Chicken Italian

Chicken Italian is one of my favorite family meals. My mom and aunts made it for special occasions when I was younger - graduation parties, baptism, first communion and confirmation parties, prom dinners, etc. It takes a while to prepare and is so delicious. It is one of those dishes that brings back a lot of memories every time I eat it and I've always considered it a special meal.

I wanted to prepare a meal for my aunt and her family and this came to mind. I had not made this in so long that I had trouble figuring out how much of each ingredient I would need to fill a 9x13 and two 8x8 pans with chicken tenderloins (I used tenderloins instead of cutting chicken breasts into nuggets). I used a little more of the broth/wine mixture than the recipe calls for because I wanted to use the whole can of broth, and I also like extra juice to spoon over the chicken when serving it. To refresh my memory in the future, below is what I used, which would also fill two 9x13 pans.

• 3 sections of a pack of fresh boneless skinless chicken tenderloins from Costco (32 tenderloins, approx. 3 lbs.) *these packs come with 6 sections. I froze the other 3 sections to use later on.
• 4 eggs
• Giant brand plain bread crumbs
• 24-ounce container of whole white mushrooms from Costco (16 ounces would have been OK, but I wanted to use the whole container from Costco)
• 14.5-ounce can chicken broth (approx. 2 cups)
• 16-ounce bottle white cooking wine (approx. 2 cups)
• Muenster cheese slices from Costco

Yesterday I cleaned the chicken and marinated it overnight in the eggs. This morning I cleaned and sliced the mushrooms. Today while my kids were napping I sautéed the mushrooms and breaded the chicken and fried it. I laid everything out into pans, divided the mushrooms between them and poured the broth/wine mixture over everything. I left one 8x8 pan out for tonight's dinner and wrapped the other two pans in plastic wrap and foil and froze them - those will be cooked next week. The Muenster cheese slices go on towards the end of baking, but that is the only thing left to add.

This is a great meal to make ahead of time for parties or if you want to make a meal for someone else, or even just to have an easy dinner of your own. All you have to do is thaw it, bake it, and add the cheese. I like to serve this with plain spaghetti and sautéed spinach, but any sides you like will work well.

Chicken Italian

 

This is a great recipe for dinner parties, graduations parties.  Everything can be done in advance, frozen and baked before serving.  Add cheese when baking – do not freeze with the cheese.

 

8 chicken breasts, skinned, deboned and cut into bite-size pieces

4 eggs

Fine bread crumbs

Olive Oil or Canola Oil

Pint of fresh mushrooms

3/4 cup chicken broth (homemade or canned)

3/4 cup white wine

Muenster cheese

 

Skin, debone, and cut chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. Marinate over night in 4 beaten eggs.

 

Next day, roll chicken pieces in fine bread crumbs. Fry in oil to a light brown.  Place chicken in a single layer in a 9” x 13” casserole.  Sauté fresh sliced mushrooms in oil or butter.  Place mushrooms over chicken.

 

Combine chicken broth and white wine. Pour over chicken and mushrooms. Top with sliced Muenster Cheese.  Cheese can be added 10 minutes before you remove it from the oven.  This method prevents cheese from getting too brown and crusty.

 

Bake at 350º uncovered for 30 minutes.

 

Can be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated. Remove from refrigerator and bake as indicated above.

 

FREEZING:

Complete above steps, except for baking.  Freeze, thaw, bake, serve.

 

Can be frozen after the chicken has been browned. Freeze chicken in layers separated by plastic wrap.  Complete remaining steps when you are prepared to serve. 

Giada's Nonna's Lemon Almond Ricotta Muffins

My sister Maria shares some great muffin recipes with me, and this Lemon Almond Ricotta Muffin one is no exception. I actually had saved this recipe myself before she told me that she makes them, but I hadn't tried them until recently. I love almond and lemon flavored baked goods, so I think these are amazing. I always keep a few fresh muffins out and individually wrap and freeze most of them to enjoy other days. Give them a try!

Nonna's Lemon Almond Ricotta Muffins

Recipe courtesy Giada de Laurentiis

 

These muffins are perfectly light and fluffy, with subtle flavors from almond and lemon. They make the house smell amazing, and it’s such a great bite with morning coffee.

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar or more as needed for sprinkling

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds

 

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350°. 

 

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy). 

 

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and then the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar over the muffins. Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes.

 

Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Yield: 12 muffins.