Braided Spicy Pesto Mozzarella Bread

My family and I are all fans of everything bread, everything crusty that's bread (vienna rolls, ciabatta, focaccia, etc), and just about everything Italian that we've ever tried; even desserts.

Everyone knows what I am saying when I tell you that I'm always looking to try something new but will hit the right spots with "comfort", won't be too time consuming, and something that will be relatively easy to get Our Garden to at least try.

I make all sorts of breads from scratch and I do it often because I want that to be "normal" for them and something they can look back on in life and remember with love. I can't do a whole lot physically compared to other Mommas but, the things I can do, I'mna do the hell outta them for the ones I love most.

There is a serious issue of over production of stomach acid goin on in this house, so when we make Italian for family dinner there's always a "non red" option for sauce; usually a creamy pesto.

Everyone does the same thing with their bread when they eat pasta; leave a bit for the end so they can mop up the sauce on their bread. At least...that's what I've seen thousands of people do all of my life; so do we. I always wondered what bread would taste like with different sauces IN them. I mean...Parmesan Romano Vodka Bread sounds... TELL me you wouldn't at least TRY it.

You're lying.

That thought process is how I came up with the idea to make this bread. One of my favorite things about this bread is...the rise is only 1hr as opposed to 2h that a lot of my other breads need. Then there is the reality that basil is SUCH an aromatic, therapeutic herb/plant to begin with; how can you NOT want your whole house to smell like it?

Shall we get started?

The first thing you'll need to do is decide if there is already a basil pesto (they also make pesto out of sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, etc) that you LOVE (I have one it is dairy free!) or if you want to make it from scratch; if you want to make it from scratch you'll need to do that first. I will also include a pic of how to braid bread that I saw somewhere else (simply to save time because I forgot to take a pic of myself doin it).

Basil Pesto

2 c. basil, rinsed and packed

2 cloves garlic

1/4 c. grated or shredded parmesan

2-3 T. olive oil

In a food processor combine all ingredients and process until smooth. Set aside.

Braided Spicy Pesto Mozzarella

5 c. bread flour (yes! it makes a difference)

2 1/4 tsp yeast

2 tsp. salt

2 c. warm water 

2 T. honey

2 T. olive oil

2/3 c. shredded mozzarella

crushed red pepper flakes

 

In your stand mixer bowl or a large mixing bowl throw in your flour, salt and yeast; whisk to combine.

Add your honey and olive oil to the warm water and stir. Then pour all the wet ingredients into the dry, attach the dough hook, and start the mixer. Let it mix until combined and dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

After a rest, on a clean surface roll out your dough on parchment paper until you have a rectangle that measures approximately 18in x 12in.

Now is when you spread your basil pesto onto the dough, leaving 1/2in along the longest seam, closest to you (where I had the two rulers in the picture above this paragraph) without pesto on it. (This will make it easier to nip the roll shut after you roll this up.) Then sprinkle as much crushed red pepper flakes onto the basil pesto that you think the people eating it will enjoy. I had Our Garden to think of, so I stayed quite tame with the heat on this loaf.

After you've added as much of your pesto and red pepper flakes as you'd like, go ahead n sprinkle your mozzarella.

Now starting at the long seam, closest to you, roll this up just like you would if you were making cinnamon rolls. Pinch the roll closed all the way down the loaf when you finish rolling it. Then turn the loaf pinched seam side down onto the counter. Then take one end of the roll, pinch the end closed, and then fold it under itself so it sort of resembles a ball at the end. The seam on that ball will be on the bottom of your loaf along with the long seam.

Don't worry, the roll will look WAY too long at this point, but as you braid it...of course...it will become shorter.

Taking a sharp knife or a sharp pizza cutter, cut the roll lengthwise twice...so you have 3 separate pieces.

Turn each cut edge up so you'll see the beautiful green and cheese when the braid is done. Then you can begin braiding....if you've forgotten how to braid, here is a refresher.

