Good morning, good afternoon or good night!  Hopefully you had a great father’s day weekend – I sure know I did.  It all started with my first ever visit to a “Tweetup” at St. James Gate on Friday evening.  There was a very good turn out and it turned out to be pretty interesting.  The food was really good!

Saturday was all about the “watering”.  Sprinklers and hoses were everywhere in attempt to water the lawn.  It did not go as well as I envisioned but I spent about 3.5 hours moving everything around to get the yard wet.  All in all it was not too bad since we had a lot of rain last night… so I may be off the watering hook for a couple of days.

Ever have a bunch of good food in the fridge some including leftovers and other just veggies that are on the brink of expiration?  Of course you do – we all do.  This is the battle I faced with the other day.  I baked the Hoisin Chicken from last week, I had some fresh mushrooms, sugar snap peas and a little bit of cottage cheese just aching to be stir in somewhere.  With those thoughts I prepare you …. Baked Tomato Pasta w/ Chicken and Snap Peas.

Ingredients

• Cut up cooked Chicken
• Handful or two of sugar snap peas
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• Sliced mushrooms
• 2 Cups pasta ( I chose Roitini since it was all I had )
• 1 Can 15 Oz. Tomatoes ( crushed )
• 2 Tbsp. Cheese
• 1/2 Tsp. Red pepper flakes
• 1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder
• Hint of cumin
• Salt and pepper
• 3 slices of bread ( toasted and blended to crumbs )
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F
2. On the stove, warm a sauce pan over medium-high heat and start the olive oil and mushrooms.  Cook for 2-3 minutes and then toss in the chicken.



3. While cooking the chicken, cook the pasta according to the directions.
4. Back to the chicken, stir in the peas, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and let cook for about 3 minutes.





5. Drain pasta and add to the chicken, pea mixture.  Add tomatoes garlic powder, cumin and stir together for 3 minutes.  Stir in cottage cheese and move to a large casserole dish.







6. Top with Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs and cook in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.







7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Two tips for this one.  Under cook the pasta slightly as it will continue to cook in the oven and be careful of the sauce.  You want it to be wet enough prior to cooking.  Add more tomatoes or a pre made sauce you have on hand.

Father’s day was wonderful!  It started off with some homemade juice from my Juicer Recipes.  I went with Apple Green Grape and it was fantastic!  Sunday was very relaxing and the family time was great.  I got a couple of pretty cute cards that really puts things in perspective.  I hope you had a great father’s day.  Now it is back to work but summer is coming!!

What is your favorite season of the year?

Take care

zesty

Growing up on PEI, potatoes are everywhere, and I have grown to love them.  Whether they are mashed, baked, french fries, scalloped, pan fried, boiled, microwaved ( umm a bit sketchy) I eat them all.  Over the years I have tested many techniques and added different flavoring to potatoes to kick it up a notch.  When looking for a comfort side dish I tend to lean towards the method seen below.

Now do not dismiss the fact I truly adore mashed potatoes with butter and cream but lately I have been all over SMASHED potatoes.  It is a two step process to make it happen but will never disappoint.

Ingredients

• Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Method

1. Start off by boiling the potatoes until almost fork tender.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F
3. Once the potatoes are finished boiling remove them from the water and let stand for a minute.
4. Prepare a cookie sheet or roasting pan
5. Using a heavy bottomed pot, smash the potatoes gently to just break the skin and press the potatoes down.
6. Once flat, add a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven until golden brown and slightly crispy.  About 25-35 minutes.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: In the boiling stage, be careful not too overcook the potatoes.  You just want them softened slightly so you can “smash” them with the back of a pot.

Well I hope you enjoyed the potato talk.  Do note that they are potatoes and very versatile.  Switch it up and keep it fresh.  Another great alternative is the beloved sweet potato.  All the techniques stay true to a regular potato.  As I am typing this, I think someday I should talk about all the different types of potatoes and why some are good for baking versus boiling etc.  Maybe another time!  Have an amazing Wednesday and I will talk to you on Friday.

Take care

zesty