Pan Fried Italian Chicken

Pan fried chicken doesn't always have to be southern, right? These yummy chicken thighs are lightly fried in a little olive oil and butter so they're not drenched in fat as they're cooking. The skin on these turns out nice and crispy and the seasoning flavors the meat while it's cooking. They're super moist and super easy....they practically cook themselves!

Pan Fried Italian Chicken



4 chicken thighs ~ skin on, bone in
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning ~ divided use
1 teaspoon dried basil ~ divided use
1 teaspoon dried oregano ~ divided use
1 teaspoon garlic powder ~ divided use
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and butter.

Season chicken with half of the seasonings on the "skin" side.

Place chicken skin side down into the hot skillet.

Season chicken with the rest of the seasonings.

Cook chicken for 20 minutes then flip to cook the other side for another 20 minutes or until juices run clear.

Allow to sit for a few minutes before eating.

 

Let's cook some chicken!

 

Add the olive oil and butter.

 

Season chicken with half of the 

seasonings on the "skin" side. 

Place chicken skin side down into 

the hot skillet. Then season the other 

side of the chicken with the rest of the seasonings.

 

Cook chicken for 20 minutes then 

flip to cook the other side for another 

20 minutes or until juices run clear.

 

Done! Now wasn't that easy?

Italian Steak Fries

Always looking for something to do with potatoes, I decided to spice them up with a little Italian seasoning. What a nice surprise! As soon as I took these out of the oven, the fam swooped in and nearly ate them all before I could serve them with our dinner. So simple and a great little addition to sandwiches or salads! Yum!

Italian Steak Fries




3 Russet potatoes ~ cut into wedges
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with cooking spray. 

Place wedged potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat.

In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese and the seasoning. 

Sprinkle mixture over the potatoes until covered.

Arrange wedges on the prepared cookie sheet, skin side down.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until tender.

Serve hot with Ranch or Bleu Cheese dressing.


 

Here's all you need.

 

Drizzle the wedged potatoes with the olive oil.

 

Mix together the cheese and the seasonings.

 

Then sprinkle over the cut potatoes.

 

Arrange on a baking sheet. Bake...

 

...then eat! See? I told you it was easy!

Zesty and Creamy Italian Chicken

This yummy chicken dish is not only easy but is easily doubled. If you need a freezer friendly meal, then double this whole thing and put half of it in the freezer for when you need a quick meal or better yet....keep it in case you need to give a meal to a friend....this is perfect! It's super good and did I mention how easy it is?

Zesty and Creamy Italian Chicken



1 cup bottled Italian dressing
1 tablespoon dry Italian dressing mix
1 8 ounce package cream cheese ~ softened
1 10-ounce can cream of chicken soup
4 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups Rotini pasta ~ cooked and drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the Italian dressings, cream cheese and soup. Whisk until smooth. (I used my stick blender.)

Place chicken in the prepared pan. Pour sauce over the top and cover with foil.

Bake for 30 - 40 minutes.

Remove foil and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the chicken and bake another 5 minutes.

Serve over cooked pasta.

 
Okay...this is so easy so let's get to it!

 
Combine the dressings, cream cheese and soup.

 
Pour over chicken and bake. 
Then sprinkle with some parm.

 
Serve over pasta!

Homemade Italian Seasoning

Have you ever run out of Italian seasoning? You have??? Me, too! Well....here's a quick little recipe to make your own. Just use equal amounts of the following seasonings and you've got yourself the perfect blend. I make mine in 2 tablespoon measurements...but you can use any measurement. Just make sure you use equal parts of each seasoning. Easy as can be!

Homemade Italian Seasoning



2 Tablespoons basil
2 Tablespoons marjoram
2 Tablespoons oregano
2 Tablespoons rosemary
2 Tablespoons thyme

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. (I like to whizz mine around in my mini food chopper to make a finer mixture.)

Use immediately or store in an air tight container.

 
Here's all you need.

 
Whizz it all together for a bit....
 
...voila!

Italian Beef Dip Pizza + a COUPON to make your own!!

Have you ever had an Italian Beef Dip sandwich? Oh so good!! I took the basic idea of that sandwich and created a pizza that is pretty tasty! Delicious, in fact. Now I know some of you may be asking yourself "where's the sauce?". I left the sauce off because an Italian Beef Dip doesn't have any. But...you are certainly welcome to toss on the sauce if you want and it would still be wonderful! The Italian seasoning packet gives the ground beef a really yummy flavor and the little peppers gives it some kick. Just an all around GOOD pizza!! 

