Marinara Chicken and Pasta

This is from the Pioneer Woman Linguine with Chicken Thighs.  I didn't have linguine so we used Farfalle pasta.  And I let the sauce simmer for about an hour while we were at soccer practice then forgot to add the cheese, parsley and basil but it was still delicious!

Ingredients

1 package Linguine (or Your Favorite Pasta)
Olive Oil
8 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 whole Small To Medium Sized Onion, Chopped
3 whole (to 4 Whole) Garlic Cloves, Minced
1/2 cup White Wine (or Chicken Broth)
2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Crushed Tomatoes
Salt To Taste
Pepper To Taste
1 tsp Sugar
Fresh Parsley, Chopped, to taste
Fresh Basil, Chopped, to taste
Parmesan Cheese To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and place the dry linguine noodles into it. Cook them until al dente (tender firm).

Begin by cutting up the chicken thighs into small pieces. Heat a large skillet until very hot and then generously drizzle in some olive oil. Swirl to coat the pan, then add half of the cut up chicken to the pan, spreading them out as you put them in. NOTE: Do not begin stirring the chicken immediately as you want to get them nice and brown.

After a minute or two, flip over the chicken with a spatula. Then let it brown on the other side. After it’s brown, remove it to a plate and set aside.

Repeat with the second half of the chicken pieces, remove from the pan and set all of the chicken aside.

Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil into the hot pan and throw in the chopped onions and the garlic and give them a stir.

Now add the wine (or chicken broth), whisking to deglaze the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the liquid reduces by half.

Add the two cans of crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the chicken (and don't forget all of those yummy chicken juices), to the tomato/onion mixture and continue simmering for another 15 minutes. Toward the end of the cooking process, chop up your fresh parsley and basil and add it to the sauce, stirring to combine.

Place pasta on a platter or in a large bowl and smother with the sauce. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Greek Lemon Chicken

My attempt at duplicating our favorite Greek restaurant takeout.

Greek Lemon Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
⅓ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
juice of 1 lemon
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Cut each chicken breast into large pieces (maybe 3 or 4).  Combine other ingredients for marinade and pour over chicken.  Let chicken marinate for at least 1 hour.  Grill and serve with saffron rice (we use Mahatma brand).

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This is my simplified version of a Jambalaya recipe from the Neiman Marcus Cookbook.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

1 cup Marinara sauce

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Cajun spice (or more if you like it spicy)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2-3 grilled chicken breasts or 7-8 large chicken tenders grilled and sliced

1 16 oz pasta cooked and drained (we usually use penne or farfalle)

In a large nonstick pan combine the marinara sauce, chicken broth, heavy whipping cream, Worcestershire sauce, and Cajun spice.  Simmer for half an hour.  Cook pasta in salted water and drain (reserve some of the cooking liquid to thin out the sauce if you need to).  Add the hot pasta to the sauce but before stirring it in sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the pasta so it melts and sticks to the pasta which helps the sauce stick and thicken as well. Stir pasta and sauce to combine.  Add chicken into pasta mixture or serve on top or on the side.