Lemon Ricotta Pasta + Peas and Juicy (?) Chicken

 

    When I'm at a loss for dinner ideas in the summertime, my default search is "summer pasta recipes". On this Tuesday night, I came across a lemon ricotta recipe (which is pretty typical) and decided to add peas for color. I chose chicken as a protein and immediately went to TikTok for the juiciest chicken recipes.

    **Since I went with a few different recipes for this meal, I'll cite them at the bottom of this post**

    I started by marinating the chicken in true Lauren fashion- I didn't have half of the ingredients, so just decided to wing it. I replaced soy sauce with Worcestershire and omitted honey and balsamic vinegar, and also subbed salt, pepper and garlic with 2 heaping teaspoons of Kinder's "The Blend". The rest of the ingredients were simple, just olive oil and lemon juice. I allowed the chicken to marinate for a little over an hour before continuing.

    I'm no good at cooking chicken. It's always too dry as a result of my crippling fear of salmonella, and spoiler alert- this chicken wasn't juicy. I only blame myself because this chicken recipe is RENOWNED on TikTok. Seriously, you should check it out because thousands of commenters can't be wrong. I think my main mistake was searing the chicken for a couple minutes longer than instructed as I wasn't satisfied with the crust at first. 

    Once the chicken was in the oven, I put a pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta then started on the sauce. This sauce had top tier ingredients like ricotta and lemon juice, so I was excited to try it. The OG recipe didn't mention seasoning but I added a decent amount of salt and pepper then included parmesan to melt. I boiled the pasta for 8 minutes, then added half a bag of frozen peas to cook along with it for 2 more minutes. Then, I drained the pasta and added it to the creamy sauce.

    The chicken had great flavor, and I wouldn't even call it dry, but it definitely wasn't juicy like I had hoped. I sliced it up and added it to a bowl with the pasta. To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the pasta either as its flavor seemed to be overwhelmed by the peas. Also, they were difficult to grab with a fork along with the pasta. But overall I considered it to be a good meal, and the pasta definitely gave a light, colorful summer vibe. 

    Pasta: @danis_dishes_ on TikTok

    OG chicken recipe: @sammypur on TikTok

    Modified chicken recipe with marinade: @makenzikopp and @broccyourbody on TikTok