It's a Boy !!!!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. It was an exciting time for our family, our early Christmas present came on December 23rd when we found out our new grandbaby is a boy. A Baby Boy, I am so excited. Somehow, I was certain it was a boy all along. I can't wait to go shopping. Just as soon as I can get out of my driveway.................

Can you believe we had a white Christmas? I love it, it created magic on Christmas morning. Even today, it is so beautiful outside, with the sun sparkling on the snow. It makes it difficult to get anything done, I just want to stand at the door and gaze outside into the woods. Our first white Christmas since the year Lacy was born, 1981.

Kids grow up and traditions change over the years but the constant for me has always been Christmas morning. Our family gathers for a mid morning breakfast with my Daddy doing the cooking. Daddy is a great cook and this is something we look forward to all year. No matter how I try my gravy is never as good as Daddy's.
Fluffy biscuits like you wouldn't believe, tender sausage and crispy bacon, breakfast never taste as good anywhere else.

Today has been a tad busy trying to catch up in the house with the laundry and simply putting things back in their place after the rush of the holidays. So, I was looking for something quick and easy for supper tonight. Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken Tenderloins used to be a standby and when I thought about them today I realized I haven't made this recipe in a few years. Give it a try on these cold days between Christmas and New Years. A simple recipe always tastes good after all the rich treats of the last few weeks. It is so easy but still a guaranteed hit with your family.

Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken Tenderloins in a Skillet*
Chicken Herb Rice
Green Beans
Parker House Rolls

Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken Tenderloins in a Skillet

4 -boneless - skinless chicken breasts - cut into strips or or 10-12 tenderloins
1 cup Italian dressing (don't use the fat free here)
2 tsp. lime juice
3 tsp. honey

Place chicken in large zip-lock bag. Combine all other ingredients and pour over. Seal, place bag in a bowl and marinate in refrigerator for at least an hour.

Pour all ingredients into a large skillet and cook over medium heat until liquid evaporates and remaining marinade becomes thick and caramelized. Coat each piece of chicken in marinade by rubbing it around on the bottom of the pan before removing it.

So, Until Tomorrow.................,

S~~~

Grilling Again

Sunday night I wanted to grill. Originally, I was thinking about what I could make with the power off, but since it came back on about 3:00 I didn't need to worry. Warm weather is all about grilling so I never miss a chance this time of year. Grilled lemon chicken is one of my favorites and I was surprised when I checked my blog and realized I had not shared this particular recipe before.

Grilled Lemon Chicken*
Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes
Tossed Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Honey Wheat Rolls with Herb Butter


Grilled Lemon Chicken

3 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/3 cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (never reconstituted)
Zest of ½ lemon
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1Tbsp. fresh rosemary
1 tsp. garlic ~ minced
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 jalapeno pepper ~ chopped fine
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut chicken in 1½ in strips.
Marinade at least 30 minutes or up to two hours.
Place chicken in an aluminum disposable pan and pour most of the marinade over chicken.
Grill until juices run clear. On my grill (indirect heat) it took about 20 minutes.

So, Until Tomorrow...........
S~~~

Are You a List Maker?

I am. I love the satisfaction of crossing things off my to-do list(s). Even though I am a "gadget girl" with a Blackberry, a Droid and a laptop in almost every room, all fully equipped with programs prepared to manage my entire life three times over, I still have a paper list and a pen handy everywhere. I set electronic reminders for work and personal, and yes, you get that small sense of completion when you click the completed tab, but it just isn't the same.

My Mother never made a grocery list while I cannot shop without one. I walk out of the grocery store with a buggy full of "stuff" and not one single item that I need. My real treasure is to find a buggy in the store where someone has left their shopping list behind. I love to see what other people put on their lists. Another weird habit I have is looking to see what other people are buying. I hate to get in a line where there is no wait, I want to see what the people in front of me are buying. I know, maybe I should get a life.

I am a creature of habit. I find comfort in doing the same things at the same time every week. On the weekend I make my menu for the week and then create my shopping list from there.
One really neat feature with the smartphones and one I truly love even though it does not involve pen and paper is sending my list to my phone and clicking to cross off items as I put them in the buggy. No more having to keep up with a pen and paper in the store.

Supper last night was another casualty of this stormy weather pattern we are under right now. Once again I had planned to grill out but the rain came at the wrong time. So, we just stayed in.
Same meal just done in the oven.

