When I was pregnant with my second baby, my homecooking took a nosedive. I was so tired or nauseous that most of the time standing in the kitchen for 20 minutes seemed impossible. So we ate a fair amount of take out which didn't make me super happy. The one shining star in our food arsenal though was the Whole Foods and Central Market prepared food departments.

We relied a lot on picking up dinners from Central Market. Often times, Whole Foods was just too busy and overwhelming for me with my exhaustion and my toddler, so off to Central Market we went and Thank Goodness! They make the most amazing casseroles that you can just take home and pop in the oven: the cowboy casserole, the king ranch chicken and the chicken carbonara.

They are all delicious, but the chicken carbonara really takes the cake. Its creamy, small enough to be eaten without having to cut anything up for a toddler, it has veggies, proteins and some pasta. It was a life saver when I was pregnant - but now almost two years later, that is not the case and I always love a challenge.

I prefer to make anything myself because I know what is going into it and I can have more creativity with ingredients and flavor so this week I decided to take on the Chicken Carbonara casserole.

Now a traditional carbonara uses proscuitto, but you could easily substitute bacon for a kicked up flavor and I would absolutely recommend it that way too. And the stand out factor in a carbonara is that the rich sauce is made rich with egg yolks rather than all cream. Don't be intimidated by this, its really easy and really is tasty.

Lastly, the way I make the chicken for this pasta is a great tool to hang on to for lots of other recipes - it produces really soft, juicy chicken, with a nice crisp outside, without the time of a slow cooker.

Quick Chicken

To cook 1 package of chicken breast tenders, season one side of the tenders with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tbs of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken tenders, seasoned side down and turn the heat up to give the skin a good brown, just a couple of minutes. Season the other side of the chicken, and turn over to brown the other side. Add enough chicken broth to cover the bottom half of the chicken and bring the broth to a simmer. Turn the chicken over and cover the skillet. Let the chicken simmer for 3-5 minutes, then turn the chicken one more time and recover. Simmer until the chicken is soft and cooked through, another 3-5 minutes.

This method will work with whole chicken breasts as well, but you will need to simmer them for longer to ensure they are cooked through. Covering the skillet traps the moisture of the broth inside and acts like a rapid slow cooker which keeps the chicken tender and soft - browning the chicken first produces more flavor and helps avoid that yucky boiled chicken look.

Easy Chicken Carbonara

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (about 8) chicken tenders, cooked and chopped
1/2 lb of bacon or 1/4 lb of proscuitto, diced
1 lb. orrichette pasta, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli florets
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tbs. minced garlic
1/4 white onion, minced or 2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

In a large pan or braiser, heat 1 tbs. of oil over medium high heat. Add the bacon or proscuitto and cook until just crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Drain the excess fat from the pan, but do not wipe clean.

Add another tablespoon of oil or butter to the pan, add the garlic and onion or shallots and saute for a few minutes until tender. Add back in the bacon and the chicken. Stir and cook for a few minutes more. Add the broccoli and peas, stir to combine.

Add the chicken broth, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn the heat down to low and allow to cook while you prepare the sauce. In bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolk, cream and Parmesan. Whisk together until smooth and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Turn the heat down to low, it is important not to let the cream mixture boil or you will have scrambled eggs, then add the pasta to the pan and stir to combine. Add the cream mixture, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and coating the pasta. If you want a creamier sauce you can add more cream and Parmesan, or if you prefer a thinner sauce, you can add a bit more chicken broth. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Make it a casserole!

You can easily make this dish into a bubbly casserole with just a few extra steps.

Preheat your oven to 350° and butter or grease an oval baking dish or 9 x 12 rectangle.

Pour the prepared pasta into the dish. In a separate bowl, toss together 1 cup panko bread crumbs, 1/2 stick melted butter, 1 tbs. grated parmesean, 2 tsp. dried basil. Set aside.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded Italian cheese on the top of the pasta (any Italian will be fine, mozzarella, provolone, an Italian blend). Top with the bread crumb mixture.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Until I moved to Texas, there was something I didn't realize about my childhood that made it unique: Everyone in New York eats Italian food (whether you are Italian or not) like its the most average American food you can find. Apparently, to the rest of America, a standard, casual dinner was something like meatloaf or burgers; to New Yorkers, a simple throw-together meal is baked ziti or chicken parmesan.

Of course we all had burgers and chicken nuggets at some point growing up, but I didn't realize how deeply Italian food had permeated my palette until I started cooking dinner for my friends and husband in Texas. The first time I made baked ziti with a homemade meat sauce, everyone reacted like I had discovered a new element (though I must admit, I had a similar reaction when I was introduced to breakfast tacos). They had eaten Italian out at restaurants, but it wasn't something their moms made every night of the week. Tackling a homemade lasagna seemed as advanced as making from-scratch enchiladas appeared to me.

