Chicken, Pasta and Veggies

Seems many of my blogging buddies are posting their recipes so I thought I'd join in!

This is a favorite of mine and I eat it often! Gotta give my sister Holly some props on this one since it was her creation. I'd like to think I've added a few things to it and made it a really great dish. Here we go:



You'll need diced up chicken breast, spaghetti, chopped bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, Italian seasoning, fresh basil, EVOO and balsamic vineager.

I usually buy my peppers in a tri-colored three pack but it just so happens this week red peppers were on sale so that's what I got!



First of all, get your spaghetti going. I usually use Ronzoni Smart Taste Thin Spaghetti or whole wheat pasta but you can use whatever pasta you like. Dice up your chicken breast and season it with Italian seasoning. Chop up your peppers and mushrooms. Heat some EVOO in two different skillets. Stir fry your chicken in one and your peppers and mushrooms in the other. Since it's summer and I have basil growing in my herb garden, I chop some of it up and throw it in with the veggies. I also splash a little balsamic vineager on the veggies near the end of cooking.




When your spaghetti is done, drain it and toss it into a bowl. I usually toss it with a bit a EVOO and some balsamic vineager as well.



Next, add your veggies.



Then your chicken.




Top it all off with balsamic vineager. I love balsamic vineager so I use lots of it but you should season it to your taste.

And there you have it folks! A tasty, healthy meal that is easy to make. I usually eat it just like this but if I have company I'll serve it with a salad and/or French bread w/balsamic vineager and EVOO for dipping. Delish!!

One more thing. I was reading a Rachel Ray magazine awhile back and she was sharing some of her kitchen must-haves. One was a garbage bowl, which is basically a bowl you toss all your trash into while cooking to save yourself trips back and forth to the trash can. My friend Chris came up with the idea of using a coffee can. He cut out the top so only the edge remained. He lined it with a bag leftover from bringing veggies home from the store. Snap the top on and you've got a garbage bowl you empty like a trash can! I don't drink coffee so I used a leftover margarita bucket!!! Imagine that! :-) Here's mine:



I know it doesn't seem like that big of a deal walking across the kitchen to throw stuff away but you'll be amazed how much time this little dude will save! It's also a great way of recycling those little plastic bags we use to bring veggies home from the store in. I keep a stash of bags under the liner at the bottom of my bucket so they are always there and ready to go.

Cheers!

The Sunday Blues

I'm not a big fan of Sunday.

I'd have to say Sunday is a lonely day for me. You work all week, play all weekend and then Sunday rolls around. I very much enjoy laying around all day and being lazy but sometimes it just sucks. You'd think after many years of working on the art of being single, lonliness would cease to bother me anymore. I feel very alone on Sunday. Sunday is the day I'm most likely to ponder the fact that I'm still single. And worry about it. And obsess over it. Everyone says the right guy will come along someday. Well, I wish he would hurry up.

Maybe we'll meet on a Sunday.

That would be nice.

Booted Out of the World's Largest Honky Tonk!

This past weekend was spent in Fort Worth, TX celebrating my Aunt Carla's
50th....um...I mean........40th birthday. We stayed in the stockyards. From my hotel window I could see the huge Billy Bob's Texas sign in the distance.

