Italian Flag Chicken

Adapted from Rachael Ray's recipe here (sorry, dad!)

This is called Italian Flag Chicken because the colors of the Italian flag are red, white, and green, just like the ingredients in this dish. The real shocker, of course, is that I made it without any garlic!

I love this recipe because it's fancy enough to serve for a special dinner but it's so simple - just five ingredients outside of what should be your pantry staples--salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Cupcakes!

I made vegan cupcakes.



If you have known me for more than a week, you will know how funny that sounds. I mean, have you ever seen me make a dessert without mounds of butter, cream, and at least a few eggs?? Growing up, I always equated the words 'vegetarian' and 'vegan' with 'disgusting,' because, well, all the food I had like that when I was younger pretty much tasted like cardboard.

Maybe it's living in this eco-friendly slightly hippie town (it tries, for New England). Or my weekly trips to the local organic bakery to buy bread. Or the fact that I just signed up for a produce share from a local farm. Whatever it is, we have discovered some pretty delicious organic, vegetarian and vegan food in this town. Which is probably why I looked twice at this recipe.

And I am glad I did, because these were yummy vegan cupcakes.

And I used plenty of glorious butter in the frosting, so Mom, you can stop looking so shocked now ;)

Reason #2 that you should make these cupcakes, is that they are incredibly easy. Seriously, I could make them with my eyes closed. Your seven year-old could make them. Just measure half the ingredients, stir, measure the other half, stir, combine, and stir again. Then bake. That's it!

Tomato Sauce with Butter & Onion

This sauce is the easiest yet. So easy in fact, that I don't always make homemade pasta to go with it. (shhh, don't tell anyone!) But seriously, if you are looking for a simple dish you can make with ingredients you already own, try these three:

Yes, that's it. Just tomatoes, butter and onion. Pour a can of whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice, into a pan. Add 5 tablespoons of butter and half an onion (peeled, but not cut). Simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes until thickened. Stir occasionally to break up tomatoes.

Discard the onion (save it for later!), and serve over cooked pasta. This serves 3-4 people, depending on how much sauce you like on your pasta. Even your pickiest of eaters will like it!

Yum.

Lemon Oregano Chicken Pasta

Here's another staple from the Ries household... a great beginner recipe.

Lemon Oregano Chicken Pasta

3 tablespoons butter
2 or 3 or 10 cloves of minced garlic, depending on who you ask
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup cream or half and half
1/2 cup lemon juice
dried or fresh oregano to taste
2 or 3 grilled chicken breasts
parmesan cheese
hot cooked homemade noodles

Saute the garlic in the butter for a couple minutes, then stir in the flour vigorously to form a smooth paste. Add the wine and stir til smooth, then add the cream a little at a time so the sauce stays thick and hot. Reduce slightly, finish with the lemon juice and some oregano. Toss with hot pasta and sliced grilled chicken. Garnish with parmesan cheese.

This is a simple cream sauce that is very forgiving. Add a little more cream to the sauce if you like, use more or less wine, or even stir some parmesan into the sauce as well as sprinkling it on top. The lemon juice gives it a nice bright flavor.

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

Due to a very busy month of March, and a bunch of pictures on my camera being accidentally erased, I have had a dearth of pasta-sauce posts. But, due to a lazy weekend in which I had time to enjoy breakfast in bed, put together a 500 piece puzzle, and bake yummy chocolate awesomeness, I finally had the chance to make another Saturday night pasta dinner! (Also, I washed a lot of dishes, thanks to our 1880's house with no dishwasher... pictures of that later, maybe.)

Bruschetta is really a summertime food, but thanks to a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and parmesan cheese, it tastes pretty awesome in the winter too. 

My Dad started making this pasta when I was a teenager, probably as a result of something similar he had in a restaurant somewhere. It's always been one of my favorites and has made frequent appearances at birthday dinners. This pasta looks impressive, but is really very easy to make. Plus, all of the prep can be done ahead of time, leaving only the assembly for the last minute.