What's for dinner...

...when you haven't been to the grocery store in awhile. Surely I'm not the only one who has realized around four in the afternoon that the larder is literally almost bare. So, after some rooting around, this is what I found.

Found:

broccoli rabe from a friend's garden (yum!)

garlic, garlic, and more garlic

frozen chicken thighs

some heavy cream

dried penne

a box of Pomi crushed tomatoes

(And don't forget. My Wüsthof giveaway ends tomorrow. Enter today.)

Tonight's menu (with breath mints for dessert):

- penne with spicy vodka cream sauce

- garlicky chicken thighs

- garlicky broccoli rabe

Penne with Spicy Vodka Cream Sauce
(adapted from allrecipes.com)
2 TB olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (we took this down to 1/4 tsp which still had a little kick)
box of Pomi chopped tomatoes (or substitute a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes)
3/4 tsp salt
2 TB vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
box dried penne

Saute crushed garlic and pepper flakes in olive oil until the garlic starts to brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add heavy cream and vodka. Important: do not add cream and vodka until noodles are ready. You can turn off heat on sauce until the noodles are done. Then bring it back up to simmer and add cream and vodka. Simmer for 1 minute.

In separate pot, boil water.* Cook dried penne. Drain. Add cooked penne to sauce and mix. Sprinkle with grated parmigiano reggiano.

* If making this entire menu, boil water. Blanche the broccoli rabe. Lift out broccoli rabe with small strainer. Use boiling water to cook penne. One less pot to wash.

Garlicky broiled chicken
(adapted from allrecipes.com)
1/4 cup butter
6 cloves garlic
3 TB soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
6 boneless chicken thighs (you could do more thighs with this amount of sauce or bone-in thighs)

Turn on broiler. Melt butter. Crush garlic. Combine butter, garlic, and next three ingredients. Mix. Put thighs in baking dish. Spoon sauce over each thigh. Broil for 15-20 minutes (20 minutes if you used bone-in thighs). Turn occasionally.

Garlicky broccoli rabe
2 TB olive oil
3 cloves garlic
pinch red pepper
salt
1 head broccoli rabe

Bring large pot of water to boil. Wash and coarsely chop broccoli rabe. Blanche broccoli rabe in salted boiling water for 5 minutes until bright green and starting to soften. Drain broccoli rabe. In a separate pan, add olive oil. Crush garlic cloves into oil. Add red pepper. Cook at medium-low heat until garlic starts to brown. Add broccoli rabe. Saute for 4-5 minutes until tender.