Miserly Meal #7- Country Captain

Moving the meal plan around a little. It has been raining and muggy/humid as all get out here and the hogie roals I bought for the meatball subs got moldy. I hate Louisiana.

So rather than just make a spaghetti with the meatballs, I'm moving on to the counntry Captain over pasta. This miserly meal is not courtesy of Jonni McCoy, though we have has lots of fun with her book!

Country captain is touted as a southern dish and served over rice, thick with vegetables and sauce. Born and raised in southern Louisiana (any farther south and I'd get very wet! SPLASH!!! -- in the gulf...) I had never heard of it, until I got my premiere copy of Food Network Magazine. It was #30 in a pull out flyer called "50 Recipes for Marinara Sauce" Very simple, and I have expanded on it just a bit. We've tried several recipes from the flyer and it is definitly worth keeping a few $1 cans of sauce in your pantry.

The noticeable changes were that after the first time pulling all the meat off the bone for the kids at the dinner table - I swore to only use boneless skinless chicken. If I have breasts and thighs I use a little of both, if I'm buying specifically for the dish, I buy whatever is on sale. The second big change is that we have enough rice dishes... we use pasta!!

This was the very first dish that ever brought that little jar of curry powder into my kitchen, and I am thankful for it. It has opened up so many doors to new exciting dishes & flavors!

This runs about $4 plus pantry items and gives us two full meals with lunch for hubby. So about 40¢ per serving!!!! I have also frozen half in the past and it comes out great.

Country Captain

• 1 lb pasta (have fun with shapes! The girls want shells today!)
• (OR rice if you prefer to serve it over rice)
  
• 1-2 T oil (olive is nice)
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken cut into bitesized pieces.
• curry powder to taste
• Tony's or season salt to taste
• Salt & pepper
• 1 c seasoning blend or chopped onions
  
• 1 jar fav pasta sauce

Directions:

1. Prepare pasts as directed on box, draining it just shy of al dente so it doesn't overcook in the sauce later, OR cook rice and leave it set to warm.
   
2. Season chicken lightly with curry and Tony's. Leave S&P for later. You can always add more of everything. These are strong spices and you can't take it away once added.
3. Warm oil in a deep pot or skillet and saute chicken and seasoning blend until the chicken is lightly browned.
4. Add pasta sauce and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through then taste for seasoning.
5. Toss in pasta or serve over rice.