Pasta a la Boyfriend

I made it home from Buffalo very early yesterday morning.  My day went as follows...

3:00 am - Wake up and take a shower

3:30 am - Wake up parents and take puppies outside (romp romp romp, bite bite bite!)

3:45 am - Head to the airport (Ooo, it's dark out.  Hey, the bars aren't even closed yet.)

4:15 am - Welcome to the Buffalo Niagara Airport!  (It's pretty quiet here, oh, I'm on the first flight out of the airport)

5:23 am - Yes, that's what it said on my ticket, 5:23 am - Take-off in the Dash-8 (Ugh, hate the Dash-8)

6:55 am - Welcome home!  Kinda, welcome to LaGuardia airport!

7:10 am - Figure out how to get to Jamaica Station...  How about a bus?

7:35 am - Well that worked, now I'll hop this subway and get to Jamaica.

7:55 am - Phew, made it to Jamaica!  Ooo, I can catch my regular train to work!  Score!

8:45 am - 5:00 pm - Chemistry chemistry chemistry

5:00 pm - Heading home (So tired....  Fall asleep on the train...)

6:30 pm - Home!  Ooo, boyfriend is making dinner!  It looks delicious (It was).  He is even using all of my Foodbuzz Tastemaker goodies! 

So, not only did he manage to make a delicious meal, he completed some work that I needed to get done! 

As a member of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I was lucky enough to receive samples of Crisco's new Olive oils!  I was super excited when I received not one, but three different bottles!  For dinner last night, boyfriend used the traditional olive oil, I have big plans for the Extra Virgin (can anyone say Salad dressings?!!?). 

For someone who doesn't really cook (other than mac'n'cheese and cheesey chicken nibblers), he liked the Crisco olive oil, especially the lid.  It has a different  pour spout than I've seen in any other olive oil.  It allowed it to slowly come out of the bottle, without having to wait forever.  The flavor was light and was great to cook up the mini meatballs!

Pasta a la Boyfriend

Adapted from Al Fresco

This was actually adapted from the back of the package of chicken meatballs.  If you happen to have a homemade chicken meatball recipe (Smitten Kitchen has a good one!), feel free to substitute that!  I think Boyfriend did a pretty good job with dinner, I was happy to eat lots of it and have a bunch leftover for lunch today.

1 pint grape tomatoes
1/2 lb asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 white onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp Crisco Olive Oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 pound Linguine
1 package chicken meatballs
1/4 cup basil, cut into ribbons
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt

Preheat oven to 425.  Combine tomatoes, asparagus, onion and garlic in a mixing bowl, add olive oil and black pepper, toss to coat.  Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

While the vegetables are baking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add linguine and cook to al dente, about 8-10 minutes.

In a large saute pan, heat2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.  Cook for 4-5 minutes, until browned on all sides.  Drain the pasta, reserving 3/4 cup of pasta water.  Add pasta to the chicken, add vegetables from the oven and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water.

Add basil, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Toss to combine and serve immediately!