Chicken Spaghtetti with Tomato Sauce

For whatever reason, I decided tonight that I wanted spaghetti with chicken in it instead of ground beef. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's because I've been on a chicken kick. Kickin chicken. IDK.

Tonight's latest victims on The Cooking Dead:

Those are really black olives in that pepper jar. Why you have to buy them in a can I'll never know.

I guess I'll give you an ingredients list. This was pretty off the cuff:

• 1/2 lb of chicken breast 
• 1/3 lb of whole wheat spaghetti
• 2/3 of a jar of Ragu chunky
• 1/4 of a yellow onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• A handful of olives (I raided the fridge for anything else I could throw in)
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Gotta start by getting the frying pan hot with the olive oil and the Ragu chunky simmering.

I chopped up the chicken, onion, garlic, and black olives. I know I look like I'm being sanitary but let's be serious. Everything's about to get cooked in the skillet.

Saute the garlic for a minute or so. Add the onions and let them get translucent, probably 3 or 4 minutos. Pause The Walking Dead because you want to make sure you see the last episode in full before the mid-season premier.

Resume cooking. Throw in the chicken and let it brown.

Oh yeah, if you happened to have a pot of water boiling, now would be the time to throw in the whole wheat spaghetti. Sorry, I forgot to give you a picture and remind you to have boiling water ready. My bad. Next comes the sauce modification...

We're about to make this Ragu Chunky into Ragu Obese. Now let that simmer a few minutes while the spaghetti is cooking.

You know what, tomorrow is a holiday and I don't have to work. Why not.

Well $hit. I forgot to set the timer on the spaghetti. Guess that's what I get for not including that reminder. Gonna have to taste test on one minute intervals until we are AL-DENT-AY...

And I mean "AYYY" like the Fonz.

Commence plate preparation:

The finished product. Not Pictured: Walkers taking a bite out of the mid-season premier's first victims on the Tele that is just outside of frame.

Spaghetti and Meatballs from SimplyRecipes

Ingredients
Sauce
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ chopped sweet yellow onion
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 cup very finely chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped crimini brown mushrooms
• 2 28-oz cans Italian plum tomatoes (get San Marzano brand if possible)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste concentrate in tube
• ¼ cup grated parmesan-romano cheese blend
• Salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
• ¼ cup red wine

Meatballs
• 1 lb ground beef (at least 16% fat)
• ½ lb fresh bulk Italian style pork sausage
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
• ½ cup finely chopped crimini brown mushrooms
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup unseasoned bread crumbs
• ¼ cup grated parmesan-romano cheese blend
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Red wine

Spaghetti
• 1 1/2 lbs dry 100% semolina spaghetti, thin spaghetti, or bucatini

Method
1 Prepare the sauce. Heat olive oil in 4-5 quart pot on medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add carrots and mushrooms, blend together for 2 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, stir together. Add basil and parsley, stir tomatoes with a potato masher until sauce starts to thicken about 5 minutes over medium high heat. Add tomato paste concentrate, stir to blend. Reduce heat and simmer while preparing meat balls, stirring occasionally.

2 Prepare the meatballs. Mix by hand in a large bowl beef, Italian sausage, basil, parsley, mushrooms, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, herbed salt, and pepper until well mixed. Use small melon baller, or teaspoons to form 1-inch round meat balls. Roll and compress into tight balls.

3 Heat frying pan on high heat. Add olive oil. Sear and brown meat balls on all sides. About 2-3 minutes. Depending on pan size you may need to brown two batches of the meatballs. Do not crowd the pan by stacking the meatballs. Cook in a single layer. Do not over-cook. As meatballs are finishing, add a little bit of red wine to de-glaze pan.

4 Add ¼ cup red wine to the sauce. Then stir in ¼ cup cheese. Add salt to taste. Add meatballs, gently stir. Simmer sauce and meatballs for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5 While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot with 4 quarts of water in it to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add 1 Tbsp of salt. When the water returns to a boil add the pasta to the pot. Leave the pot uncovered while you cook the pasta on high heat with a vigorous boil. Put a timer on for 8-10 minutes, or whatever your pasta package directions say is appropriate for al dente (cooked but still a little firm). Drain.

To serve, place thin layer of sauce on plate, add pasta, add sauce and meatballs, sprinkle with grated parmesan-romano cheese.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spaghetti_and_meatballs/