Cajun Pasta

Happy Wednesday!  Is everyone's schedule back to normal?  It feels like Christmas was months ago already, doesn't it?  Maybe it's just me.

I haven't shared a recipe in a really long time, so I thought I'd share this one.  If you're looking for something tasty and easy, with a touch of kick, this is for you - Cajun Pasta!  I made it up last night, and I'm exceptionally proud of it.  As always, I didn't measure anything, so I'll guess the amounts I used to make enough for 3-4 people.

What you will need:

1. Chicken breasts (2)
2. Cajun seasoning
3. 1/2 teaspoon Basil
4. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
5. Oil (I used olive)
6. 1/2 box of pasta (I used whole wheat penne)
7. handful of sun-dried tomatoes
8. handful of diced onions
9. 1 pint heavy cream
10. cheese to taste (Anything that will grate or shred; we used sharp provalone)

Method:

Cook your pasta separately (if you're using whole wheat, it will probably take a tad longer than regular pasta.)  In a large saucepan, combine your oil, garlic, basil, and some of your Cajun seasoning to taste; mix. 

Add the chicken.  (*note - we cut the chicken into smaller pieces as it cooked, and continually sprinkled additional Cajun seasoning on as we turned it.)  When your chicken is nearly finished, add your chopped onions and sun-dried tomatoes.

Add the cheese and heavy cream; stir. 

Cover and simmer for approximately 5 minutes.  Add pasta and stir.

Jayson gave this recipe a 9.5 out of 10 (I probably would've earned that extra half-point if it wasn't quite so spicy -- he has a sensitive tongue.)  Nevertheless, it's going to be added to our regular pasta rotation!

~ Sarah

PS -- Did you note the name of my seasoning??  It reminds me of this clip by the comedian Tim Hawkins. 

Log Cabin Quilt Part 3

Happy new year to all!  I hate to jump the gun on wishing people a happy new year, so I continually wish everyone a happy old year until midnight has come.  But now that we're actually three days into the new year, I can express that I hope it will be happy and joyous for you all.

I am pleased to be able to brag that my year began beautifully.  Pizza with family, snuggling on the couch with Jayson, Remi and Gracie, watching good movies, quilting, and receiving a free coffee voucher for the long wait (which we didn't even notice.)  Side note: why do customers berate the poor workers when they're backed up and things aren't very speedy?  It's beyond me.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the drive-through - we could see an intersection near two large department stores and laughed continually at irate drivers.  We exchanged random thoughts about nonsense and sang along with the radio.  When the time came to receive our coffee, it had passed altogether too quickly, and the worker at the window kept apologizing profusely.  We exchanged a bewildered look, assured him we had no idea what he was talking about, and wound up with a voucher anyway.  He insisted that we accept simply for being his nicest customers that day.

So, back to the part where I mentioned quilting.  I've been itching for a break in my projects so that I could once again turn my attention to my log cabin quilt from earlier this year, and I'm pleased that I finally found one.  I finished piecing the squares together in a single afternoon, and I'm very happy with the result:

A close-up of one section:

Now it's time for my least favorite part - the quilt sandwich.  It's not that quilting is odious to me, but I never do it properly -- there are always puckers and things that need to be re-done.  I chose a thick, tan fleece as the backing, since I plan for this to be more practical than anything else, and doubled up on the batting so it would be thick and very, very warm. 

I chose to tie this quilt, partly because I think it's a good look for this style, and partly because I'm anxious to have it done, and tying is a fast shortcut.

I found that it was very difficult to keep Gracie and Remington off of my project, so in the end I gave up and worked around them.  ;)

I finished tying last night, and if I manage to finish the border tonight (*insert laugh here*) it will be ready for use. 

~ Sarah