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Spinach-Ginger-Walnut Pasta with Chicken

Now that I can actually (sort of) cook, here goes my first official food blog post!  I’ll get on my game and start taking pictures soon.

Last week, I hadn’t gone grocery shopping in awhile, but I still had a handful of good ingredients, so I decided to just go for it and cook something.  The result of throwing together what I had was pretty tasty.

Here are the ingredients you need (this makes a LOT… I was eating it for a week, but that’s ‘cause I didn’t share):

• a whole box of whole wheat rotini pasta (the corkscrew shape) or whatever kind you want
• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
• a whole package of spinach or baby spinach
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger, or more if you want
• butter or olive oil
• cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt
• a handful or two of chopped walnuts
• a handful or two of golden raisins
• shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

Start boiling the water in a big pot for the pasta, and cook the pasta as usual while you’re doing everything else.

In a sauce pan, saute the onion in a little butter or olive oil on low-medium flame for a few minutes, then add the garlic, until the onion is clear-ish (you know the deal).

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add it to the pan, cooking it on medium flame.  I don’t cook chicken very often and wasn’t sure if I needed to add more butter/oil (I did add a little).  While you’re cooking the chicken, add the minced ginger and a few shakes of the spices (cumin, cayenne pepper, salt).  You can always add more spices later, so be on the conservative side especially with the cayenne pepper unless you like everything fiery hot.  

While you’re cooking the chicken, lay out the walnuts on a paper towel, and put them in the microwave to toast them!  All microwaves are different, so just take them out at ten second intervals to taste them.  They will get a little less nutty and more smokey.  Add the walnuts and golden raisins to the pan.  

When the chicken is done, add the spinach and stir, letting it wilt.  You might even want to do the spinach in another pan to give you more room.  

Once the spinach is good, combine everything with the pasta in the big pot, which will be done by now.  Stir everything up with a little butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer. Taste it: Add more cumin if you need more flavor, and add more cayenne pepper if you need more hot-ness!  

Serve with parmesan cheese.  (This is non-negotiable.)  So good.