Happy Spring! Enjoy Maria's Tuscan Salad!

Hi Everybody,

I had a blast with Bob Cowan at  my CHCH TV Morning Live segment to welcome Spring!  Bob helped toss my easy Tuscan Bread Salad.  My table display also compliments the vibrant Spring colors and wanted to kick start with fun on a cold, snowy day!  In Italian, “Marzo Pazzo” means mad March!  One day, it sunny and mild and the next, snow and cold.  My easy Mediterranean recipes will always bring sunshine in your cucina!

CHCH TV 11 Spring 007

Tuscan Bread Salad (with Maria’s Rule Breaking Suggestions)!

5 cups of day old bread (use crusty bread or your favorite)
2 cups diced tomatoes (Greenhouse)
1 medium red onion (finely chopped)
1 cup (green/black olives)
1/2 cup capers
1/2 cup roasted garlic
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
salt/pepper to taste

Toss everything in the bowl and drizzle with your favorite extra virgin olive oil.  I featured one of my favorites (premium and fresh) available at www.oliveoilemporium.com.

You can have so much fun by making this as a main meal or a side.  Be creative, have fun and enjoy these Spring ideas with friends and family.

Here’s the link to the segment from CHCHTV 11. http://www.chch.com/morning-live-blog/item/12075-maria-filice

a presto,

Maria

Chicken L’Orange with Dried Cranberries and Capers

chicken+and+rice1

When I make eye contact with some of favorite flavors in the refrigerator or pantry, look out! With this dish, I brought two favorite flavours: oranges and dried cranberries. I had leftover cranberries from a previous batch of biscotti (cranberry/almond) and an orange sitting on my kitchen counter. I decided to add some sweetness to the chicken and also a sweet way to use fresh ingredients!

Pre-heat oven 400 Degrees

Here’s another easy dish to prepare….

I layered in an oven baking dish: chicken breasts (seasoned with salt, pepper, red chili flakes). Added the following on top the chicken: fresh orange slices, dried cranberries, 2 tbsp. capers, lemon rind of one lemon (I then sliced the lemon and layered in the dish). ps – I could hear my mother’s voice (peccato) …… that is if I threw out the naked lemon! I added 1 cup of water to the edge of the dish and covered the dish with foil wrap.

In the over it goes…..after 30 minutes, I removed the foil and lowered the heat to 350 degrees for additional 15 minutes.

I made some brown rice and steamed some broccoli and served with the chicken. Ready to serve! I poured the juices of the fruit, cranberries, capers and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with the rice!

I also have made this with slices of mango in the mix…..

My intern and I enjoyed a nice lunch !