A crowd-pleasing meal on a budget

Marry Me chicken, lemony broccoli and oatmeal cream cookie sandwiches bring a ton of flavor to the table

By GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS) M any Americans consider social media a scourge, but for a home cook, it can be a fun and informative place to get help deciding what to eat.

Sure, some of the recipes would-be influencers recommend are in fact pretty abominable – check out @chefreactions on TikTok, Instagram or X for many, many examples – but I have stumbled across some pretty good recipes on many occasions, too.

One that’s been going viral for a while and but only recently caught my eye shines a spotlight on the creamy, tomatoey dish known as Marry Me chicken.

There are probably as many recipes for Marry Me chicken on social media as there are cooks. (Delish claims to have created the video recipe for the original dish, also known as Tuscan chicken, in 2016.) But in my opinion, the best variations hang their chef’s hat on a sauce made with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and cream. Yum!

This rich and luxurious entree is a definite step above the “engagement” chicken that caused a similar stir when it made its debut in Glamour magazine in 2004. That proposal- worthy recipe – saved for posterity in the 2011 cookbook “100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know: Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Fabulous Dishes to Get You Everything You Want in Life” – featured a whole chicken roasted with lemon and herbs. Awesome for sure, but not nearly as swoon worthy.

I’ve been married for a very long time, so I’m not looking for a dish that will get me engaged. But who wouldn’t want applause when they put dinner on the table? That’s how Delish’s original recipe made it into the latest installment of “Dinner for Four for $25.”

Usually when I’m building these economical meals, I do all my shopping in one store. This time, I shopped over the course of a weekend at some of my favorite haunts to see if that made a difference. (And no, I didn’t factor in the cost of gas, but maybe should have!)

First stop after downing my Saturday morning latte and Nutella mele at a street-side table at Colangelo’s in the Strip District: Wholey’s Market, where I found boneless chicken breast at the bargain price of $3.89 per pound. I then crossed the street and headed down the block to Pennsylvania Macaroni Co., where I found several varieties of sun-dried tomatoes to chose from. I went with a jar of Ponti sun-dried cherry tomatoes for $5.09 – a definite splurge when your budget is only $25, but an ingredient I knew would deliver plenty of flavor.

At Aldi, I found a bag of five huge lemons for $3.89, or 78 cents apiece, and a nice package of fresh broccoli for $2.28. A bargain, considering I would only use about two-thirds of it.

The German supermarket chain known for its low prices and no-frills shopping experience (you have to deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart) also had butter – a main ingredient in my sandwich cookie dessert – on sale for $3.99 a pound. A bag of powdered sugar was pretty cheap, too, at just $2.09 for a two-pound bag.

“Shopping” my pantry for ingredients I always have on hand, including garlic, olive oil, spices, rice, molasses and vanilla, once again helped keep costs down. Total bill: $24.38, or 62 cents under budget.

Not bad when you consider the homemade dessert recipe makes more oatmeal sandwich cookies than a family can/should eat at one sitting.

Marry Me Chicken

Sun-dried tomatoes could be considered a splurge item because even a tiny jar is expensive, but their concentrated, sweet and tangy tomato goodness add so much flavor to a dish! They are certainly the star of this chicken dish that has been making the rounds on social media platforms.

Some say the entree is so good, you’ll get a marriage proposal out of it. At any rate, the Parmesan cream sauce that gets spooned on top of the chicken and rice will certainly make your diners swoon.

This original recipe from Delish.com is a pretty easy dish to get on the table in quick fashion. Just remember to use a dry pot holder to take the pan out of the oven because it will be very hot; I very stupidly used a damp dish towel and now have another cooking scar.

4 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 3/4 cup chicken broth 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan Fresh basil, torn, for serving, optional Cooked rice, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Generously season chicken with salt and black pepper and cook, turning halfway through, until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.

In same skillet over medium heat, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Stir in garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, tomatoes, cream, and Parmesan; season with salt. Bring to a simmer, then return chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet.

Transfer skillet to oven. Bake chicken until cooked through and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife, 10-12 minutes.

Arrange chicken on a platter. Spoon sauce over. Top with basil, if using, and serve with cooked rice.

Serves 4.

– delish.com Broccoli with Lemon

Broccoli is a reliable veggie when you need a little something extra to round out a meal and don’t want to spend a fortune. Here, it’s blanched until crisp-tender and then tossed with lemon juice and zest and a pinch of red pepper flakes. I used lemon olive oil (already on hand) for an extra burst of citrus flavor.

1 large bunch broccoli, separated into florets 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter 1 clove garlic, minced Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon 1 pinch (or two) red pepper flakes Flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place broccolini in a large skillet with about 2 inches of water; bring to a boil and cook until bright green, 1-2 minutes. Drain. Heat olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until golden and fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add broccoli; cook and stir until heated through, 2-3 minutes.

Squeeze lemon juice and zest over broccoli and season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Serves 4.

– Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

Oatmeal Cream Cookies

Remember how if you were lucky when you were a kid you got an individually wrapped Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie in your lunchbox? These soft and chewy oatmeal cookies sandwiched with vanilla buttercream taste exactly the same. Actually, they’re better because they’re not made with corn syrup and artificial flavorings, but rather real butter and brown sugar.

It’s important to let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a rack. Otherwise they will fall apart. The icing is very sweet, so you might want to reduce the amount of powdered sugar.

For cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 tablespoon molasses 1 large egg, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt For filling:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 3 cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla Pinch of salt Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

In stand mixer outfitted with whisk attachment add butter, brown sugar and molasses and beat on low speed until combined. Gradually increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with spatula, then add egg and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined.

Add flour, oats, baking soda and salt and beat on low speed until just combined and no streaks of flour remain.

Use a 1/2

-ounce cookie scoop tor tablespoon measure to portion out equal amounts of dough. Roll the dough in your hands to smooth the edges, then place 2 inches apart on prepared pans.

Bake until cookies have puffed up and are set and firm around the edges but still somewhat soft in the middle, 9-11 minutes. Remove sheet pans from oven and allow cookies to rest on the pans for 5 minutes, then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once cookies have cooled, make filling. In stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla and salt. Beat on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to high, until creamy and fully incorporated, about 45 seconds. If filling is dry, add a small splash or two of cream.

Assemble cookies. Using a small offset spatula or butter knife to spread about 2 tablespoons of filling onto the bottom side of one cookie, then place second cookie on top to sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and serve.

Makes 16 sandwich cookies.

– “Sweet Tooth” by Sarah Fennel (Clarkson Potter, $35)

This budget dinner for four includes creamy Marry Me chicken over rice, broccoli with lemon and red pepper and homemade oatmeal sandwich cookies for dessert.

Gretchen McKay / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette / TNS