Chicken-Cauliflower Fettuccine: Empty-the-Fridge Pasta Night

I made up this recipe out of thin air the other day (I mean technically speaking, I made it up with what the fridge losers - the half-eaten veggies- inspired me to do), but that's neither here nor there. I saw half of a cauliflower, a few celery ribs laying around (who am I kidding they are always stacked perfectly) and a box of wholewheat fettuccine I was pretty excited to get into -among other things, we all know by now that most of my recipes, although they are made within minutes, contain approximately 78 ingredients (just kidding don't get discouraged keep reading)- and I invented a chicken broth sauce on the spot. A vegetable broth is also great (I have tried beef as well, it all works out). So get your chicken drumsticks out of the freezer, you just found another original way to serve them!

I noticed I haven't written 56-page tangents and anecdotes lately, but that's because I have been working on creating footage for a Youtube video containing several recipe ideas. Filmography is amazing, but I find myself only wanting wine and a comedy to end my night afterwards. Like all fun projects, I am sure I will find a balance and enjoy both as post-work, baby-is-sleeping hobbies. I also look forward to looking back on these (almost 100 articles already!?) in 3 months when I go back to work. I am glad I have used my free time (Ella's naps) to keep working on brand collaborations, campaigns, hotel and spa reviews, blog articles and creating/cooking new recipes.

I can happily say that, when your baby is healthy and happy (so grateful for this, every single day!) you can very much keep up an interesting lifestyle and work on your passions on the side. Photography, cooking, road-trips, content creation, writing and now filmography are still very present in my life- I just chose to use my free time to work on those rather than re-watching The Office (again, who am I kidding, I 100% do so while uploading photos to my computer). Oh and hosting family and friends, tons of it! At this point I am glad I don't enjoy runway trends or robotics because when would I SLEEP?

And of course, let's not forget that running a zero-waste kitchen is also a major passion of mine, so let this recipe be one of many examples in which you can use up every inch of fresh produce in your fridge:

You will need (or end up with, really),

Celery (3 ribs- I started out with 4 but in all honesty I ate an entire one while chopping them)

Flour (3-4 tbsp, depending on the level of thickness you want in your sauce)

Chicken drumsticks (6)

Shallots (2, thinly sliced)

Garlic (5 cloves, minced)

Chicken broth: 1 1/2 cup

Basil salt

Black pepper

Wholewheat fettuccine (1 box)

Butter (1 tbsp)

Olive oil (1/4 cup, for the roast part + when mixing at the end)

I would also gladly add,

Green peas (1 cup)

Or,

Roasted chickpeas (1 cup)

Mint leaves

Paprika (a dash)

And if this were summer: I would add every herb in the garden!

*As seen in the ingredient list, a few quantities changed as I was preparing the dish but the essence remains the same!

A few steps,

1. First, you want to cook your chicken as it it will take the longest out of all the steps. I tossed my drumsticks in Italian herbs, olive oil, basil salt and black pepper. Cook at 350 degrees in the oven for about an hour.

2. Chop the cauliflower in very small pieces and place on a baking tray with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes (I left mine for 30 and they were a tad burnt) at 350 degrees.

3. In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, melt butter and toss thinly sliced celery pieces with garlic and shallots for 5-7 minutes, or until the celery has soften.

4. Add flour and mix for about 30 seconds, making sure all vegetables are coated equally.

5. Add broth and stir, while lowering the heat. Remove from heat when the sauce has reached the consistency of your liking (it only takes a few minutes, and you can keep lowering the heat if you wish for it to stay warm while everything else is cooking).

6. In a separate pot, bring salt water to boil and cook pasta according to packaging instructions. Drain and put back in the pot, off the heat.

7. When the chicken is ready, take it out of the oven and give it a few minutes to cool down. Then, remove all meat from the bones (I personally remove or keep the skin as well, depending on my mood and how crunchy it turns out!) and set aside.

8. Throw everything together, mix thoroughly and add spices, olive oil and black pepper if desired. Enjoy!