Category: Pasta

Fried Chicken Marinara

The other evening, I wanted something that would cook up quickly but didn’t want one of those boring quick-to-table recipes. With some beautiful chicken breasts I needed to use and a craving for pasta, I set to work on coming up with something new.

Now I know it’s a bit cliche for this recipe post on my southern cooking blog to start with the words “Fried Chicken” but be real, folks…you know you love it! If it makes you feel better, call it Chicken Parmesan. Whatever you call it, you’re going to love the way the crispy chicken and marinara blend.

I’m using a good quality, jarred tomato sauce as a base for this. Now, I do like to make my sauce from scratch but there are some good sauces you can pick up at the grocery store. They make a good start and the additional ingredients really kick up the flavor.
Just find a good brand you like and make it your own. My personal favorite is the Bertolli line but try out others to match your taste.

Another one of those recipes you can tweak to match your tastes. Try it out and I think you’ll find it’s a family pleaser.

[recipe title=”Fried Chicken Marinara” servings=”4″ time=”1 hour” difficulty=”easy”]

chicken-marinara2Marinara

  • 1 lg jar pasta sauce
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes, well-drained
  • 6-8 white mushrooms, quartered
  • 1⁄2 med sweet onion, roughly chopped
  • 1⁄2 bell pepper, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Fried chicken

  • 2 large boneless skinless chicken breast cubed
  • Enough milk in bowl to cover chicken

Place the following items in a 1 gallon Ziploc

  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder.
  • 3 tablespoons canned parmesan cheese.
  • 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Place chicken to soak in milk bath for at least 45 minutes.

Mix all ingredients for marinara in a medium sauce pot and bring to a low simmer. Stir often and keep covered, simmering on low for 1 hour.

Place dry ingredients for fried chicken in bag and shake to combine. Drain chicken and place in bag, shake well. Heat 1⁄2 inch olive oil for frying in 12” iron skillet. Gently remove chicken from bag and carefully place in the hot grease. Don’t crowd but most if not all will fit in one batch. Try really hard to only flip once. When both sides are golden brown, remove to paper towel to drain.

Boil 1 pound of pasta as per directions on package and drain well. Place desired amount of pasta on plate hollowing out the center. Place 5 or 6 pieces of fried chicken in center well. Dip a ladle full of marinara on top of chicken. Place a few more pieces of chicken on pasta and top with marinara. Serve right away.

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Penne Rigate

I love the smell of good Italian food cooking. Makes you want to take a big ol’ bite of the air! Putting on a big pot of marinara and smelling it cooking ALL day – well, it don’t get much better than that.

But if you don’t have all day to chop and simmer, you can start out with a good jarred sauce and end up with some pretty good aromas, not to mention a yummy supper. Here are a couple things to look for in a sauce:

  • Turn the jar up to make sure the sauce is thick. You can’t always depend on a label to make that judgement for you.
  • If the product has ingredients added, make sure the one you buy matches the end result you want. Fewer ingredients mean you have more leeway to customize the flavor.

I get good results from Bertolli Sauce. Of course, I end up adding this and that and sometimes simmering it a little so the flavors grab on to each other but for this recipe, I kept it simple.

Now, sausage – buy something good quality and that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. Many stores have their own brand of sausage that is economical and of good quality. I personally like Publix’s brand of Italian sausage – good flavor and just enough fat to add the flavor to the dish.

You can come home at 5:00 and have this on the table by 5:30. Add a salad and a crusty loaf of bread and you’ve got supper…quick!

[recipe title=”Penne Rigate” servings=”6″ time=”30 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Penne-Rigate2

Ingredients

  • Olive Oil
  • 1 lb quality Italian sausage
  • 1 lb Penne Pasta
  • 1 medium sweet onion coarsely chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper coarsely chopped
  • 1 (8oz) container white mushrooms sliced in two
  • 7 cloves of garlic chopped medium to fine
  • 2 medium zucchini sliced ½ inch thick (may also use yellow squash)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • Cheese for grating on top

Directions

Strip the casing off the sausage, tear into small pieces and place in a large deep sided skillet on medium heat. As the sausage begins to fry you should start to see some grease in the skillet, if not add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and allow to cook until onion begins to brown just a little. Reduce heat slightly, add bell peppers and mushrooms (if it looks too dry to cook without burning or sticking, add 1 tablespoon olive oil).

Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Slightly reduce heat, add garlic and stir. Allow to cook about 5 minutes, stir in marinara, cover and lower to a simmer. This is about the time to cook pasta following label directions.

Add zucchini, stir and allow to simmer 8-10 minutes – NO LONGER. Drain pasta and place in a large serving bowl making a well in the center, add sauce and grate cheese on top before serving.

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