When you've finished braiding your 3 pieces of dough, pinch the 3 ends together and fold it under the bottom; it'll look something like this.

Load the parchment paper with your braid onto a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet and place it in a draftless place to rise. Allow it to rise for 1hr.

When there is about 20 min left on the rise, preheat your oven to 350F. When the bread is done rising and the oven is preheated, brush the loaf with a simple egg wash.

 

Egg Wash

1 egg

1 T. water

Whisk together the egg and water and brush it onto the entire loaf right before baking.

Bake the loaf for 40-45 min or until golden brown.

My mozzarella got toasty, and I actually prefer it that way. Remove the bread loaf and the parchment to a cooling rack and allow it to cool at least 10 min before serving.

Our Garden wanted it with just a simple cup of my homemade pizza sauce to dip it in.

I'm an absolute cheese fiend, which does not mix well with being lactose intolerance but...don't judge. What I did with my slabs of bread was of course try it just the way it is when it comes out of the oven, and it was DIVINE. It was crusty on the outside, and SO soft on the inside. The pesto wasn't over powering and you didn't really get an overly high amount of heat out of the red pepper. It was fabulously balanced in flavors and textures.

But, I'm still a "cheesy garlic bread" kinda gal so...I put some butter, garlic powder, more mozzarella, and fresh cracked pepper on a couple pieces and tossed it back in the oven for a couple minutes. I dipped my bread slices into pizza sauce as well.

I don't like to leave fresh baked stuff to languish in the house, luckily it's so well liked it doesn't really happen anymore. The day after I made this loaf the Sprout asked for a pizza boat; all that means is I put pizza sauce right onto the bread, sprinkle mozzarella onto the bread, and bake it. The bread was gone in 24 hrs, and not a single crumb went to waste. I promise you, there's a lot of things you can do to this including maybe even putting something like pepperoni in this braid.

Whatever you decide to try, lemme know how you liked the bread and of course...enjoy!

Saw It On Insta....

Life's been pretty insane since the last time I published a recipe on here. The military moved us (again...just wait, it'll happen at LEAST two more times before my Mister is done...) to the east coast and we landed at a base that neither of us were very wild about so we ended up living a hefty commute from the duty station because we're not fans of urban nor suburban living anymore. We wanted property, peace, and space. When 2020 happened, we were enormously grateful and blessed what we went about finding our home the way we did; with sustainability, quiet, and rural living at the top of our "must haves" which we'd learned not to try to worry about in the last 15 yrs. Making it a priority this go 'round is something neither I nor my Mister have regretted when we listen to the news or catch a few headlines of happenings near the bases. No bueno.

 Home

 Mr. Cardinal

 

Double Summer Beauty

Autumn Remnants

Magnolia Janes, Spring's First Blooms

I've honestly never been happier with a home we've chosen and it allowed me to make the final jump into a world I'd been planning on being in since before we had children; homeschooling, but more about that venture some other time. The saddest thing I've experienced here is knowing that we may have to leave this year. We've reached our "time limit" at this duty station and either the Mister is movin' to a new job at a nearby base or they're gonna be sling shotting us 'round the globe to Lord knows where by July. If you're the praying kind....please put in a good word for us; we'd like to stay here in our little paradise.

Having more time on my hands than I thought I'd have now that we're homeschooling was also not expected. In my mind, I'd be losing it (my mind) most of the time and clamoring for time to myself at every turn. Not happenin'. Our Garden (Sprout, Sweet Pea & the Meant To Be) are well self contained units with learning and I hardly hear them or see them unless they need help or have a question. That's left me time to read scholarly studies, learn way more about CoV-2 than I ever cared to (my actual degrees are in the medical field), and treatements along with prevention measures. I'm so tired of that I could scream. I had to get creativity back in my life somehow. Stockham Hollow is still there with the homemade jams, jellies, fruit butters, baked goods, etc but I somehow added candles and scented bath salts to the mix and....still...not enough creating for my liking.

