Herb & Vegetable Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables. They probably get jet-lagged, just like people.
~Elizabeth Berry

Spring produce! YUMMY! The spinach for this recipe comes from my garden, and the herbs from my spice garden. The asparagus is local, but not grown by me.


Herb & Vegetable Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (1/serving)
Olive Oil
Fresh basil
Fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
Thin sliced swiss cheese (1 1/2 slice/breast)
Several leaves fresh spinach
1 large tomato, sliced thin
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375
Slice chicken breasts almost in half and pat dry
Splash inside with olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Put spinach leaves, swiss cheese, fresh herbs (to taste), and tomato slices into each breast and close back up
Salt and pepper again if desired
Cook uncovered in oven safe dish for 45 minutes

Gourmet Red Potatoes with Herbs
Ingredients:
Gourmet (or Baby) red potatoes (3/serving)
1/4 cup butter
Parsley
Sage
Thyme
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Cut potatoes in half
Boil for about 15 minutes
Drain
Add butter and fresh herbs and stir
Salt and pepper to taste


Served with blanched asparagus and a salad of fresh spinach and green leaf lettuce with tomato slices.

Breaded Baked Chicken & Mashed Potatoes

Remember what I said -if you want your mashed potatoes to be the tastiness, you have to use real butter and heavy cream!
~me

Probably the first meal I ever learned to cook, and I learned it because I loved it! It was actually shake-n-bake and boxed mashed potato flakes but I've modified the meal since then.

The Recipes

Breaded Baked Chicken
Ingredients:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (1/serving)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I use the 3 cheese variety)
1/2 cup crushed corn flakes
1 tbsp Tony Chachere's cajun spice
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375
Rinse and pat chicken breasts dry
Mix bread crumbs, corn flakes, and Tony Chachere's in a dish big enough to accommodate the chicken breasts
Beat the egg and milk in a dish of similar size
Dip each breast in the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture
Be sure to coat the breast evenly and thoroughly with the breading
Place chicken breasts in an oven safe dish and bake for 40 - 50 minutes

Mashed Potatoes:
Ingredients:
Potatoes (1 lrg/serving + 1 "for the pot")
Note: The following measurements are based on 4 servings
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation:
Peel and quarter potatoes
Boil for 20-25 minutes until very tender (but not breaking apart in the water)
Drain in a colander and return to pot
Use a masher to mash potatoes
Add butter and let it melt into the potatoes
Add cream, salt and pepper
Mash with a beater set on whip for 2 minutes more or less until potatoes have desired consistency

Served with:
Corn
Dinner rolls

Baked Potatoes

For me, a plain baked potato is the most delicious one....It is soothing and enough.
~Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher

This is an easy one! Pick your bakers, wash them, wrap them up in aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 400 and cook potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size. You can test by sticking a fork into the thickest part of the potato - if the fork slides in smooth, it's good!

Remove from oven, remove from foil, split, salt and pepper to taste. Top with any combination of:
Butter
Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream
Chives
Chili
Bacon Bits

Ribs & Baked Potatoes

Ribs must be America’s favorite barbecue dish.
~Anonymous

Baby Back Ribs were on sale the other day, so I picked up a couple of racks. It's like a summer barbecue, except it's freezing cold, and I cooked them in the oven.

The Recipes

Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients:
2 racks Baby Back Ribs
Bottle of Barbecue sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Tony Chachere's Cajun Spice
Tabasco
Salt & Pepper
Preparation:
Cut the rib racks into pieces that will fit into a big pot full of water
Boil for about an hour
Mix the barbecue sauce with the other ingredients until it has the amount of "bite" you like
Remove the ribs from boiling water and put in oven safe pan
Pour the sauce on
Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes
Put under broiler for 8-10 minutes to make them crisp

Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:
Baking potatoes (1/serving)
Butter
Salt & pepper
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Chives
Preparation:
Clean potatoes and wrap individually in foil
Cook in oven at 350 degrees for about an hour (they can cook right alongside the ribs)
Remove from foil, cut open, and slather generously with any of the toppings you want

Served with: Blanched broccoli, and 3 cheese texas toast.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.
~Erma Bombeck

Good food, good wine, good company. I love Thanksgiving! I have been cooking thanksgiving dinner for 17 years or so, with a few years excepted for various reasons. It is my favorite holiday - it reminds me how much I have to be thankful for :-) Most of the family comes for dinner. Here are some pics:

The Menu:

Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Cranberry Relish
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Creamed Corn
Dinner Rolls

I stuffed and cooked a 23# bird (Butterball) - it was just enough for our crowd of 13. The stuffing was traditional herb with some chopped onion and celery - prepared with chicken broth and butter.

Mashed potatoes, I boiled apprx 15# of potatoes and mashed them with butter and heavy cream, salt and pepper (yes, if you want the most delicious mashed potatoes, you have to use cream and real butter.)

Mom brought the cranberry relish, made with cranberries, orange, sugar, and a secret ingredient.

Sweet potato casserole - yams mashed with orange juice, brown sugar and walnuts, topped with marshmallows.

Green bean casserole - french style green beans, cream of celery soup, topped with french fried onions.

It was delicious!

Round Steak

The only time to eat diet food is while you are waiting for the steak to cook.
~Julia Child

Quick and easy dinner tonight - beef and potatoes. The guys all like a bit of beef from time to time, so I try to indulge them ... from time to time.

The Recipe

Ingredients:
1 good size round steak
1 onion
3-4 potatoes
Several baby carrots
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Worcestershire sauce
Thyme

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375
Place round steak in an oven safe pan
Splash a few times with worcestershire sauce and sprinkle with thyme
Peel and slice the onion and put in a layer over steak
Cut the potatoes into large pieces and tuck into the pan around the steak
Tuck the carrots in too
Salt and pepper
Add about 1/3 cup of water
Cover with foil and cook for 35-40 minutes
Remove foil and cook for another 10-15 minutes

My notes: I like to use the baby carrots because they are already peeled and are the right size. We call them care-OTTES.