Simple Chicken Dinner

I think that some of you may think I spend hours in the kitchen every day, slaving away over a hot stove, concocting complicated dishes. In reality, that is far from the truth. Even though our kids are grown now, I am still working and have a couple of part time jobs. I also love to garden and read, and have a weird TV obsession with "Law and Order". Don't ask, I know it's weird.

Some days, I just want in and out of the kitchen in no time flat.  However, because I am a pretty good cook, expectations are high when it comes to dinner time. One of my very favorite short cuts,is this quick chicken that uses up frozen chicken breasts. They are great to have in the freezer, and we always keep them on hand. I buy them in huge bags at our big box store, and take out as many as I need for dinner. The only drawback that I can see to them, is that their size is often a little inconsistent. If you pull out 4, two of them may be huge and 2 may be on the smaller side. Other than that little issue, they are just what a busy woman needs. One of the simplest ways to cook them is to marinate them in Wishbone Lite Italian dressing and grill them. About 4 minutes on each side usually does the trick. You don't want to over cook them or they start to resemble rubber bands. And taste like them too. And YES, Wishbone is the dressing of choice for this meal at my house.

That's what we like when I am in a hurry. It only takes 15 minutes in the marinade once they are thawed -- and they thaw very quickly -- to make a difference in the taste. Be sure to drain them before adding the marinade to the chicken breasts. 

As far as side dishes go, my hub could eat a baked potato EVERY. DAY.OF. HIS. LIFE. Me, not so much. I like a good baked potato as much as anyone, especially with a rare steak ( See how I make them here.) but once a week is plenty for me. My go to , in a hurry side dish is what my family calls "Meemaw Noodles". We call them that because my Mom loved them. And since today should have been her 82nd birthday, here's the secret of "Meemaw Noodles".  This makes about 4 servings. Cook  about 10 oz. of egg noodles according to the directions on the bag. Drain them well. Put 1 T. butter into the hot pot while the noodles are draining When the butter is melted, put the noodles. back into the pot. Stir them to coat with the butter. Add 1 tablespoon lite Daisy Sour Cream and stir again. Sprinkle with 2  tablespoons Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese. Yes, the kind in the green can, I officially give you my permission to use the green can when making this dish. That's how my mom did it and that's how I do it. 

Sprinkle the noodles lightly with salt, add a generous amount to pepper and stir it all together. Put the lid on, let them sit a few minutes to heat through. Serve with the grilled chicken. I usually put the water on to boil, start the grill., add the noodles, and grill the chicken kind of all at the same time. Add any vegetable or salad stuff you've got and call it dinner.  The dinner picture shown has some of my leftover ratatouille on the side (recipe here). 

So now  you know. I am just as time crunched as many women, and sometimes I am pretty lazy in the kitchen. I feel so much better now that I've confessed! Try this and don't feel guilty. 

Perfect Fall Brunch: Breakfast Pizza and Fried Apples

Breakfast Pizza with Fried Apples

The weather has turned decidedly cooler this weekend here in Central VA. I've had apples on my mind -- sweet, tart, crispy apples. Yesterday for lunch I made a fruit salad filled with apples, red grapes, pineapple and orange slices. This morning, I made Fried Apples to go along with our Breakfast Pizza Casserole. They were a favorite of my mom, and something she made many weekend mornings.

This Breakfast Pizza is a long time family favorite, and while it is really, really kid friendly, adults like it too. It goes together quickly and will feed 8 easily. You could definitely add some veggies if you've got ambitious eaters or all adults -- roasted red peppers, onions, mushrooms, a little spinach -- all of those would be good, I'm sure.

This is the way I made it when my kids were younger. I've cut way back on the fat in the original recipe simply by making smarter purchases. Instead of regular Jimmy Dean pork sausage, I bought the lower fat version. And when they say "low fat" they mean it! There was barely ANY grease in the pan when I fried it up to use in the casserole, as you can see in this picture:

I have to say that it tasted great in the casserole... I didn't miss the grease at all! I also purchased Low Fat Crescent Rolls instead of the original. You absolutely can NOT tell the difference!

Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls

The next time you need something for more than 2 people to make for brunch, try this. Whether it's a special occasion, or you just want to make it special, this is a great way to go. It's really prefect on a cool fall morning. Your family and friends will eat it up!


Breakfast Pizza
serves 6 - 8

1 pkg. Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls (8 count)
6 eggs
1/3 c. low-fat milk (I used 1%)
1 roll Jimmy Dean reduced fat sausage, regular flavor, 10 oz.
1 1/2 c. part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
pinch of salt and pepper
a few chives for serving
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large non-stick skillet, cook your sausage, breaking it up into small pieces. Cook it until completely done, with no pink showing. Remove the sausage to a small bowl and wipe any excess grease from the pan. Set aside to use for the apples. Spray a 9X13" Pyrex casserole dish with cooking spray. Unroll the crescent rolls in one piece and fit them into the bottom of the dish, pressing the seams together, like this:

Unroll the crescent rolls in one piece for the crust.

Layer the cooked sausage over the crust and sprinkle with the cheese:

Crumble the sausage on top of the rolls  

Add cheese on top of the sausage.

Beat the eggs together with the milk and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the pizza. Cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes until lightly browned and "set" in the middle. Sprinkle with chives if desired, because after all, it's got to look pretty too! We eat with our eyes first, right? 

Breakfast Pizza

While the pizza is cooking, prepare your apples.

Fried Apples

5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 T. Land o' Lakes Butter
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Melt the butter (medium heat) in the same pan you cooked the sausage. Add the apples, making sure they have good contact with the pan, so that they begin to brown slightly. After a few minutes, stir them gently, with a spatula, and turn them over so that both sides of each slice gets cooked. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar and continue to cook for about 5 minutes and then add the cinnamon. Be sure not to over-do the cinnamon. You want them to be lightly sweetened with just a touch of cinnamon. 

Sprinkle them lightly with cinnamon.

Continue to stir the apples until they begin to soften and release their juices. When you are there, cover the pan, and cook for 3 more minutes. Don't want to cook them to mush, you want them to retain their shape and texture. Turn them off and hold them until brunch is ready to be served. 

Fried Apples. There are 5 fairly large Granny Smith apples in the skillet.
They cook down a bit. You can add them gradually as you cook them so they don't fly all over the kitchen! 

Bon Appetit!