Dry Rub BBQ Chicken*
Fresh Creamed Corn
Sauteed Green Beans
Roasted Red Potatoes

Dry Rub BBQ Chicken

3 - boneless skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon

3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. granulated dried garlic (or garlic powder)
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Cut chicken into strips (3-4 per breast, depending on size). Coat heavy pan with olive oil. Place chicken in pan and sprinkle with additional olive oil and lemon juice.
Combine dry rub and sprinkle 1/2 over the chicken. Bake at 425 or grill 15-20 minutes and turn over. Sprinkle remaining rub over the other side and continue to bake or grill until juices run clear, approximately 15 minutes.

So, Until Tomorrow...........
S~~~

Gettin' Ya Grill On

This was the chicken I fixed last Saturday night. It turned out so juicy. Great flavor too. So good that you could leave off the dipping sauce if you were so inclined, but I absolutely love this white bbq sauce. The chicken alone is terrific, but if you want to take it over the top serve little individual bowls of the dipping sauce.


The menu went like this:

Summer's Best Grilled Chicken* w/ White BBQ Dipping Sauce*

Bobby Flay's Smoked Chile Cole Slaw

Corn on the Cob - (cooked in half milk and half water, yum)

Baked Sweet Potatoes


Summer's Best Grilled Chicken

1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. Miracle Whip
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 Tbsp. pepper
2 Tbsp thyme
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. onion powder


Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Marinate chicken at least 30 minutes, but up to 48 hours. The longer the better.

Grill or bake at 400* until juices run clear. Remove from grill or oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.


Our grill is indirect heat only and I used huge bone-in skin-on chicken breast. They were done in 1 hour 10 minutes. The skin will actually char, but that is fine, we don't eat it anyway. Grilled chicken is far less abt to be dry if you leave the skin on while cooking.

Serve with:

White Barbeque Dipping Sauce


1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 Tbsp. white corn syrup (Karo)
1 Tbsp. garlic
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. Accent or salt
1/2 white pepper
1 tsp. horseradish


Whisk together and refrigerate at least 30 before serving.


So, Until Tomorrow................
S~~~

Can You Tell I'm Off Work Today ?

Wow, can you believe it, I am back again !!!

As I was reading the Recipe Curio blog a few minutes ago I came across a chicken casserole recipe that reminded of one I made years ago. Granted, it is one of those oh so NOT politically correct "cream of something" casseroles, but it is full of great flavor and gives us that comfort food feel that we need on these cold windy days.
Hope you enjoy!

Nacho Doritos Chicken Casserole

1 bag Nacho flavor Doritos (or Fritos, but they are boring)
3-4 chicken breasts
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Celery Soup
½ cup sour cream
1 can green chilies - chopped
1 small onion - chopped fine
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. chili powder (or to taste)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
½ tsp. pepper
2 cups grated Taco seasoned cheese
Cook chicken in salted water (or Kitchen Basics stock) in *pressure cooker about 20-25 minutes.
Lightly spray a 9x13 inch pan with Pam. Cover the bottom with ¾ bag of Doritos.
Remove chicken and strain stock. Remove the skin and bones and dice chicken into small pieces.
Combine 1 ½ cup of the strained stock, chicken soup and celery soup, sour cream, green chilies, onion, minced garlic, chili powder, brown sugar, and pepper in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes, stirring as needed.
Remove from heat. Layer diced chicken over Doritos and top with soup mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese over top and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and crumble the remaining Doritos over top. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes.

So, until tomorrow.........
S~~~

Once A Month Cooking

Ronnie had to work today so I had a bit more time to piddle in the kitchen. I cleaned out my freezer and did some chores I had been putting off for a while. I found myself throwing away money from my freezer. I had let it get so full that I had forgotten what I had. That said,
I have a bit on an interest in the popular Once a Month Cooking method (OAMC).
I love to cook, but I hate to spend all night in the kitchen after working all day. Especially now that Lost and American Idol are back on. While the OAMC concept appeals to me, I also don't want to use an entire Saturday cooking and freezing portions. So, I asked my sweet sister in law, Karen, if she would be willing to take a vacation day off work and we could cook double batches all day and have plenty for both families meals for a month. So, we plan to take a leave day and cook sometime this month.
I have been researching OAMC recipes and have found some that I know would work well for us. I just need to make sure I have the proper type containers available. Any hint of freezer burn and it goes in the garbage here.

So, it you have any recipes for OAMC or suggestions for storage please, please share. I will let you know how our "cooking day" goes. Just to get you thinking along OAMC lines I am posting on of the recipes Karen and I will be making.

