This time of year we are always on the search for something fast and easy. With sports 5 out of 7 days of the week our time is limited, but our bellies cannot wait! We are all about eating dinner as a family. Let's face it...easy recipes are hard to come by!

This is a tried and true recipe I made up back in college! Bertolli® Riserva has given it a homemade taste. I grew up on TRUE Italian food. Family dinners were filled with laugher, jokes, stories and food as far as the eye could see. I really don't know how they did it!

The thing I love about Bertolli®...is it has been 150 years since Francesco Bertolli began selling olive oil in the small town of Lucca, Italy! Family history is the best! Although, they are not apart of MY family...in a way they are! We have been using Bertolli® for as long as I can remember. In celebration of 150 years, for each photo shared via social media using #MyTuscanTable throughout October, Bertolli® will make a $1 donation to help end childhood hunger in America through a partnership with No Kid Hungry. With each dollar, No Kid Hungry will provide 10 healthy meals to kids in need, up to a half a million meals. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring kids have the healthy food they need, every day. The Bertolli® brand is proud to lend its passion for uniting people over food to help connect kids struggling with hunger to the nutritious meals they need to grow and thrive.

Here is how I feed my family...

1 box penne rigate pasta
1 jar Bertolli® Riserva Pasta Sauce
Swiss Cheese
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs


Using my grill pan (a regular skillet will work too!) I cook 1 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs on medium heat. Flavored with crazy mixed up salt, pepper, garlic seasoning salt. I love using chicken thighs as they are juicer and hold more flavor than chicken breast.


Now comes the hard part...deciding which flavor sauce to use! I am a sucker for the jars! Aren't they pretty! When chicken is cooked through, no pink. Dice in pan using your spatula. Turn to low and pour in 1 jar of Bertolli® Riserva sauce. I do not drain the chicken, I let all the juices simmer together into the sauce.

While the sauce is simmering cook your penne rigate noodles till al dente. <---- cooked just right! Preheat oven to 350.


Pour into a baking dish and top with layers of swiss cheese. YES, swiss! Just trust me! Stick in oven. Bake 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted completely.


Want to find some more easy recipes?! Just go HERE and pin to your hearts content...for real yo! You are going to be hungry just perusing!

These days, my family has been looking for fast and easy dishes that are so simple we could cook it with our eyes closed. OK. Probably not with our eyes closed, cause that comes with liabilities! BUT you get my point! Here is what you will need:

1 cup of cherry tomatoes sliced
2 large garlic cloves chopped
1 8 oz package of green beans, washed and ends cut
1 box linguine
Olive oil
1 whole lemon
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese

Here is where it gets ridonkulously easy, you ready for this? Boil a pot of salted water and cook linguine as says on package. Meanwhile in a pan, heat up 3 TBSP olive oil and throw in chopped garlic and green beans.


Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and pepper and then cook 4 minutes. Before draining the linguine use 1 cup of the water and pour into the pan of the green beans. Let boil 4 minutes, or until the green beans are edible.

Drain pasta and in a glass dish toss with ricotta cheese. Combine with green beans and then add in fresh tomatoes and zest with lemon. Fresh Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top is delish and served with crusty bread is of course the way to go!


Delectable dining...no go get em tiger!

This is an old favorite we hadn't made in a long time! I will admit my children snubbed their noses at me and I laughed and said that was fine more cookies for me afterwards! The baby inhaled hers along with my husband and I!

Make the dressing and set it aside by mixing together:

• 1 tsp. finally chopped, peeled fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 packet of onion soup mix (I prefer Lipton)

You will then take 1 chicken breast (this recipe CAN be made meatless if you are vegetarian!) and stick in a pan over medium-low. Drizzle sesame oil all over the chicken so that its evenly coated. Cook on 1 side 5 minutes. Flip and drizzle the opposite side with sesame seed oil. Cook another 5 minutes and then cut into bite sized pieces. Finish cooking till no longer pink. Then remove from heat. While you are making your chicken, boil about 8 cups of water and cook 8 ounces of bow tie pasta noodles (as directed on box). When your noodles are done you are going to drain and rinse with cold water. This will stop the noodles from cooking any further!! Plus this will cool them down for your salad. Drain the cold water out and set aside.


In a large bowl, dump in your chicken. And add the following:

• 1/2 English cucumber (these are seedless!), scored (meaning scrape 4 sides of peel off), sliced and then cut into 4's
• 1/2 cup diced red pepper (I used my food chopper to get it fine)
• 1/2 cup red onion (again I used my food chopper!)
• 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained

Toss your ingredients together. Dump in your pasta and mix together. You will then add in 6 oz of fresh baby spinach (if normal sized spinach leaves I tear in 1/2). Dump your dressing over top and mix thoroughly.


Eat and enjoy! Have a blessed day!

OK...so I am gonna get a bit country on y'all and tell you that this recipe is ridonkulously delish! I kid you not! Ava Faith wouldn't touch her spaghetti o's (remember Emily Grace is lactose intolerant so I made the kids easy dinner!) and I asked her if she wanted this...she said yes and then ate 2 heaping bowls! I was so hungry I decided to just snap an Instagram photo and not do my long picture ones...but here is the recipe and its way easy! So I apologize in advance for no "how to" pics but I am sure you can figure it out!

• 1 can black olives - cut in halves
• handful of cherry tomato's - also halved
• 1 package of pre-cooked chicken slices (usually you can put in salads etc) browned in a pan
• 1/4 cup (heaping) Pesto (I use Classico brand pesto and can make this recipe 3x with one jar! Store in fridge for your next use...I have never had one go bad!)
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Combine all of the above ingredients while you are boiling a 1/2 a box of noodles. I used ziti and also veggie spiral noodles for this one! Once the noodles are done...drain and toss in the bowl till all evenly coated! Serve and enjoy! We are LUCKY if we have leftovers of this dish! That is how much of a hit it is! Would love to hear what you think! Have a blessed day!