Recipe of the Day

Italian Chicken

A great go-to recipe for giving chicken some extra zing!

Ingredients:
Packet of dry Italian dressing mix
White wine (remember, never use in cooking something you wouldn't willingly drink - don't buy "cooking wine", it's just bad wine with extra salt!)
2 T. water
1 T. oil (I use olive oil)
Chicken of whatever quantity you want - you can use this on chicken breasts, a whole chicken, or anything in between!

1. Put chicken in glass casserole dish (I usually use a 9x13 dish)
2. Pour wine over chicken, enough to give a good cover to the bottom of dish (add more for more flavor, less for a more subtle taste).
3. Mix water, oil, and Italian seasoning in a bowl, baste chicken.
4. Bake at 350 till chicken is done (this will vary based on what pieces you used for your chicken).

Alternatives:
1. Easily adaptable to the crockpot, just put everything in there instead and cook on Low till chicken is done!
2. You can use pre-made Italian dressing instead of mixing on your own, but you'll want to add more dressing because the flavor won't be as strong.
3. Especially if using pre-made Italian dressing, I like to marinade overnight before cooking.
4. This is great cooked on the grill if marinated ahead of time!
5. You can serve with mashed potatoes and a green veggie, some sort of bread, and fruit for a good well-rounded meal, or chunk up and put in salad, or whatever you want - it's very adaptable!

We're snowed in for yet another day (maybe we'll finally get to have preschool again tomorrow? I hope!) and it's supposed to be super-windy. Doesn't look too bad yet, more like "breeze" rather than wind. All the trees still have their snow piled on the branches, so it can't be too much on the windy side, can it? I'm wondering what excuse I can make that we *have* to go out, but we've already missed storytime (we were already planning on going tomorrow anyway) and the library books aren't due till tomorrow either. The grocery shopping is already done, and while I need to get new sheets, that's no more urgent now than it has been since we got the new bed almost a year ago. I'm thinking that the best course of action is to put Beth down for her nap, set Thomas up with a movie, and try to nap. Being up in the middle of the night for an hour with a kid wakened up by a bad dream can really set my mood in the wrong direction for the next day!

Recipe of the Day

So, I know I haven't posted in forever and am not for sure this will last, but since I'm posting these on our playgroup's message board I figured I might as well publish them here, too. One of these days I'll get around to writing actual posts again!

One-Dish Chicken Supper

My notes: The "standard" recipe comes from the back of the Stove Top Stuffing boxes ... you can also add broccoli or frozen mixed veggies. The crockpot version is from the "Fix It and Forget It" cookbook. I wonder if this would be good with cream cheese instead of the sour cream or milk?

Standard edition:
1 box chicken stuffing (or turkey, your choice)
1/4 c. stick margarine, cut up
1 1/2 c. hot water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (or equivalent; I often cook a whole chicken or turkey and freeze the leftovers, then just pull out a package of the larger chunks for this dish) - you can do this with cooked or uncooked chicken, I just use the cooked for convenience and time-saving
1 can cream of mushroom/chicken/celery (your choice)
1/3 c. sour cream or milk

1. Mix stuffing, margarine, and water, just till moistened.
2. Mix soup and sour cream (or milk).
3. Put chicken in baking dish, top with soup mix then stuffing.
4. Bake at 375 deg. about 35 minutes or till chicken is done (if using precooked chicken, cook till stuffing is nicely browned on top).

If using a crockpot, everything is the same except steps 3 and 4:
3. Put chicken in crockpot, top with soup mix then stuffing.
4. Cook on Low 6-8 hours.

And the quick list of updates since I haven't written in about a year:
We're expecting another daughter in May.
Thomas is in preschool and is looking forward to Kindergarten in the fall (actually, "looking forward to" doesn't quite cover it - he's been asking about just when he gets to start for the last year and a half!)
Beth is finally growing some hair and hates the fact that she isn't in preschool yet; she'll start a one day/week program this coming fall.
Clay is still at OSU and still loves his job.
Rob is still at OSU and living with us, and still can't wait to graduate.
Pregnancy is still a mix of enjoyment and discomfort, and I'm totally worn out by it!