Sweet Italian Chicken

 You know, if you review this blog carefully you will find 

that our go-to meat is, chicken.

Check out the list of labels over there --------------->

So far, 13, as I've counted today, recipes are chicken.

 There is just so much you can do with chicken.

When I put this together,

I won't lie,

I had my doubts.

Can you really combine sweet with Italian?

But I love the way this caramelized while it was baking.

Just two ingredients,

30 minutes,

and you have dinner.

A great dinner!

1 pkg Italian salad dressing mix

1 c. brown sugar

Mix them together and roll chicken breast cutlets in the mixture.

Place them on a foil lined cookie sheet with edges, 

and bake at 375 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes.

We served ours with chicken stock rice and kitchen cut green beans.

Kitchen cut?

I never knew there was a kitchen cut green bean 

until I bought some on accident.

See, we learn something new everyday.

See Ya'all Soon!

Johnie's Goulash & Homemade Pasta Sauce

 We haven't been here for a while.

Since the weather is getting cooler

we promise we will be here more.

We decided to take the summer off.

Not really, but it sounds good.

That's our story and we're sticking to it.

During the summer we do a lot of riding the Harley.

One thing that we did not get done was,

a poker run.

This last summer we made it to:

Pittsburgh, PA

Indian Lake

Lake Erie

and Findlay a few times.

More than a few times really.

We were there so much this last summer 

that we discussed moving there.

Johnie talked about being hungry for goulash.

 So this last weekend he set sail in the kitchen and threw it all together.

When he cooks he doesn't like to use recipes.

And he certainly doesn't like to use canned pasta sauce.

I'm going to try and put this recipe into print for you.

The ingredients will not be perfectly measured, 

so you will have to make your own judgement when making it.  

2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes (one petite diced, one seasoned with basil)
To taste:
Italian seasoning
Crushed garlic cloves (2 frozen cubes)
Salt & Pepper
1 TBS sugar
1 med. onion chopped
1 cube basil (The frozen cubes are from Trader Joe's. They come in tiny looking ice cube trays.)
But you can use fresh if you like. One cube equals 1 tsp.
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
A splash of red wine
1 can tomato paste
1 lb. ground beef (browned)
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 ladle pasta water

Johnie started out with a little oil in a skillet and cooked the onion on medium heat until it was translucent. He added the garlic, basil, and seasonings with the onion. Mixed them together and then added the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, red wine vinegar, and red wine. He left this all simmer for an hour and a half. He then used a potato masher to crush some of the tomato pieces. He browned his hamburger in a separate skillet. When the hamburger was cooked through, he drained the grease and added the hamburger to the simmering sauce. He also added 1/2 c. of Parmesan cheese along with the hamburger.

And for the pasta:
He used San Giorgio Trio Italiano

 Johnie seasons his water before cooking the pasta.

He shakes in: 

Italian seasoning,

garlic powder,

salt,

pepper,

onion powder.

He then boils the pasta al dente.

Before he drains the pasta he adds a ladle full of the pasta water to his sauce.

After he drained the pasta he added it to his pasta sauce.

And there you have it folks,

Johnie's Goulash

And it was some of the best goulash I have ever had.

We served it with garlic toast.

But a simple salad would also go nicely.

Italian Baked Chicken

 I know our posts have been very few here lately.

But as long as we connect with you as we can, 

I think everything will be okay.

Per our work schedule we know that people cannot

cook every day of the week.

That is what leftovers are for.

Right?

Right!

I have been traveling for my job which leaves my cooking

days limited.

But I always try and leave Johnie with something he can 

pack in his work lunch.

And even eat at home if he needs to.

I threw together this Italian baked chicken last week.

I will share with you what I do to prepare this.

 I used to make this a lot when my kids were growing up.

I always mixed up the spices so it never tasted the same.

I had three chicken leg quarters, which is more than enough

for Johnie and I.

I started with a half of a stick of butter.

I placed it in a foil lined baking dish big enough to hold three

chicken leg quarters.

I placed 1 1/2 TBS garlic powder on top of the butter.

 While the oven was preheating to 350 degrees F. I placed the pan in the oven.

The butter and garlic powder melted together.

It's okay if the garlic powder browns.

Everything is going to bake anyway.

The chicken leg quarters that I purchased were already seasoned with

Italian seasoning.

But it wasn't enough for me.

After the butter melted I rolled the chicken pieces in it.

I got them good and coated and then added more Italian seasoning.

I baked the chicken for an hour.

