Necessity is the mother of creation, isn’t that what they say? Chefs often say their favorite meals are the ones they whip up after a long shift from whatever ingredients are left in the kitchen. I’d like to pretend I’m always prepared– I try to keep a well-stocked pantry, I’m always flagging recipes in magazines or on Pinterest, and I go to the grocery store way too often. But sometimes I’m caught without a plan. More often than not I get into the kitchen and I improvise.
A few weeks later my boyfriend will say something like “Can you make those lamb chops again?” and I’ll have to admit that I really can’t because I only kinda sorta remember what I put on that lamb that one time.
So I’m very proud of myself this time. I created a recipe…and I wrote it down! Granted, this recipe had a little more brainstorming behind it. You see, on Monday I took advantage of the Whole Foods $6 rotisserie chicken special and bought two chickens. I figured my boyfriend could pretty much eat an entire one on his own (he really almost did!), but that still left plenty of chicken behind. What to do with all that chicken?
I crafted this recipe in my head throughout the day as I ran around town doing errands. Most of the ingredients were things I already had on hand in my pantry. There were just a couple things I wanted and I swung by the store on my way home to pick up the last few essentials to what I hope would be a delicious dinner.
Sometimes I get a little nervous serving meals like this to boyfriend. He always devours and praises the food I cook for him, but he recently admitted that his favorite food is pasta…which I obviously never cook for him! So when I present him with a plate of spaghetti squash with a dairy-free “cream” sauce, I worry a bit.
There was no need this time. This Creamy Artichoke Basil Chicken Spaghetti Squash was a bowl of warm, comforting, hearty and delicious food that we both gobbled up. Good thing I wrote down that recipe, because I’ll be wanting to make this again soon!
The Lucky Clover Kitchen 