Thursday meal preparation can be challenging around here. Actually, every day has its challenges, but Thursdays are particularly quirky. My oldest son has swim lessons on Thursday afternoons, which means we walk through the door around 5:30 with a starving and worn out little boy. I've gotten into the routine of putting together something that can cook while we're gone and be ready for us when we walk in ("delay start" on my oven might be my best cooking tool, but that's a topic for another post). In the winter it's not as tough to come up with ideas - soups, stews, casseroles and lasagnas all take care of themselves nicely in the 2 hours I'm usually gone, but in the summertime I'm finding I have to be a little more creative to think of something that is sufficiently independent but not so heavy and hot. Here's today's solution:
1) Pasta with Asiago Cheese and Spinach - this recipe is an old favorite, I've been making it for at least 10 summers now, if not longer.
4 oz sun dried tomatoes (I used to buy these in oil, because the dry-packed ones were so leathery. But the dry-packed ones are much more moist these days, so I generally buy those, but get whichever you prefer. If you get the dry-packed ones and they're too leathery for you, put them in a little bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let them soak for about 10 minutes while you pour a glass of wine, drain - the tomatoes, not the wine - and proceed with making dinner.)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (a strong pinch of each if you're me)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3/4 cup freshly grated asaigo cheese (another favorite kitchen tool - my microplane grater for grating hard cheeses!)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
160z box cavatappi pasta (corkscrew).
9oz bag fresh baby spinach (Note: my original recipe says 10 oz bag, but in the grocery store today I discovered you can only get 6oz or 9oz bags. I'm annoyed on principal that they've decreased the amount, but since bulk baby spinach wasn't available, I went with the bag).
Chop tomatoes. Toss with the spinach, salt, pepper, and garlic. Cook the pasta, drain it, and pour it over the spinach mixture while the pasta is still hot and steaming. It will wilt the spinach perfectly. Add olive oil and cheeses, toss well. Mmmm.
I'll make this ahead of time and serve it with:
2) Oven chicken wings.
Set oven to 350. Wash chicken wings and pat dry. Brush lightly with favorite mild barbecue sauce (mild because of the pasta I'm serving this with - I want the chicken to have flavor, but not so much it crowds out the pasta). Set on cooking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray, and cook for 45 minutes (but check them after 40 minutes).
Happy eating!
