Cook Once Eat Twice | Boneless Chicken

Here’s one of our favorites.  This really isn’t a “recipe” per se… it’s more of a “technique (and that’s stretching it too!).

IMG_4252I started making this when I was at the grocery and found a large package of boneless skinless chicken breasts at a great price in “it’s marked down – use it today” section.  Knowing that it really needed to be cooked that afternoon, I decided I would just put it all in the oven together and cook it all at once.

I must admit that this is a variation of Ina Garten’s method of roasting whole chicken breasts to use the meat for  casseroles and such.  I believe she did this on an old episode of “Barefoot Contessa” when she was making potpie.

Here’s what I do:

Set up and assembly line consisting of the clean chicken breasts, a bowl of olive oil, a plate with seasoning and a large cookie sheet.

IMG_4248

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Using your hands/fingers, rub the entire chicken breast (lightly) with olive oil.  Side note: be sure to pour some oil into a bowl as you will contaminate the oil with your “raw chicken fingers”.

Put the oiled chicken into the seasoning that you have poured onto a plate.  I like to use a premixed chicken seasoning from the spice aisle (McCormick’s makes a good chicken rub).  Cover both sides and then place it on the cookie sheet.

Put the thicker chicken breast on the outside and the thinner ones on the inside if you can.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Slice the chicken into strips.

Our first dinner consisted of a large tossed salad with chicken strips.

The second meal was sooo easy!  For dinner two nights later, I sauteed some fresh veggies in a non-stick skillet.  When they were soft enough I tossed in some of the chicken strips and poured in some Light Italian Salad dressing (1/4 cup maybe?).  We ate that over rice and boy was it good!

[print_link]

Two for Tuesdays | Meatloaf

Looking for something different to make for dinner tonight?  Here’s a spin on the old standard meatloaf recipe that is sure to please.

horseradish meatloaf

I made this a few nights ago and we loved it.

I really liked the texture of this meatloaf.  As you can see in the pic, it held together very well.  I do believe this is the first meatloaf I have ever made that did not crumble (at least a bit) when I cut into it.  It slices up perfectly, making it great for leftovers (see below).

Don’t be alarmed by the amount of horseradish in this recipe.  It is not the least bit overpowering in the finished product.  And if you’re not a fan of horseradish  just leave it out.   I would also suspect that you could get away with using ketchup in place of the chili sauce.  I’m not a big fan of “special ingredients” in my everyday cooking – I just happened to have chili sauce in the fridge already.

Meal #1

Zesty Horseradish Meat Loaf

(adapted from “Simple and Delicious”) [print_link]

4 slices whole wheat bread, torn into little bits

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup horseradish

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. chili sauce

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup ketcup

In a large bowl, soak the bread crumbs in milk for about 5 minutes.  Drain off any milk that remains.  Stir in all other ingredients with the exception of the meat and ketchup.  Mix well.  Add meat and mix thoroughly.

Shape into a loaf and place in an 11X7 baking dish.  Put ketchup on top.

Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until no longer pink inside.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Save half the meatloaf and refrigerate.

Meal #2

If you like reubens, you will love this spin on that traditional sandwich.

Slice up the remainder of the meatloaf.  Top a buttered sliced of rye bread with a slice of meatloaf, some drained sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and a dollop of Thousand Island  dressing.  Put another buttered slice of rye on top.

Grill the sandwich in a non-stick skillet until bread is slightly browned and the cheese has melted.