Dinner Tonight - Shredded Chicken w/Tomato Sauce & Spaghetti

We are going away for the weekend, so I didn't want to go to the grocery store and have a ton of leftovers.  I scrounged in the kitchen and came up with this dinner.  I had frozen chicken thighs & frozen pieces of Pancetta. I almost always have frozen chicken in the freezer.  I buy whole chickens and cut them up and freeze them and since I like thighs so much I will buy extra packages of bone-in,skin-on thighs and freeze those.  Buying whole chickens saves money and I can make stock with the bones:o)

 Chicken Simmering...

I adapted a recipe that my hubby's family makes.  His grandmother came up with a dish called Chicken Polenta. In that recipe a whole cut up chicken is used and the twist is that Pickling Spice is used instead of Italian Seasonings then it's served over Polenta.  His grandparents are from Northern Italy and Polenta is a big deal up there!  Both his grandmother and grandfather came from two small villages near Lago di Garda (Lake Garda), it's east of Lake Como.  My husband actually proposed to me on the banks of Lago di Garda, isn't he romantic :o)  He even got down on one knee!

I prefer the Italian seasoning instead of the Pickling Spices, but I do make both depending on my mood.  Tonight I just used thighs and used Italian Seasoning.  I like using thighs because they stay moist no matter how long you cook it.  I also prefer the bone-in, skin-on for added flavor.  I sauteed the Pancetta in Grape Seed Oil until crisp.  I like Grape Seed Oil because it has a moderately high smoke point and has a very clean flavor.  I then took out the Pancetta and browned the thighs and set that aside when done.   Next,  I drained some of the oil (the oil was infused now with the pancetta and chicken...yum!) and sauteed onions & garlic with seasonings then deglazed the pan with white wine and added whole canned tomatoes that I had squished and added the chicken back then cooked for about 35 mins covered. If I had had mushrooms, I would have added those!

Shredded Chicken added...

After the chicken was cooked through, I took the meat off the bone and shredded it.  I know most people don't like cooked chicken skin, but I love it!  I just cut it into small pieces and mix it up with the rest of the chicken. While I was shredding the chicken  I cooked the sauce down a bit then added the chicken back to it.  

The finished product :o)

It's finished off with Parmesan Cheese and fresh Basil.  And I'm a little weird, I like to eat it with jalapeno peppers ;o)