Improvisation

I am learning how to take what is already in the fridge or pantry and make it into a proper meal. I hate throwing away food, and though I do enjoy planning out meals for the week, and generally follow my plans, there are still days when all the planned meals have been made and we have not had time to grocery shop or the fridge is full of bits of this and that and it is 5 o'clock or even 8 o'clock (last night) and I am thinking, hmm...what do we have for dinner? Last night we ended up with baked potatoes and chili from a can, which my husband graciously prepared while I laid on the couch with a migrain. But, today I was determined to make a meal out of what we had on hand. I am proud to announce that I achieved my goal! I was able to prepare a delicous meal of Creamy Chicken and Shallots over pasta with green beans on the side without a recipe or a trip to the store! Here is the...erm...recipe if you can call it that.

Creamy Chicken and Shallots

Ingredients:
Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 TBS butter
3 shallots
a splash of chicken broth
a splash of milk
about a cup of left over cream sauce (from Meatballs with Cream Sauce)
half a bag of pasta
Parmesan cheese
parsley

Directions:
Fill a pot most of the way with water, sprinkle in some salt and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.
In a skillet, melt a tablespoon of butter. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and saute in the butter until no longer pink in the middle. Add chopped shallots (I kept them in pretty large pieces). Saute until shallots are soft and clear. Add cream sauce. Mix with chicken and shallots. Add chicken broth and milk as needed to create desired consistency of sauce.
Spoon chicken and sauce mixture over pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley. Enjoy!

This recipe is very adaptable. Anytime you have leftover sauce of any kind really, you can cook up some pasta, saute some meat and add the sauce to make a quick and cheap meal!