Home cooks unite! It’s not that I felt completely alone on an island when it came to cooking. It’s just that I didn’t realize so many people I know are bosses in their respective kitchens.  If we didn’t talk about it, and you didn’t post about it, how was I to know that you all were killing it? In comes quarantine.  Food pics galore.  It has had such a large impact on me that I’m cooking with ingredients I would have never considered using in the past.  A good food pic can change an opinion pretty quickly.

Traditionally with this column, I have focused on simple cooking. I have done lots and lots of appetizers.  For meals, I have shared a small amount of ingredients and very little prep. Has the quarantine changed how I’m cooking? Well, lets just say I made ratatouille last week.  *gasp* (It was beautiful and delicious and NOT as hard as it looks.) 

However, in being true to form, let’s keep it simple. Chicken thighs. I’m hearing a lot of you say your grocery bills are through the roof, so let’s start by getting cheaper chicken that has a ton more flavor. Riesbeck’s has chicken thighs for 99 cents a pound right now, and they are fresh.  

You can make a one pan meal out of them with your favorite version of potato and veggie, or put them in your crockpot and let the meal and skin fall off of the bone. (You better drain and freeze that stock for later use!) Here are a couple of dishes I have made with crockpot chicken thighs.  

A photo of a plate of pasta.
The meat from chicken thighs can be used for Chicken Alfredo.

Chicken & Mushroom Alfredo

  • 2 cups of cooked chicken thighs
  • 1 cup of your choice of mushrooms
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 onion

Sauce:

  • 1 Tsp minced Garlic 
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1/2 brick of cream cheese (I like a thicker sauce)
  • 1/2 cup Heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 
  • Your prepared choice of noodles. 

Directions:

  1. In the sauce pan, heat butter and add garlic. 
  2. In chicken pan, heat butter and add onion and garlic, cook for a few minutes, then add mushrooms and chicken. 
  3. In saucepan, add cream cheese and heavy cream and once combined, stir in parmesan. 
  4. I use zucchini noodles but toss your pasta and chicken mixture with any pasta you would like. 
There is cheese everywhere.
The cheese topping is imperative in this recipe.

Chicken & Tomatoes

Ingredients:

  • Italian flavored tomatoes (canned or fresh and seasoned) 
  • Cooked chicken thighs
  • Mozzarella cheese (I had fresh!)
  • Veggies (you can use zucchini, onions and peppers, anything you have on hand.) (I used my ratatouille, because I’m a show off.) 

Directions: 

  1. (This was all done in the microwave.) 
  2. Assemble, heat and serve! 

Home Cooking with Jess series

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