Penne all’amatriciana

Time: 30 minutes

8 oz. penne pasta

4 oz. pancetta or good-quality bacon, cubed

1 cup chopped onion

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 tsp each kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and red chile flakes

¼ grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
2. Cook pancetta in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until partly translucent. Spoon off most of the drippings/
3. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until browned.
4. Add remaining ingredients except Parmesan and cook over high heat until juices have reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
5. Add pasta, stir to coat, and transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan. 

Sweet and Sour Bean Salad - great side for a BBQ

1 can green beans, rinsed and drained

1 can cut yellow wax beans, rinsed and drained

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can butter beans, rinsed and drained

1 large bell pepper, diced, any color

1 large red onion, sliced and separated into rings

1 jar pimientos, diced (I used 1 jar roasted red peppers from Trader Joe's)

¼ salad oil (your choice)

2 cups celery, thinly sliced

1 ½ cups cider vinegar

1 cups sugar or equivalent of Splenda

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 can tomato soup, undiluted

1. Place all the beans, bell pepper, onion, and pimentos or roasted red peppers in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the oil and celery.
3. In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and tomato soup. Bring to a boil and pour over the vegetables. Toss the mixture lightly with 2 forks. Do this several time as the mixture cools.
4. Cover the bowl and refrigerate 

** Recipe courtesy of Aliesha Holbert Carlos 

Drunk Chicken - we ate this all the time when I was a kid!

¾ cup vin Rose

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup salad oil

2 tbsp water

¼ tsp oregano

1 tsp clove garlic (or 1/8 tsp powder)

1 tsp ginger

1 chicken, cut up

1. Salt and pepper chicken, pour sauce over.
2. Bake about 1 ½ hours in 350* oven, baste if necessary and start in a cold oven.
3. Serve with rice

Spinach and Bacon Salad

3 slices bacon, diced

2 bunches of fresh spinach

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup chili sauce

1 clove garlic, mashed

½ tsp oregano

Salt and pepper

Hard boiled eggs, chopped (optional)

1. Brown bacon pieces slowly
2. Wash spinach and pat dry. Tear leaves into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl with onions.
3. When cooked add bacon drippings, add vinegar, chili sauce, garlic and oregano.
4. Heat until mixture simmers, stir. 
5. Pour over spinach mixture, stir in eggs, and mix well, serve at once. 

BBQ Chicken Bowls

I was searching for something to feed the boys for dinner after football and came up with this quick dinner.

Cooked chicken tossed with a bit of BBQ sauce
Cooked brown rice
2 cups Cooked Corn (cut it off the cob or heat frozen corn)
1 can Black beans heated
BBQ Sauce
Green onion

We started with rice in the bottom of the bowl then added the chicken, corn, and black beans. You can add more BBQ sauce or hot sauce to give it more flavor and garnish with green onion. Yum. I had happy fed kids and husband.