Penne with Chicken & Mushrooms

Last night I was not in the mood to cook.

The weather's been hot and I was running errands all morning--so by the time dinner time came around, I had no energy to cook.

After I finally decided to make something and had put a pot of water on the stove to boil for some pasta, Karen called to chat on her way home from work.

Talking with Karen made the cooking easier and more fun.

It was nice, just like old times when the kids were home, chatting while cooking dinner.

 

Karen and I chatted right up until I had to try and take some photos of the food before the sun went down--she had just about reached her destination too.

This Penne with Chicken & Mushrooms is so simple and fast!

Ingredients:

1 box (14.5 oz) penne pasta, cooked

about 3 cups sliced rotisserie chicken

1 cup chopped onions

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 head of roasted garlic, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts

1 tablespoon capers

1/4 cup sake or white wine

4 oz. softened  cream cheese

1/4 cup chopped parsley

 

Coarsely chop the roasted garlic, dice the onions and slice the mushrooms.

 

Add 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil to a hot pan and add the roasted garlic, onions and mushrooms.

 

Saute until the onions and mushrooms are wilted, then add the artichoke hearts and capers.

 

Add 1/4 cup sake or white wine.

 

Using a rotisserie chicken--I got this one from Costco--makes the recipe fast and simple. 

 

I softened 4 oz. cream cheese for 30 seconds in the microwave to make it easier to incorporate into the sauce.

 

Add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly.

 

Add 1 to 2  cups of the pasta water to the sauce to make it soupy.

 If you're going to mix the pasta and the sauce together, add a little more pasta water to the sauce since the noodles will soak up a lot of the sauce, and you don't want the dish to be dry.

You could also add a little cream.

 

Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.

Serve with some Parmesan cheese on the side.

 

Or sprinkle the cheese on top.

Itadakimasu!

***

These are two of Rick's good friends.

You've met Bobby before--on the left.

Now meet Bird.

 

The boys were in high school in this photo--it was one of those nights they were having so much fun-- singing.

When he was in high school, everyone called him "Bird" because of Larry Bird the basketball player.

Back then, I called him Justin.

Now that he's older and everyone calls him Justin, I call him Bird.

 

Here are the boys at Bird's wedding.

That's Bob's older brother Bryan on the right.

I still have the Mother's Day cards Bird has given me over the years.

 

Here are the boys at Bob's wedding a few years later.

That's Cosmo on the left.

All of these boys I think of as my boys.

 

Here's Bird with his wife Monica.

They have two girls.

 

Brooke.

 

And Madison.

 

The girls know me as Dixie's Mom.

 

They love the water.

 

Bird spent a lot of time at our house when the boys were in high school.

He slept here so often I had to get him a bed--and to this day it's known as 'Bird's Bed'.

 

Bird's all grown up with a family of his own.

We're proud of him and his career achievements.

 

I like seeing him with his girls best.

I love the curly hair they got from their dad.

I'm  happy he's spending so much time with them.

 

This is a picture of Bird & Monica at a recent wedding.

They have a Baby Bird on the way!

Bird brought his family over for a visit the other day--I'm so happy they think of us and visit.

It's always nice to see them--especially Brooke and Maddy!



***

Ingredients:

1 box (14.5 oz) penne pasta, cooked

about 3 cups sliced rotisserie chicken

1 cup chopped onions

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 head of roasted garlic, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts

1 tablespoon capers

1/4 cup sake or white wine

4 oz. softened  cream cheese

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 3 to 4 cups of the pasta water.

Saute the roasted garlic, sliced mushrooms and chopped onions in the tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a hot pan. When the onions and mushrooms are wilted, add the artichoke hearts, capers and sake or white wine.

Soften the cream cheese in a bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir. Add to the sauce with the sliced chicken and stir until thoroughly combined, adding pasta water as needed to make the sauce soupy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with chopped parsley.