Cavatappi...with a side of card

 

I have a really delicious recipe to share today! Cavatappi with sun-dried tomatoes!

Have you ever had cavatappi? It's a spiral-shaped pasta, similar to an elbow macaroni. My husband used to love the cavatappi that was served at A Corner Bakery and Café in Illinois. It was his go-to order for our after-church Sunday brunches.

I happened to have all the ingredients for this one on hand, and it came together really quickly.

Creamy Cavatappi with Sun Dried Tomatoes

1 Pkg. cavatappi, cooked according to directions

olive oil for pan

Protein of choice (I used frozen diced chicken breast, but this would also be delicious with bacon)

2-3 T. sun dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

2 garlic cloves

1 T. butter

1-2 T. flour

1/2-1 c. half and half

1/2-1 c. reduced sodium chicken broth

Italian seasoning, salt and pepper

2 c. fresh spinach

Freshly grated parmesan (this can be added to the sauce if desired, or added on top of pasta before serving.)

While pasta boils, in a separate pan sauté chicken, then add tomatoes and garlic. When cooked, scoot to side and add butter and flour to pan until bubbly. Slowly add half and half, stirring often. Then add chicken broth and seasoning until desired thickness. Add some reserved water from pasta (maybe 1/2 c.) to the sauce, and cook until thickened.  Add chopped spinach and stir until wilted. Drain pasta and put in a casserole serving dish. When sauce is to desired consistency, pour over pasta and stir well. Serve with freshly grated parmesan and enjoy!

Unlike tomato-based pasta, I have found that creamy-based pasta is usually best the first day. It can get dry the second day, so be prepared to add a little more cream or broth if reheating.

Mmmm. Comfort food! Just the sort of thing we crave on a cold winter's night.

And how about another card?

Here's another option with Papertrey Ink's Psalm Reflections combined with The Greetery Spring Meadow background stamp and die cut from SU's Nature's Harvest.

This die set from SU is nice, but it took some experimenting with shims to get a proper embossing with the cuts.  I do like the effect.