Cheesy Goodness Taco Pasta

"Open Arms" by Journey is playing boldly through my Pandora station...how fitting for such a week. I am in need of open arms and have received them in the form of those people willing to pour into me during a time of uncertainty, confusion, and anxiety. Love those people! Even helpers need some help sometimes I've heard ;) 

Throughout this journey professionally and spiritually, I am reminded once again that my coping skills take the form of cooking and indulging in that cooking...what a fabulous skill set, you say? Why yes, I happen to think so too :) I found this recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it to make it my own. I have to say I liked the results. Easy pasta dinner for any time of the year or to bring to a party. It's pretty cost effective as well...bonus. 

Just look at that...um yes please...

Chopped about a cup of red onion and half a cup each of green and red peppers...

"so much color..love the color" as my girl Rachel Ray would say with her raspy voice...

Used about a pound of ground beef...combined my peppers and onion in there until fully cooked and then drained the excess grease and returned to pan. 

At this point you can begin to boil your pasta. The original recipe called for shell pasta or whole wheat shells, but I only had whole grain roltini on hand so that worked just fine. 

Once ground beef/onion/pepper mixture is drained and back in skillet, add in a can of diced tomatoes (mine had green chiles in them too), garlic to taste (I used about 1.5 TBSP), and 1 packet of Taco seasoning (low sodium).

Allow to simmer and mix together about 5 minutes...

Set aside 3 oz of cream cheese (Low Fat), LF sour cream (1/2 cup), and Mexican cheese blend. 

Spray a glass cooking dish with cooking spray and set aside. 

I didn't take pictures of the following process, but it is fairly easy. Once your pasta is done cooking, combine your sour cream, cream cheese, and 1/2 cup of water to your drained pasta (or leave about a half cup of the boiled water in there). Mix the pasta well until creamy and all ingredients are blended well. 

Add pasta to the glass dish and combine the meat/veggie mix on top. 

 All combined...looking quite delicious!

I added my Kraft Mexican cheese blend on top with some cilantro to garnish. In the oven for about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Perfecto. I may try it with shells next time just to change things up. I definitely am glad I added the extra veggies that the original recipe didn't call for. 

Thai Noodles N' Pan Seared Chicken

Life.Is.Crazy. Sparing you the ultra-boring details, saying I'm truly humbled by this time in my life is an understatement. I'm realizing how very little control I have over just about everyone and everything surrounding me. Control freak, you say? Yes, probably, I am. However, slowly I'm learning to let go and trust that God's plan is so much better than I could plan for myself. My internship is an amazing place and I'm blessed to be there. I love counseling so much. It feels good to actually be helping people in a way that is so meaningful and I can see positive results...and bonus...they actually come back to see me! I say that just because, as confident as I am that I am well prepared for this milestone in my life, I am still amazed people find peace and solace in talking with me about life and sharing their journey with me. It's is just the coolest profession, ever, in my humble opinion ;). So May is D-Day (aka graduation day!) and I cannot wait to be done with school and start practicing with a Masters degree....Whoohoo!

In the midst of it all, I'm still journeying at Wedgwood. Following where God leads me there as a case manager and working with lots of kiddos and folks who are hurting in different ways. Its equally challenging and unique in its own way. Stretched in about 4 different directions this year...but loving the journey.

This summer has flown by in an instant it feels like. I'm amazed it's September already, but thank goodness for some cooler temps! I'm so ready for fall...pumpkins, apples, and sweaters please and thank you!

Austin and I celebrated our 1st anniversary in August. It was very fun and we celebrated with my parents and sister in Chicago for a "mini-vaca". It was not so relaxing, but was very exciting,  we saw a lot, and WALKED a lot. Shop till you drop of course!

 Lookin' in the bean.

Thai Noodles N' Pan Seared Chicken

original recipe found @ http://asmallsnippet.blogspot.com/2011/03/spicy-thai-noodles.html

This recipe is sooo good! My husband raved about it. My batch turned out a bit spicier than I'd hoped but next time I will use less red pepper (1 Tablespoon or less). I thought I was stronger...my mouth is still kinda tingly hours later... 

 Chopped some green onions, grated carrots, and place aside. Also begin water to boil in a large pot for your noodles, and get them done and strained for the next steps.

Combine 1-2 Tablespoons of crushed red pepper flakes in a wide brimmed pan with 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of sesame oil. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Then strain out the oil into a separate mixing bowl. As you can see from the photo below, I have a large holed strainer...which didn't work so well in keeping out the flakes...so I added the paper towel on top in order to try and strain better. Worked okay! 

Whisk together with reserved oil: 6 TBSP Honey and 6 TBSP Soy Sauce. 

Add mixture of sauce to your cooked linguine or noodles (I used whole grain spaghetti). Mix the liquid into the noodles well. It may look like there is not enough sauce but the sauce settles on the bottom of the pan quickly, so just use a spatula to mix it well. Once mixed, add in your carrots, green onion, sesame seeds and cilantro. (I used dry spice cilantro...still tasted good!)

While you let the noodles simmer on low, you can start the chicken. I marinated my chicken in teriyaki sauce overnight. Make sure it is well done inside with thicker breasts, or slice them up before hand to make the cooking process quicker. 

Runny nose, finger lickin' good. Well worth the three pans it took to create and the dishes I had waiting for me afterwards too... ;) 

Bon Appetite! Or the equivalent of that saying in Thai....