Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

If you like spicy food, this recipe is for you. I took a Spanish Chicken recipe and turned it into a pasta dish.

Recipe:

1 large dried ancho chile, stemmed and seeded
2 cups chicken stock
2 14.5oz cans diced & fire roasted tomatoes w/green chiles (from Trader Joes)
1 8-12oz can Hunts tomato sauce
1/4 cup canola oil or olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cumin
2-4 chicken breasts depending on how much you want
1 box mezzi rigatoni
fresh basil to top pasta
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small saucepan, bring the ancho chile and 1 cup of chicken stock to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until softened, 10 minutes.
2. In a large saucepan, add the oil and add onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaf and cumin and cook until softened about 5-7 minutes. Stir in fire roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce and the broth from the ancho chile and the remaining chicken broth. Simmer for 10 minutes and take out bay leaf. In a food processor or blender, blend the tomato mixture and add back to the saucepan and keep at a simmer.
3. In a skillet, coat the bottom of the skillet with oil and heat. Take the chicken and pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and brown on both sides. Once the chicken is browned add the tomato sauce to the chicken and cover and let the chicken finish cooking under medium-low heat. Meanwhile, boil water for the pasta. Boil the mezzi rigatoni for 10 minutes and drain.
4.Place the pasta on your dish and top with chicken and tomato sauce. I cut up some fresh basil and topped the pasta and served it with broccoli.

Tip:
If you do not like it too spicy, only use 1 can of the fire roasted tomatoes w/green chiles and add another can of plain tomato sauce. Add a little more veggies to the mixture to give it a thick consistency or just use some canned tomatoes.

Halibut or Sea Bass would work nicely with this sauce too!

It's Official

I register for my classes at Fresno Pacific tomorrow. I will be taking 6 units a semester for the next 2 1/2 years. I will finish with my multiple subject credential and special ed mild/moderate credential. Here's to a busy 2 years a head of me!

I'm in love....

with this cake pan. My mom bought it for me today so I can make this cake for little missies b-day! I got the peppermint snow also. It is sooooo cute!
For little mans b-day I am going to make an ice cream cake with mint ice cream in the middle and for Valentine's day I am going to make a white cake with red filling. Endless possibilities!!

Need a Pie for Thanksgiving?

I am taking orders for Thanksgiving pies
$10 per pie

I can make:
coconut cream
apple
mexican chocolate
pear and cranberry tart
pumpkin
banana cream

Just drop me an email or leave a comment and I will get back to you!

Corn Chowder

Recipe:

1 stick butter
1 small onion, diced
1 small carrot finely chopped
1 small celery stalk finely chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups white corn kernels, fresh or frozen
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups half-and-half
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Cook until the roux is lightly browned and set aside and cool to room temperature.

In another saucepan combine the corn and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pour the stock with the corn into the saucepan with the roux, whisking briskly so it does not lump. Return the skiller to the heat and bring to a boil. The mixture should become very thick.

In a small saucepan, gently heat the half-and-half, stir into the thick corn mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

JOY

Jesus
Others
You

This is the sermon series that New Cov is doing right now. Yesterdays sermon was on generosity. We have to give and be generous if we are going to be like Christ.

This weekend I cleaned out my closet and I had a bin of maternity clothes up on a shelf I took out and it has been sitting in the middle of our bedroom. For some reason I thought I would list it on Craigslist for $40.00 this morning in between being at the gym around 7:15am. Not 5 minutes later I received a call from a lady. She said that she is in desperate need of maternity clothes, but she does not have a car and she is living at the Fresno Rescue Mission. She asked if I could drop them off and she would pay me $40.00 for them. I told her I could drop them off after I finished with the gym.

I asked the gym if the kids could stay there while I go down to the Fresno Rescue Mission because I did not want to take them. So one, she called at the right time so I would have someone to watch the kids. During my class I was thinking that I could not take money from her, that would just be wrong. I called to let her know that I was on my way and she asked if I had change. I told her that I would not take her money that she could have the clothes.

I saw Jesus in this entire process. When you look for Jesus, He is there. I have learned to slow down and look at the small things Jesus does in our lives, not just the big things. Since I have been doing this I have seen His work and it is amazing!

One more story and this one happened to my husband. Before we headed to church my hubby told me that he bought lunch for some homeless people on Wednesday at Taco Bell(he rarely ever goes to Taco Bell). After church we stopped off at In-n-Out and we were eating outside, (again which we never do, eat outside), and the same people that he bought lunch for on Wed. sat down next to us and asked if we could buy them something to eat. At first hubby said, "I actually bought you lunch on Wed. at Taco Bell." They said, "thank you and sorry for asking again." They were very polite and kept asking people if they had spare change so they could eat. All of a sudden hubby disappeared and ordered them hamburgers and gave them the ticket as we were leaving. He said that he did not think it was coincidence that they were at the same place at the same time again and after hearing Jan's message about generosity.

I pray that others will take the time and listen to God and to see the small things. We always hear about the "big" things or wait for the "big" answer, but I think we should be looking at the small things too. It makes you appreciate life much more when you see God working in our lives and others every day. And it is true, you feel good after you do something that you "should" do.

Halloween fun @ Grandma and Pop's

My proud alligator!

Grandma with her grandkids!

Little missie got a special cup.

Little man got spooky cars and spiders.

We had dinner at grandma and pop's. They made mac n'cheese and hot dogs!

Little man finished dinner with a couple of songs on the bench outside!