Favorite 2010 Recipes "Chicken Cacciatore" Repost

Keith Young's Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

• Flour, to coat chicken
• 2 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) chickens, cut into 8 pieces with the breasts cut into 1/3's
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
• 10 to 12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
• 2 green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with their juice, crushed
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Kosher Salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 to 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 6 leaves fresh basil, chopped

Directions

Place the flour in a shallow dish and coat the chicken pieces, shaking off any excess. Heat the oil in a large saucepot over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken in batches and fry until golden brown on all sides. When all the chicken has been cooked, set it aside. Add the garlic to the pan and cook until it turns golden brown. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until they release most of their liquid. Add the onion and bell peppers and saute until the vegetables are soft, approximately 6 minutes.

Add the wine and let reduce for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt oregano and tomato paste. Return the chicken to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil just before serving.

This dish goes well with any pasta or rice and tastes even better the following day.

This was the first time we have ever made Chicken Cacciatore, and we really loved the recipe.  It was just delicious, and the best we have ever tasted.  We served it over spaghetti, next time we want to try it over rice.  We highly recommend this recipe and we think Firefighter Keith Young is the bombdiggity!!!!  

"Mama mia, così delizioso"
Il mio amore per te,

Mimi

George's beautiful, delicious, awesome Lasagne!!!!

Mama Mia!!!!!

This Lasagne was delicious the first day, but the second day it was outrageously delicious!!!!

You need about a pound of ground chuck and a pound of mild Italian sausage.

One package of Lasagne cooked per instructions on the box.

One pound of whole milk mozzarella cheese (we shredded it ourselves).

One triangle (approximately 8 ounces) of fresh Parmesan cheese (shredded).

Add a 1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil to your pan and brown the ground chuck until no longer pink, remove and set aside.

In the same pan brown the sausages on all sides.

George's favorite jar of sauce is "Prego Traditional". He used one jar,(2lb.13oz.) and about a cup of Merlot wine.

Put the ground chuck back in the pot along with the sausage and start cutting the sausage in pieces with a big spoon like this.

Add some red wine(about a cup) and reduce.

Now add your spaghetti sauce to the meat bring to a boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl mix one large Ricotta cheese with one egg and about a half a cup of fresh diced parsley, and salt & pepper to taste.

Put some of the meat sauce on the bottom of your Lasagne pan, then a layer of Lasagne to cover the bottom, overlapping is fine. Please don't look at the mess we made.

Next add a layer of meat sauce and then a layer of the Ricotta cheese.

Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of the Ricotta like this, along with a little Parmesan.

Now you start all over layering the Lasagne.

The meat sauce.

And the mozzarella.

And finally the rest of the Parmesan. Bake at 325 degrees until bubbly and cheese is melted and a light golden color.

The antipasto included lettuce, tomato, sliced Genoa salami, Provolone cheese, Manzanilla olives, Pepperoncini, salt and pepper to taste and topped with Extra Virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

He made "heat and serve" dinner rolls and immediately after they came out of the oven he topped them with fresh chopped garlic, Extra Virgin olive oil, and freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.

We enjoyed this meal and hope you enjoy it too.

Mangiare ed essere felici!

I Wish You Love,
Joyce

Mimi's Garlic Buns

Put 3 cloves of garlic, 2 small chunks of Parmesan cheese, about 1/8 cup of chopped parsley and about a 1/2 cup of olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste in food processor and let her spin. I just eyeball the amounts so you can add according to your preference. It also depends upon how many rolls you are making. You may need more and you may needs less. You may also have to add more olive oil depending on the thickness, because you want to be able to pour it on top of the hot buns, therefore it shouldn't be too thick. I was so carried away with the GOOPP that I forgot to take a picture of it in my mini food processor, so this is what it looked like after I took it out and poured it on the hot buns.

Bake the buns as directed on the package. Of course you can use your favorite kind buns or rolls, or you can make your own. We just happen to love these. And I really didn't have time to even think about making my own!!!!

Pour the GOOPP on top of the hot buns right out of the oven and then shred some more Parmesan cheese on top.

"MAMA MIA"

I Wisha Ya Lova,

Mimi

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza/"Pizzeria Uno" Style

We first made this pizza about a year ago, obtaining the recipe from pizzamaking.com. It was sort of a "mission" because we had never made our own pizza crust before and we made the pork sausage from scratch too. We made one in a cake pan and the other in the caste iron skillet. They were delicious!!!!!!

The Crust
(Makes two 9-10 inch pizza crusts)

2 packages of rapid rise dry yeast

2 cups of warm water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup cornmeal

5 1/2 cups of flour

Dissolve yeast in water in a standard mixing bowl. Add the vegetable oil, olive oil, and the cornmeal, and half of the flour. Beat 10 minutes, then attach dough hook and mix in the rest of the flour. Knead for several minutes with the mixer. Put the dough on a clean counter top and cover with a large metal bowl. Allow to rise until double in bulk, punch down, and allow to rise again, punch down again and you are ready to make the pizza. Oil your deep dish pan. Place some dough in the pan and push it out to the edges with your fingers. Put in enough dough so that you can run the crust right up the side of the pan, about 1/8 inch thick.

