Simple Summer Suppers, part 9 of 10 (1 for 2, 2 for 1)

When I made dinner Sunday, I had two notions in mind.

1. "Cook once; eat twice." - I think that's a Rachael Ray-ism. I hope she doesn't have a copyright.
2. Use one prep technique and cook meats each family member would eat. - I love fish; my husband does not.

It didn't quite work out that way. But let me explain.

Sunday night, I did a repeat of the salmon I'd made for my munchkin & me while the Hubben was out of town. Since he despises cooked salmon, I did the same prep on chicken cutlets. My plot was to feed one to the Hubben and use the leftovers in a pesto pasta'n'veggie combo later in the week.

2 problems:

1. The chicken was overcooked.
2. The chicken was overly lemony.

So lessons learned:

1. Chicken cutlets cook more quickly than 1/2 lb of salmon fillet.
2. Chicken cutlets can't stand up to much lemon.

That brings us to tonight.

2 more lessons:

1. No summer supper is simple when you've decided to foster two kittens, and your toddler wants to chase them, play in the food, play in their litter box -- unless of course, she's going for the old stand-by of playing in the dogs' bowls.
2. Chopping veggies and boiling pasta is still cooking!

Nonetheless, it wasn't a bad turnout. 

The method:

1. Cook ~1/2 pound of whole wheat penne.
2. Meanwhile, quarter & dice 2 small zucchini.
3. Micro-steam the zucchini with a little S&P + garlic powder.
4. Drain the pasta.
5. Toss the pasta & zucchini + a ~1/2 cup or so of frozen peas/carrots + ~1/4 prepared pesto.

A little higher on the pasta & lighter on the pesto than I'd intended, and the veggies were a little more al dente than I'd have liked. On the plus side, plenty of leftovers for lunches the rest of the week. 

One downside to a one-pot-dish: it didn't allow me to feed the munchkin her veggies first, and yes -- she did pick all the penne out, took maybe a few peas but mostly left me with a pile of carrots & zucchini.