Grilled Chicken Cacciatore

Today was Pinocle day at our house.  Our Great Aunt comes over for dinner and we play cards for the afternoon.  It's nice and relaxing, but often a challenge to find something that pleases palettes from six to eighty-six.

This afternoon, I think I picked a winner.  I knew we were having chicken breasts, they were on sale for $1.86 a pound.  But I wanted to try something new.  I scanned by ever growing pile of cookbooks and cooking magazines, but nothing seemed just right.  Then I found inspiration when thumbing though an old, dog-eared copy of Martha Stewart's first cookbook.

Instead of baking it in the sauce, I decided to grill it to see what happened.  I, of course, ran out of gas in my grill half way through, but transfered them inside to the grill pan and that worked just fine.  I served the chicken with Dill Potato Salad and fresh fruit.

Grilled Chicken Cacciatore

6-8 chicken breasts

1 6-oz. can of tomato paste

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 red wine

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and Pepper

Mix all ingredients and allow to sit in the refrigerator several hours to overnight.  Start grill on high and allow the chicken to caramelize on both sides, basting with the additional sauce to avoid drying out.  Lower grill and cook through until juices run clear.  

Thumbs up from Big Mama, Little Mouths and Great Aunt. 

Barbeque Chicken Burgers with Bacon Ranch Sauce and Foil Potatoes

I love to create new burger recipes...especially during grill season.  With a six and nearly nine year old in the house, I rarely get any flack when burgers are on the menu.  This one was a winner, although not as pretty as I'd hoped.  But it sure was tasty.  

Barbeque Chicken Burgers

1 pound ground chicken

1/2 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce

1 clove crushed garlic

Salt and Pepper

4 slices of colby jack cheese

Few drops of olive oil

Mix the ground chicken with the BBQ sauce and crushed garlic.  Separate into eight portions.  Flaten one portion into a patty, fold the colby jack in fourths and place in the middle of the patty.  Flatten another portion and place on top of the cheese.  Seal the edges and repeat until you have four large sized burgers.    Sprinkle with olive oil and rub to cover.  

Place on a hot grill.  They will tend to break apart and the cheese will ooze out if flipped too much, so avoid temptation and let them sear well on the first side before flipping.  

Serve on toasted buns or Ciabatta, drizzled in bacon ranch sauce.   Delish.

Bacon Ranch Sauce

3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon vinegar
3/4 teaspoon garlic minced
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon onion minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3-4 slices bacon, crumbled 

Mix together and chill for 1-2 hours before serving.  Store in an airtight container for one to three weeks.  

I served this with...

Foil Potatoes

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes

1 large Vidalia Onion

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning

1 clove crushed garlic

1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard

Chunk up potatoes and onion, toss with the rest of the ingredients and wrap in foil, sealing the edges well to trap the steam.  I place the foil package on the back part of the grill for about 15 minutes on high before the burgers go on, then flip and keep cooking with the burgers.  Make a slit in the foil and test potatoes for tenderness before removing from the heat.  

Big Mama and the Little Mouths give a big thumbs up to all of the above.  

Chicken and Rice with White Sauce

I initially got this recipe from my friend Kelli.  It called for the chicken breasts to be breaded in Ritz Cracker Crumbs and Parmesan Cheese.  It was very good, but quite heavy and I hate to bread things.  I added some flavor with the wine and the garlic and took out quite a bit of the calories by removing the cheese and the cracker crumbs...not to mention cutting down on the time. 


2 cups brown rice, uncooked (Used Long Grain and Wild Rice)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup wine
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves(1 lb.)
2 tsp. oil
1 tub PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese

How to make it

Cook rice as directed on package, using 1-1/4 cups of the broth and 1/2 cup water.

Meanwhile, mix cracker crumbs and Parmesan on plate. Rinse chicken with cold water; gently shake off excess.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook 5 to 6 min. on each side or until done (165°F). Transfer to plate; cover to keep warm. Add remaining onioni and garlic to the pan and cook until just starting to brown.  Deglaze the pan with the wine and add broth and cream cheese to skillet; bring just to boil, stirring constantly. Cook 3 min. or until thickened, stirring frequently; spoon over chicken.

New Challenge!

My friend Shirley Jump, who also likes to cook and who is the author of about 80 gazillion books has come up with a new challenge and I have accepted.

The challenge:  One new recipe a week Mother's Day until Christmas. 

It's gonna be a blast.  Not as much pressure as when I did the September Cooking Challenge, but still a lot fun and a lot of new recipes to add to my personal cookbook!

