Chicken cacciatore is a simple recipe to prepare and uses just one pot (jump to recipe). I enjoy preparing this recipe as I can make it in advance and heat it up for dinner or refrigerate overnight, heat in the microwave and serve with cooked spaghetti or rice. You just need to add a salad and you have a complete meal to impress family and friends.
It’s unusual to find anyone who doesn’t enjoy fried chicken, especially children. I have been frying chicken for years and went through all the stages of learning how not to get the frying oil too hot, how not to over-crowd the chicken in the frying pan as it will lower the temperature of the oil, and being careful not to get burned by splattering oil.
A delicious, easy, and special recipe for two is my Cornish Hens with Orange/Wine Sauce. I have been married for 48 years and this was one of the first recipes I made for my husband on Valentine’s Day. It is among his favorites and whenever I want a special dinner for two, I make Cornish Hens. Not only is this convenient for two, but I have also made this many times for dinner parties of four and even six. Just double or triple the recipe and you will have a dish that is sure to impress. Anyone just starting to cook will enjoy the simplicity of this recipe and the gourmet touch it presents!
My Mother made this recipe often for our meatless Fridays or during Lent. She and my Dad would grow their own plum tomatoes, basil, oregano, and garlic. Needless to say, we had all the makings for homemade, fresh, and delicious tomato sauce.
When harvest time arrived Mom and Dad would be busy in the kitchen canning tomatoes, which they stored for the winter months. I remember watching them in the kitchen, boiling and peeling tomatoes. They placed them in Mason Jars and put the jars in a hot water bath. It was fun to watch them work in an assembly line. Mom would peel the tomatoes and add them to the jars. Dad would add a sprig or two of fresh basil and seal the jars with special lids and place them in the water bath.
My son, John, grew up enjoying homemade pizza since he was a toddler, had a few teeth, and could chew. Pizza became a staple in our home and I would prepare it every Friday night and whenever John had his friends over for dinner. The aroma of the sauce cooking and the sight of the dough rising brought everyone into the kitchen longing for the pizza to be ready. I would bake the pizza on a cookie sheet in a very hot oven.