One of the new banes of my existence has come to be "autoplay" features on websites like Rumble, Facebook & YouTube; you watch something and BAM...it plays somethin else, and most of the time NOT something I would've chosen if left to my own devices. A couple weeks ago, however, this feature allowed me to stumble onto a recipe on Instagram that I just have not been able to get out of my mind.

Salted Caramel Biscoff Cheesecake. Yeah, you read it right. The original video was added as a clip to a dude who watches other people cook and then pretty much repeats "Lawd...okay, no...I'm gonna trust the process....trust the process..." (frankly...he GETS me) and then posts it to his Facebook page. But in the middle of one such video was an Instagram video of an English woman making Salted Caramel Biscoff Cheesecake for her husband. You can see the video of her making and assembling the cake here and watch her make the salted caramel she used in this recipe here. She has the amounts and methods in her videos for both recipes, but I'm not goin' to lie to ya, I followed her salted caramel recipe to the letter and it failed. Twice. So I employed America's Test Kitchen caramel recipe instead...which turned out on the first try.

You'll need a kitchen scale or access to a measurement calculator to make this properly. This is made in an 8 inch springform pan with the flat part facing upwards, so it's easier to fully cut the crust of the cheesecake when you're serving it. Hey....and for all you no fuss folk out there, have I mentioned this is NO BAKE?

It's no bake! Moving on to the good part...

Salted Caramel Biscoff Cheesecake

2 pkgs Biscoff cookies

1 bag of Biscoff cookie crumbs (at least 400mg crumbs)

165g butter, melted

300g heavy cream

2 T. organic cane sugar

3.5 - 8 oz bricks of full fat cream cheese

1 recipe of salted caramel sauce - cooled (at least 200g)

150g of Biscoff crumbs set aside for garnish

 

Salted Caramel Sauce

1 c. water

2 c. organic cane sugar

2 c. heavy cream

1-2 tsp. salt (depends on how salty you like it)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Pour the water into a heavy bottomed 2 qt. pot then pour the sugar into the center of the pot; taking care not to let the sugar crystals stick to the sides of the pot. Cover and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat; once the mixture is boiling uncover the pot and continue to boil until the sugar syrup is thick and straw-colored and registers 300 degrees on a thermometer; it'll take about 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the syrup is deep amber and registers 350 degrees; another 1-2 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the cream and salt (start with 1 tsp and see how that tastes to you...remember there's no seasoning in the cream cheese itself) to a simmer in a small saucepan over high heat (if the cream boils before the sugar syrup reaches a deep amber color, remove the cream from the heat and cover to keep warm).

Remove the pan with sugar syrup from the heat; very carefully pour about 1/4 of the hot cream into it (the mixture will bubble vigorously...dangerously so!), and let the bubbling subside.  Add the remaining cream, the vanilla, and lemon juice; whisk until the sauce is smooth. (The sauce can be cooled and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)

Set the salted caramel sauce aside to cool before using in the recipe.

Now, line your springform pan with parchment, and arrange your cookies around the perimeter of the pan....like so

Won't lie, I used WAY more cookies than the original lady did in her recipe but I wanted to in order to cut the richness of the cream cheese filling itself. Also, like a thicker border and a thinner bottom crust typically. You can do what you like, this is one of the parts of the recipe a person can customize. Wanting a thicker border is why I bought 2 whole pkgs of the cookies AND crumbs as well, if the border of cookies were more spread out, you'd only need 2 pkgs of cookies for the whole shebang.

Pulverize whatever cookies you didn't use on the border and put it in a bowl on your scale, add more crumbs from the bag of crumbs until you hit 400g on your scale. Pour the 165g of melted butter into the 400g of crumbs, remember to reserve 150g of crumbs for garnishing later. Use a fork to stir the butter into the 400g of crumbs, the pour into the pan and pressdown with your fork. (This is where you control how thick you want your bottom crust to be, I like it on the thin side. You may not end up using the entire amount of buttered crumbs.) Set the pan aside.

