My triumphant return to the stove: Chicken Piccata with Parmesan Couscous

I cooked again! And the weird thing was I remembered where all the tools were :P Although initially it was like calling the doctor to make an annual check-up appointment, even though you haven’t been in four years… or maybe even like pulling teeth pre-Novocain… or maybe even going to work without coffee (the worst of all  three!) … But once I got over that initial hump of “holy crap, how do I do this?” … it was GREAT! I forgot that cooking isn’t a chore with the right foods, some good tunes and maybe a glass of wine (or two) – but rather it’s really enjoyable and fun! And the best part, by far, is putting that creation on the table and seeing someone’s face when they take the first bite. 

Clean Eating Pizza "Dough"

You know those days that you just need pizza? For me, this is an everyday craving… I can’t get enough of the cheesy, oozing, bready, pepperoni-covered goodness! But, as one would expect.. something that tasty sounding isn’t always that good for you.

Lucky for me there are pioneers like Tiffany at the Gracious Pantry who came up with a fabulous dough recipe for moments just like this! It’s delicious! Granted, I would literally eat anything masquerading as pizza, this is a home run! I didn’t feel like grinding up flax seeds so I excluded them in my version and also halved the garlic powder… I want to talk to people tomorrow!!

Dinner on the Porch? Tomato Basil Rotini

Music: B.o.B

Drink: None - I’m too busy chopping!

Never have I wanted an herb garden more than I do right now. The smell of basil is just one of those beautiful scents… Like vanilla or garlic... it’s just something I love smelling when I cook. This recipe is just clean, light, delicious and has basil, tomatoes and cheese! An Italian girl’s favorite (yes, I am pulling the 1/6^th part Italian ancestry card right now…) combination!  

Now embarrassingly enough this is the first time I have purchased fresh parmesan cheese to add instead of that processed garbage… holy crap.. what was I THINKING?! (I know what you are thinking, “How can she even consider herself Italian? I bet she likes Ragu too…” Well I do and I USED to! I’ve since seen the light!)

I have cooked recipes like this (but found this one here) about a billion times in the past, but the fresh ingredients made it light, very un-pasta-coma-like, and crisp, not salty or sticky. Totally worth the extra trip to the supermarket..

Note: You should totally add chicken for protein if you have some precooked, or if you have time to bake it… unfortunately I didn’t budget enough time and ended up making a delicious vegetarian dish :D When eating clean, you should always strive to combine lean proteins with complex carbohydrates…

So major take-aways:

1.       Use fresh basil

2.       Use fresh parmesan cheese

3.       Find a 25^th hour in the day, or con your job into letting you work 6 hours for the price of 8…

4.       That cliché about fresh ingredients being the key to a successful dish… totally true