Sunday nights are really fun in this house in the Spring: Game of Thrones is on and our favorite couple comes over to hang out with us, eat dinner, and watch the show. Clay has known Aaron since they were just kiddos and his wife Katie and I hit it off without missing a beat four years ago. Its become a weekly occurrence this spring that they come over every Sunday afternoon and hang through dinner and Game of Thrones.

Well this week I made the mistake of asking them what they felt like eating for dinner: I got "Chicken Fajitas" and "that Shrimp Garlic Cream Pasta stuff" - couldn't be farther apart on the spectrum of food.

Well I spent some time thinking on those foods and what I came up with was these chicken and veggie burritos, pan-fried to crispy and then covered in a creamy Poblano sauce and Monterrey Jack Cheese. I served them with sliced avocado and a Mexican rice-quinoa pilaf. Based on the feedback - the diners were pleased. Since then, these have become an absolute favorite for Chanel at lunch time (our boy's lovingly call her Coco).

Townes even liked it so much that I used my leftover chicken the next morning to make breakfast tacos for him (more on that later).

The chicken mix was inspired by an enchilada plate that I love to get at our local Tex-Mex place. Maudie's has the Kimberly's favorite enchiladas which are vegetarian, filled with mushrooms, carrots and spinach in a queso blanco sauce. I decided to use those same veggies (ran through the food processor to disguise them from the boys) sauteed into the ground chicken for the filling.

I assembled each burrito with filling, topped it with cheese, rolled them up and popped them into the oven to bake while I whipped up the sauce. The sauce was an attempted copycat of Torchy's Poblano Ranch. It didn't quite hit that mark, it ended up more like Chuy's Creamy Jalapeno Sauce - but really you can't go wrong either way.

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Coco's Chimichangas

Makes 6 Burritos

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground chicken
4 oz. baby portabella mushrooms
3 medium carrots, shredded
1 - 1 1/2 cups spinach
1/2 medium white onion
4 - 6 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried chipotle powder
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs. butter
1 small can of black beans (14 - 16 oz), drained
6 large flour tortillas
4 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
Avocado, sliced (optional)
Tapatio or other hot sauce (optional)
Fresh Cilantro (optional)

Give your vegetables (mushrooms, spinach and onion) a rough chop into about 1-inch chunks. Toss these into the bowl of a food processor with the garlic cloves, basil, oregano, chipotle and salt and pepper. Pulse until they are a fine mince,* put into a bowl and set aside.

*I mince my veggies like this when I can because I am feeding a toddler and a man who hates vegetables. When I can "hide" them this way, they can't get missed or picked around. If you are a veggie lover like I am, you can definitely chop them into whatever size you desire and follow the directions all the same - which is pictured above from another time Chanel and I made them for lunch and weren't planning on sharing with any of the veggie-averse in our lives.

Melt the butter in a large sauce-pan over medium-high heat and add the veggie mix. Saute until fragrant and bubbly, just a couple minutes. Add the ground chicken directly to the pot and saute until chicken is cooked through - you will want to break up the chicken with your spoon or spatula as it cooks and mix it into the veggies. I even go so far as to use a potato masher to really get it mixed well and broken into small even bits. Once the chicken mix is cooked through and mixed, stir in the black beans and cook over medium heat until warmed. Remove the pan from the heat, put chicken mix into a paper-towel lined bowl and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan or griddle to medium-high heat, and melt 1 tbs. of butter.

Making an assembly line on your table or counter, line up your bowl of chicken, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, and burrito tortillas. Lay out one tortilla and spoon four large spoonfuls (about 3/4 cup) of filling in a line down the middle of the tortilla. Sprinkle some cheese on top of the filling (however much you like). Using both hands, fold up the side of the tortilla over the ends of the line of filling. While holding those sides down, roll the tortilla up into a burrito. Fold side down, place the sealed burrito onto the hot pan. Repeat with the remaining burritos.

Let the burritos fry until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, using a spatula, gently turn them over to fry the top. While the burritos are cooking, make the Poblano Sauce (below). Remove the burritos from the pan and top with Poblano sauce, a bit more cheese, avocado, cilantro and hot sauce. Serve with Mexican rice.

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Poblano Cream Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 large poblano pepper
4 garlic cloves
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tsp. dill
2 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
1/2 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of buttermilk (recommended) or half and half

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, set aside.

Seed and slice the poblano pepper into four slices. Place the four pieces, skin side up, onto the prepared baking sheet, and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, long enough for the skin to blister a bit, but not burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before using them.

Chop the roasted peppers into 1-inch chunks. Combine with the garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse until minced. Add the sour cream and spices to the food processor and blend until smooth.

A little at a time, add the buttermilk and blend until desired consistency. Serve immediately.

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.

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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.