Back some years ago I worked as the Program Director at KRPT radio in Anadarko, OK.
We had a trade with Billy Bob's, which meant we ran ads for them and they gave us free general admission tickets to all their shows. Back in the day, we thought Billy Bob's was pretty cool. I've since come to realize that it's no more than a Texas sized tourist trap. I've seen some good shows there, but unless you've got reserved seats its just not that cool. Anyway, one weekend a bunch of us from the radio station went down to see The Charlie Daniels Band. I had also managed to get us backstage passes. The CDB put on a kick-ass show!! We were all pretty pumped to go backstage and meet a legend! The backstage meet-and-greet area at Billy Bob's is a big room with cement walls. The walls are painted with band logos and such and the bands/artists sign the walls. Well, Charlie was taking his own sweet time getting to his meet-n-greet. By this time we'd all had our fair share of adults beverages to drink, myself included. I was getting bored. I asked my buddy Aaron for an ink pen and proceded to sign my name on the wall. Hey, I was on the damn radio! Does that not make me a celebrity?? Anyway, Aaron took the pen after me and signed his name too. Before too long, most of the group had signed the Billy Bob's Wall 'O Fame! My buddy Zac's parent's, Mike and JayDena were with us on this trip. Before I know it, Mike is telling me its time to go.
"But Mike, we haven't met Charlie yet!!"
"I know but we have to go."
"But Mike.........."
"They say we have to GO!!!"
"Why???"
"You can't write on the walls."
"Shit."
So, we are escorted out of the backstage area WITHOUT meeting Charlie Daniels. I had even spent five friggin' dollars on an 8 x 10 glossy specifically for autographing! In my depressed state, I went and sat on a step out in the club area. Pretty soon here comes Mike again.
"They say we have to leave the club."
"What!!! Why????"
"They say you've had too much to drink."
"Shit."
So, we leave the world's largest honky tonk in pissy moods and minus a Charlie Daniels autograph. I still maintain that if his old ass would have gotten out there a little quicker, we would never have gotten bored and this incident would have never happened! But no!!! Thanks a ton Charlie.
Also, JayDena was so distraught by what us little heathens had done she called the owner of Billy Bob's (Pam Minick) bright and early Monday morning and ratted our asses out and apologized profulsely for what we had done. Pam said it was fine....they were about to re-paint that old room anyway.

Macca's Still Got It!

Paul is the man.

The show last night was great as expected! It was the one-year anniversary of the BOK Center in Tulsa. Good choice!

The first time I saw Paul back in 2002 in OKC I was blown away. I think it was because I didn't really have any expectations. Obviously, I know who the Beatles are and I'm a fan. I dig Wings. Love the solo stuff but still just didn't really know what to expect. It was incredible!!

I loved this show too but it was missing the impact that first show had. Still and awesome night of rock-n-roll by a music legend!

Did I mention is band is top notch! Well, they are.

Here's what sucked about the night: The drunk ass dude who occupied the seat next to me. When he came to sit down, he had a beer in each hand. I just figured he would be joined by a girlfriend or buddy. When I realized that wasn't the case I knew I was in trouble. Now I've gone to concerts and consumed my fair share of adult beverages but I've NEVER ruined the experience for someone else!

First of all there was his commentary. He had a comment for everything. He was talking to NO ONE! Just drunkenly blabbering away to himself.

Second of all he stunk. It smelled like a brewery and a whiskey still collided head on at a very high rate of speed. Later on in the evening I would actually see him drinking out of a bottle of whiskey he snuck in.

During "Live and Let Die" he spilled beer and it hit the back of my leg and went into my flip-flops. The bastard was lucky I was really into the song or my tirade would have started then. I let it ride for awhile. When he was stumbling around and bumped into me I lost it. I turned around to him, put my hands up to his chest and screamed "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!!!!!!" Of course, he just drunkenly stared at me. I told him I was sick of him touching me, being a loud-mouth and spilling beer on me. He mumbled something about not wanting to be close to me. I turned away but he just kept yammering on. I yelled at him several more times. My Mom and Aunt Cathy finally realized what was going on. They moved me over to the aisle. My Aunt said she'd heard stories of my tirades in bars and thought the best of it!

Folks, I did this all stone cold sober so you KNOW I was pissed.

Aside from that, the concert was great! Thanks for the memories Paul. As for drunk-ass Tonto who annoyed the hell out of me: I hope you got a DUI and spent the night in the drunk tank.

Asshole.

Dirt Shoe

Check out my friend Misti's blog:

www.dirtshoe.com

She and Nathan post all sorts of tasty recipes as well as blogging on many different subjects. It's a great read!

Sir Paul!

Tonight is the night! Mom, Aunt Cathy and I are going to see Paul McCartney in Tulsa at the BOK Center! We all went to see him in OKC.....I think that was in 2005.
What a show! I've always liked the Beatles but to actually see Paul McCartney on stage was really something! It really felt like you were witnessing history! Last time we didn't get to sit together but tonight we'll all get to enjoy it together! I love doing this sort of stuff with my Mom and Cathy. I get a kick out of watching them cut up and laughing and, of course, singing along with every song!
Got me to thinking about who all I've seen through the years and who I'd still like to see. I think tops on my list would have to be Paul Simon. I've loved him and his music for many years. I also think Andrea Bocelli would be amazing! What a voice!
What about if you could go back in time and see someone? For me it would be: The Beatles, Waylon Jennings, Conway Twitty, Simon and Garfunkel. What are your thoughts on this subject?