when I went home. Our little ones love pasta and even we enjoy it when made well. There are somedays when Ian & Zara asks me to make this particular dish. They both LOVE mushrooms so much that I think they sometimes eat this just for the yummy mushrooms that goes into this dish. It's very easy dish to make and they make great leftovers too!

You just need a few ingredients and by that I mean, pretty rich and tasty ingredients to pull this together. I made this for our annual Christmas party last year for the kids because most kids that we hang around with love pasta. And I still continue to make this very frequently for my own. Ian loves it so much that he asks me often if I've noted down the recipe somewhere so that he can recreate it when he grows bigger. Zara makes sure that there's enough of mushrooms in the bowl of pasta that I give her.

Growing up, I disliked everything about mushrooms. I think it was because of the way it was made...in it's whole form. I like them sliced thinly and sautéed in some butter or olive oil along with some salt and pepper until they reduce in size and turn brown in colour. That flavor is SO good! Now, whenever we go out and if I am ever in doubt of what to order...if there are mushrooms on the menu, then there's no looking back! I love adding them even to my Risotto, which is another much loved dish by the children. I found this recipe on Alyssa's blog and decided to toss some pasta along with it . Best decision ever!

GARLIC PARMESAN PASTA with CHICKEN & MUSHROOMS
Serves 4


Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breast / thighs, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Pepper
8 ounces white / baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced

Creamy Garlic Parmesan sauce:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream or half and half
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
1 cup spinach, chopped
8 ounces pasta of your choice, cooked al dente*

Method: In a bowl,sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.In a large skillet on medium high heat, heat olive oil and cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes until they are golden brown on the outside. Remove onto a plate and set aside.Into the same pan, add the sliced mushrooms and saute well adding a pinch of salt and pepper till it reduces in size and turns brown. Remove onto a plate and set aside.

To make the sauce, add the butter to a pan on medium heat and when it melts, add the minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the flour and mix well to cook for another 30 seconds. Add the heavy cream, chicken broth, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook stirring till it begins to thicken. Add the spinach and cook until it wilts, 30 seconds.
Add the cooked pasta, reserved chicken & mushrooms and toss well to mix. Serve hot!

* Reserve about 1 cup of pasta cooking water, incase you need to thin out the sauce later.

For this recipe, you can use bottled grated Parmesan cheese or you can grate your own. It doesn't make that big of a difference. I've tried them both since I've made this dish way too many times already! I always use homemade chicken stock because it's pretty much a staple in our fridge. You can use storebought as well. I haven't tried substituting it .You can serve the chicken not just with pasta but alongside buttered rice, toasted bread, mashed potatoes etc. I started with pasta and it's stuck with pasta forever I guess! ;-) I hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we do!

2 INGREDIENT NO-MACHINE VANILLA ICE CREAM

Iam a person who likes to do things from scratch, especially cooking and baking. So if I have to deal with an ice cream machine to churn out some good ice cream, I think of the days I will have to face in India when I feel like making one. Same is the case with puff pastry sheets! I feel the need to make my own, thinking about the days back home. You can call me a bit obsessed...about thinking too much :)

So the other day, I bought a can of deliciousness. Sweetened Condensed Milk. I love that stuff and I remember eating a bowl full of it when I was little.Of course, I felt sick after that . I do the same even now. No, I don't eat bowl full of it, instead lick the tin clean, once the contents are poured out. And yes, I still feel sick because it can be a little too much. So I pick up my mango pickle and eat that. Then everything seems to find it's own balance.

I love reading the things written on food containers. The tin told me that it had some recipe behind it's wrapper and it did have one, this recipe. A recipe for a quick and easy ice cream. I wasn't very sure about the flavour combination it had so used my favourite choice of flavouring, Vanilla. I always use the real vanilla and stay away from imitation stuff because the real thing has so much flavour and the way it shines through the end product is amazing! Try it sometime. You will be amazed!

This ice cream, like I mentioned before has just 2 ingredients. That is if you don't count the flavouring as another ingredient.Then it becomes three.Whatever the name maybe, the method of making this ice cream and the time needed is hardly any! Of course, it needs some good time in the freezer to set up though. You can flavour it however you like. Cookie dough? Rippled Chocolate? Oreos? M & M's? You can use this for sandwiching cookies for making your own homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches! The possibilites are endless. You just have to start making it. Here's the recipe,for it.

2 INGREDIENT HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream,chilled
1 tin (400g ) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or any of your choice)

Method: In a large bowl, beat the chilled cream to stiff peaks. Fold in condensed milk and vanilla. Pour the entire batter into a 1 litre capacity bowl with lid and freeze for 6-8 hours until set. Enjoy!

It was surprisingly warm today, in Minneapolis. I hope we are done with the snow for this year. So when I tried photographing the ice cream, everything was melting really fast. I think I managed to do a good job and got some photographs before it became really soft.

So that day, when Jobin came home after work, I thought of taste testing it. I gave him a scoop of it and he was quite surprised. After relishing it he asked me if it was homemade and even before I could say anything he said,'Of course, it has to be!'. That's my husband. Now,our son.He was sitting on his Appa's lap and watching the whole thing...with his mouth very wide open, almost drooling. He got his share and demanded more. Since I made it at home, I knew exactly what went into it and how safe it was for my little Vaava to have it. So he still gets his share everytime after his meal and he enjoys it to the last drop!