Zesty Pineapple Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Zesty Pineapple Glaze:
1 medium can pineapple tidbits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. soy sauce

Preheat oven to 375F. Place chicken breast in freezer safe container. Brush each piece of chicken with melted butter, then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Make glaze. Pour glaze over chicken. Freeze.
Remove chicken from freezer and place in refrigerator the day before to thaw.
On cooking day, bake in preheated 375* for 50-60 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and glaze is dark brown.

So, until tomorrow..........

S~~~

Grilling Again

In the waning days of summer I feel like we need to be outside as much as possible. I love to grill then sit out on the deck with the candles burning and the music playing. Sometimes we talk sometimes we just sit quietly for minutes at a time.

Supper tonight was:

Citrusy Chicken*

Parmesan Thyme Couscous

Corn Pudding

Green Beans

Honey Wheat Bread

Paula Deen's Creamy Pumpkin and Pecan Bars*

This chicken was so tender and moist. Great flavor too. I think I will mix several batches of the marinade and chicken in freezer bags to have ready for a handy freezer meal. Just take it out of the freezer and refrigerate in the morning and cook at 400* for about 45 - 60 minutes covered when I get home from work.

Citrusy Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lemon, juice of
1 lime, juice of
3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. agave syrup (may substitute 1 tsp. brown sugar)

Place the chicken in a plastic ziploc bag.
In a small bowl, combine juices, oil, herbs and spice.
Mix well.
Add to chicken in bag and turn to coat.
Marinade at least 30 minutes, the longer the better.
On a prepared grill, cook chicken over medium high heat until done.

NOTE: I hesitate to list a cooking time here. It depends on how high the heat is, how thick the chicken is, was it room heat or cold when placed on the grill.......

I always bring my meats to room temp before cooking, they cook much more evenly.

Usually chicken breasts take 7-8 minutes on the first side and 5-6 on the second side. This would be for regular thickness, not the thin and fancy ones, they are much too thin to grill well.

Paula Deen's Creamy Pumpkin and Pecan Squares

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter- melted

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese- softened

3 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 (16 oz) box confectioners sugar

Whipped cream (optional)

Ground cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13x9 inch pan.
In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, butter, chopped pecans, and 1 egg. Press mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan.
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and 3 eggs with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until mixture is smooth. Pour over prepared crust. Bake 35 minutes. Cut into squares to serve. Serve with whipped cream and lightly sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.

This was decadent. A perfect fall dessert. The only change I made was add 2 tsp. of my homemade vanilla to the filling. In the future I might pre-bake the crust for about five minutes before spreading the filling and then continue baking.

I really think the sugar could be cut a bit also, a full box is a bit much. I think 2/3 of a box might be plenty.

So, until tomorrow.........

S~~~

Grocery Shopping

Where do you usually grocery shop? I would love to have Harris Teeter back. It was without a doubt my favorite grocery store, but about 20 years ago they decided Marion was not a profitable location and closed. So, that left us with Ingles and BiLo and a few years later Food Lion came along. I generally shop at the Ingles, I find the BiLo to be a bit more expensive and Food Lion to be much more expensive. My location of choice is Ingles in Black Mountain. Newer and much nicer than our Marion store, with the added convenience of being right off interstate as I drive home from work.

When we travel I make it a point to shop different grocery stores. When we visit Lacy I love to go to the Wegman's. It is a shopping experience par excellence. A toy store for cooks. When I traveled to Atlanta back in the old Fantasy Travel days I always tried to get to the Kroger. In Florida I like to hit Publix and Albertson's. I love the Piggly Wiggly in Charleston. Even on Edisto Island (hello Frances) the Piggly Wiggly is the place to see and be seen.
Then there is the high end selections, Fresh Market, Earthfare, Green Life, and in other areas Whole Foods. Do I need to tell you that I love all of these stores? Of course, last but far from least we have the Super WalMarts. I do like the grocery section in these stores, but the very best part of shopping here is that one stop does it all. Saves me time and perhaps a bit of money to boot.
Oh, oh I almost forgot, Aldi. I really do like Aldi, quality products, low prices, but limited selection.

Anyway, I said ALL that to say that this past weekend we shopped BiLo and I picked up some nice chicken breast halves for $0.99 a lb. So, supper tonight was:

Shredded Barbeque Chicken Sandwiches*
Barbeque Slaw
Bread and Butter Pickles (Aldi)
Parsley Potatoes

Shredded Barbeque Chicken

4 chicken breasts
4 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt

Cook 6-8 hours on low heat in slow cooker. Cool chicken and remove skin and bones. Shred chicken and place in a 3 quart sauce pan.

Combine:
1 cup catsup
1 Tbsp. (heaping) grape jelly
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup water (or strained broth)

Pour over shredded chicken and heat through. Serve on toasted rolls with pickles and slaw.

