With a lot of time off the past few weeks, I had the chance to hang out with my friend Mike a couple times. Like me, he has a baby at home. And like me, he finds it a rarity to get a home-cooked meal with much frequency.

However, unlike Mike, I’ve been taking the situation into my own hands. I think he finds it funny that I cook things other than easy stuff (Hamburger Helper anyone?). As proof, below are pictures of the Penne Saporite “Il Frantoio” I made a few days ago. It’s a fresh, homemade sauce with penne pasta. I added chicken to the recipe I was following, and topped our servings with some spices and mozzarella cheese. The first picture below shows it in progress, with the finished product at the bottom of the page.