Sweet and Tangy Balsamic BBQ Sauce Recipe

Sweet and Tangy Balsamic BBQ Sauce Recipe

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This sweet and tangy Balsamic BBQ Sauce is the best barbecue sauce that is both sweet and tangy is ready in 15 minutes and made from scratch.

BBQ sauce is one of those foods that differ from state to state you have Kansas City style, Memphis style, Texas style and many between. Everyone has their personal favorite. I like them all.

Growing up in an Italian household our BBQ sauce consisted of a basic olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and herbs, still one of my favorites.

But today I wanted to share this quick and easy BBQ sauce that uses few ingredients you probably have on hand, is ready in 15 minutes. and comes out prefect every time.

 

Things to know about this Sweet and Tangy Balsamic BBQ Sauce Recipe

When you make this Balsamic BBQ sauce as a made-ahead meal prep allow it to cool, then pour it onto mason jars. Seal it tight with a tight fitting lid and store it in the refrigerator to use for quick and easy meals throughout the week.

It’s the prefect sauce to use for pulled pork or chicken and keeps fresh in you fridge up to 2 weeks.

If you make this BBQ sauce please leave me a comment, let me know in what recipe you used it, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram with your creations I love hearing from you!!! 

Sweet and Tangy Balsamic BBQ Sauce

Rich balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and smoky spices simmer together to create a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce that's perfect for chicken, ribs, burgers, and more.

  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp hot sauce
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients.

  2. Stir well and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over low heat.

  3. Cover and let the sauce simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened to your liking.

  4. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or hot sauce if needed.

  5. Let the sauce cool before using. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.



Creamy Tuscan Chicken Penne Pasta – Easy Weeknight Dinner

Creamy Tuscan Chicken Penne Pasta – Easy Weeknight Dinner

This post may contain affiliate links, that help support this blog. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a commission—at no cost to you. For more information read my disclosure policy.

You need to add this Tuscan Chicken Penne to your weekly pasta night menu. It’s a creamy pan sauce filled with sun dried tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms and goes prefect with the chicken and pasta. This is a delicious base sauce to add any shape pasta to, it doesn’t have to be penne, use what you have on hand.

My recipes and the way I cook is to use what  I have on hand, or what is on sale and the freshest seasonal  ingredients.  This meal came about because on a shopping trip I bought whole, skinless. boneless chicken breast, they were on sale.

I like to cut them into different shapes to use in different recipes. For this penne pasta I cut the chicken into strips.

The rest I cut into fillets for grilling or baking, lay it flat in baggies and freeze it.

It’s great when all you have to do is take the chicken out of the freezer and it’s pan ready for your recipe, for those busy night , when commitments are long and time is short.

This quick dinner can be on your table in about thirty minutes and has few ingredients so you don’t have to go to the store as often, because you forgot something, and leaving with more than you came for, plus a little extra frustration you didn’t have to pay for in this crazy times.

Things to know about this creamy chicken penne recipe

In this Tuscan Chicken Penne recipe, I use one of my favorite tricks—pasta water! I do this in about 75% of my recipes because pasta water is pure magic when it comes to finishing sauces.

Before adding the pasta to your pan, ladle in about 1 cup of the starchy, salty cooking water. It not only adds flavor but also helps bind the sauce and pasta together while naturally thickening the sauce.

Don’t forget to save the pasta water before you drain it—this is one of the easiest steps to overlook! I like to save extra just in case I want to adjust the sauce’s consistency.

Need to thicken your pan sauce a bit more? Try this trick: coat a pat or two of butter in flour and drop it into the sauce. Let it simmer for at least 5 minutes to cook out any raw flour taste.

This Tuscan-style sauce is a restaurant-quality base you can customize any way you like. It’s full of flavor and guaranteed to be a hit with your family. If you like family friendly pasta meals that come together quick and taste delicious try my tomato piccata shrimp bucatini.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you—leave a comment or tag me on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations. That’s truly my favorite part!

Creamy Tuscan Chicken Penne Pasta

Tender chicken, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes are tossed with penne in a creamy Parmesan sauce for a rich, comforting Italian pasta.

  • ½ lb penne pasta
  • ½ lb skinless boneless chicken breast sliced into strips
  • 2 tbsp each olive oil and butter
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 4 cup spinach chopped
  • 4 oz sun dried tomatoes
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup reserved pasta water
  • 1 tbsp each chopped Italian parsley, and basil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Salt and pepper the chicken

  2. Heat oil and butter add the chicken saute on high heat till golden, remove and set aside

  3. In the same pan lower the heat to medium add the onion and garlic saute until soft and translucent

  4. Deglaze the pan with the white wine waiting until fully absorbed before adding the cream, chicken stock, and pasta water

  5. Simmer covered until thickens about 15 minute

  6. Add spinach and sun dried tomatoes simmer 5 minutes longer.

  7. Toss cooked penne in sauce add the parmesan cheese, Italian parsley and basil

  8. Top with additional parmesan



Baked Chicken Rigatoni Pasta

Baked Chicken Rigatoni Pasta

This post may contain affiliate links, that help support this blog. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a commission—at no cost to you. For more information read my disclosure policy.

This baked chicken rigatoni pasta dinner will let us know what Italians knew all along, that pasta is easy to prepare, versatile and good for you.

By having just a few basics, you can trow together a satisfying dinner ready to serve in less than a hour.

