Whole Wheat Penne with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Let’s talk a minute about “pasta al dente”.
The literal Italian translation is “to the tooth”. Figuratively, it means that pasta should be cooked just until it offers a bit of resistance when bitten into. It must be firm, not soft or overcooked and definitely not mushy.
A good rule of thumb is to read the cooking instructions (cooking times vary for different types of pasta) and a set time for two minutes before the recommended cooking time.
At this point check pasta for doneness by cutting a piece in half to see a cross section; there should be a thin core at the center that appears slightly more opaque. If it’s so, it’s time to drain your pasta “al dente”.

Skillet Pizza Chicken

This Skillet Pizza Chicken is my go-to recipe whenever I have my nieces and nephews over.
It’s a great simple dish that takes minutes to make and it's easy to clean up since it’s using only one cookware, on top of being a kid’s favorite.
Plus, it’s almost impossible to mess up. As long as you can cook some chicken in a pan and stir a couple of times you’re good to go.

Poppy Seed Loaf Cake

I’ve always been intrigued by poppy seeds. If you look ‘em up on wikipedia it says that “The tiny, kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years”.
I’m not sure why they are described as kidney shaped, to me they look like they are oval-shaped, like uber-mini eggs.
Also, do you know that they are so small and light, it takes about 3,300 poppy seeds to make up a gram, and between 1 and 2 million seeds to make up a pound?
Fun facts…

Easy Garlic Chicken and Pepper Skillet

In my book there’s nothing better than an action-packed meal that is full of flavor and doesn’t take a long time to make.
What also makes it better is not having a million dishes to clean up or having my food stick to the bottom of my pans. That is seriously the worst.
I have started cooking a lot with a new non-stick wok-ish pan that I bought online.
I love it for two reasons: Number one is that nothing will stick to it AND it is super easy to clean (okay, maybe three reasons, but who's counting). The second reason is because it is shaped like a wok, it works wonders in locking the flavors.

Everyday Stir-Fry Noodles with Vegetables

OK, so this is my go-to recipe for stir-fry noodles with veggies.
Whenever I feel like having a bowl of piping hot noodles and I don’t want to order in, I make this Everyday Stir-Fry Noodles with Vegetables.
It’s so simple, easy, and quick, it’s really a no-brainer.
It’s also one of those recipes that don’t need any planning, you probably already have all the ingredients for this dish at home.