See Ya'all Soon

Italian Tortellini Soup

 Every morning when I get up, I look out the bathroom window

that frames the scene of our back yard.

Every morning there are more leaves on the ground.

For some reason this view makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Tell me I'm crazy.....It's okay.

Because I know what is coming after all the leaves are off the trees.

But the warm and fuzzy feeling directs me to soup.

This Italian Tortellini Soup is one of the best.

Sure did warm my soul.

And Johnie loved it too.

 I didn't really get a chance this week to touch on our last weekend.

Me working second shift hours has really been tough on us.

We never see each other during the week.

So when the weekends get here they are all about us.

Last Friday while I was at work Johnie sent me a text that read:

"I hope you love what I got for us."

Really?

I'm stuck at work and he sends a text like that?

I couldn't wait for my shift to end.

But the hours drug on, and on, and on.....

So by the time I made it home at 3:00 a.m. Johnie was fast asleep.

Which meant I would have to wait longer for the surprise he had planned.

Saturday morning he presented this gorgeous (picture above) hand painted

portrait of us standing beside his Harley.

This picture is huge and takes up one whole wall in our game room.

Johnie is definitely a man that thinks outside the box.

I am so lucky to have him in my life.

 Shall we get back to the soup?

Give me a minute to dry my eyes.....

This soup doesn't take long to throw together.

This is what I did:

Italian Tortellini Soup

In a large mixing bowl mix together:

5 c. hot water

4 TBS chicken soup base

1-7 oz. envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix

1-14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

3/4 tsp. dried basil

a lite shake of red pepper flakes

In a dutch oven I squeezed and crumbled 7 chicken breakfast sausage links. 

Add:

1 medium chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped fine

Brown the sausage, onion, and garlic

When this is browned add the liquid mixture

Bring to a boil

Add 1 package refrigerated cheese tortellini (9 oz)

Chop 1-10 oz. package fresh baby spinach

Add the spinach just before tortellini is done

Allow the spinach to wilt

And there you have it! Italian Tortellini Soup

See Ya'all Soon

Some Italian Flare

 We could not come up with a name for this.

So we will just call it an Italian Flare.

(The fish is Schwans Potato Encrusted Cod)

Which is very good, by the way.

Someone in this blog area.....I won't mention any names Johnie.

I promise!

Is having issues with headaches and leg cramps.

Well the leg cramps are obvious.....

Low potassium.

So since this person that I promised not to mention.

See Johnie, I didn't say any names.....

Refuses to go to the doctor.

So Angie has taken a stand, and is looking into changing the diet.

A person's body issues usually relate to diet.

Notice I said usually?

We are going to give this a try for a while to see how the leg cramps go.

Which more potassium means:

Fish

Avocado

Dark leafy greens

Bananas (of course)

Yogurt

Dried Apricots 

White beans

Mushrooms

Baked potatoes

Acorn Squash 

(but we will leave this one out. johnie doesn't like the squishy stuff)

 We informed you in our introduction that this blog would be a place for product reviews.

Here is our first product:

Happy Harvest Diced Tomatoes.

These are found at the Aldi Supermarket.

We have been doing a lot of shopping there and their products are pretty amazing.

These tomatoes are just as good, if not better than, Hunts.

I like the diced tomatoes with herbs.

This one is basil, garlic, and oregano.

We keep our pantry stocked with these.

A can of these are very good served over pasta, veggies, or for creating your own Italian dish.

Just like we did.

 One thing about Angie in the kitchen, she is always planning ahead.

She soaked one whole bag of great northern beans and divided them into

2 c. freezer bag portions.

That way they are soaked and ready to go.

All you have to do is simmer them for 45 minutes to an hour in salted water.

Using fresh dried beans is so much better for you than the 

overloaded preservative packed cans.

This is what we did to create this awesome potassium filled dish:

Italian Flare

The (2 c.) soaked, frozen great northern beans have to be simmered for 45 minutes to an hour. So you will have to plan ahead if using them. Just cover the beans with salted water, bring to a boil, and turn down to a simmer covered for 45 min. to an hour. You want them firm tender, so don't over-cook them.

1 can diced seasoned tomatoes

1 jar marinara sauce

1 TBS dried oregano

1 TBS dried Italian seasoning

Place these ingredients in a large skillet and simmer covered for 10 minutes.

Add the beans, and a 16 oz. bag of fresh spinach. Allow the spinach to wilt. 

Cook your pasta to desired taste. Top the pasta with sauce and parm cheese.

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See ya'all soon