After listening to my children praise the most simplistic of dinners for about an hour, I'm on the fence as to whether my response should be:
A. Up my game because clearly I am sucking as of late.
B. Rejoice that I have inadvertently lowered the bar to the point that THIS is considered a "gourmet meal."
It's just a thrown together pasta dish, variations of which I have been making for years, but maybe Mila doesn't know that because I haven't been very good about cooking for about a year? That's a significant portion of her life, so maybe she doesn't remember the before times?
ANYWAY.
Chik'N and Artichoke Pasta
1 package Morningstar Chik'N Strips (or real chicken, I'm not here to judge)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound pasta, prepared per instructions on box (I like cavatappi, but elbows, ziti, penne, orzo, or rotini would all work)
1. In a large skillet, heat the oil and cook the Chik'N Strips per the instructions on the bag.
2. Once the chik'n is lightly browned, add the garlic and onion. Stir a little and make sure nothing sticks or gets burnt. You can add more oil as needed, btw. Once the onion is nearly clear, add the spinach and artichoke hearts. Keep doing the stir and watch thing to make sure nothing burns. You're done once the onions are completely clear and the spinach is warm.
3. Add in the cooked pasta and stir things up some more.
4. Serve topped with parmesan. BTW, I way under-season this dish because my crew can't agree on "ideal," so they add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, etc. as they see fit.