(You may notice that the photo watermark has the wrong blog on it. :-p I wasn’t paying attention when I was cropping and editing the photo, as I was also helping one kid with phonics, another with bar graphs, another with Kepler’s laws of motion, and another with laundry at the same time! lol!!)

As with a lot of Italian dishes, the ingredients are largely “a little this” and “a little that.” That’s how I cook. Chicken Riggies is a chicken and tomato cream sauce with sherry. If you like creamier sauces, add more cream; if you like a spicier dish, add more cherry peppers; etc. This is a great recipe to experiment with, because you can do so much with it. Here’s how I like it (which is: less creamy, more tomato-y, and less saucy).

Chicken Riggies
Feeds an army or 3 to 4 Italians

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 3 or 4 hot cherry peppers (from the jar), seeded and chopped (add less or more if you are a glutton for punishment)
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 2 cans (28 oz. or so) diced tomatoes
• 4 leaves freshly chopped basil, or 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup sherry (optional; I always add it)
• 4 to 5 chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces*
• salt to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup light cream (depending on taste)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (optional)
• 2 1-lb. boxes of penne rigati or rigatoni

* I usually pre-boil the chicken breasts for about 15 minutes, just as they are turning tender. However, in the summer, I grill a few extra chicken breasts, cube them, and freeze them specifically for this recipe. I simply pull them out when it’s Chicken Riggies time. The grill flavor really comes out for this dish.

But today I pre-boiled the chicken. Dice them up. Toss them in a large wok (or other large pan) with the olive oil, diced onion, and chopped garlic. Cook gently until the onion turns tender. Don’t allow the chopped garlic to brown!

While that’s cooking, mince a few pickled cherry peppers. I’m not too fond of lava-intensity dinners, so I only add 2 cherry peppers. I usually de-seed them, but if I am feeling wild and crazy, I toss a few seeds in for kick. Again, this is one of the many ingredients you can customize- add more or less according to your taste. After you’ve minced them, toss them into your wok.

Now add the tomato paste and cans of tomatoes. Throw in your spices. I’m nuts about basil, so I always add a tad more than the recipe asks. Whatever works for you.

Allow this mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes. You’ll know when it’s just about done when the pets and the kids start wafting into the kitchen.

While the tomatoes are simmering, start boiling the rigatoni pasta. This takes usually about 10-15 minutes.

Back to the tomatoes: After 20 minutes or so, add the sherry if you are using it, and cook for another 10 minutes. Stir frequently and do not allow the tomato sauce to burn– keep the heat a low/medium.

Once the tomatoes are fully cooked, remove the wok from heat. Add the cream and the Parmesan cheese and stir.

I usually throw in a handful or two of mozzarella cheese and stir it in.

Hopefully, by now your rigatoni pasta has fully boiled; drain and lightly rinse. The Chicken Riggies is done! Pour the Riggie sauce into a dish and garnish with more mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top.

Serve with freshly made bread or a nice green salad. It’s terrific with Red Truck red wine! Manja, manja!

It’s a website dedicated to educating everyone how to eat healthier. They have a special supplements podcast right now, called “The ABC’s of Supplements,” detailing the in’s and out’s of everything supplements. It’s done by a nutritionist, Malia Curran. She unravels some of the mystery of the terminology and regulation of supplements, answers questions, and more. This is a good one– if you’re into heavy-duty nutrition, you’ll want to check it out.

I’ve frequented this site several times in the past, for their recipes and information on various nutritional foods. It’s a very good site! If you are interested in anything food (and we all are, at least as far as eating is concerned!), then you will like the site. I’ve never heard any of the podcasts, though. They do sound interesting. It’s the online cooking show that I like! The site is an extention of Whole Foods Market, one of the leading organic and natural foods supermarket. At the site, you can check for store locations, find tips and facts, recipes, products, and loads more stuff! It’s a great place to send homeschooled kids to for their home economics lessons, too.

How’s it working, with you using up all those leftovers from the holiday meals?

Yeah, me neither.

Well, I have some good news for you. I was scouting out deals at local stores (I tend to do my yearly gift-giving shopping after the holdays, when sales are to be had), and found this:

This is THE best casserole recipe book, ever! I just *hate* casseroles. :-p They are usually too heavy, too creamy, and too dry. So I rarely make them. But what else can you do with leftovers?! I found this book, Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book of Casseroles. It was in the clearance shelf at TJ Maxx (amongst the stale candles, ice cream makers and mini air tools). It was selling for $20 there, originally, but I got it for $5.99! Not even Amazon can top that price!

The recipes are pretty good, and are organized into meatless, potluck, side dish, poultry, bread, dessert, and etc. There are some good tips and resources in the front of the book. Looks like a good one, with over 380 recipes! Not too bad for $6, eh?

Chicken, Shrimp, and Pasta

Will serve a small army or 3-4 Italians

4-5 chicken breasts, deboned and skinned
5 pounds of pre-cooked shrimp (frozen bags of cooked shrimp are perfect- just thaw before using)
i bag (10 oz) frozen string green beans
chopped fresh basil or dry basil
olive oil
2 pounds spaghetti, cooked
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Throw in a large wok with enough olive oil to coat the chicken.
Throw in the green beans and shrimp. Add more olive oil if mixture gets too dry.
Add basil, and salt and pepper to taste.
When chicken is done and the beans and shrimp are cooked thorough, toss into spaghetti and mix.
Serve with salad greens and bread!

It’s a yummy meal and so easy to make. You can even get varied and add other ingredients.

Going to try it tomorrow. I’ll try to remember and take photos. But if you’re looking for some great ideas and recipes, or just want to read some fun and entertaining blog posts, check out her blog. It’s a hoot!