Kitchen Kitten

The Hubs and I eat out and order in way too often. Sure I cook my fair share, but nowhere near as often as I could, or should. This week, I decided to change that. And I decided to do it sans recipes. Three nights in, I'm feeling like a superhero.  Kitchen Kitten! The Culinary Conqueror! The Chefinator!

Monday's anniversary London Broil wasn't exactly a masterpiece (why can't I ever NOT overcook a steak?!?), but there were no leftovers. The Hubs wolfed down multiple helpings of the steak, potatoes and veggies. Topped off with champagne and sweet a trip down memory lane, the meal was blissful. As were the strawberry sundaes I made for dessert.

Tuesday night had me eying the mound of produce I'd procured over the weekend. I wanted delicious. I wanted a lot of different flavors. And I didn't want a pile of dishes. Solution? My new one-dish summer squash chicken bake! Again, no leftovers. Yay! And so KAH-RAZY easy!

Sprayed a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts with EVOO (A Misto sprayer is your friend. Get one.) and seasoned with salt and pepper and placed them in a greased baking dish. Opened up a can of Italian stewed tomatoes and poured onto the chicken. Sliced up some beautiful zuchinni and summer squash and arranged those around the chicken. Topped it all with a handful of grated mozzarella and parmesan . Baked at 375 for 45 minutes. Blew The Hubs' mind. Win!

Tonight, was my tried and true (and The Hubs' fave) turkey sausage penne. I tossed in some french cut green beans for color. For a side I steamed up a couple of late season artichokes. Feeling like the meal was just a weird combo of boring regulars, I decided to try my hand at ailoi to un-bland the 'chokes. Did y'all know it was so insanely easy to concoct your own aioli? I had no idea it was really just a fancy word for spruced-up mayo!

I took about a 1/2 cup of mayo and added the juice of one lime and a few drops of EVOO. Threw in a few cloves of pressed garlic. Then a generous dash of equal parts cayenne and mexican chili powders. Tossed in a pinch of salt and pepper and did a little dance in honor of the mouthgasm it caused.

Tonight, there are leftovers. But only cuz The Hubs loves nothing more than leftover sausage penne so I always make extra. He actually prefers it day-old over the fresh. Weirdo.