Cooking with my Wi-Wi

If you haven't seen this You Tube clip from "Toddlers in Tiaras," then you are not living life.



Makenzie calls her pacifier her "ni-ni." Whenever it's not around she wails for it, screams for it, calls out for it. It's frightening, sure. Horrifying, absolutely. A good form of birth control? You got it! But overall, I find this little nightmare of a child downright hilarious.

So naturally, my Greenville BFF, my "Wingwoman," Mollye went from being my wingwoman to my "wiwi" pretty quickly.

Anyway, my Wiwi came over to cook with me tonight. Most of you remember, I hate and despise cooking. But we had actually had a BLAST! And what we made actually tasted so fab, I'd probably have eaten the leftovers had I not been going out of town tomorrow. Even more perfect - I'm going to Barrier Island (i.e. the BEACH) so seashell pasta just seemed perfectly apropos!

I'm sure posting the recipe is kind of violating some kind of bloggy copyright law, because I got it off another blog - but we added some of our own touches so I'm gonna risk it. I wish I had thought to take a picture, but we gobbled it up too fast!!!

Seashell Pasta Bake with Chicken, Spinach, and Tomatoes

1 lb. seashell pasta
1 pack pre-cooked chicken strips, chopped (you could use real chicken but why go to all that trouble?!)
1/8 c olive oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
5 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, including the juice (I used a can with basil included)
1/4 cup white wine (I might have added a little extra to make it saucier)
1/2 container ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°. Set a large pot of water to boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil, salt it and cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, set a large skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, heat the olive oil then add the chicken. Let the chicken cook 2 minutes and then add the garlic. Simmer with the chicken until it’s fragrant and begins to turn golden – about 3 minutes.

Add the salt. spinach, and white wine to the skillet and cook for an additional 3 – 5 minutes, or until the spinach begins to wilt. Add the diced tomatoes and juice. Let it simmer for 3-5 more minutes. Add 1/2 container of ricotta. Stir gently until it is all well combined.

Toss the contents of the skillet with the pasta and place in a casserole dish. Cover with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

Makes about 8 servings.

Now I know:
Friends make everything more fun. (Duh).