Spicy Spaghetti - our couple dish :)

Spicy Spaghetti

I hereby "christened" this dish - our couple dish. :D

Before we were married, my hubby and I loved to dine at this cozy little nook of a restaurant to savor their heavenly spicy spaghetti. I repeat, heavenly. Usually, I would order a cup of cafe latte too, and he, a cup of iced water. Ahhh... It was one of those memorable just-the-two-of-us moments.

Unfortunately, the restaurant has closed down for quite awhile. Sigh. Oh well...

Fast forwarded to last Saturday. We were discussing about dinner options and somehow, this dish popped up in my mind. So, we got our toddler ready, sort of. You know how tedious it is to dress up a toddler who has his own little mind of what to do? :P

Then, we drove out to buy ingredients. And guess what? Hubby volunteered to cook. *melted*

So, here's what happened next. He peeled the garlic, chopped them up. He sliced the green chilies. He rinsed the fresh button mushrooms. He marinated the chicken breast in mixed herbs, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and olive oil.

Then suddenly, I heard a half-wail from the kitchen ... "Oi, what happened to my gas???"

WE RAN OUT OF GAS.

Now how on earth could we cook our long-awaited spicy spaghetti? SOBS.

Then the toddler decided to whine. Gosh. I was trying to think straight. He was shaking the gas tong, hoping to release some gas, or something.

.........

Then, eureka! Let's cook the ingredients in the oven and boil the spaghetti in the microwave! Ditto!

I preheated the oven to 230°C. He mixed olive oil, garlic, chilies, chicken, and mushrooms in a baking tray and popped the tray into the oven. After about 10 minutes, the oil began to sizzle. We turned the ingredients around a little bit and it took another 10 minutes or so until they were finally cooked through. The spaghetti took about 25 minutes in the microwave, at high mode.

And so, we had dinner. Through thick and thin. LOL.

And our toddler ate the spaghetti too. Albeit the amount of pepper. You go, boy!

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

Spaghetti, enough for two people
6 generous tablespoons olive oil
A handful of garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
6 fresh white button mushrooms, cut into slices
2 green chilies, de-seeded and cut into round pieces
1 medium chicken breast, cut into strips
A pinch of mixed herbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

How to:
(The following steps are recommended if you have gas.)

1. Cook spaghetti in a pot of boiling, salted water until they are cooked al dente — it should be a little chewy but not hard. Drain and toss with olive oil. Set aside.

2. Marinate chicken with mixed herbs, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.

3. Heat up olive oil in a deep frying pan. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add chicken, mushrooms, and green chilies. Stir fry until all ingredients are cooked through. Add spaghetti and toss until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste if necessary.

Hubby proudly presented his dish. :)

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up (January 2015 Event: Pasta / Noodles) organized by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids), Doreen (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Anne (My Bare Cupboard).