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Italian Beef Dip Pizza



1 Mama Mary's Pizza Crust
1 pound ground beef
1 envelope Italian salad dressing
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Pepperoncini peppers
12 slices Provolone cheese (or 2 cups grated)
1 cup pizza sauce (optional)

Brush pizza crust with olive oil and place 6 slices of cheese on the crust. Add pizza sauce, if using. Set aside.

In a skillet, brown the ground beef.

Add the broth and the Italian seasoning packet and stir to combine.

Allow meat to simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes on medium-low to reduce liquid.

Remove meat from pan and spread on top of pizza crust.

Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese has melted.

Allow pizza to sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Here we go!

Brush the crust with olive oil 

then add half of the cheese.

Brown the ground beef then add 

the Italian seasoning packet. 

Allow to cook for 15 minutes,

 uncovered, to reduce the liquid.

Add the peppers and stir.

Sprinkle meat over the crust.

Then add the remaining cheese. 

Cook for 10 minutes until crust 

has browned and cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy every bite!

Italian Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer

This was proclaimed a roaring success. My favorite creamer is the Italian Sweet Cream flavor. I figured how hard could it be to whip up a batch of that? I know people make at-home creamers all the time but this one is SO good! Instead of using milk, I used heavy cream and vanilla bean paste. To see those yummy little vanilla beans floating in the cream made me so happy! Save yourself a little money and make sure you know exactly what's going in your creamer!

Italian Sweet Cream 
Coffee Creamer


16 ounces (2 cups) heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or use vanilla extract)
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Whisk until the sweetened condensed milk is fully incorporated into the cream.

Store in a container with a lid. Shake before using.



 

Herbed Foccacia Bread

Don't you just love going to Macaroni Grill and snacking on their bread? I love it! Dipping it in the balsamic vinegar and olive oil.....oh man, I could eat the whole thing! The recipe for this foccacia bread is delicious by itself or served with your favorite dish. We ate it with some pasta and meatballs....and of course dipped in balsamic and olive oil. This makes a big pan of bread so I put half of it in the freezer after it was baked for another time, but it would be super easy to halve the recipe.

Herbed Foccacia Bread




1 2/3 cups lukewarm water
1 package active dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
5 cups flour plus additional for kneading
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup olive oil plus 3 tablespoons for the top of the bread
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Stir together water and yeast in a mixing bowl and allow to stand until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Add 5 cups flour, 1/4 cup oil, and salt and beat with paddle attachment at medium speed until a dough forms.

Switch to a dough hook and knead dough at medium speed until soft, smooth, and sticky, about 3 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour. Knead dough 1 minute (it will still be slightly sticky), then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and turn dough to coat with oil.

Let rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place, until doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Press dough evenly into a generously oiled 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan. Let dough rise, covered, until doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Stir together Italian seasoning and remaining 3 tablespoons oil. With fingertips, make shallow indentations all over dough. Brush with herbed oil, letting it pool in indentations.

Sprinkle sea salt evenly over focaccia and bake until golden, about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Immediately invert a rack and flip bread, then turn right side up.

Serve warm or at room temperature with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Here's the line up.

Add the yeast to the warm water...

..and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Add the flour, olive oil, and salt.

Mix with a paddle attachment 

until a dough forms.

Then switch to the hook 

attachment and let the mixer 

go for about 3 minutes until 

the dough is smooth.

Turn out onto a lightly floured 

surface and knead for a minute or 

two, adding more flour if the 

dough is too sticky.

Spray a large bowl with 

cooking spray then put the

 dough in the bowl. Spray the 

top of the dough then cover 

with plastic wrap.

Let rise until doubled. I put mine on a heating pad.

Spray a rimmed pan with cooking 

spray and press risen dough into the pan. 

Cover with a towel.

Allow to rise for about an hour.

With your freakishly huge hand, 

press your fingertips into the dough 

to make shallow indentations.

Like this!

Combine 3 tablespoons of olive 

oil and the Italian seasoning.

Brush all over the bread. Then 

sprinkle the sea salt over the bread.

Bake until golden brown.

Immediately, turn the bread out onto a rack.

Then flip it right side up.

Yum!! Gotta love fresh bread of any kind!!