It's been a while...

Hi Momma and Sissies! So it has been TOO long since anyone has updated on here, and since I finally have some free time to cook and experiment in the kitchen, I thought I'd share with y'all what yummyness I had for dinner tonight :) I didn't remember to take pictures until after so there are only a few.

I call it: "Sherry Chicken and Mushrooms"

So I had a chicken breast that I needed to use up and was searching through the Grace cookbook for ideas, which is where I found my inspiration I guess you could say. (Yes, I said one chicken breast, that's what happens when you are cooking for one :D) Anyways, I cut the breast into three or four strips and dipped them in milk and then breaded them in a mixture of bread crumbs, rosemary and garlic, and parmesan cheese:



After covering the pieces in the breading, I sauteed the outside of the chicken in butter, and then put them in a greased baking pan. In the same pan I seared the chicken in, I sauteed mushrooms in butter and sherry cooking wine (delish, btw!). While the mushrooms were sauteing, I mixed together about 1/4 cup of the sherry and 1/4 cup of condensed cream of chicken soup and poured that over the chicken. I topped the chicken with the mushrooms once they were to my liking, and sprinkled some shredded monterrey jack cheese over top. Cover with tin foil, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. After the 30 min, remove the foil and cook for another 5 min.

Now all that's left to do is enjoy!!! The whole time it was cooking it smelled amazing, and I am extremely satisfied with the way it turned out--especially since I wasn't really going by a recipe. It was sooooo yummy. It will be my dinner for tomorrow :) I paired it with green beans and texas garlic toast, which was also tasty. Here's the finished product:


Any feedback/tips are welcomed....and if you make it let me know what you think! :)

Orange-garlic roast chicken with balsamic glazed carrots

I roasted my first chicken tonight!!!

It wasn't too scary - honestly the worst part was having to stick half my arm up the chicken's butt to pull out its heart and liver since they weren't in a nice neat little bag.

I don't have a roasting pan, so I used my new Le Creuset baking dish ($25 at Marshall's, thankyouverymuch!):


I used a recipe from my Martha Stewart Living magazine. Here are the ingredients:

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Coarse salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 navel oranges, 1 zested, both cut into 2-inch wedges
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme, plus a few sprigs (I used ~1 tsp. dried thyme)
  
• 1 whole chicken (4 to 4 1/2 pounds)
• 2 red onions, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch wedges (I just had yellow onions)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. The recipe says to mash the garlic and salt together in a paste. I've seen this done with the edge of a knife on your cutting board, but I decided to use my mortar and pestle. I added the zest and thyme to the paste too.

Mix the garlic paste with the butter.

Prepare the chicken - rinse it under cold water, and make sure there aren't any feathers still stuck in the skin. Remove all the goodies from the cavity of the bird, then pat it dry and place it in your dish. Tuck the wings under the body. Gently separate the skin from the flesh, and rub half the butter mixture under the skin. Fill the cavity with a couple onion and orange wedges, and tie the legs together (I didn't have kitchen twine, so I used a rubber band...). Salt the bird, and arrange the rest of the onions and oranges around the bird, dotting with the rest of the butter.


So pretty! Roast for 30 minutes, then flip all the aromatics. I was supposed to save some butter for basting, but didn't realize - there were plenty of juices in the pan to baste with though, so that worked fine.

Roast and check and baste at 15 minute intervals until done - I pulled mine out after about an hour, because I thought the skin was going to burn. I should have left it in another 15-25 minutes, though, because the thighs were still pink. The breasts were done and super juicy though!

Here's the finished product:



It looked so pretty I couldn't believe it came out of my oven!! The rub really flavored the chicken well, it was very orangey and delicious. The onions and oranges in the pan were also really good, they had a nice roasty flavor and who doesn't love super-sweet roasted oranges?

I cooked up some balsamic-glazed carrots to go with. Basically I made glazed carrots like Mom usually does, but instead of butter and sugar, I used balsamic vinegar and butter, and let it reduce to a glaze. They were really yummy and a new flavor combo for us.


Anybody else have any fun chicken roasting stories?

Winner winner (3) Chicken Dinners

Alright, here's my contribution for the week: 3 dinners in one!

First, you need to make chicken. For us, I made a whole chicken in the crockpot this time. Usually I roast chicken pieces in the oven, and make extra to use for the week in different things. So, the first night that I made this chicken, Becca and Chad were there to eat, so a lot of it was eaten. I served it with a pasta and a veg, so pick whatever you like. This dinner is very quick, just pop the chicken in with seasonings, and in a few hours, spend 20 minutes or so making your sides. A snap!

Dinner number 2. I spoke to Becca about this, and this one is just about the quickest dinner I ever have made. Once your chicken is cool, if you cut it off the bone before putting it in the fridge, I think that is easiest. Set aside a few cups of cubed or pulled chicken, and add it to a saute of mixed stir fry veggies. I find these bags in the freezer section at any grocery I shop at. Use a pan to saute the veggies as directed on the package, and throw the chicken (or pork, or beef, or shrimp--whatever you have left over!) in the pan and heat it through. Last, finish it off with your favorite sauce. Lately, my choice has been BWW Asian Zing, but you can make your own with some soy or teriyaki sauce and a little corn starch. Stir in the sauce, and serve over rice if you like. Easy and quick (sorry, the rice will take about 30 min, otherwise this is a 15 min dish).

Dinner number 3. I just made this tonight. I took my chicken broth that had been in the fridge, skimmed the fat off the top, and put it in my big pot. I did have to add a little extra, so I used chicken stock in a box, but you can use water and chicken boullion, too. You adjust depending on how much soup you want to make. Start heating the broth, and add onions, celery, and carrots. I put about 1/2- 1 cup of barley in, and then the chicken. I salted and peppered to taste, and added parsley, a little garlic powder, and poultry seasoning, but you can totally just do it with s&p. It needs to simmer for a while after it boils so the barley will cook, about 50 minutes, so you can't rush this one. Hard barley=yuck

So, I've made three meals with this one chicken, and I still have the chicken carcass left to make more broth, and chicken on the carcass for another pot of soup, or maybe, chicken and noodles, or chicken and dumplings...they sound good, but probably not on my diet right now. You girls go right ahead, and let me know if this was helpful.

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

Hello women of the family! Well, I am kind of in the same boat as Sarah as I am only really eating leftovers but I did make those delicious enchiladas that I made on vacation and thought I'd share the recipe with yall. Enjoy :)

1 can cream of chicken soup (condensed)
1 cup sour cream ranch dip (I just used Ranch dressing and it tastes the same)
2/3 cup chopped green onions (but I always use more because they are so tasty)
3 cups chopped cooked chicken-approx. 1.5 lbs. I've found 2 lbs is too much and 1 lb is too little :)
3/4 cup purchased buffalo wing sauce
10 flour tortillas-works better with the larger size
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Use non-stick spray in a large glass baking dish. In a bowl, mix together the soup, 1/3 cup of the onions, and ranch. In a larger bowl, mix together chopped chicken and buffalo sauce. Spoon 2 Tbsp of soup mixture, 1/4 cup of chicken mixture, and sprinkle cheese into each tortilla. Reserve 1/2 cup cheese for topping later. Roll up tortillas over filling and place seam side down in baking dish. Once all are placed into the dish, spread the remaining soup mixture over tortillas. Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes (or until hot and bubbly). Remove from oven, sprinkle remaining cheese and onions over dish, return to the oven for 5 more minutes or until the cheese has melted, and enjoy!!

Sorry I don't have pictures, I made this over the weekend and wasn't thinking about it at the time... this is one of my new favorites so I hope yall like it :)