Goat Cheese and Arugula Pasta with Chicken

So last I left you, my friends had destroyed my spirit on my birthday.

One hour before my birthday party, my good friend Jacki cancelled on me leavening me majorly bummed.

Wesley pouring salt on the wound and telling me it was poppycock that she wasn’t coming didn’t help my cause.

With just minutes before my birthday “party” I called Lindsey B in tears whining about how this is why I didn’t want to have a birthday party in the first place!

But I picked myself up because it was my birthday and I was going to have fun, damnit!

When Wes and I showed up at Lindsey’s house, I started to feel WORLDS better. There were cute decorations, and great food and tasty drinks. My close friend Tanya was even there from LA which really helped my mood.

Of course I didn’t let this stop me from going on a teenie, tiny, tipsy, RANT about how I’m such a great friend and my friends don’t care about me.

Pretty pathetic.

Around nine, Lish and Lindsey took me outside and told me that to salvage this night, we should go do one of my favorite things, karaoke.

Let me tell you a little something, karaoke is the one thing I could never turn down. Like I could ever pass up the chance to be on stage.

So after convincing my parents and the rest of the party to suck it up and head to Dirty Nelly’s with us, we packed into some cars and headed to the bar.

I was so giddy in the parking lot because I could see karaoke through the window. I’ve been looking for a great jam spot since I moved home a year ago in vain and I finally found one.

You couldn’t have gotten me in that door fast enough. And before I knew it….

Surprise!

I didn’t even see it coming.

For MONTHS Wes, Lindsey and Lish had been plotting with my friends and family to surprise me. They came up with lies to make me think that no one could come to my birthday. They made me cry.

But I’m so glad they did. Because it was the best night of my life.

No, really. The BEST NIGHT EVER.

I never felt more special or loved.

It was freaking awesome.

Just like this pasta.

You will need…

2 chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound penne pasta (I try to always use whole wheat)

1 tablespoon butter

3 leeks, trimmed and chopped

5 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1 cup cherry tomatoes

¼ cup dry white wine

4 cups arugula

½ cup crumbled goat cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by boiling the water for you pasta.

In a medium saute pan or on a grill pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season your chicken with salt and pepper and when the oil is hot add the chicken to the pan.

Cook the chicken for about 6 minutes per side, making sure the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Remove from the pan and let it cool till you can handle it.

As soon as the chicken has cooled enough to handle, chop the chicken into bit sized pieces and set it aside.

When the water has boiled, add in the pasta and cook to the package instructions.

After the pasta is cooked, strain and reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter and the leeks over medium high heat just until the leeks start to soften. About 4 minutes.

Then add in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is fragrant. About 30 seconds.

Add in the tomatoes and let them get nice and hot. You want to get the tomatoes just to the point where they start to burst. About 10 minutes.

Once your tomatoes start to burst, add in the white wine and let the alcohol burn out and the liquid reduce by half.

Add in the arugula, the pasta, the chicken and the goat cheese and combine.

Cook until the chicken is warmed and the arugula starts to wilt.

Stir in the reserved pasta water if the pasta is dry.

Serve hot.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Goat Cheese and Arugula Pasta