Then I started thinking about it more and more and I realized that nearly all of my go-to dishes were Italian of some kind: Chicken Parm, Lasagna, Baked Ziti, Chicken Cacciatore, Sausage and Peppers, Eggplant Parm, Fettuccine Alfredo, Ravioli... For most of the people I knew here, the extent of their home pasta-making was limited to Macaroni and Cheese. I had no idea the rest of the country - nay, the world - could be missing such staples from their menus! What kid doesn't like Italian food!?

Since I've been cooking more and more unplanned meals for the family as the boys grow up - I also came to notice that I THINK in Italian (not the language, I wish) when I cook. My regular seasonings are basil, oregano, thyme, and sage; my typical vegetables are spinach, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant; my usual cheeses are mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta. In any case, it has made for some interesting new dishes in this kitchen as I try to branch out, but hang on to what I love.

Last night I asked Aaron the typical question: What do you want for dinner? I got a typical answer: Pasta. Really? That only opens up a million options (see problem above). Since I was feeling totally unwilling to walk to the grocery store because its already unfairly hot - I decided I had to use what I had at home... and thus the birth of Bucatini del Giordino (thanks to Google translator, Bucatini of the Garden got a whole lot official sounding).

This is how it happened: Not surprisingly I only had Italian ingredients laying around. Spinach, red bell pepper, garlic cloves, bucatini (a thick spaghetti noodle that is hollow and holds onto sauce perfectly), basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, and butter (duh).

Because I am cooking for a person who avoids vegetables like they are poison and a two-year old, I always try to make the vegetables as unavoidable as possible. Thus, I threw the pepper, spinach, garlic into the food processor (a momma's favorite cooking tool).

Then I realized I could make everything even that much easier and season the whole kit and kaboodle right now. So I went ahead and threw in the dried basil (though you could absolutely use fresh), oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper directly on top of the veggies before I switched it on.

Then I let 'er rip. Depending on your food processor or blender you may need to do some stirring (or shaking of the container) to really shred everything up since there isn't much liquid. If you are still having a tough time, you can stream a bit of olive oil into it to give it something to blend. When its done, it should look like a rough pesto. Though this would be tasty and work just as well if you used a rougher (or finer) chop to your preference.

It pretty much smooth sailing from here. Toss a couple tablespoons of butter into a pasta pot with the veggie mix and sauté over medium heat for just a minute or two until its fragrant and bubbly. Pour in chicken broth, half and half, and a bit more butter - heat it up to a boil and drop in your pasta. You cook the pasta right in the sauce - less dishes, less time, everyone wins. Simmer for 18 - 24 minutes, stirring quite often to ensure your pasta doesn't stick to the bottom.

When your pasta is cooked and your sauce is thick, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it thicken up just a bit more. Nows the time to season with salt and pepper again to your preference, or stir in a bit of parmesan cheese - hell, or both. Go big or go home.

Print Recipe

Bucatini del giordino

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 - 3 cups of fresh spinach (or two generous handfuls)
1 medium-large red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
8 - 10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp. dried basil (or a handful of fresh)
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups half and half
6 tbs. butter
1 lb. box of bucatini
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Olive oil (if needed)

Combine the spinach, bell pepper, garlic cloves, and seasonings* into the bowl of a food processor or blender* and puree into a fine blend, but not a paste. Put the mixture into a bowl and set aside.

*When seasoning something like this that you can not taste right off the bat, its best to air on the side of caution and use less until your sauce comes together and you can get a taste. Then you can always add more seasoning of your choosing right into the pot - but you can't take any out. Be light-handed with the red pepper flakes in particular, until you have made this a few times and know what looks right to you.

*Depending on the size of your bowl, you may need to divide it into two batches (in which case, divide each thing in half and do it twice). I need to do two batches because my food processor is small. You may also need to add a bit of olive oil to help the puree along. I find that picking up the bowl and shaking it helps just fine though.

Melt 2 tbs. of the butter into a large stock or pasta pot over medium heat. Add the vegetable mixture and sauté a minute or two until fragrant and bubbly.

Pour in the chicken broth, half and half, and the remaining 4 tbs. of butter. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add the pasta directly to the pot, stirring slowly as the pasta softens to fit the pasta in without breaking it. With all the pasta submerged in the sauce, lower the heat and simmer the sauce for 18 - 24 minutes until the pasta is cooked and your sauce is thick.

Turn the heat off (and stir in Parmesan cheese if desired) and cover to allow sauce to thicken perfectly. Uncover, stir, serve and enjoy.