So, until tomorrow...........
S~~~

Summertime Favorites

I have been so slack recently posting recipes that I wanted to make it up to you with some warm weather favorites. Hope you enjoy.

Picnic Cucumber Salad

5 small pickling cucumbers
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. seasoned rice wine vinegar (apple cider is ok)
1 small sweet onion- sliced into rings
3/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbls. olive oil
2 Tbsp. if lemon juice (fresh, if possible)
2 Tbls. fresh dill, chopped ( you may sub. 1 tsp. dried dill weed)
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

Peel (if desired) and slice cucumbers. Place in a bowl and add kosher salt and rice wine vinegar. Let stand for 30 minutes and drain. Cucumbers should be crisp. Slice the onion into thin rings and add to the cucumbers. In a separate dish combine, sour cream, olive oil, lemon juice, dill kosher salt and pepper. Pour over cucumbers and combine. Refrigerate until supper.


Lemonade Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast ( or whatever kind of chicken you like)
1 – 12 oz can frozen lemonade – thawed
½ cup honey
½ cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

Marinate chicken 20-30 minutes and grill or bake (covered) as usual.

So, Until Tomorrow........
S~~

Wednesday's Chicken

Supper tonight was a recipe that I haven't made in years. I had chicken that I needed to fix so I decided on Chicken Lazone. The original recipe came from Brennen's in New Orleans and can easily be found on line. I made a few changes minor changes that lighten it up a bit, believe it or not.

Chicken Lazone*
Four Cheese Risotto (from a mix)
Green Beans
Cottage Cheese

Chicken Lazone

4 - thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp.seasoning salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
1tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup half and half
1 packet Lipton Cream of Chicken Cup of Soup

Sprinkle chicken with seasoning salt. Lightly brown in olive and remove from pan. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel. Melt butter and add chicken stock, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder and sliced mushrooms. Cook over low heat approximately 5 minutes. Add half and half and Lipton Cream of Chicken Cup of Soup. Return chicken to the pan and continue to cook over medium heat approximately 8 minutes.

So, until tomorrow.........
S~~~

Well, tonight I choose to blog instead of watch the President's speech. Irregardless of my politics I'm not sure what that says about me.................

Supper tonight was:

Baked Lemon Chicken*
Fried Rice
Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Baked Lemon Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - halved
2 eggs - slightly beaten
2 tsp. water
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 tsp. - 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (I used 1 tsp., we like spicy)
4 Tbsp.melted butter


Chinese Lemon Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup (Karo)
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. minced garlic

2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. cold water

Cut each chicken breast half lengthwise. Mix eggs and water in a medium glass bowl. Add chicken; turn to coat both sides and let stand 10 minutes.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray pan with Pam. Mix flour, cornstarch and cayenne pepper in a large zip lock bag. Seal bag; shake to coat chicken. Place chicken in pan; drizzle with melted butter.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until chicken tests done.

Chinese Lemon Sauce
Heat all ingredients except cornstarch and cold water to boiling in a saucepan, stirring occasionally. Mix cornstarch and cold water; stir into sauce. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until thickened. Spoon over chicken.

So, until tomorrow..............
S~~~

Betty's Birthday

Today is Ground Hogs Day. I am so pleased the ground hog has a day. I am still waiting for Working Women's Day. At any rate apparently the ground hog has a knack for forecasting weather and according to the famous Phil in Pennsylvania we are looking at six more weeks of winter. Imagine that.

Truthfully, today would have been my Mother's 78th birthday. Sadly, she passed away March 5th, 2002. She lost her life to something much bigger than the little 90 pound woman she was, cigarettes. I hate tobacco in all forms. In a two month time period both Ronnie and I lost our Mothers, both due to smoking. Lacy lost both Grandmothers as a sophomore in college, first she came home for Christmas to a funeral and then spring break brought another funeral. Forgive my sadness, it overtakes every year on this day. I guess our generation will always struggle with mother/daughter relationships, even after they are gone.......................

Supper tonight was one of my favorite chicken dishes. A fairly quick dish if you use the thin chicken breast or the tenderloins.

The menu went something like this:

Crispy Baked Barbeque Chicken*

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts and Onions

Green Beans

Hashbrowns

Reese Cups (for me, because I needed them)

Crispy Baked Barbeque Chicken

4 - boneless skinless chicken breast (thin and fancy style)
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1/4 cup melted butter

Combine all ingredients except chicken and melted butter in a plate or bag to shake. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Immerse chicken pieces in margarine, then roll or shake pieces to coat them. Arrange chicken and so pieces don't touch on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with Pam. Sprinkle with any remaining crumb mixture. Bake, uncovered, in a 375* oven for about 50 minutes or until tender. DO NOT TURN.

