Hello Hello! It's that time again! Time for my second midweek meal! I did not do one last week, because I am the youngest on my own in my family, I get all the holiday left overs! So it would have been dumb to buy more food haha.
This week I have really been craving Italian! And what I've learned from the times I have cooked italian, is it takes time, and love. If you aren't excited to make it your going to get bored, and you will taste your boredom. With that being said this weeks meal was...-drum roll please-
Pan Fried Italian Chicken Thighs with 4 Cheese Skillet Rigatonis
I'm going to start out with the Rigatoni since that is what I started with in the kitchen.
4 Cheese Skillet Rigatonis
What you'll need;
So when I went to the store for my items I looked high and low for the "mini" Rigatonis but could not find them anywhere. Since I strongly believe making something miniature makes anything taste better I went the extra mile and cut up my Rigatonis after I cooked them. Hopefully you can just find some minis haha.
So you cook your Rigatonis 5 minutes less then fully cooked, chop them if you didn't find pre-mini cuts, drain, and set aside. Then we prep our sauce. Slice your Shallots (I used two, but one will be fine), mince your garlic, & grate your cheeses.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Over medium heat in an oven safe skillet heat oil & butter, place in shallots, season with a pinch of salt, cook 3-4 min. Add in garlic, cook 30 seconds. Now you add in your flour to create a roux. (this was my first time doing this!) you let that cook Til its golden brown, then you pour in your milk and let that cook for 2 minutes while you stir continuously. Add in marscapone and all except 1/2 cup of your cheese, continue stirring for 3-5 minutes, letting it thicken. Season with Salt, pepper & Nutmeg. Add in the pasta and toss rigatoni well to cover. Top it with bread crumbs and the rest of the cheese and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Pan Fried Italian Chicken Thighs
This recipe said this chicken was "So good you didn't need to let it marinate" so I thought to myself, if it's good without it, I bet it will be the bomb.com if I do. So I marinated the chicken in itallian dressing, chicken broth & basil for a couple hours first.
The ingredients you'll need are;
I added Rosemary and cilantro to my list.
So you season the skin side of the thigh generously. Add your oil to the pan and heat over medium heat. Place your chicken skin side down in the pan and let cook for 20-25 minutes, if you think it's burning you can turn the heat down a bit. While its cooking season the other side of the chicken. Flip chicken over and cook an additional 20-25 minutes. And it's done! Easy as that! If the chicken closes to the bone is done it is cooked!
To save time I started the chicken the same time I started making my sauce for the rigatoni, since you don't have to tend to the chicken it cooks as your cooking the side! Hope you enjoy!
