Hi Everyone!

A few days ago we had bought some rotisserie chicken for dinner as we were out and about. I love rotisserie chicken and it makes a quick meal after running errands or food shopping. What I do it break apart the pieces so that they are not quite shredded, but small enough. Having no Pita bread (….yeah, here in Sicily there is only ONE supermarket that carries Pita bread and for some reason I haven’t seen any lately?….) I asked my husband to run to the bakery, which is on the main street near our house to buy some fresh Italian bread…yummy! I then opened the bread, slathered some garlic mayonnaise which I make at home (see my post), and topped it with the chicken. Having a pannini press will make it to die for, trust me! So needless to say it got us singling in Italian =)  Now being only two and a half of us (….our 6 month old doesn’t count in our mad chicken sandwich food frenzy…) we had a lot of chicken left over. Here our birds are pretty big….maybe they feed them pasta? Anyway, I thought I’d create a dish which would be simple yet delicious….remember I am a mommy to a 6 month old that has good lungs…so I’m not at liberty to cook leisurely 😉 So joyful that it passed the “Baby, do you think this is recipe was good enough to put on my blog?” test, I present you with my string beans and rotisserie chicken with rice recipe! In case you are wondering why I included string beans, it’s because the package kept staring at me every time I opened the freezer. I was worried one day it would start talking =)

Maestro, the ingredients!……

– 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

-Package of frozen string beans…..or fresh if you like

-8 to 10 pieces of smashed garlic (yes, 8 to 10…you read correctly)

-1 cup of uncooked long grain white rice (….I’ll show you have to make some killer rice in a minute…)

-A few dry spaghetti noodles (…it’s for the rice…hang on to your hat!)

-Salt\pepper to taste

–Oh, and of course….rotisserie chicken…shredded….about 1-2 cups

Siamo pronti? (Are we ready?)

Using a pasta strainer, run the frozen green beans under running water for a few seconds and then place them in an oven-proof dish. (…Here is my famous, coveted Pyrex dish ready for action….) Add the garlic and balsamic vinegar. Swish a bit to get everything coated. Place in a preheated oven at 175°C / 350°F until nice and done (….fork tender, but not sorrowfully soggy….with string beans it’s difficult I know!)

Now for the rice. Break apart the spaghetti noodles into small 2 inch pieces and fry them in 2 Tbsp of olive oil. During those 30-40 seconds, let nothing, I mean nothing vie for your attention…lest they burn and you will have to throw them out. Once they hit nice and golden, immediately add the water to the pot and dump the rice in. Bring to a boil and let simmer until done or cook as your package directions call for. My mother taught me this trick of adding a few noodles to the rice and it makes otherwise dull white rice so flavorful yet in the “background”, like white rice should be =)

Here are my beautiful noodles shimmering in all their glory!….They cook fast, I tell you….fast! Don’t be eating, talking, singing, or even breathing during those 30 or so seconds….

Ok, your hands can stop shaking now….the water is in =)

Ahhhh. look at this nice, fluffy rice. Just add 1 TBSP of olive oil and with a fork, fluff the rice a bit. Close the pot and let the bride await her groom!

Bravo! My little oven did it again…look at these beauties she created!

Add the chicken…..

Yummy to the tummy!

So until our next recipe, buon appetito!

Wanita =)

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