Thanksgiving Chicken

I want Thanksgiving.  Now.  In May.  But turkey is so expensive outside that magical November-January window!  So I made do with what I had.  Chicken.  It's close right?  White poultry meat...without the coma after! 

My mom has a fantastic recipe for the best turkey ever.  Maybe it's because I grew up on it, but it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving if I'm eating a turkey NOT made with her recipe.  Like it's not really turkey...more like one of those tofu turkeys or something.

Thanksgiving Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (approx. 5 oz each)
1 stick butter
Rosemary (I only have dried on hand)
Sage
Thyme
2 cloves Garlic (powder or fresh minced)
Salt n Peppa

Preheat oven to 375.  In a microwave safe dish place butter on its side and cover the top of it with the spices (I just eyeballed it so I don't have exact measurements sorry!).  Microwave for 1 minute until butter is melted and the spices are smelling divine.  Place your chicken breasts in an ungreased 9x13 dish.  Spoon, brush, or pour butter mixture over chicken and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes depending on thickness of chicken.  Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes or so.  My house smelled like Thanksgiving.  My mouth tasted sorta like Thanksgiving, but without the crispy skin and amazing side dishes only my mom can perfectly recreate (except sweet potatoes).

This Thanksgiving we'll be somewhere and most likely unable to go home for Thanksgiving.  So I'll be calling my mom for all her recipes in an effort to recreate the cherished meal only her hand has truly mastered.  

Sorry, no picture. I ate it too fast.

♥ K8

What Did You Call Me?

Violet Baudelaire: Dinner is served. Puttanesca.

Count Olaf: What did you call me?
Klaus Baudelaire: It's pasta... Pasta Puttanesca.

I love "A Series of Unfortunate Events".

The books and the movie.

Not an actual series of unfortunate events...who enjoys unfortunate events?

I guess if you enjoyed them, they wouldn't be unfortunate, they'd be quite fortunate.
{but I digress}

Since Husband is now Chubsband, I'm being supportive of his diet and exercise.
And since reading the aforementioned books, I've wanted to try Pasta Puttanesca and lo and behold, I found a pretty easy recipe on Southbeachdiet.com

Chicken Puttanesca

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 large boneless, skinless, thin-sliced chicken breast cutlets {i found frozen chicken breast filets}
Salt and black pepper
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes, chopped {i used diced tomatoes}
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes {i didn't add these for fear of children screaming}
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
8 ounces whole-wheat pasta {can also use regular}

Preheat oven to 250°F. Warm 2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Season cutlets with salt and pepper; add to hot pan and cook 3 minutes, until browned. Flip; cook 1 minute. Transfer cutlets to a baking sheet; cover with foil and place in oven to keep warm.
Add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the same skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 10 seconds, stirring. Add tomatoes, olives, capers, and pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes, until slightly thickened, stirring to break up tomatoes. Stir in lemon juice and basil.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Toss with tomato sauce; serve with cutlets.

♥ K8

I CrockpotaLot

Slow cooker.

Crock pot.

That thing we got four of for our wedding and had to take three back but they didn't include the gift receipt and the people at Target are stupid and don't know how to do a return without a receipt so we ended up with four of those things and are currently trying to get rid of 3 via craigslist.

{the above run on sentence is fiction. any resemblance to persons living or dead is completely coincidental}

They make dinner easy.

Throw it in.

Turn it on.

Wait for iiiiiiiiiiiit.....

DINNER!

Today we have a crock pot recipe courtesy of Get Off Your Butt and Bake {via Pinterest}

Lion House Sweet and Sour Chicken
{isn't that color perfect for S&SC?}

Ingredients:

2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper

4 to six tablespoons cornstarch or flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup vinegar

1 cup chicken Broth

7 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoon soy sauce

7 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Seems intimidating huh? Cornstarch? Chicken broth? ketchup? Fear not my friends! Here comes SUPER INSTRUCTIONS!!!!!

{are you ready?}

Throw it all in the crock pot, turn on high for 4-6 hours. Turn to low and shred chicken with two forks. Stir to saturate chicken with sauce. Cook another 30-45 minutes.

And that's it.

Really, that's it.

♥ K8

Chicken Salad

When its summer time,
it's hot.
{well it's supposed to be}

The last thing I want to do when it's hot is stand over a hot stove, with hot food, and hot steam.

Chicken Salad
{makes about 2 sandwiches}

Ingredients:

1 large can chicken (you can also cook your own chicken breast, but this is easier and less HEAT)
1 handful grapes, quartered
1/2 apple chopped {you can make the pieces as big or small as you want}
3 spoonfuls mayo {a larger cereal spoon, the kind guys use to shovel food in their mouths as fast as possible}
Salt and Peppa
1 Tbsp dried dill

Throw everything into a bowl and mix it up. You can eat it plain, over some lettuce or spinach, or on a sandwich.

A cool, no stove lunch for summer {if it ever gets here}

♥ K8