We will be posting the recipes on our blogs...so my poor, horribly neglected little blog will finally see some action.

In case you missed how I finally learned to put the link to her website in her name, Shirley can be found at:

http://www.shirleyjump.com/   or her blog, Eating My Words

Anyone else care to join us??  It's just one new meal per week...come on,  you can do it!

Bean Week -- Day Two

Bean week is progressing well, so far.  The key, I've learned, to keeping Veggies in Disguise is not really taste, but texture.  Last night I made my regular kid-favorite Healthier Tator Tot Cassarole but I added a can of Chickpeas AKA Garbanzo Beans.  Just one can (2 cups) adds 24g of fiber and 30g of protein to the dish.

It turned out well, if a bit grainy.  On my second try, I simmered the beans with the frozen veggies and got a better texture.  Still thumbs up from all and no one has spotted a bean yet.  Even me!



Healthier Tator Tot Casserole




1 box of frozen diced carrots

1 box froze cauliflower in low fat cheese sauce

1 can Healthy Request cream of chicken soup

1 large shallot or small onion

1 pound ground chicken or turkey

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon white worstishire sauce

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup shredded cheese of any kind

1 small bag of tator tots or enough hash brown patties to cover the top of a 9X13 casserole.

Put frozen carrots and cauliflower in a frying pan with a splash of water. Cover and place on medium heat, stirring occasionally until cooked though. Put in food processor with a steel blade or blender. Add cream of chicken and puree until smooth.

Dice shallot or onion and brown with meat until cooked through and golden brown. Add herbs and sauce. Add soup/veggie mixture to the pan and mix well. Spread in the bottom of a 9X12 casserole. Cover with cheese, then layer the Tater Tots on top.

Bake in a 425-degree oven for 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly or refrigerate or freeze for another day.

Big Mama likes it better than the original. The chicken is flavorful with seasoning and the pureed veggies give it more sauce. Thumbs up for fix-ahead ability, taste and nutrition. The little mouths say…Yummy good.

It's Bean Week

I hate beans.  All kinds of beans.  Green beans, wax beans, navy beans, kidney beans, soy beans, refried beans, garbanzo beans and everyother kind of bean except for jelly.

But I do like hummus...and just figured out it was made from Garbanzo Beans!  I do like beans after all...that is if you put enough garlic and other yummy stuff in them...but it gave me hope. 

Beans are SO good for you!  They are packed with protein, take on whatever flavor you put them with and they're CHEAP!  Just one cup of Cannillini beans adds 12 g of protein and 10 grams of fiber. 

It was just the texture I didn't like.  Tonight I added a can of Canillini beans to my sneaky tomato soup.  It was delish!  (Which means you couldn't even tell they were there.)  Here's the recipe again in case you missed it.  I quadrupled the batch and froze the rest for later. 

“Sneaky” tomato soup


1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion (about 1/2 small onion)
1 cup chopped or shredded carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
4 to 6 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
1 (14-ounce) can diced, Italian-style tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can tomato puree
1 small can tomato paste
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
Coarse-grained salt and cracked black pepper
10 ounces fresh spinach
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, very loosely packed
1/2 cup half-and-half (I used fat-free)
1 teaspoon fresh basil

In a stock pot, sauté onion and carrot in olive oil until softened. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so. Add tomato paste and cook for a minute or two to develop sugars in paste.

Deglaze pan with wine (or chicken stock) and stir to combine. Allow mixture to come to a bubble, then add chicken stock, tomatoes, puree and sauce. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add spinach and stir until wilted. Blend soup in a food processor, blender, food mill or with a hand-held blender until smooth.

Add Parmesan and simmer for 1-2 minutes until cheese melts. Add half-and-half and basil, and serve.

The soup can be frozen or refrigerated.

Valentine's Day Macaroni and Cheese

This year, instead of purchasing presents, the Little Mouths and I made Macaroni and Cheese for gifts.  I used this recipe, inspired by Ina Garden's.  It freezes well and in the depths of a snow filled Midwestern February, our friends and family were glad to have a hot meal, ready to pop into the oven on a cold winter's night. 

Big Mama's Heart of Hearts Mac and Cheese

This recipe makes one large 9 X 13 cassarole or three smaller 8 X 8 foil cake pans.  I looked for heart shaped cake pans at the last minute, but was unable to find any.  I'll plan ahead better next year.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and put a large pot of salted water on to boil.

1 pound of your favorite small pasta
2 jars "Junior" yellow squash baby food
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 quart milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small)
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Add the squash.  Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.