Easy Peasy Three Cheesy Pasta

I don’t know if there is a food group for people who exclusively eat chicken, but if there is, myself and the members of team Riziki would definitely fall into that category. We like our chicken, like A LOT. Boiled, in soup, stewed, grilled, fried, the idea just has my hands shaking in anticipation.
When they said ‘man cannot live on bread alone’ they should have had us in mind and whispered “or chicken” then maybe we would have listened, but anyways, I digress.

A staple can be a little monotonous sometimes, and you don’t want to go all hell’s kitchen and start creating things that you can’t pronounce, so while I was figuring out how to sneak chicken in to the rest of the week, my day one post was for as close to meatless Monday as I could get, so here we go.
Disclaimer: any products highlighted are due to my sheer love for them, and nothing else. Also if you don’t like sachet shortcuts, look away now before I crush your soul.

Just kidding. You’ll like it. Promise.
Ps: if you live in my time zone, HAVE YOU SEEN THE AVOCADOS IN SEASON. BIG JUICY GREEN GIANTS OF DELICIOUSNESS. HEAVEN.
Moving on…

FOR YOUR THREE CHEESE PASTA

• One portion cooked pasta
• One cup of milk
• Half a cup of cold water
• One clove of garlic finely chopped or crushed
• A handful of parsley finely chopped
• A tablespoon of butter
• One sachet Knorr three cheese pasta sauce

Before we begin,

Pasta is definitely one of those things that you can get right or very wrong, there is no in between for this, unfortunately.
So here’s how I go about making my pasta at home
1. Bring a pot of water with a pinch of salt to a boil.
2. Add your pasta and stir once or twice just so nothing sticks.
3. A few minutes in, check on the texture. You’re aiming for a firm texture, not hard, but not soft, somewhere in between, it’s called ‘al dente’
4. Remove your pasta from the heat and drain, run under cold water and toss in a little oil to prevent sticking.

FOR YOUR SAUCE

1. Combine your cold water and sachet contents and set aside.
2. In a sauce pan, melt your butter and add the chopped garlic, once you can smell the garlic cooking, add your milk and simmer for two or three minutes on low heat.
3. Incorporate the sachet and water combination and stir well, removing any lumps, and once the sauce starts to thicken, add your pasta and toss in your chopped parsley. Cook for a few moments more, just to warm up your pasta.
4. ENJOY

FOR THE SALAD

I bought a nice bag of mixed lettuce that took me through the week, I didn’t need too much since I was cooking for two, so I’d say it was a good choice.
There really is no ‘set’ way to do a little side salad, but here are some pointers

• Have something leafy in it, just to alternate texture and give a pop of color.
• Pick some good seasonal vegetables that are great raw and go well together.
• If you’re using certain vegetables that need a little TLC for great results, look into that, I squeezed a lemon over my avocado to prevent discoloration. I took the seeds out of my tomato so it wouldn’t turn everything soggy. Stuff like that.

Pictured- side salad of bright red juicy tomato on a bed of avocado and mixed leaf lettuce, with a dash of lemon, salt and pepper.

Always yours,
-Riziki

You are probably used to seeing this but… I’m reposting this from my Blog, you can read the original post HERE.