Chicken Cacciatore, Nonna style

Okay, so as requested..here is our family's chicken cacciatore recipe:

Ingredients
4 chicken thighs and 2 breasts (I use all breasts)
2 tsp salt/pepper
1/2 cup flour
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 cup white cooking wine
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 cup chopped basil

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Coat with flour.

In a large saute pan, heat oil. Add chicken pieces to pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, until browned. Put in a dish.

Add bell pepper, onion, garlic, and saute. Season with salt and pepper, add wine. Simmer until reduced by half. Add tomatoes with juice, oregano, broth. Return chicken to pan and coat in sauce. Bring to simmer. Continue simmering over medium heat until cooked through~about 30 minutes.

Transfer chicken to platter, and spoon sauce over. Sprinkle with basil.

Mangia! Mangia!

Oh, you're crafty.

I am so thankful and blessed to be able to stay at home and watch Sam. I used to think, there would be no way that I could stay at home all day long and not work. Well, turns out, taking care of Sam is a lot of work. He is not the typical baby, napping, laying down so that I can do a lot of things..he is a mover and a shaker. Wow! I wonder who he got that from??? Haha. I can leave him down for about 5 minutes before he rolls over and ends up at the other end of the room. Yes, at 5 months he is crawling. But, that story is for another day.

I have taken advantage of those moments when he is sleeping to do some crafting, cooking, or baking. I have always been into scrapbooking, making cards, and painting things. But since starting from scratch in our home, I have decided to do some of my own decorating. Here are some of the things I have done:

 For above our bed. An old screen that I painted and sanded with our initials.

 Mod podged canvas' with Sam's pictures.

 Gnocchi!!

 Gnocchi with pesto, basil from our garden.

 An old nightstand that was left in our house. Had lots of stickers and paint on it. I sanded, painted, then did a blue overcoat. Then antiqued. It is now in our living room.

 Smores bars. Mmm! Even Jace gave it 2 thumbs up.

Chicken cacciatore. A favorite made by my Nonna Gladys.

 

So, yes. I am feeling a little like Susie Homemaker/Betty Crocker. It has been a lot of fun trying out new recipes. I can;t wait to start on Halloween decor! Sam has been my little sous chef as he is usually in the carrier while I am cooking. Maybe he will be a chef like his dad. You never know. Right now I am thinking more like a track star at the moving rate he is going!