Trying out a new chicken recipe--2nd post Monday, Sep. 6

Thanks to Rick, of Rick & Paulette's RV Travels, I had an easy time deciding what to cook for dinner. You can get his recipe for Italian chicken by following the link to Rick's blog, Sep. 6, 2010.

The ingredients are simple and I had everything on hand except the salad dressing. I could have used balsamic vinegar, but opted to follow the recipe the first time. Besides the chicken, you will need Italian Dressing, a can of diced tomatos, salt and pepper to taste, and grated parmesan cheese to taste. THAT'S IT! My compliments to Chef Rick.

The chicken was moist and tender, and as flavorful as I have ever tasted. I served it over spaghetti, which worked well for me because I quit using red sauce on pasta a long time ago. Usually I douse it liberally with a robust olive oil, some seasonings, and a skillet of lightly sauteed vegetables of whatever I have on hand, plus a lot of fresh grated parmesan and sometimes some shredded mozzarella. The trick is not to skimp on the seasoning, including salt and pepper, but that is my own taste and others may vary.

To get back to Rick's recipe, I set a beautifully cooked chicken breast with the diced tomatos and cheese on a plate of spaghetti. I spooned lots of the juice which was the Italian salad dressing over the spaghetti, making sure to cover it well. Mmmmmm. Cooking the dressing softens the taste a bit, so the combination of chicken, tomatos, and dressing provided a smooth melt-in-your-mouth experience. I happened to cook exactly the right amount of spaghetti, but if I had made just a little bit more I would have eaten another plateful plus an additional chicken breast. It was that good.

I thawed 4 chicken breasts so that is what I cooked, and I'm looking forward to having leftovers for a couple of days. Again, my compliments to Rick. One of his readers suggested that he might come up with a cookbook, in addition to his book on computer tips, which are descriptive but concise and to the point, easy to understand and follow, and he even answers questions if you don't quite know how to proceed. (The computer tips are also available on Rick's blog, and you can download and print them out for future reference if you like.)

Lastly for this topic, I would like to recommend Drew's organic italian dressing if you have to go out and buy dressing. Like all Drew's products, it is superior to other brands on the market. If your grocery has a special section for organics, that is where you'll find it, as I do at Raley's or Bel Air in Sacramento. But for cooking, I think any brand would be fine.