In a large bowl cream the cream cheese until smooth. Then pour the cooled salted caramel sauce (at least 200g of the caramel sauce) into the cream cheese and blend well, then set mixture aside.

In a medium sized bowl pour cold heavy whipping cream and the sugar into a bowl, then with the whisk attachment on your hand mixer (I recommend you do ALL hand blender for this recipe, which I've never recommended before but with this it is just easier and faster than using my KitchenAid standmixer.) whip the cream and sugar into whipped cream.

Once that's formed into a loverly, thick whipped cream, fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese - salted caramel mixture with a large spatula until thoroughly incorporated. Do not use beaters or even attempt to do this with the whisk attachment, it'll take somma the "lift" outta your mixture and you don't want that with something that can end up being so dense already, like cheesecake.

Using a large soup spoon, place dollops of the cream cheese mixture on top of the crumb crust; use half of the mixture in this layer. Then, using a small spatula spread it gently into the cookie border...this helps stabilize that cookie wall. After you finish smoothing that mixture, sprinkle some Biscoff crumbs over that...as light or thick as you'd like, and drizzle with some of the salted caramel you've reserved. It'll look somethin' like this.

Then carefully dollop the remaining cream cheese mixture over that middle peek-a-boo of crumb 'n' salted caramel; use a small spatula again to smooth out the top of the cream cheese.

Following the simple garnishing directions in the video, I placed a light weight lid (she used a bowl) over a small salted caramel patch already drizzled in the center (under that lid) and using a small spoon, sprinkled remaining Biscoff crumbs between the upside down lid and the cookie wall.

 

Remove the lid and if there is any salted caramel sauce remaining, pour it into the center on top of the caramel patch already there, making it nice 'n' thick.

 

Slice when ready to serve. This could probably feed 10-12 sane people, or about 8 people who are willing to eat themselves into diabetic comas.

Biscoff cookies are something I can easily compare to speculoos; a crisp, melt in your mouth "spiced" Belgian butter cookie. I am a super fan of speculoos covered in a light coating of white chocolate, it tames the spices so well, its hard to believe it's white chocolate....which I normally don't go for. Biscoff, I hear, are served on commerical airplanes a lot these days. (I wouldn't know, I stopped flying in 2005.....reasons. *cough* TSA invasion of privacy *hack* *cough*) The salted caramel cream cheese filling does the same thing to the cinnamon in Biscoffs that white chocolate does to speculoos...takes the heat and intensity out of the cinnamon in the cookie and it tastes much more mild than you'd expect.

This tastes absolutely incredible. It's a winning combination, and for someone that isn't fond of cinnamon in her desserts, I can honestly say the cinnamon is so muted by all of the other flavors that I sort of forgot those cookies had cinnamon in them at all.

Now....changes. After making this recipe, cutting it, trying to plate it, etc I'm telling you there are two changes to this recipe and configuration that need to be made if and when I make this in the future:

First, I'd add MORE salted caramel sauce to the cream cheese/whipped cream mixture, double it to 400g of sauce. 

Second, I'd employ a square cheesecake pan instead and NOT stagger/fan the Biscoffs out; instead push them flush up against the side of the pan and secure them or turn all the cookies into crumbs and press it into a springform like you would for any other cheesecake you'd make. I'd use cut pieces of cookie to garnish the top only.

