30-Minute Linguine

I LOVE to cook.  With the addition of Luca (he is six months old today!),  I can count on one hand the number of times I have prepared a meal since he was born.  The result is, we eat the same things 3-4 nights a week (snooooooze).  Aggh! I must get my cooking groove back.  I am missing the variety in our diets.  And I am pretty sure it would be more economical to raise our own chickens with the amount of poultry we have consumed in recent months.

I came across this recipe at Luca's checkup this morning in Parenting magazine, and decided to test it out for lunch.  It's a 30 minute pasta by celebrity chef, Buddy Valastro, host of TLC's Cake Boss and Kitchen Boss.  I never really stick to the recipes, but I must give credit where credit is due.  I modified the original recipe, so following is my version.

I substituted shrimp for chicken (that is what I had in my fridge), and swapped the baby spinach for baby kale.  Did you know Kale is a superfood?  It's so delicious!  This pasta is fail-proof, and absolutely yummy.

Ingredients:
3/4 pint cherry tomatoes
1 tsp chopped fresh garlic
1/4 cup olive oil and more to taste
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 box of linguine (I choose the Barilla multi-grain pasta in the yellow box)
2 tbsp butter (I recommend the Presidente brand)
1 lb chicken in 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup of dry white wine
2 cups of baby kale
salt & pepper to season
fresh grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  In a baking dish, toss the cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1 tsp of chopped fresh garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and mix in the bread crumbs.  Return to oven for 5 minutes.

In the meantime boil one box of linguine in generously salted water.

Meanwhile, heat a large saute' pan over medium heat with 2 tbsp of butter, and remaining chopped garlic.  Cook the chicken until golden brown on all sides, seasoning with salt and pepper.  De-glaze the pan with 1/2 cup of white wine.  Bring the wine sauce to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Add the cherry tomato mixture, drained pasta and baby kale.  Toss well, and dig in! This recipe is perfect for busy families.  I can attest after making it for myself, it was ready in 30 minutes - tops.