What Our Chef Made Us: Marry Me Chicken Pasta, Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, Rice and Beans, Creamy Tuscan Salmon with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Here’s what our private chef stocked in our fridge this week 🍽️

Here are some of our favorite Asian soup spoons: LINK

I’m convinced any dinner that ends with someone scraping the pan deserves a permanent spot in the rotation. This one feels fancy enough for company, easy enough for a Tuesday, and creamy enough to make everyone forget they had other dinner requests five minutes earlier.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. pasta (your choice of shape)

• 2 tablespoons butter

• ½ onion, finely diced

• 1½ lbs. chicken breast, cut into cubes

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon pepper

• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced

• 1½ cups chicken broth

• 2 cups heavy cream

• ⅔ cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), chopped

• ¼–½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 cup fresh baby spinach

• 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

• 5–6 fresh basil leaves

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (optional)

If you’ve ever ordered this at a restaurant and wondered why it tastes impossible to recreate at home, here’s your answer. The eggplant turns perfectly silky, the garlic sauce clings to every bite, and suddenly everyone’s asking why vegetables taste this good.

Ingredients

Eggplant

• 10 oz Chinese eggplant (about 2 small), chopped into bite-size pieces

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)

• 1 tablespoon water

• ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Stir Fry

• 2½ tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)

• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

Some dinners quietly save the week, and this is one of them. It’s hearty, budget-friendly, makes fantastic leftovers, and somehow tastes even better the next day. Future You is already grateful.

Ingredients

• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil

• ½ medium white or yellow onion, finely diced

• 2 cups long grain brown rice or white rice

• 3 cups vegetable broth

• 1½ cups tomato-based salsa

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans or kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• Salt, to taste

• Fresh chopped cilantro, for serving (optional)

This is one of those meals that makes everyone think you spent way more time in the kitchen than you actually did. The creamy garlic Parmesan sauce deserves a piece of crusty bread, the salmon stays perfectly flaky, and it somehow feels like date night without leaving your house.

Ingredients

• 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (oil-packed, drained)

• ½ cup chicken broth

• 1 cup heavy cream

• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• 2 cups fresh spinach

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped (optional)

• ½ onion

• ½ medium white or yellow onion

• 4 Chinese eggplants (about 10 oz)

• Fresh baby spinach

• Fresh spinach

• Fresh basil

• Fresh cilantro (optional)

• Garlic (11 cloves total)

• Fresh ginger

• 1½ lbs chicken breast

• 4 salmon fillets (6 oz each)

• Butter

• Heavy cream (3 cups total)

• Parmesan cheese

• 1 lb pasta

• 2 cups long grain rice

• Sun-dried tomatoes in oil

• 2 cans black beans or kidney beans

• Tomato-based salsa

• Chicken broth

• Vegetable broth

• Olive oil

• Peanut or vegetable oil

• Cornstarch

• Light soy sauce

• Dark soy sauce

• Sugar

• Salt

• Black pepper

• Italian seasoning

• Ground cumin

• Smoked paprika

• Red pepper flakes

Happy cooking! If you make one this week, let me know which one wins your family’s unofficial “please make this again” award.