La Gatta Frettolosa Fa I Figli Ciechi (Haste Makes Waste)

Nothing good happens after midnight. Maybe. For me? Nothing good ever happens when I start to even think about Italy.

I met my first boyfriend while visiting prospective colleges. It was a crisp, fall day and a girlfriend of mine begged and pleaded to be taken to the University of Rochester so that she could visit her boyfriend, a graduate of our High School (go Mustangs!). I knew she was preying on me because I was one of few in our senior class who had my own car. She argued I might want to attend the UR anyways so it would be a good opportunity to get an inside scoop on the campus. Valid point. To date, I had only had a few campus visits: Dartmouth, NYU, Clarkson, and RIT. I knew I would have to miss dance class to do so which, as a championship Irish Step Dancer, was risky.

I also knew I would feel like the third wheel. Dan greeted us on campus and led us to his dorm room where he invited us to sit and catch up. His roommate was sitting at his desk, staring at complicated formulas that, even as a math nerd, were foreign to me. He had four pages of paper onto which he was extracting answers. He didn't turn around as we entered, and I nestled into a bean bag chair in the corner facing his back as the two lovebirds sat together on Dan's bottom bunk. After several prompts by Dan to engage him in conversation, Scott finally half turned his chair to shyly acknowledge that yes, he was on the crew team and yes, he was studying electrical and computer engineering. Dan eventually left us so that he and Leah could have alone time, and Scott was left to entertain a not-yet freshman and show me the grounds.

Fast forward two years. Now a sophomore at the University of Rochester, Scott and I had slowly become friends after bumping into each other several times on campus. I'll never forget the way my heart would flutter and hands would shake when he came into the coffee shop during my shift. It took another year for us to start dating, and that following spring, we had discussed going to Italy over spring break. I had never taken a spring break, nor had I yet been overseas. I hastily secured my passport only to find out, much to my dismay, he hadn't taken my committment to go seriously and had asked his best friend to go instead.... who was a girl... who had followed him from their hometown to attend the same University.

I wish it was an isolated incident, but ever since, every attempt to go to Italy has been foiled. I had another boyfriend shortly after college from Umbria, and we broke up before we had a chance to travel to Italy. In my thirties, my partner decided to go to Rome with his nephew when I was six months pregnant, leaving me home alone to celebrate Easter. These unfortuante series of events, however, have led me to believe that good things can't always be rushed. Whenever I do finally make it to visit the Italian countryside, I am confident it will be better than any trip I could have taken before.

Haste may make waste, however not with this recipe. My recipe for Tuscan Chicken is not only quick and delicious, but I promise there won't be leftovers (or at least not for long). It is perfect for enjoying during those cooler fall or winter days, but is equally good during the summer. The sauce is to die for, so make sure you have extra crusty bread to soak it all up. Enjoy!

Menu

• Tuscan Chicken with a sun-dried tomato cream sauce
• Orzo Bake
• Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients (Tuscan Chicken):

• Chicken breasts
• Salt/pepper to taste
• 1/2 white onion
• Garlic (3 cloves, or to your taste)
• Sun-dried tomatoes with reserved oil
• 1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
• 1/2 c. Parmesan or Mozzarella
• Dollop of dijon mustard (approx 1 tsp. or eyeball)
• 2 cups fresh spinach

Directions

Heat about 2 to 3 sun-dried tomato oil in a pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, to taste.... you can also add paprika and/or garlic powder (if not using fresh garlic). Sautee in pan over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the breast. If using thin breasts, cut the browning time to 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add onion to the pan and sauté until browned and softened, add garlic (if you have added garlic powder to chicken, you may want to omit the garlic). Add sun-dried tomatoes to allow the flavor to come out and sauté for a minute or two until fragrant.

Reduce the heat to medium low. Add in the cream and mix thoroughly. Add in the dijon and again mix. Add spinach and allow to wilt while simmering. Mix in the cheese and add cooked chicken. Allow to simmer and thicken.

To serve, dish chicken onto individual plates and pour sauce over including plenty of sundried tomatoes and spinach.

There will be extra sauce so if not worried about keto/carbs etc., serve over a bed of rice, pasta and/or steamed or roasted veggies.

Delicious!