Puttanesca and Peas

Hello foodies, Coxina here.
I fed some friends last night with these two lovely and super easy recipes. Alas, no pictures, but I haven't figured out how to post pics on the blogspot yet anyfood... (aaah yee-ah!)

Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes, Olives, and Capers
from Best of Cooking Light, serves 4

Ingredients

* 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp black pepper
* 1 tsp vegetable oil
* 1 T. bottled minced garlic
* 1 C. chopped fresh parsley
* 1/4 C. chopped pitted kalamata olives
* 2 tsp capers
* 1 (14.5-oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained


Directions

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
4. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients; scrape pan to loosen browned bits.
5. Return chicken and accumulated juice to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until chicken is done.

We had it with rice to sop up the juices, or you can have it with some delicious bread. I guess pasta would make sense too, riiight?

To accompany the chicks, and the crowd favorite, Pesto Pea Salad
from Ina's Barefoot Contessa At Home, serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
* 1/4 pound baby spinach leaves
* 1 (10 oz) package frozen peas, defrosted
* 1/2 cup prepared pesto
* 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts


Directions

Wash the spinach leaves and spin them dry. Place the spinach and the peas in a large bowl. Add the pesto and Parmesan, then sprinkle with salt. Toss well, sprinkle with pine nutes, and serve.

Note: To toast pignolis, place them in a dry saute pan and cook over medium-low heat, tossing frequently, for about 5-10 minutes until evenly browned.

Looking forward to making this salad again soon. It will be great for summer too. Just a footnote, we finished off our meal with... the dump cake! It's fan base is building!