The Filling
(For each 9-10 inch pan)

1/3 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

2 cups Italian Style whole peeled tomatoes, drained and squished

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil

Layer the cheese on the bottom of the pie. Next put in the tomatoes basil, oregano, and salt. Now add whatever you like, Italian sausage crumbled, yellow onions diced, Pepperoni slices, mushrooms, bell peppers, it is all up to you. Last, add the Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a 475 degree oven until the top is golden and gooey and the crust is golden brown, approximately 35-40 minutes. You may want to put some aluminum foil underneath, in case it bubbles over.

Lascia per mangiare!!!!!

Gli auguro l'amore!!!

La donna italiana!!!!

Joyce de Rosania

Italian Gravy & Meatballs 'Cause I Miss My Grands

Now that summer is here and I don't see my grands everyday, I'm missing them. I miss them saying "Mimi, what's for dinner?"

So, I thought I'd post their favorite meal in the whole wide world.

Here they are eating brownies one day after school. I miss these cute faces.

Get your meatballs ready and start cooking them on medium heat and brown them on both sides.

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil, until soft, add 1/2 cup of red wine and let it reduce for a couple of minutes, then add the two cans of tomatoes (San Marzano) and l can of tomato paste.

Add a teaspoon of basil, oregano and parsley, (Italian Blend is good too), salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

Add meatballs.

Cover and simmer 2-3 hours.

The pasta you see here is linguine, my grands like it on all different kinds of pasta. Any pasta you like will do.

I Wish You Love and The Joy That Being A Grandma Brings,

Mimi

Baked Ziti With Italian Sausage And Garlic Buns

Ingredients:

1 Box of Ziti Rigati

1 lb. of Mild Italian Sausage

1 35oz. can of Plum Tomatoes

1-1/2 cups Olive Oil

1/2 cup Dry Red Wine

1 cup Fresh Parley

1 cup Fresh Oregano

1-8 oz. triangle of Parmesan Cheese

1-16 oz. Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese
1-15 oz. Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

2 pinches of Nutmeg
6-7 cloves of garlic
1 Large Onion

Salt & pepper to taste

1 package Brown & Serve Rolls

Fill a large pot with water for cooking the Ziti Rigati. Bring to a full boil and add pasta and cook until al dente.

Dice up the onion.

Saute the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet until soft.

Remove casing from Italian sausages and dice up 3-4 cloves of garlic.

Crumble the sausage as you add it to the skillet.

Add the garlic.

Cook until sausage turns brown.
Add 1/2 cup of Red wine and reduce.

Add 35 oz. can of tomatoes with juices and cook uncovered on medium low heat for about 1o minutes.

Then throw in 1/4 cup of diced oregano, give it a stir and turn down the heat to low.

Now, in a large bowl, combine 15 oz. Ricotta cheese, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of chopped parsley, salt & pepper to taste.

Shred the whole 16 0z. Mozzarella cheese.

Add cooked Ziti to the bowl of ricotta mixture along with 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella.

Add the tomatoes and sausages to the bowl.

Mix together.

Oil the bottom and sides of a large baking dish, I used the olive oil. No, these are not my hands. Those little beautiful hands belong to my 7 year old granddaughter who wanted to help. She was my taster and said, "Mimi, you are such a good cook", and after that she was allowed to do what ever she wanted:)!!!!

Place all the ingredients you have in your big bowl into a baking dish and sprinkle Parmesan and mozzarella on top and try to take the picture before you put in into a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until bubbly!!!! I had already put it in the oven when I realized I didn't take the picture of putting it in the baking dish and sprinkling the cheese on top. I was sooo excited that my granddaughter loved my cooking that I just forgot!!!!! So I pulled out of the oven took the pic and back in it went.

"Mama Mia", I even surprised myself!

But we need garlic buns, and

this is what you will need.
Garlic, Olive Oil, Parsley, & Parmesan of (GOOPP).

Put 3 cloves of garlic, 2 small chunks of Parmesan cheese, about 1/8 cup of chopped parsley and about a 1/2 cup of olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste in food processor and let her spin. I just eyeball the amounts so you can add according to your preference. It also depends upon how many rolls you are making. You may need more and you may needs less. You may also have to add more olive oil depending on the thickness, because you want to be able to pour it on top of the hot buns, therefore it shouldn't be too thick. I was so carried away with the GOOPP that I forgot to take a picture of it in my mini food processor, so this is what it looked like after I took it out and poured it on the hot buns.

Bake the buns as directed on the package. Of course you can use your favorite kind buns or rolls, or you can make your own. We just happen to love these. And I really didn't have time to even think about making my own!!!!

Pour the GOOPP on top of the hot buns right out of the oven and then shred some more Parmesan cheese on top.

"MAMA MIA"

Now it's time to serve it up.

I hope you enjoy making and eating this very authentic Italian dish. My family and I did. It was even better the second day. Please feel free to email me with any questions.

I Wish You Love, Vi Auguro Amore
~Mimi~