Stove Top Sirloin Steak Marsala is one of my favorite comfort foods and the easiest one-pan meal.
I use lesser-cut meat that is economical and it takes the place of veal in this classic Italian-style Marsala dish.
In addition, we add mushrooms to this wonderful beefy version of delicious dry marsala sauce since sweet marsala is usually used more in Italian desserts and keep both versions on hand.
Cooked to your personal preference from medium-rare to well done (that's your choice), slow cooking will still make it very tender meat using sirloin steak even well done.
When I was growing up, I would come home from school and the aroma was just mouth-watering when that door opened.
No matter what mom used for meat, the sauce was my favorite part and perfect to sop up a nice piece of Tuscan Garlic Bread.
During the busy holiday season, easy recipe meals are a must.
There are so many days that I need quick, tasty comfort foods, like this one.
The recipe is super easy and perfect for on-the-go busy schedules.
Put everything on the stovetop, using a lesser cut of meat that will be fork-tender as it simmers in a delectable wine sauce, what more can I say other than YUM!!
Scroll down to the printable recipe to make this fabulous Marsala meal!
If you have children or grandchildren this "Tater Tot Casserole is a win-win to get them to eat hidden vegetables and meat it's so delicious.
I love how easy this is to make because using tater tots this casserole recipe usually has just about everything I need in my pantry any weeknight.
I keep ground beef and tater tots in the freezer religiously since they are two staples to start out an easy meal any day of the week.
You may have seen a Tater Tot Casserole before and chances it's not very impressive for photography, I get it!
But with the addition of green beans or corn (which are a family first picks) sometimes you have to have kids eat something green and be sneaky about it.
The first time I made this, looking at it just didn't strike me as delicious until that first bite, especially being an Italian blog this was out of my realm of recipes, but hey the kids love it and it's easy peasy.
This is so much like a modern-day shepherd's pie (mashed potato shepherd's pie), just with a crunchy cheesy potato topping and much creamier beef.
Scroll down to the bottom and check out or print this yummy recipe.
Cooking with beans is a great way to feed a large family economically and these recipes are all fabulous tried and true over more than a 100 years old.
Mom and Grandma were taught how to stretch a budget and feed large and in Italy, beans were a staple then and now.
Many recipes were made with white beans, red beans, lentils, peas and so on.
All of them were either combined with a rich tomato sauce and back in the 1960s when money was tight, it was a bonus to have meats of any kind added.
Grandma and mom used ham bones, chicken, ground meats and whatever was available.
Beans are a great source of protein and full of nutrients, the perfect comfort foods have been made through the years including, stews, soups and anything from Italian American Recipes to Mexican American entrees.
Take a stroll through these recipes, they are easy to make, delicious and something here for everyone.
Making lasagna can be very time consuming but my quick method of making this classic Italian dish comes out great every time and in a pinch absolutely delicious.
It's great on the weeknights and my methods of using leftovers or store-bought will determine just how fast you can get this lasagna on your tables.
I have both a stovetop method of making this or in the oven.
Semi-homemade or if you make everything on your own, using some tricks here will save you lots of time and add a new favorite to the family menu!
This has surely become a family favorite when the kids were little and they still love it now.
Pork Cacciatore is a tender slow cooked all-in-one-pan meal mom made easily right on the stovetop and it was certainly a comfort food that everyone always raved about with all these flavorful ingredients that went into the pot.
Back in the 1960s, you may be more familiar with a chicken cacciatore, which was what we had most of the time but also if we happened to be able to afford pork that week, she would use bone-in or boneless pork which was a favorite, especially in this delicious sauce it's simmered in.
With the addition of freshly sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers this all one-pan meal was a banquet to us, plus often it was perfect to stretch out when served with rice, pasta, or eaten with a massive hunk of hard-crusted Italian Bread and fed a large family economically.
Of course, we also loved the slow-cooked meal for Chicken Cacciatore the popular classic Italian style recipe with pork was a treat when we had it.
This delicious cacciatore recipe can be served plain, over rice, with a side of pasta of any kind you like, or even on Italian bread which happens to be my favorite way!
During the winter months, this cacciatore was often a weeknight easy meal!
Scroll down to get this simple printable cacciatore recipe and how to make it.
This Southwest Bean Filling is a starter recipe for filling black bean tacos, quesadilla, added to making great southwestern taco soup and so much more.
This filling can be made all vegetarian or by using sauteed chicken, become a meat lovers delight.
There are so many creative ways to use this delicious filling and it's so versatile.
Leftovers can be better than the first time for sure creating even a new way to use it.
These are simple ingredients, including chicken, peppers and black beans can transform into chili and soups too!
It's perfect for celebrating any kind of game day, taco Tuesday, Cinco De Mayo or just because it's so darn delicious!
Get creative with this basic and easy to prepare this one-pan filling and make something your family will love.
This basic filling can even be used to top cooked pasta or rice, just as an example.
Check out the many suggestions below to make this easy Southwest Bean Filling!
This is a very delicious chicken, squash and rice dish. Everything in this is so flavorful and fresh. The chicken is very juicy and tender. I am sure you will see that this one is a big hit with your family.
Ditalini with Pork and Peas is tiny pasta with meat sauce and peas.
Grandma called this depression food as it was an inexpensive meal her mom growing up that fed the whole family easily on a budget.
This dish really can be made with any kinds of beans, meats, or pasta.
