Revamping some old favorites....

Dinner tonight came from little inspiration other than a bag of thawed chicken thighs and a container of Buitoni spinach tortellini from the refrigerated case at the store. I decided to revamp a few of our old favorites and put my new grill pan to good use.  

~Tonight's Menu~

Roast Chicken

Broiled Tomatoes

Lemon-Spinach Tortellini

Mixed Salad Greens with a oil & red wine vinaigrette

Sounds like I needed a few extra hands to help with dinner, but I did fine on my own. I marinated the chicken thighs in EVOO, honey and balsamic vinegar and a few spices, the same as I would for Roast Chicken and Pears. I omitted the remaining ingredients (craisins, pears, parsnips, etc.) arranged the thighs on my grill pan and cooked at 375* for about 40 minutes.  To make a Paula Deen favorite of mine, broiled tomatoes a bit healthier, I cut some Roma tomatoes in rounds, arranged them on a glass pie plate sprayed with non-stick spray and sprinkled salt, pepper & Italian seasoning over top and some fresh Parmesan cheese and cooked alongside the chicken about halfway through. 

This is about the time I sent my husband to the Class Six to pick me up the bottle of wine with the horses on it. He thinks I'm crazy asking for  a bottle of something called "Hot to Trot", but he came through. See? Having 14 Hands helping you in the kitchen isn't a bad thing. Check their website out at www.14hands.com and get a bottle shipped directly to you. The red blend was a great accompaniment to dinner tonight. So, I popped the cork, poured a glass and kept on cooking. 

I had thought about make one of my favorite dishes, tortellini spinach bake in a lemony-cream sauce from Our Best Bites, but forgot mozzarella cheese while at the store today. So I decided to make lemon-basil bowties that we love, but with fresh spinach tortellini and used fresh spinach in place of the fresh basil. I rounded out dinner with a huge salad of mixed greens, Roma tomato slices, sliced onion, sliced green pepper and topped with a classic oil and red wine vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is loosely based from an old cookbook that my Momma has called "Mama D's Homestyle Italian Cooking". There's a recipe in there for a tomato, onion and green pepper salad with a simple dressing/vinaigrette. It is so good, so I decided to add some mixed salad greens to it tonight and drizzled some oil and red wine vinegar on top. 

Tomato, Onion & Pepper Salad 

~from Mama D's Homestyle Italian Cooking

2 lg. tomatoes, sliced

1 lg. onion, sliced & separated into rings

1 lg. green pepper, seeded & sliced

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp. basil

pinch of oregano

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup oil

Place tomato slices on a platter. Arrange onion rings on top. Garnish with green pepper slices. Sprinkle with basil, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and cheese. Pour oil slowly over all. 

I hope tonight's dinner gives you all a little inspiration to revamp some of your old favorites. Enjoy.