New Recipe

Since Dad came home from the hospital, we've been eating "heart healthy" -- mainly low sodium.  Last week, we discovered that Cracker Barrel has a "Wholesome Fixins'" menu - hearty healthy low-calorie but high flavor items.  One of them is a corn flake-crusted chicken breast.  And Cracker Barrel even has the recipes on their menu site.  So we decided yesterday that we would like to try this.  So low and behold, I got the ingredients and made it tonight. It tasted OK but was not as pretty as I'd hoped.  And the cooking time took about twice as long.  We ate it, and the 'Rents said it tasted good.  Not sure if that was a sympathy vote for my chicken or not.  But I will regroup and try it again - next time, I will pound the chicken breasts to make them thinner so we can reduce the cooking time, and I will add more corn flakes and reduce the amount of spices.  But you know I don't cook.

New Recipe Thursday

We had something new/different for supper tonight, and it was so good, that I wanted to share the recipe with you, faithful readers.  But you know I don't cook.  

For supper tonight, Mom fixed the ever-popular green bean casserole, with the little crispy fried onions on top.  Only she didn't use cream of mushroom soup as the recipe calls for. Instead, she used cream of chicken soup.  There wasn't much left in the bowl by the time supper was over, I'm here to tell you.  The cream of chicken soup gave it more flavor than the standard cream of chicken soup.  And instead of the French style green beans, Mom used a quart of our homegrown canned green beans.  I'm sure that had something to do with the awesome flavor as well. 

Substituting cream of chicken soup for cream of mushroom soup definitely gets the TWIT Seal of Approval.  Try it - you'll like it. 

New Recipe Update

I did quite a bit of research last night, and it didn't take long to realize that yours truly didn't give Mom the full recipe.  Sure, I gave her the right ingredients, but I didn't tell her exactly what the recipe said to do with the ingredients.  The recipe (and incidentally all of the recipes I read) said to pour the marinade into a skillet along with the chicken and to sautee/grill the chicken pieces on medium heat (a "5" on the dial on the stove) for about 30-40 minutes, until the marinade has caramelized onto the chicken tenders.  Makes perfect sense now. 

We plan to try the recipe again in a few days.  I'll keep you posted on how they turn out.

New Recipe Tuesday

The 'Rents and I ate at Cracker Barrel last month, and I wolfed down on one of my favorites from Cracker Barrel, the grilled marinated chicken tenderloins.  I'd been thinking about how flavorful and juicy they are, so I set out to hopefully find a copycat recipe for them online.  Imagine my delight when I found about a hundred recipes for the grilled chicken, while I didn't look at all 100, I did read about a dozen, and all 12 were the same, simple recipe - 1 pound of the chicken tenderloins, 1/2 cup of Italian dressing, 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice, and 1 and a half teaspoons of honey.  Simple enough.  Mom marinated the chicken for a few hours and then sauteed the pieces in her nonstick grill pan and they turned out awesome.  Although they didn't taste much like the grilled chicken tenders at Cracker Barrel, they were still great and we were all grabbing for the last piece of chicken on the plate.

As I said, the recipe was so easy even I think I could them, and you know I don't cook. And even if they don't taste exactly like Cracker Barrel's, I still give this recipe the TWIT Seal of Approval.

New Recipe Wednesday

As I've mentioned before, the 'Rents and I love to watch the Food Network. Currently, our favorite is Sandra Lee. We love her "Semi-Homemade" show and watch it faithfully. Just this spring I subscribed to her magazine and believe me when I tell you the three of us fight over who gets to look at it first. But I digress. We got the current issue on Monday, and yesterday for supper the 'Rents made Sandra Lee's Stuffed Bell Peppers. They rocked. The peppers weren't mooshy like most stuffed bell peppers and the flavors were out of this world. Please give it a
try. Sandra Lee's Stuffed Bell Peppers receives two thumbs up from TWIT.


Ingredients
3 green bell peppers, halved, seeds removed
1/2 cup water
1 (1-pound) package ground hot pork sausage
1 (15.25-ounce) can corn, drained1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup cooked rice1/4 cup diced green onions
1 (1.25-ounce) package Southwest marinade mix, divided, McCormick Grill Mates®
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions
Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Place bell peppers, cut sides down, in a microwave-safe dish; add 1/2 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on High for 3 to 4 minutes, or until peppers are soft; drain, and set aside.

In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly; drain. Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, rice, and green onions to skillet. Add 2 tablespoons marinade mix to sausage mixture; stir well to combine. (Reserve remaining mix for another use.)

Spoon sausage mixture evenly into pepper halves. Place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each evenly with shredded cheese. Broil 5 inches from heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.