Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Chicken For Two

I hadn't meant to get so chicken-y this week, but between the two of us, we've managed it nicely. It started with J's marvelous chicken parmesan Saturday night, accompanied by angel hair pasta & steamed broccoli. It ended, presumably, last night with the limeade chicken. I intend to do breakfast sausages tomorrow and steak Friday and I believe J is doing brats tonight.

Sunday night, I made a fried chicken salad with buttermilk dressing, which was refreshing considering that J made a roast for lunch on such a hot, humid day! She likes to have a big Sunday dinner while the boys are still with us, returning them home with full bellies and an appreciation of home-cooked food, and the roast was delicious, but it was rather heavy for August. I'd meant to make cheddar corn muffins to go with the salad, but my packet of locally-milled cornmeal has mysteriously vanished from the freezer! Most disheartening. So, we had Italian bread with it. The dressing was so delicious! I was rather displeased with the coating, as it tended to slip off, but the chicken was good nonetheless and I suspect I was just too hasty in turning it.

Monday night, we had a welcome break from chicken when J's plant made a sesame-rich teriyaki sauce and she got hungry for stir-fry. So, she did up a smidge of beef with a lot of delicious veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, scallions, yellow onions, carrots, water chestnuts) as a stir-fry, with teriyaki sauce to accompany. It was not by any means a traditional stir-fry, but it was quite tasty. My usual rice pan was in the dishwasher, so I used another and had less-than-felicitous results. I don't generally have trouble making rice, but then I always use the same pan. So, it was a tad undercooked and the leftovers will go to the dog, mixed in with some ground turkey, cooked up and stirred into leftover chicken pot pie filling as an alternative to canned dog food this week. She will be delighted! I have placed a Japanese rice cooker like my auntie's on my "to buy when I am getting a decent paycheck" list, which seems to grow longer by the day. Hers turns out simply lovely rice. I'd always thought a rice cooker seemed like an absurd thing to own until I tasted the rice she made in hers.

Last night, we were back to chicken, with a recipe I thought was quite sketchy. It came from a 2001 issue of Southern Living, although I had to modify it for two, rather than 8. It's certainly not something I'd ever make if I were feeding 8 people (wouldn't dare experiment quite like that with company) and I am actually rather puzzled as to why I even wrote the recipe down. It thoroughly violates my "no sweets with meat" principle with the main ingredient of limeade. Because of this violation, I was in fear of how dinner would turn out. I decided to make mashed potatoes to accompany it, rather than the rice I'd previously planned. The last thing we needed was another batch of raw-ish rice to go with revoltingly sweet chicken and I can be perfectly happy making a meal entirely of mashed potatoes, anyway. Luckily, though, the chicken was rather nice, even something I might possibly give to company. I served it with the potatoes and a mess of steamed green beans, which we discovered Harley loves while I was stemming them. I gave her a somewhat wrinkly one and she gently took it into her mouth and promptly ran to the living room with it to chomp it down, a practice she also uses with her most favorite of boneys. Now imagine, if you will, a great big Rottweiler-Doberman mix begging with sweetly tilted brown "eyebrows" for more beans! Ever so cute!

Fried Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
3/4 c. dry breadcrumbs
2 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. sour cream
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
Spring mix salad (although I think iceberg would stand up better to the weight of the chicken & dressing---I will be trying it next time)
Coat a skillet with cooking spray and heat. Mix mayo & lemon juice. Coat chicken in mixture, then dredge in breadcrumbs. Saute on medium heat until browned on each side and cooked through. Meanwhile, mix up the dressing by combining the remaining ingredients (aside, of course, from the salad greens) and whisking well. Arrange the salad on two plates. When chicken is done, slice into strips and place atop the salad. Drizzle with dressing. Serves 2.

Limeade Chicken
2 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless)
Salt & pepper
2 oz. thawed frozen limeade concentrate
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 generous tbsp. ketchup
Coat a skillet with cooking spray and heat. Salt and pepper the chicken. Cook on medium until browned on each side and cooked through. Mix the rest together and pour over the chicken. Cook another 5-10 minutes, turning frequently and making sure chicken is thoroughly coated. Serves 2.

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