Friday Fun: Creamy Garlic Spinach Chicken Pasta

Summertime, and the living is easy! We hope you've been having amazing summers: lots of swimming, family time, cocktails and of course food! The Wisconsin Test Kitchen has been having a very active summer! We hit up Milwaukee Kayak Company, rented kayaks and toured the Milwaukee river. It was a blast, and so fun to see our great city from a new vantage point. 

SB has been spending her summer at day camp with her friends, and last week she passed her swimming test and can now swim in the deep end of the pool (much to her delight). 

We've also tried some new (to us) restaurants, and have declared Barnacle Bud's the best patio in Milwaukee. We've been fortunate to have beautiful weather so far this summer, and we hope it lasts!  

Between exploring all Milwaukee has to offer, we've also been cooking. We've tried to focus on meals that are easy to prepare, so we can spend our evenings playing in the yard, or meeting friends for ice cream. 

Here's an easy meal we made a few weeks ago and loved. 

Creamy Garlic Spinach Chicken Pasta
Recipe courtesy of: Becky's Best Bites

Ingredients
12 oz. penne pasta
10 oz. fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 large, yellow onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
½ cup garlic and herb cream cheese (we used 4-5 Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb wedges)
⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flake, more or less depending on your preference
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste.

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving one cup of starching cooking water. Drain and return to hot pot, add chopped spinach, cover and set aside to let spinach wilt.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.

Once hot, add chicken to the skillet and sauté for approximately 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Add onion and garlic to the pan and saute for 2-3 minutes or until the onion has softened and beginning to turn translucent.

Add cream cheese and reserved cooking water to chicken. Stir to combine and melt cream cheese.

Add chicken/cream cheese mixture to pot with pasta and spinach. Add parmesan, crushed red pepper (if using), salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Serve with additional parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes for garnish.

We hope you're having a fantastic summer; and can't wait to share more recipes with you!

Stay Cool,

The Cool Dads Crew

Monday Meals: Beef & Broccoli

The 4th of July was the official kick-off to summer: fireworks, grilled food and time with family and friends. With all the excitement (and heat) summer brings, sometimes cooking dinner is the last thing you want to think about. Especially if you don't have air conditioning, or a grill...

But never fear: Cool Dads to the rescue! Last week the Wisconsin Test Kitchen tried a new recipe that immediately became a family favorite. We loved that we could throw ingredients in the slow cooker, not heat up the house, and come home to a delicious, fresh, healthy dinner. This recipe is even kid tested and approved!

Beef & Broccoli
Recipe courtesy of: Buzzfeed

2 lbs sirloin steak or boneless beef chuck roast, sliced thin
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
4 Tbsp. water
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
White rice, cooked for serving


In the insert of the crockpot, whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic.

Place slices of beef in the liquid and toss to coat. Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 4 hours.

After 4 hours, whisk together cornstarch and water in small bowl. Pour into crock pot and stir to mix well. Add the broccoli and gently stir to combine. Cover with lid and cook 30 minutes to cook broccoli and thicken sauce.

Serve over warm white rice. Enjoy!

We all know slow cookers are the perfect way to cook winter stews and soups; but summertime is also slow cooker time! Do you have any favorite recipes for your slow cooker in summertime? Leave your recipes in the comments below!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Friday Fun: 4th of July Recap

Are you still recovering from the 4th of July weekend? The Wisconsin Test Kitchen sure feels that way... We spent most of the weekend at home, but did a lot of cooking and entertaining of family and friends. At one point, Rebecca joked she must have run the dishwasher 25 times that weekend because of all the dishes and cooking. But it was all worth it. We thought we'd break down some of our favorite summertime recipes we've prepared over the last week! Sorry for the lack of pictures; we were too busy cooking to remember to snap a lot of pics! 

We had some of our favorite families over for a cookout the week before 4th of July, and smoked a pork shoulder and some ribs. Even though Kevin thinks meat alone is an acceptable meal, Rebecca felt the need to prepare a few side dishes. 

One of our tried and true summer salad recipes is a Pea Salad from The Pioneer Woman. The combination of sweet peas, cheddar cheese, red onion and bacon is savory, salty and perfect for summer. It's easy to throw together, and it's usually the first salad to go at a cookout.

No cookout is complete without dessert, and this family meal was no exception. Since rhubarb is in season, we decided to make a Rhubarb Cake, and use some of the 12 cups (no exaggeration) of rhubarb in our freezer. This cake couldn't be easier to make; and is perfect served room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream on top. I have a feeling we'll be making it again, since we still have so much rhubarb to go through...

Over 4th of July weekend, we smoked more pork shoulder, experimented with some pizza recipes, and pretty much stuck to our tried and true recipes. But we did attend a 4th of July party, and brought along a Feta Dip that was easy to make the morning before the 4th of July parade, swimming and other festivities. We served this tangy dip with a side of red pepper slices and crackers. It's so easy, it will make you look like a culinary rockstar. Don't worry: your secret is safe with us! 

We look forward to sharing more of our recipes with you; and would love to hear some of your summertime favorites! Leave your recipes in the comments below.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Friday Fun: Thai Pork

We wouldn't describe the smallest member of the Wisconsin Test Kitchen as picky; she's just very opinionated about the types of food she'll eat. 

Cantalope? No.
Honey dew melon? Yes
Raw octopus? Yes
Tomatoes? No
Anything that has the smallest amount of black pepper added? Don't even think about it.

So you can imagine how thrilled we've been lately with her desire to try new recipes. She loved our Eggplant Pasta with Red Pepper & Tomato; and our Broccoli Soup. But the biggest hit of the week was definitely the Thai Pork. 

Thai Pork wins on multiple levels: it only requires a handful of ingredients, it's easy to make, and according to the meat eaters in the house: it's seriously delicious. Kevin tried hard to keep it on the DL how delicious it was, not wanting to tempt his vegetarian wife. Sawyer was less discrete. "Mom! This is the best meal ever!" she loudly announced. 

Thai Pork
Recipe courtesy of: Sublime Reflection

Ingredients
One 2 lb. boneless pork loin or pork roast
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 cup prepared Teriyaki sauce
2 T. rice vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic
3 T. creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onion

Instructions

Place pork, Teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes in crockpot.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Remove meat from the crockpot and shred.
Stir peanut butter into the remaining liquid.
Add sliced peppers, and return meat to crockpot.
Cook approximately 30 minutes until peppers are slightly cooked, but still crisp.

Just before serving, stir in green onion and cilantro.

We served our pork over white rice, but it would be tasty in lettuce wraps, or over a salad as well. Take advantage of your crock pot this summer: let it do the cooking, and spend time with your family soaking up the sun. 

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew