party pasta!

oh...writing that title makes me think of how fun it would be to have a pasta party...like an Italian theme.  mmmm. that sounds delicious.  maybe we change josh's party theme to that...or there is always next year!!!

anyway...I'm trying to do my part to be a cost-conscience wife and watch for deals at the grocery store and find coupons, etc.  Part of that is also using what we have on hand and trying to not have to by every ingredient for every meal each week.  This week, we had Chicken Parmesan on the menu. (if you've ever eaten anywhere with the Drakes, you know they love them some Chicken Parm.)  Typically I serve it with pasta.

PASTA!  The past couple of times we've made recipes with pasta we have some pasta left over...usually about a 1/4 of a box.  Trying to save space in my kitchen I just pile all the pasta in one bin.  Like this...

ah ha! party pasta!  I love pasta and think this looks so fun.  SO, for dinner the other night, we just had different kinds of pasta, using what we had instead of buying something new.  Its not brain surgery but it seemed clever to us.  The Chicken Parmesan was really easy.  We used the Chicken cutlets (tenders) b/c they were on sale and ended up liking the smaller portions better - and they cook faster!

dip tender into egg, then into bread crumbs.  Cook in oil to brown on both sides.  Cook in the oven for 20ish minutes at 350.  After 10ish minutes add marinara sauce to the top of the chicken plus some grated Parmesan.  Allow to cook another 10ish minutes until chicken is done and cheese is melted!  Yum-o!