Where did you learn to cook? For me, it was in Momma's kitchen. I would sit on the counter and watch her cook until I was old enough to help with prep work. At first it was peeling eggs and grating cheese, later I chopped nuts and vegetables.
Two things we didn't use much in that oh-so-Southern kitchen: measuring cups and recipes.
The exception to that is, of course, in baking, which is really just a giant chemistry experiment. I do love to bake, and truly believe that if God had meant for me to be thin he wouldn't have made me such a good baker.
But on a daily basis, this girl needs her protein! Living alone is no excuse for eating poorly, or subsisting on frozen foods and take-out. In the time it takes to go through a drive-through, I can make a nice, nutritious meal at home. It's usually cheaper, and it's a whole lot better for me. Rachel Ray has nothing on me with the 30-minute meal. One of my favorite dinners takes less than 15 minutes to make: pan seared salmon and a spinach salad. Easy peasy.
So being alone at Christmas this year was no excuse for not having a treat. The menu consisted of roasted chicken thighs, roasted asparagus, crescent rolls, and lemon poppy seed cake. Yum! I posted a picture on Facebook, and Donna Lightell requested a blog on how to prepare. So here you go Donna: this one's for you! Oh, there's no recipe, just some general guidelines on how to prepare. It's different every time I make it.
First, use chicken thighs. Chicken breasts dry out so easily, and I'm a dark meat girl myself. Rinse and pat them dry, sprinkle with garlic salt, and put them in glass or casserole dish. Sprinkle some rosemary leaves on top, then a little melted butter and lemon juice. Put it in the oven at about 350 degrees. Right now I'm cooking with a wonky oven that goes crazy and starts making noises and sets off the smoke alarm if I go higher than that, but usually I roast chicken at about 400 degrees. If you have a good oven, go with the higher temp. Leave the chicken in until it just starts to brown (depends on heat, anywhere from 15 to 20 mintes). Take it out and add some halved artichoke hearts, mushrooms (I like sliced portabello, but you can use any kind you like) and a handful or so of drained capers. You can also add sliced onions, if you like. Make sure the veggies are mixed down between and around the thighs, so that most of the skin can get nice and crispy. Then spoon sauce (to follow) over everything and put it back into the oven until it's done. I have no idea how your oven cooks or how thick your chicken thighs are, so you have to figure out how long to cook it on your own.
The sauce, or as I like to call it, Terri's Special Sauce (not to be confused with McDonald's Special Sauce, which we all know is just really Thousand Island dressing). It's very simple, but is just wonderful on just about any kind of meat, fish, seafood, or veggie. Seriously. You can put it on almost anything. You can adjust any of the ingredients to your own taste, and I change it a little depending on what I'm in the "mood" for every time I make it. Start with roughly equal amounts of sour cream and Blue Plate mayonnaise. You have to use Blue Plate. I am very brand loyal here; there's just nothing else like it for cooking. Anyway, then you add some dijon mustard, roughly a third of the amount of sour cream or mayonnaise used. Squeeze some lemon juice in and add a couple of pinches of dried thyme leaves. Use a whisk to mix, and adjust ingredients as needed to taste. Sometimes I add rosemary, sometimes not. I usually start with the juice of half a lemon, and keep adding until the sauce gets to the consistency I want. Oh, and add some garlic salt, too. Again, all to taste. Make some extra sauce, too, and stick it in the refrigerator, covered. It will last at least a week and still taste wonderful.
Roasting asparagus is easy: snap the ends, drizzle with olive oil, garlic salt, and fresh ground black pepper, and cook until it's done; I like mine still a little crisp. How long that takes depends on how much asparagus you're cooking, what kind of pan you're using, and how hot your oven is. When I serve it, I put the asparagus on the plate, drizzle sauce over, and add another pinch of thyme so that it looks pretty :-)
The cresent rolls? Alas, those are from a can. But they're made much better when dipped in herbed butter, or even Terri's Special Sauce :-) If any of you try to make this, let me know. Would love to know how it works out for you.
