This idea is so simple.  Take some favorites and combine them into an awesome meal.  I can practically guarantee that your kids will eat it.  I suggested dinner’s ingredients to my husband because I knew we would all like it.  Of course, I don’t have to tell him how to make it, but I also know it will be great— and different than the way I’d make it. (Actually when we discussed the recipe, I found out how differently I would have made it!) 

I was off dinner duty as there was a typical huge mound of laundry to fold/sort and my husband was luckily not disagreeable about cooking (sorry, I mean, I didn’t feel guilty about asking him to cook dinner when he’s off work from cooking).  He’s usually always agreeable about cooking, I just don’t want to have him regret it. 

Chicken Mushroom Bacon Pasta

Boneless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces

5 bacon strips, diced

1 quart shiitake and/or crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 leek, cleaned and sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 handfuls baby spinach

1 plum tomato, chopped

½ cup chicken stock

¼ cup white wine

½ cup heavy cream

pasta of choice (we used fusilli)

Salt and pepper

Sauté the bacon until about halfway done.  Add leeks until the leeks are soft then add the garlic until done. Leaving fat behind, take out bacon, leeks and garlic.  Add wine to fat and reduce for a couple of minutes.  Add the cream and reduce until thicker.  Add chicken, stock and mushrooms— cook until mushrooms are soft.  Add tomatoes. Cook another minute then set aside. Cook pasta and drain.  In the larger pot add spinach in with pasta then throw in rest of mixture. Toss until well coated.

So, the dinner was delicious and the kids loved it!  I love getting a meal where they all like it, eat it all and not one complains.   Pasta, chicken, bacon, leeks, mushrooms, cream…as my eldest said “Everything’s better with bacon”. Funny thing was that my middle son said at one point, “But I don’t like mushrooms” so I reminded him that he’s said before that he likes mushrooms when in a cream sauce with chicken. “Oh, yeah.”  He continued to eat it all… mushrooms included.