Basil Chicken Hash & Weekend Plans

I'm so thankful that it's finally the weekend! Last night my friend Jesse came over and we cooked dinner together. We made Basil Chicken Hash, an Ina Garten recipe. When Ina made it she was making it as a recollection of a party that Truman Capote had hosted. It was really good and so colorful! I made some small changes to the recipe. My version makes 4-5 servings. Here's what you'll need:

2 skinless chicken breasts
basil (dried or chopped fresh)
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 tbs butter
4 medium gold potatoes, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, large diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp of thyme leaves
1 tbs tomato paste
3 scallions (white and green parts), chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley

First, coat the chicken in olive oil and rub on the basil, salt, and pepper, to coat. Place it on a baking sheet, and bake the chicken in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Once it is finished, let it rest until it is cool enough to handle. Dice the chicken into small pieces.

Melt 1 tbs of the butter and 1 tbs or so of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the potatoes and onions, salt and pepper (to taste) and cook until cooked through, about 1o minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate saute pan, melt the other 1 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of olive oil over medium heat. Add the peppers, garlic, paprika, thyme, tomato paste, and a little salt and pepper. Saute until the peppers are slightly seared on the outside.

Then, add the pepper mixture and the diced chicken to the potatoes and heat through. Add the scallions and parsley and enjoy!

If you have a hard time multi-taking it would be a good idea to go ahead and make sure all of your ingredients are measured and chopped before you start. I usually chop as I go, so it does require a bit of work if you do it that way.











After dinner, we made homemade chocolate pudding. It turned out pretty good.

This afternoon I'm planning to sew up some pillows with some fabric I bought earlier today. Then, I'm headed to Jesse's for dinner and mass tomorrow morning. Husband comes home tomorrow!! Horray!