Other than that, I can safely tell you that this is a dessert that will wow any crowd, and be a new "fave" that people request for special occasions. The Scandahoovian in me feels compelled to say...if you're looking for a way to add lemon sauce to this (lemon curd with gingerbread cake is a staple at Christmastime on a lot of Scandanavian tables.) I can tell you with surety that substituting lemon curd in the cream cheese filling AND with the Biscoff crumbs will be another winning combo that people will love. The acid of the lemon will help harpoon the richness of the cream cheese filling in a way that will be hard to deny. Also...there is a distinct possibility pouring a packet of white chocolate Jell-o pudding into the cream cheese could have an interesting flavor combination. Sky's the limit!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and if you do decide to make it, lemme know what you think about it and what changes you made...  Happy cookin', folks!

Spicy Beef with Black Bean & Corn Salsa on Rice

This year has been quite busy with surgeries, Stockham Hollow business, school, and family life.  I usually have gobs and gobs of things to say about where the recipe came from and blab about certain food obsessions but this recipe honestly came from a short conversation I had with my Mister before he walked out the door to go somewhere last week.  It went sort of like this....

"It looks like it is going to rain out today.  I feel like making a roast or something." - Me

"I wonder how a beef roast would taste with cinnamon on it." - Mister

*I blink at him with a "WTF did you just say?" look on my face*

more pause

"Sure, yeah....I mean Latin cuisines use it all of the time.  Especially with smoky sorts of spices like cumin and also with chiles." - Me

"Tacos!" - Mister

*I threw a kitchen towel at him because when I don't know what to make for dinner and I make the mistake of asking him...his answer is "Tacos", every.SINGLE.time.*

"I'm not making tacos, dork.  You're going to be late." - Me

"Love you!...." - Mister

*door closes*

I got up to look out the patio door window and realized my pepper patch and roma patch were still producing SO much....it annoyed me.  Which seems horrible to say.  I feel like Stockham Hollow and all of the gardening and canning I have been able to do is such a blessing but I haven't been feeling so hot lately.  Been working on a new diagnosis of vascular EDS and EDS itself comes with a bunch of symptoms that just suck...add to it vascular instability and you have a circus for your health.  The sort of circus that is a nightmare...and everything is always broken lol

I walked out the back door to see what I had to bring in...tomatoes, red chiles, green chiles, Hot Hungarian Wax peppers, Anaheim peppers, green bell pepper, cukes, watermelon, squash...  We had peppers coming out of our ears!  Growing up it wasn't really a thing in Minnesota, but we loved salsa so my mother made it.  Most of the time she made it from store bought ingredients including HUGE cans of stewed unseasoned tomatoes from Sam's Club.  I am not a fan of primary bulk of ingredients being canned to begin with and I have never really been in love with tons of tomatoes on or in anything.  So I surveyed my harvest and decided on Black Bean & Corn Salsa and dinner was planned from there.

This recipe LOOKS long but it is a lot of seasonings in list form.  If it weren't for me liking my salsa cold when there are black beans...this whole recipe from start to table only takes about 35 minutes, even with all of the chopping for the salsa.

****Note about red chiles!!!  I used THREE seeded red chiles in my salsa.  My heat level was HOT.  I did that on purpose.  For medium, use 2 and for mild use 1.  Don't kill yourself lol ****

Spicy Beef with Black Bean & Corn Salsa on Rice
3 T. organic extra virgin olive oil
2 ears of corn, kernels removed from the cob
1 1/2 c. organic canned black beans, rinsed
1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeds removed, & chopped
5 small roma tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
3 small red chiles
4 T. of fresh organic cilantro chopped
4 T. fresh organic lime juice
1/4 c. white onion chopped with a Pampered Chef hand chopper
4 garlic cloves minced
sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 drop of Young Living essential oil of Lime (optional)

I tossed the olive oil, lime juice, red chiles, cilantro, salt, pepper, lime essential oil, and garlic into my Magic Bullet mixer and just let 'er RIP.  I let it go on for a good minute...almost 2 so I could make sure the oil and juice were completely emulsified and wouldn't separate once they were poured over the vegetables to complete the salsa.