**To give this more BBQ flavor and cut down on the fat you can dip chicken in BBQ sauce instead of butter. I have done this with John Boy Sauce (John Boy and Billy's Grilling Sauce). It is the right consistency.**

So, until tomorrow...........
S~~~

Fickle January teased us again, no snow, only flurries. I need at least one good snow before
I start dreaming of spring, supper on the grill, deck parties, boat drinks...............

Tonight's supper is Lacy's (our daughter, living in Philadelphia) favorite dish. When she was away in school every chance she had to come home this was her request. Hopefully, before too much longer she and her husband Bashar will have the opportunity to transfer closer to home.

Lacy Jay's Chicken Stew

3 - chicken breasts
5 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. celery seed

1 carton chicken stock

3 - packets of Lipton Cream of Chicken Cup of Soup
1 - can cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. garlic powder

1 package of 8 large flour tortillas
2 - cups milk

Cook chicken breast until tender in water, chicken bouillon cubes, pepper and celery seed. Remove chicken from broth to cool.

Stain and measure broth. If you do not have 6 cups of broth add enough chicken stock to make 6 cups.
To the broth add:

3 - packets Lipton Cream of Chicken Cup of Soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. garlic powder
Heat over medium heat stirring until mixture is well combined.

Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and cut into small pieces.
Add to the broth mixture. Bring to a simmer.

Take one package of flour tortillas and and cut into strips about 1 inch wide. Drop into the boiling liquid. Continue cooking approximately 20 minutes or until the flour tortillas are very tender.

Remove from the heat and add:
2 cups milk

Return to low heat for 5 minutes - do not boil.

Enjoy.

Until tomorrow

S~~

Just Another Marvelous Monday

The worst part about Monday is the Sunday night dread. Truthfully, once Monday arrives it usually turns out to be a great day. Mondays always fly by.

It was actually nice to be back to work in an odd kind of way. Even though I love new things and love to change things, routine is important to me. Not to mention the fact that I truly do love my job and especially the people I work with.

Have you noticed the new addition to Sunset Suppers? Check out the checkerboard square pictures on the right side. These are our fur babies. Top right is Cagney - our almost 5 month old ball of fire baby Shih Tzu. Next to her is our lone kitty cat Gatsby - our 8 year old Turkish Van who loves nothing better than to play in the water. Bottom left is Gibson - our 3 year old Yellow Lab who is recovering nicely (see Saturday January 3 for details). Lastly, Sissy, the one who stole my heart originally, she is a beautiful 6 1/2 year old long coat chihuahua. I can't believe I was 45 years old before I owned my first dog. I guess we are making up for lost time now though. At any rate we took care of that empty nest problem quite nicely.

Supper tonight was one of my go to meals. I always wanted Mother to bake chicken when I was growing up (remember those 1960s Shake and Bake commercials?), but in our house chicken was usually saved for Sunday and always fried. Mother always cut up her own chickens. I did try that once many years ago in a moment of frugality, I realized I didn't do too well when Ronnie wasn't sure what might be light meat and what was dark meat. The wings were the only part we could positively identify.

Stuffed Chicken w/ Creamy Dijon Sauce *

Creamed Potatoes

Sugar Glazed Carrots

Butter Beans

Bogle Sauvignon Blanc

Stuffed Chicken w/ Creamy Dijon Sauce

4 - boneless skinless thin chicken breast

3/4 cup mayonnaise (I only use Kraft light)
2 tbsp. whole grain mustard
1 tbsp. prepared mustard
1 tbsp. sugar



2 cups dry bread crumbs (lately I have started using panko)
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese (the green bottle )
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. course ground pepper

1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I use the 4 cheese Italian blend when I can find it, Swiss is good also)

Rinse chicken under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, prepared mustard and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes. Mix well again.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper, salt and pepper.

Spread chicken with mayonnaise mixture. Coat with bread crumbs. Place cheese to one side of chicken breast and fold over.

Place on a prepared baking sheet. Bake 40 minutes at 350.


Creamy Dijon Sauce

1 can cream of chicken soup
2 tsp. whole grain mustard
1 tsp. prepared mustard
2/3 cup milk (whatever kind you want based on the richness desired)

Combine in a 2 quart sauce and heat through.

Let me know if you try it, as always I welcome your feedback.

Let's learn from each other!!

Until Tomorrow

S~~