Virtually anything, yesterdays left over chicken, that’s what I used, some fresh vegetables, a handful of cheese can be turned into a simple quick pasta dinner.

Pasta is an ideal main course it’s high in complex carbohydrates and low in fat, making it a staple in our house two to three times a week.

It’s not often you find a meal the whole family will like, when you do you’ll want to make it often. And because pasta is so versatile you can serve it two to threes a week, without repeating the same dish. What’s not to love? Nothing!!!!

 

Things to know about this baked chicken rigatoni pasta recipe

This chicken baked rigatoni recipe uses pantry and refrigerator staples, that I had on hand. Pasta is so versatile, you can change this recipe up by leaving the mushrooms or the spinach out, or changing the pasta shape, without changing the flavor much.

Talk about different shape pasta, did you know there are more than 500 distinct commercial pasta shapes.

Pastas are now made in a variety of flavors and made with many different flours. The most important thing to remember when selecting, cooking and serving dried  pasta is that they are interchangeable.

If you can’t find a particular type called for in the recipe, simply use a pasta of similar size and shape.

If you make this recipe please leave me a comment, let me know your experience with the recipe, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, Hearing from you is my favorite part. 

Baked Chicken Rigatoni

Tender chicken, mushrooms, and spinach are baked with rigatoni in a creamy Swiss and Parmesan cheese sauce until hot, bubbly, and irresistibly comforting.

  • ½ lb rigatoni
  • 2 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
  • ½ lb sliced mushrooms
  • 2 cups chopped spinach
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 cups low fat milk
  • 1 cup diced swiss cheese
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Cook pasta el dente reserve 1 cup of pasta water

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  3. In a sauce pan in 2 tablespoons of butter and olive oil saute chicken until brown

  4. Push chicken to side of pan, add Mushrooms and garlic saute until golden…..salt and pepper now.

  5. Mix the flour with 1 cup of the milk whisk until smooth

  6. Slowly add the flour/milk mixture to simmering pan

  7. Add remaining milk, cheeses, spinach, nutmeg and drained pasta and re severed pasta water

  8. Transfer to a heat proof casserole dish, sprinkle with additional cheese and Italian Parsley

  9. Bake covered for 20 minutes uncover and bake 10 minutes longer



Air Fried Chicken Parmesan

Air Fried Chicken Parmesan

This post may contain affiliate links, that help support this blog. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a commission—at no cost to you. For more information read my disclosure policy.

This air fryer chicken parmesan  dinner can be on your table in 30 minutes, if your using prepared marinara sauce.

What do I mean prepared??? Here is Italian  restaurant cooking 101. Marinara sauce is used in many Italian recipes, so when I make it, I make more than I need, and freeze it in different size containers  for ready made meals.

If you don’t want to make your own marinara you can use store bought. Making your own marinara is so easy you’ll want to make it often.

Here’s how easy it is:  Marinara Sauce recipe……In a stock pot in 4 tablespoons of olive oil saute one bunch of chopped Italian parsley, with one chopped onion and 4 tablespoons of chopped garlic saute until limp add in 3  15 oz cans chopped tomatoes and 3 15 oz cans of tomato sauce, and 2 cans of  water simmer covered for 2 hours, that’s it restaurant quality marinara sauce made in your kitchen!

What Is An Air fryer

An air fryer is a counter top kitchen appliance that uses convection to circulate hot air around food to cook it. It produces a fried look and taste without the oil.

Hot air rushes down and around food placed in a fryer style basket. This rapid circulation makes the food crisp, much like deep frying. with a lot less guilt.

Let me tell you I was skeptical, until I tried it this Air fry chicken parmesan recipe. Guess what, this recipe made me a believer in air frying. The chicken was crispy and tender

Here’s a few tips:

  • Refrigerate the chicken after coating with the bread crumbs it helps the bread crumbs stick to the chicken
  • It helps if the chicken is cut in uniform pieces to insure even heating
  • Pre heat the air fryer
  • Bring chicken to room temperature before frying

You can also make your own Italian flavored bread crumbs. You know that stale bread that’s about to turn a different color? Don’t toss it, put it your food processor add in 1 cup parmesan cheese to every 3 cups of bread crumbs,

add  1 tablespoon each garlic, onion powder, fresh chopped Italian parsley, thyme and oregano.

There you have it, homemade Italian bread crumbs that you can freeze for ready use. the chicken parmesan can be frozen too, for weeknight family meals or

unexpected company is coming, and I need  easy, quick and delicious right now!

If you make this recipe please leave me a comment and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram that’s my favorite part!

Air Fried Chicken Parmesan

Crispy Parmesan-crusted chicken is topped with melted mozzarella and served over linguine tossed in rich marinara for a comforting Italian favorite that's easy enough for any night of the week.

  • ½ lb linguine
  • 4 skinless boneless chicken breast
  • 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 cups prepared marinara sauce
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

  1. Turn air fryer to 4oo degrees

  2. Cook pasta according to package directions reserving 1 cup of the pasta water

  3. Mean while salt and pepper chicken

  4. Mix the Parmesan cheese with the bread crumbs

  5. Dip the chicken breast in the  slightly beaten egg then the breadcrumbs

  6. Air fry the chicken breast for 10 minutes

  7. Add shredded mozzarella on top of the chicken breast

  8. Air fry 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted

  9. Heat the prepared marinara if sauce is too thick add reserved pasta water

  10. Toss pasta with marinara

  11. Top each chicken breast with the marinara and additional parmesan.