The meal is quick and easy to prepare besides being delicious and we make this often on cooler days.
My grandmother would always make this during the week to finish up any leftover Sunday sauce and whatever meat was in the sauce instead of boneless pork meat as we do now.
Again as I mentioned any meat or even meatless is fine the sauce is delicious
Scroll down for the recipe for ditalini with pork and peas on the printable card below.
Mom's Grilled Sausage Patties Potatoes and Peppers are the best smell I remember her cooking as I child. Those flavors are etched in my mind forever. I will always miss her cooking. Even making it myself will never duplicate mom's flavors. The smells when I came home from school with this baking in the oven was heavenly. You may remember Mom's Sausage Recipe? Well this is the same recipe just made into sausage patties adding peppers and potatoes.
Julia Child’s Coq Au Vin recipe is a basic stewed chicken in a rich buttery red wine sauce traditionally made with sauteed mushrooms and pearl onions and we adapted this 1960s recipe just slightly to our taste.
This easy dish is another classic win-win for the French Chef's expertise in fabulous cuisine in French food meals and the flavors are magnificent.
This easy chicken stew is really forked tender and we have adapted the recipe and can be made on the stovetop or finished in the oven.
If you're a stew lover, this delicious pot of seasoned vegetables in a wine sauce is one to add to your collections, as always Julia's recipes won't disappoint plus very simple to make.
During the years of making different types of Italian, Irish, and now French-style stews, they are all started with basic ingredients you can choose to mix or match and adapt to your family's preference.
Our family prefers less onion and more garlic, however, the recipe is written with alternatives you can make it in its original form or experiment like we did.
Scroll down to our printable recipe card and hit print and let's get this delicious meal on your tables from the 1960s easy dinner inspired by Julia Child the great French Chef.
Chicken Legs and Thighs
You can use any parts of the chicken you like but this recipe called for legs and thighs which we use and it's super tender.
The sauce is a nice butter and flour paste to thicken the sauce and works perfectly.
If you prefer to not make this with mushrooms or onions add the peppers and potatoes like we did, the recipe is perfectly seasoned for whatever vegetables you like, just cooking times will vary.
Just adapt away as you like your stewed chicken.
Tips
brown the chicken on both sides till brown
save the bacon fat and do not drain the bacon fat is flavor in this recipe
burgundy or merlot are both good choices for wines make sure it's one that is a good drinking wine
always use fresh herbs
use some cubed fresh whole tomatoes if you like them stead of tomato paste
use an instant-read meat thermometer to ensure chicken is cooked
Coq au vin is a traditional French dish, but Julia Child put her own memorable stamp on it with her 1960s cooking show, The French Chef.
This version of her timeless comfort food is adapted as you can see by adding or removing whatever your palettes love about stew.
This adapted recipe was creatively remastered from Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and still packs a great flavor.
I can safely say is this version is much more on the Italian side than probably French in some ways, so by all means change the recipe to your own taste buds.
Julia Child’s Coq au Vin
Yield: 8
Author: Claudia Lamascolo
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 55 Min
Ingredients
8 chicken thighs and legs, bone-in and skin on
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
6 slices of thick bacon
8 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms, washed and sliced
20 pearl onions, peeled (Tip: Julia pierces the bottom of the root so they won't come apart when cooking)
2 large carrots, sliced into 1-inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/4 cup brandy
2 1/2 cups dry red wine (burgundy, merlot)
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Additional Option: add small cubed potatoes, and sliced peppers (add when chicken is simmering you may need more chicken broth if it gets too dry)
Optional Cooking Method: this can go in a dutch oven at 325 degrees for 2 hours.
Instructions
Add 1 1/2 tablespoon of flour and butter and mix together to form a paste set this aside,
On medium heat, in a large deep pan add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Place the bacon in the pan and fry for around 10 minutes as it starts to crisp up remove it to a plate and save the fat in the pan.
Let it cool then chop it up leaving this on the same plate.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Place the seasoned chicken in the bacon grease and brown on both sides this should take around 6 minutes on each side.
Remove the chicken and set it aside.
Add the onion, garlic carrots and tomato paste to this pot.
Cook it for 4 minutes stirring until the vegetables are softened do not burn the garlic.
Add the chicken and bacon to the pot.
Shut the burner off.
Add the brandy and let it sit for around 2 minutes.
Using a long lighter or match light the brandy on fire to a flambe' and as the flame lowers down, pour in the wine to put out the flames.
Place back on the heat to medium.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Simmer this down on low heat and the bay leaf and thyme.
Cover this pot and simmer for around 30 to 35 minutes, chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature is 165 degrees on an instant-read meat thermometer.
In a clean pan heat some olive oil and butter remaining on high heat. Add the mushrooms, and pearl onions and cook for 8 minutes.
Place the vegetables into the simmering chicken and add the butter-flour mixture.
Simmer for around 7 minutes or until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
Remove the thyme and bay leaf.
Season if needed..
Notes
Tips
brown the chicken on both sides till brown, don't burn the garlic remove it
save the bacon fat and do not drain the bacon fat is flavor in this recipe.
burgundy or merlot are both good choices for wines make sure it's one that a good drinking wine
Always use fresh herbs
Use some cubed fresh whole tomatoes if you like them stead of tomato paste.
use an instant-read meat thermometer to ensure chicken is cooked
