Creamy Lemon Penne

January 4, 2011

Back to teaching today. I am exhausted just thinking about it. Yesterday I had a great day with the kiddos. Nate went to Panera with Savannah to work on Geometry. I think they were there for about 5 hours!! I am not kidding. It wasn't all work - don't be shocked! They took some fun pictures with Savannah's computer and posted them on facebook, so I know they did more than school work. Ali, Kami and her friend Katie went with me to Target and then to the mall. I people-watched, they walked around for an hour or so. No one really had money to spend. Kami had a Target card and Ali had a Pac-Sun card so they had a good time window shopping, pretzel eating and rolling their eyes at people who either don't look in a mirror before they leave the house or don't care :) Either way, it was a good day. Came home and put a chicken in the oven to roast, Ali made a BIG salad with lots of veggies and I made the following pasta dish. It was delish! Enjoy!

CREAMY LEMON PENNE

1 lb. penne pasta, cooked al dente (just under the recommended time)
1/2 stick butter
2 T olive oil
2 large cloved of garlic, minced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 c. parmesan, grated (grate your own - not stuff in a can!)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper

Preheat oven to 350'. In a saucepan heat the butter and olive oil. Lightly saute the garlic then remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the juice, zest, sour cream and chicken broth until well-blended then stir in the pasta. Add 1/2 cup of the parmesan chesse and stir well. Pour mixture into greased casserole dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350' for 10 minutes. Remove the foil, top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and finish baking about 5 minutes. Do not overbake!!

Happy Tuesday!