Pour the lime sauce mixture over the rinsed black beans, corn kernels, white onion, roma tomatoes, and green bell pepper in a medium sized glass bowl, preferably with a lid.  Then stir thoroughly with a spoon, put on the lid, and let it sit for at least 2 hours or until cooled through.  You don't HAVE to let it sit that long, but I like my salsa cold when there are black beans in it.  It is a texture thing lol

Spicy Beef
4 tsp. cumin
4 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp. organic evaporated cane juice or cane sugar
4 tsp. organic extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lbs beef, cut into cubes (use your favorite cut of beef!)

Cube your favorite cut of beef and toss it all into a bowl.  Throw the seasoning and oil onto the pile and stir with a spoon or with rubber gloves on your hand...also tossing it into a ziploc and massaging it works.  When every cube of beef is nicely coated, set it aside for 30 minutes to a hour so the spices can work on the beef.

While the beef is roominating and the salsa is cooling, cook your rice.  I used basmati because my family and I love the nuttiness of it with the Indian spices we all favor and there are a lot of those same tones in Latin cuisine so basmati is a good pairing.  

Rice
4 c. organic beef stock
2 c. organic basmati rice
4 T. organic extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
fresh cracked pepper

Pour the stock and some sea salt and pepper into a large pot and bring it to a low boil and pour in the rice and olive oil.  Stir to make sure you get the oil on as much rice as possible.  Cook the rice per the package instructions for length of time and covered or uncovered as indicated.  I always cover mine, it keeps it from drying out.

When the rice is finished, flash fry the beef cubes in a large skillet using 4 T. of organic olive oil and vegetable oil or butter...so it can fry without creating smoke from the olive oil.  As soon as the outsides of the meat are browned, cover it and turn the eat off and leave it on the burner to finish.  This will make medium to medium well beef cubes.

Put about 1/4-1/2 c. of the cooked rice on your plate, then 6-8 cubes of beef and maybe a spoon of drippings on the beef, and add a healthy 1/4 c. of the black bean and corn salsa to the top of your meat.  There...you're ready to eat!

This turned out to be one of the most balanced dinners I have ever made as far as all of the parts working so well on their own but just....INCREDIBLE when you have a little of everything in one bite.  Perfect salt, perfect sweet, perfect texture on the meat, perfect fresh crunch to the peppers in the salsa, and the basmati rice was an excellent choice for this Latin spice profile.  

Everyone loved it as well....all of the children, my Mister, and I.  I wasn't expecting that at all but it certainly is fun to see the children reacting to the parts of it they loved the most.  This is a new family favorite and because I can totally control the heat of the salsa and the meat spice, this is a recipe I'd be comfortable with cooking and feeding to guests without a second thought.  Try this dish on your family or friends, I promise you won't regret it and they'll be thankful.....and stuffed!  Enjoy!

GF DF Chicken Bacon Garlic Spinach Spicy Penne

Yeah, the title is long, but that is what it is and I have learned the hard way (because I do it as well...) that if you don't mention in the title whether or not something is gluten free or dairy free and that is what people are searching for, you'll be a up a creek in no time with your readership.  SO there it all is, in black and white.  Dairy free, gluten free and unbelievably satisfying.  A dish the whole family will love...even the tiniest of kiddos!

There isn't much background to this recipe.  I saw it on Facebook a while back, decided to fiddle with it so I could eat it which included changing the spice/heat level to be child friendly, use almond milk and almond cheeses in the place of all of the dairy (you have NO idea how wonderful almond cheese does as mozzarella and parmesan, you just have to try it!), and sprouted grain fettuccine pasta.  The pasta is important, especially if your little's favorite thing to eat is spaghetti...using a fettuccine, linguini, or spaghetti noodle will be the difference between dinner and DUD on your dinner table.  You eat first with smell...then eyes.  Never forget that order, mouth and tummy come far after the initial seduction.  It is the same for a child as it is for an adult.  Even more so on the "eyes" portion.  Most children shy away from trying something that looks "new" or "different".  I am just DEEPLY grateful we have crossed the threshold of  the "two bites no matter what" rule with most of the littles here.  Praise to all appropriate beings that it is so......

