Monthly Archives: March 2026

Chicken Marsala

Posted on March 14, 2026 | 1 comment

Chicken Marsala

The other night I prepared a version of Chicken Marsala which came out totally delicious, and worthy of posting this recipe. I am always trying out new recipes for this dish. I combined about 3 recipes and I must say this final recipe worked out just perfectly.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all purpose flour for coating

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

I used 1 package thin chicken cutlets ( 5 pieces ) about 1 1/2 lbs.

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup olive oil

8 ounces Cremini Mushrooms sliced (stemmed) obviously if you like a lot of mushrooms add more!

1/2 cup Marsala ( you can buy in supermarket in the oil or vinegar section usually)

1/4 cup Sherry 

1/2 cup chicken stock

*1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley -optional obviously

Directions:

In a shallow bowl or large plate, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and oregano. coat chicken pieces in the flour mixture.

In a large skillet, melt butter in olive oil over medium heat. When oil is hot place chicken in the pan and lightly brown. A little hint, don’t futz with the chicken , place it in ( make sure the oil is very hot) and let it be , turn after about 5 minutes, it should be a light golden brown, then do the same for the other side. Use tongs , try not to pierce the skin of the chicken. Remove chicken to a plate, I take paper towel and blot it.

Lower the heat, put mushrooms in pan. I sprinkle a little salt on the mushrooms. Cook mushrooms for about 5 minutes till their moisture has evaporated, and then de-glaze the pan with the sherry, Marsala,  and the chicken broth. Let it cook for another few minutes. The sauce will reduce slightly. Return the chicken to the pan, cover the pan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, turning once. Before you serve sprinkle some chopped parsley on it if you like. I served over brown rice.

Chicken Marsala

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Baked Balsamic Chicken Parmigiana

Posted on March 11, 2026 | 1 comment

As all of you know from reading my blog and following my recipes I have truly embraced the one pan meals. They are so super easy to prepare and cook not to mention cleaning up is pretty snappy.  I threw this recipe together the other night and I have to say it was pretty tasty.  Juicy roasted tomatoes and balsamic vinegar act as a delicious sauce for this wonderful week-day meal but why not for the weekend as well? You’ll love the tomato balsamic sauce not to mention melted mozzarella cheese! This is a keeper and the little bit of red onion added another delicious layer of flavor to this tasty dish. This is what I did, I actually gave you all a few options in the ingredients dept. so mix and match what works best for you .IMG_0265IMG_0266IMG_0269IMG_0272

Ingredients:

3-4 skinless chicken breasts ( I used 3 breasts for the two of us) 1 nice size chicken breast per person is probably a good guess.

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon Italian Seasonings — if you don’t have this use 1/2 tsp. dried basil and 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

2 Teaspoons of Garlic Powder — divided or use 1 1/2 Tablespoons Fresh Garlic which would probably be 5-6 garlic cloves

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes which I left whole if you’d like for a mushier sauce you can 1/2 the tomatoes

1/4 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon packed brown sugar–if you want to omit the sugar you can — I used it

3/4 cup to 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese — I used shredded

*you can garnish with fresh chopped parsley or fresh basil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place chicken breasts in a sprayed ( Pam or any other baking spray you like) and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with dried seasonings and if you’re using fresh garlic 1 Tablespoon of it here.

Rub seasonings all over the chicken.  Put tomatoes and red onion around the chicken in the baking dish.

Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, sugar and garlic powder or remaining 1/2 Tablespoon of fresh minced garlic. Pour over the chicken breasts and flip each breast to evenly coat.

Bake in pre-heated oven for app. 20-25 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. You can cut into a piece to check for doneness.

When chicken is cooked through sprinkle with cheese and set oven to broil for 4-5 minutes or until cheese is melted .

This would be delicious served over rice or pasta but we just ate it as is and it was pretty delicious on its own.

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Chicken Rigatoni a la Vodka

Posted on March 5, 2026 | 2 comments

This was one delicious pasta meal made with ground chicken this time around. Pretty easy to make and the only special tool I used was an immersion stick blender but a blender will work as well. Easy ingredients and easy prep and came out just perfectly. Most perfect weeknight meal or any night meal.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chicken

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil plus 2 teaspoons of Oil for cooking the meat

2 Tablespoons Un-Salted Butter

1 Medium yellow onion — small dice

5 Medium Garlic Cloves minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes– use to your own liking — we like a little kick

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup Vodka

12 oz. box Rigatoni or Penne

Kosher Salt and Coarse Black Pepper

Fresh Basil for garnish

Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese for garnish

Directions:

Cook the ground chicken in a large saucepan with 2 teaspoons olive oil and italian seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Season with a bit of Salt and Pepper. Cook till crumbly and fully cooked. Remove and set aside in a bowl.

Heat the 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil and butter in the same saucepan over medium high heat . Once the butter has melted, add the onion and cook the onions down stirring frequently, until softened and translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper flakes ( 1 Teaspoon ) cook stirring for another minute or so. Add the crushed tomatoes with their juices. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low so the mixture is barely bubbling — a simmer and cook for another 1/2 hour or so. Sauce will thicken and reduce somewhat. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper.

After sauce has cooked for 1/2 hour or so I turn off the heat and add the vodka and cream and then I use my immersion stick blender to blend the sauce till I like the consistency. I blended till completely smooth . You can use the blender just let sauce cool down first and work in batches. I then let sauce simmer for about 10 minutes to cook off the vodka. Taste for Salt and Pepper. 

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve a cup of pasta water to thin out the sauce — I did because it thickened up a lot. Add the chicken to the sauce. Stir to combine and add water if too thick, stirring frequently. Let it cook for a little bit and then I plated up pasta added sauce and topped with fresh basil and grated cheese .

I froze leftover sauce.

This would probably serve 4 nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

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Lemon Orzo with Feta

Posted on March 2, 2026 | 1 comment

I love this recipe from Ina Garten’s Modern Comfort Food Book.

This is a delicious side dish for Chicken , fish ,and meat. I particularly like it with Roast Chicken. In the photo I posted here I served it with onion crusted chicken, oven roasted string beans, and homemade cranberry sauce. It was sort of perfect.

Get a good block of Feta or buy the crumbled one . I diced up a block of Greek Feta Cheese and it was just perfect but a nice crumbled one would work equally as well.

If you compare my recipe to Ina Garten’s original recipe you’ll notice I have omitted the salt, it was too salty for me. I tasted for Salt and Pepper when finished and added a little bit to the orzo when I cooked it. Everyone has a different palate for Salt so my suggestion is to taste at the end and add then, this recipe is easy to add at the end. Same goes for pepper just add to your own taste. Feta was plenty salty.

Simple to make and Delicious to eat .

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup Orzo

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 Tablespoons Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

2 Tablespoons good Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon minced fresh dill

1 cup small diced Feta ( try a good greek Feta ) or crumbled Feta Cheese

*kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste– see note above

Directions:

In a large saucepan , bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, and cook the orzo according to package directions al dente.

Once orzo is cooked and drained transfer to a bowl and stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil , dill, fold in the feta and taste for salt and pepper. I added no salt but about 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. This is up to you . Serve hot or at room temperature .

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