Happy Eating!
Two things we didn't use much in that oh-so-Southern kitchen: measuring cups and recipes.
The exception to that is, of course, in baking, which is really just a giant chemistry experiment. I do love to bake, and truly believe that if God had meant for me to be thin he wouldn't have made me such a good baker.
But on a daily basis, this girl needs her protein! Living alone is no excuse for eating poorly, or subsisting on frozen foods and take-out. In the time it takes to go through a drive-through, I can make a nice, nutritious meal at home. It's usually cheaper, and it's a whole lot better for me. Rachel Ray has nothing on me with the 30-minute meal. One of my favorite dinners takes less than 15 minutes to make: pan seared salmon and a spinach salad. Easy peasy.
So being alone at Christmas this year was no excuse for not having a treat. The menu consisted of roasted chicken thighs, roasted asparagus, crescent rolls, and lemon poppy seed cake. Yum! I posted a picture on Facebook, and Donna Lightell requested a blog on how to prepare. So here you go Donna: this one's for you! Oh, there's no recipe, just some general guidelines on how to prepare. It's different every time I make it.
First, use chicken thighs. Chicken breasts dry out so easily, and I'm a dark meat girl myself. Rinse and pat them dry, sprinkle with garlic salt, and put them in glass or casserole dish. Sprinkle some rosemary leaves on top, then a little melted butter and lemon juice. Put it in the oven at about 350 degrees. Right now I'm cooking with a wonky oven that goes crazy and starts making noises and sets off the smoke alarm if I go higher than that, but usually I roast chicken at about 400 degrees. If you have a good oven, go with the higher temp. Leave the chicken in until it just starts to brown (depends on heat, anywhere from 15 to 20 mintes). Take it out and add some halved artichoke hearts, mushrooms (I like sliced portabello, but you can use any kind you like) and a handful or so of drained capers. You can also add sliced onions, if you like. Make sure the veggies are mixed down between and around the thighs, so that most of the skin can get nice and crispy. Then spoon sauce (to follow) over everything and put it back into the oven until it's done. I have no idea how your oven cooks or how thick your chicken thighs are, so you have to figure out how long to cook it on your own.
The sauce, or as I like to call it, Terri's Special Sauce (not to be confused with McDonald's Special Sauce, which we all know is just really Thousand Island dressing). It's very simple, but is just wonderful on just about any kind of meat, fish, seafood, or veggie. Seriously. You can put it on almost anything. You can adjust any of the ingredients to your own taste, and I change it a little depending on what I'm in the "mood" for every time I make it. Start with roughly equal amounts of sour cream and Blue Plate mayonnaise. You have to use Blue Plate. I am very brand loyal here; there's just nothing else like it for cooking. Anyway, then you add some dijon mustard, roughly a third of the amount of sour cream or mayonnaise used. Squeeze some lemon juice in and add a couple of pinches of dried thyme leaves. Use a whisk to mix, and adjust ingredients as needed to taste. Sometimes I add rosemary, sometimes not. I usually start with the juice of half a lemon, and keep adding until the sauce gets to the consistency I want. Oh, and add some garlic salt, too. Again, all to taste. Make some extra sauce, too, and stick it in the refrigerator, covered. It will last at least a week and still taste wonderful.
Roasting asparagus is easy: snap the ends, drizzle with olive oil, garlic salt, and fresh ground black pepper, and cook until it's done; I like mine still a little crisp. How long that takes depends on how much asparagus you're cooking, what kind of pan you're using, and how hot your oven is. When I serve it, I put the asparagus on the plate, drizzle sauce over, and add another pinch of thyme so that it looks pretty :-)
The cresent rolls? Alas, those are from a can. But they're made much better when dipped in herbed butter, or even Terri's Special Sauce :-) If any of you try to make this, let me know. Would love to know how it works out for you.
Happy Eating!
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