GF DF Chicken Bacon Garlic Spinach Spicy Penne
1-3 T. garlic infused grapeseed oil
1 T. reserved bacon fat
1.5 lbs. chicken breasts, cook then cut into strips
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
1 drop of oregano essential oil
1 drop of thyme essential oil
1 drop of basil essential oil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning (IF YOU DON'T HAVE OILS ONLY!)
5 med. San Marzano or Roma tomatoes, cubed
1 c. blanched spinach (can use drained, frozen if that is what you have! spinach is spinach, folks!)
5 cloves garlic, pressed (if you don't have a press, mince it)
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (increase to 2 tsp. if you like heat)
5 or 6 strips of bacon (cooked, drained, and julienned (cut into thin strips) for your long noodle pairing)
1 1/4 c. almond milk
1 1/2 c. almond milk parmesan or mozzarella cheese, grated
1 box gluten free penne, cooked per box instructions
extra grated almond milk cheese for serving, optional
sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper

In a large skillet, on med-high heat, heat the olive and bacon oils until they crackle well. Toss together in a small bowl the paprika, sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper then sprinkle HALF of it on the tops of your chicken breasts.  Add the chicken SEASONED SIDE DOWN to the warm oiled pan and cook on one side on med-high heat for 1 minute. While it is cooking, sprinkle the uncooked sides facing you with the other half of the paprika, sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper mixture. Flip the chicken over, and cook on the other side for 1 minute on high heat. Reduce heat to med-low, flip chicken over again and cook, covered, for several minutes until no longer pink in the center (you'll have to slice it and check...better safe than pukin yer guts out!). Remove chicken from the pan and keep chicken warm by setting it in the microwave or covering it with foil until it has rested at least the same amount of time it took to cook it or until .

To the same pan (with the chicken drippings, etc), add your chopped tomatoes, blanched spinach, pressed/minced garlic, crushed red pepper, 1/3 of the chicken, julienned and HALF of your bacon (already cooked, drained and julienned). Toss everything with tongs in your pan to gently mix it.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta of MOST of the water and put it back into the pot you boiled it in.  While it is still warm, drizzle 1 T. of olive oil on the pasta and toss the pasta in the oil...this will prevent it from sticking together as it waits to be added to the sauce.

Add your almond milk and bring pan to a low boil. Only after half and half starts boiling, add grated almond cheese, then immediately to a simmering heat, allowing the cheese to melt and the sauce appears to be thickening and becoming more creamy, it should only take a minute or 2.  Remove sauce from the heat.  Check the flavor, add more sea salt if necessary but leave the decision for more fresh cracked pepper to your dinner guests/family.  NOW is the time to add the essential oils to the sauce.  ONE drop of each oregano, thyme, and basil.  Never boil essential oils it destroys their properties.  Heat does activate them but heating them to a boiling temperature ruins their molecular structure.  If you are too paranoid to add this to the warm sauce, instead mix these three oils with the 1 T. of olive oil that you drizzle on your noodles.  That will surely not ruin the properties of these beautiful oils!  Also....it will make your noodles stand out on their own in the dish rather than them disappearing into the mix.  Your decision!

Add your pasta to the skillet of sauce. Add remaining julienned bacon, season with more salt if necessary. Slice the remaining 2/3 of chicken into thin strips. To serve, top the pasta with chicken strips and grated almond cheese, if desired.

 I'll keep this short and sweet...  It was perfection on a plate!  Veggies, creamy sauce even without any dairy anywhere near the plate, and succulent, wonderfully seasoned chicken with gluten free penne...all the parts of the pyramid covered all in less than 30 minutes!  I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we all did...wasn't a speck left on any plate.  That's quite the success in this household these days.