Chicken Cacciatore

• This simple, one-pot meal that originated in Italy features tomatoes, peppers and capers. Salt and pepper your chicken thighs and dredge them in flour. Heat up some olive oil in a dutch oven or another heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the chicken. You don't need to fully cook the thighs, just brown them. They'll finish cooking in the broth you're going to build later on. Once browned, set the chicken aside. Don't drain the pan.

  In the oil and fat leftover from the chicken, saute a sliced bell pepper, a sliced onion and a few cloves of minced garlic until soft (about five minutes). Add a quarter cup of white wine and simmer for another three minutes, or so. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, oregano and a few tablespoons of drained capers.

  Add a can of crushed, peeled tomatoes and some chicken broth and let it come to a simmer. Then, add your chicken thighs back to the pot. Let it all simmer together for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Serve by itself or over pasta or rice.

Thai Red Curry

• Red curry is a little more exotic and requires some specialty ingredients, almost all of which should be available in the international aisle of your local mega-mart. For this application, you will need to skin, wash and slice the chicken thighs before you cook them.

  To prepare Thai red curry, add all of the following ingredients to a hot wok, one at a time, letting each one cook before you add the next:

  One can coconut milk, 3 tbsp. red curry paste, 1 lb. sliced chicken thighs, one can bamboo shoots (rinsed), a splash of fish sauce, sugar, salt, kaffir lime leaves, hot Thai chilies and a few leaves of sweet Thai basil.

  Turn off the heat and let the basil wilt in the pan before serving over fluffed jasmine rice.

Easy Range Top BBQ Chicken

• Barbecue chicken requires a dutch oven, a range top, and little else. Brown four or so chicken thighs in a dutch oven over medium heat. Once browned, drain the excess fat from the dutch oven. Add one bottle of store-bought barbecue sauce and 8 oz. of your favorite cola.

  Let the liquid come to a boil, then drop the heat to low. Cover and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Uncover and let the sauce reduce until it reaches your desired thickness.

  Serve your barbecue chicken with a side like a grilled or pan-seared vegetable medley, rice pilaf, corn or baked potatoes.