March 2013 – My Life's Recipes

I posted this photo on Facebook last week and had many requests for the recipe…

so here ya go!! This dish was so delicious! One of my new favorites! I rarely ever follow a recipe to the letter, but this one I did because I did not think it needed any changes! It was very yummy and next I would double the sauce because it was barely enough for a pound of pasta. I found it on Pinterest, but here is the site for the original recipe: http://www.gabbiskitchen.com/chicken-with-sun-dried-tomato-basil-sauce.html

Chicken with Sun Dried Tomato-Basil Sauce

6 boneless, skinless chicken tenders, thawed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup onions, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 shallot, minced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped (in package, NOT oil packed)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 16 ounce package spaghetti, uncooked

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken & grind fresh pepper on each side. Cover & cook until done, about 5 minutes on each side. (When done, chicken will have NO pink on the inside.) Remove from heat and set aside, keeping covered.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, & shallots, cooking 1-2 minutes, just until soft. Add sun dried tomatoes; stir. With a whisk in hand, add flour & stir. Slowly pour in chicken broth, whisking constantly to remove any lumps. Add cream, still whisking. Whisk that sucker to death! (just kidding). Continue whisking for 3-4 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Take off heat and let sit; it will continue to thicken, feel free to stir every so often as you cook the spaghetti:

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. It is done when it is soft, but still has a bite; al dente please.

Add fresh basil to sun dried tomato sauce and give it a good stir.

Place spaghetti noodles on serving plates, placing chicken directly on top of noodles. Spoon as much sauce as you would like over chicken & noodles; enjoy!

Hi there baby girl! You are starting to develop your own personality and it is so sweet. You have such a calm, sweet, gentle personality. Mommy is absolutely your favorite person. If you want me, you will not take your eyes off me for a second until you have me, which is mostly to eat or sleep. Daddy is still your number one playmate though. He gets so many huge smiles out of you. You always watch him. When he comes home from work you stop what you are doing to turn to see him, even if you are nursing, which is huge cause you love nursing!! You are sleeping in your own bed now! The week we decided to try you out in your own room was a little rough for mommy. Daddy was in Texas at the C3 leadership conference with the church and you and mommy were both getting sick. But you really did a great job sleeping in your own bed in your own room. SInce you turn from your belly to your back so easily, you were doing it at night and waking yourself up all night (literally 10+ times a night). But after a week or two you figured out you did not like that so you stopped. You have slept 100% through the night a few times, but normally you wake up for a brief moment and cry for your pacifier. You are getting better at finding your paci and bringing it to your mouth, but sometimes you still need help in the middle of the night. You always nurse to sleep, if I don’t, then you don’t normally sleep as well. Every morning we wake you up by rubbing your back and talking softly to you. Mommy and daddy are not really morning people, so we wake you slowly in case you are just like us (and from the looks of it, you are! hehe).

You have discovered your feet!! You are adorable. When we change your diaper, or really any time you are on your back, you grab your feet and play with them and rock around. When you are on your belly you have your own way of crawling. You inch-worm forward and backwards, It isn’t always purposeful, but there is definitely more movement now. You love dancing with mommy and daddy. You think we are pretty entertaining. You also love going to church and watching the worship team. You enjoy the lights and sounds.

You got your first shots, two, one in each leg. Mommy was really nervous, but you did such a great job. You are very tough! You barely cried with the first one, maybe a good 10 seconds, then you stopped and watched the nurse with a death stare, I had to keep from laughing. Then the second one you cried for about 20 seconds and was golden after that. I was so proud. We have become regulars at the pediatrician’s office because you have had 2 serious colds and 3 different types of rashes (all within 10 days of each other, all while you were sick with one cold). The doctor said it was all a viral infection, you are much better now!

You have learned to hold your own bottle now! Daddy showed mommy just recently. The bottle looked so big in your tiny little hands! You are so precious. Mommy and daddy kiss you about 1,000 times a day. You have the most perfect little head and squishy little cheeks for kissing, its so hard not too!! You are starting to laugh. You reserve it for very special times, you don’t go laughing at everything just yet. It is really the most precious sound I think I have ever heard! You have learned that the Cheetah is your favorite animal. Ok, well it is daddy’s favorite and on your wall of mommy and baby animals it is the only animal that he will show you. He has conditioned you to love them, and he couldn’t be prouder. It really cracks me up. I, however, show you all the animals. I am really going to laugh one day when the Cheetah really is your favorite.

You really are a magnificent little baby. You are so happy and content. You only cry when you are really hungry or tired, even then you aren’t that bad. You definitely have a preference for who holds you, or what you want. You will through your body back if you are bored so you can see something else, it is very dramatic, but very funny. I love all that is changing about you, but it makes me very sad, you are growing up and I can do nothing to stop it!

We love you more than you know,

Mommy