We be eatin' everying in a quesadilla...

As most of you know, I used to have a food blog.  I'm not planning on starting that up again as of right now because food isn't as big of a deal in my life now as it used to be, but I figured I could put my adventures up here from time to time. 

So last week I made some Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon, which is a recipe that I found and tweaked about 2-1/2 years ago.  I love it, because I hate potatoes - and this dish makes me actually like potatoes.  I'm planning on tweaking it a bit and making more of a marinade so that I can grill the chicken for summer because the flavor is fantastic.  I was pretty annoyed the whole time my apartment was heating up with the oven and have declared I won't use it again until it's cold.  Anyway - I ran out of chicken stock and Justin had some beer in the fridge so I used that instead (The alcohol cooks out, fyi!).  Personally, it tastes better with the chicken stock (in this recipe) but the Beer Butt Chicken I had a few years ago was really good.

Anyway - I used the leftover chicken in a pasta dish (typical alfredo pasta) and also in a quesadilla with Mexican rice.  Now, since I'm the queen of leftovers (Shocker for anyone that grew up with me.  I used to hate leftovers!) I took the leftover Mexican rice, added some kidney beans (another shocker!) and we had that the following day.  Pretty decent, if I do say so myself.  Yesterday, we got some fried chicken from the deli at Dan's and we had Fried Chicken Quesadilla and considered ourselves very American.

But now the thing I'm really excited about...
I came across this recipe on Shayla's site and while I loved the idea and it was very good her way, I made a few changes - and even added shrimp that I declawed, deshelled, and cooked myself! (What a PAIN!)

Sweet Red Bell Pepper and Cayenne Whole Wheat Spaghetti
12 ounces dry whole wheat spaghetti
2 red bell peppers, julienned
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
About a pound of brown shrimp, deshelled and deveined (Optional - you could also use chicken or go meatless like the original recipe)
Olive oil

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet saute shrimp until done.  Set aside.  In the same pan, saute red bell peppers and cayenne pepper over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes.  About halfway in, add the garlic and sautee.
Stir in heavy cream and parmesan cheese, stirring until thickened.  Add in shrimp.
Toss hot pasta with sauce and shrimp and season with salt and pepper to taste; serve.

It was divine! and honestly all I've been thinking about since I first made Shayla's recipe two weeks or so ago.  I doubt I'll bother with the shrimp again because I don't like the frozen stuff and the fresh stuff took too long to do anything with (and my hands smelled fishy ALL night), but apparently you can buy uncooked, deveined, deshelled shrimp as well, so maybe one day I'll do that again.  So good!

Anyway - 4 more days of work and then continous party for 2-1/2 weeks.  CANNOT wait!  I'm hoping to have pictures - so I'll keep you guys in the loop!

Btw, I got my dress and shoes for the cruise yesterday - and I just might kill myself in those 5-1/2 inch heels.  I've been walking around the house in them and have gotten better, but we will see.  Wish me luck!