Chicken Cacciatore and Roasted Garlic Green Beans

The house smells like a good Italian restaurant. Lots of garlic and basil wafting in the air. Nothing like sauerkraut.

My Humanities class had a special luncheon today. The students did a role playing exercise where they played the part of a Protestant Reformer or a Renaissance era Catholic. We had a meal which highlighted the differences between the religious and political persuasions of the era. The Catholics dined on Italian food, drank sparkling juice from Venetian glass goblets, and surrounded themselves with great art.

The reformers, on the other hand, had a sparsely decorated table, no art, as reformers saw that as idolatry, and dined on German specialties such as sausages, bierrocks and sauerkraut. My friend NeeCee actually made home made kraut for the occasion. Very tasty. Fun was had by all and it was a great way to end class on a festive note before Christmas break. Since my son was a reformer, he didn't get to eat the spaghetti, lasagna and alfredo noodles the other students ate. That is him as John Wycliffe (minus the beard and hat he took off for eating. He is sitting with Martin Luther) I decided to make Italian food for tonight so he wouldn't feel deprived. He kept reminding me that he was English, not German, but I doubt that food selection would have been much better. The Italians have great food figured out, and this meal did the trick! Maybe someday soon I can get NeeCee to do a guest blog and explain how to prepare home made kraut. I hear you have to have a strong arm, but it was much better than the canned type.


Chicken Cacciatore is simple to put together if you have made the Triple Play meal of Ultra Chicken, or if you have frozen Chicken Cubes. The recipe is in the e-book. To go with the chicken, I took advantage of the cold weather to turn that oven on. In the winter, I like to prepare oven roasted vegetables. Tonight, I made green beans. It is simple to do with frozen beans. I just tossed a 14 ounce package with a bit of olive oil and a generous teaspoon of minced garlic. I let that roast in the oven for about thirty minutes. The time will depend on the thickness of the beans you are using. That roasting does something extra delicious with the natural flavors.



Tomorrow we have a Christmas Party to attend. I am making some dessert shots to share. I'll let you know how well we do staying low carbers!