Cooking Classy

This flavorful Tuna Pasta is one of the best ways to elevate canned tuna and excellent for those dinner rut moments. It’s made with pantry staples including hearty spaghetti, vibrant sun dried tomatoes and capers, time saving pre-cooked tuna, and it’s all highlighted with a lemony herb oil finish. This is the easy dinner you’ll love on hectic days. It’s also a great way to incorporate an inexpensive seafood in your dinner rotation.

Creamy Tomato Pasta is the dish you’ll want any day of the year! Made with penne pasta, readily available canned tomatoes, a generous cup of cream, herbaceous basil, sharp parmesan and just a few other simple staples. You may know this as “pink sauce pasta”. No matter, this pink hued creamy tomato pasta is a classic, timeless recipe for good reason. It’s a hearty, meatless, Italian inspired entree that ensures a lunch or dinner people of all ages can agree on.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, dijon mustard, yellow mustard, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked chicken, celery, green onion, parsley and almonds. Also add bacon if you want to include it. Toss mixture to evenly coat with the dressing mixture. If you'd like it any tangier you can add a little more dijon mustard to taste or a spritz of lemon, if you want it a little sweeter you can add a little more honey.

To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a rimmed 18 x 13 x 1-inch baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray then lightly dust with flour and shake out excess. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together sugar, 10 Tbsp unsalted butter and 2 Tbsp avocado oil until well combined.

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add banana bread slices and fry until golden brown and toasted on bottom about 1-2 minutes. Add remaining 1 Tbsp butter (that's cut into small pieces and placed around bread), turn bread slices and cook until golden brown on second side. Transfer banana bread slices to shallow bowls and place banana slices on the side.

In a large bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, Herbs de Provence, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Add chicken thighs to bowl with mixture and toss to evenly coat. Cover. Transfer to fridge and let marinate 1 to 6 hours. Preheat a grill to 425°F. Brush clean grill grates lightly with oil when preheated. Grill chicken until cooked through (165 °F in center of thighs on an instant read food thermometer), about 6 minutes per side.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Pour in chicken broth, add in potatoes, season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until potatoes are fully tender, about 15 minutes. Add half the spinach, then cover with lid and let cook 1 minute to nearly wilt. Stir then add remaining half of the spinach, cover and cook 1 to 2 minutes to wilt.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 by 9-inch baking dish, optionally you can also line with parchment paper to more easily remove bars. In a mixing bowl using your fingers toss together oats, wheat pastry flour or oat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Break up any small clumps of brown sugar as you toss. Stir vanilla into dish with melted butter then pour into oat mixture, toss with a spatula to evenly coat mixture.

For the chicken and marinade: Place chicken in a gallon size resealable bag. Set aside. In a medium non-reactive mixing bowl whisk together olive oil, 3 Tbsp lime juice, the lime zest, aji amarillo paste, soy sauce, garlic, honey, paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, coriander, kosher salt and black pepper. Place chicken thighs in a gallon size resealable bag. Pour marinade mixture over chicken then seal bag while pressing out excess air. Rub marinade over chicken.

For the chicken: In a small mixing bowl whisk together 3 Tbsp olive oil, the lemon juice, 1 tsp dijon, 1/2 tsp honey, 1 tsp garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste (I use 1 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper). Place chicken in a resealable bag and pound thicker parts of chicken to even thickness with a meat mallet, then pour marinade mixture over chicken. Seal bag and rub marinade over chicken. Transfer to refrigerator and marinate 2 - 6 hours. Preheat a grill to 425 degrees over medium-high heat.