Herbed Chicken Tenders

I'm moving a little slow trying to get back into my regular routine. My family and my two brothers and their families got together this past weekend in Atlanta. We attended the Saints/Falcons game. We had a wonderful time visiting and the game was a lot of fun even though the Saints lost.

Left to right; Lauren, Kaitlin, Courtney or Homegirl, Homegirl, Cousin.

Herbed Chicken Tenders -

Heat 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.

Season 1-1/2 lbs. chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Cut chicken tenders to about 3 inches in length.

Place 1 cup of all-purpose flour in a shallow dish, in another dish, beat 2 eggs with a splash of water. In a third dish, combine 2 cups of Italian bread crumbs, 1 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 handful chopped flat leaf parsley and 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes.

Coat chicken in flour, then egg, then bread and cheese mixture.

Cook chicken until deep golden on each side. If the chicken begins to brown too quickly lower heat slightly. Add more oil as necessary.

Serve chicken with green salad and al dente pasta topped with marinara and Parmesan.

Artichoke Dip

I was clearing my camera card before packing for Chattanooga and forgot I had this picture of Artichoke Dip I made as a little appetizer before dinner when my brother-in-law and sister-in-law had dinner with us. Truth be told, I made it mainly because I know Bonnie, my sister-in-law, loves this dip. My brothers also have a strong fondness for this dip.

To get straight to the point, my brothers would not allow me entry into our mother's home on Thanksgiving or Christmas years past unless I had Artichoke Dip. Now since the holidays meals are at my house, my brothers will call "just to make sure" I haven't forgotten to make Artichoke Dip.

This is very easy to make but for some reason and I don't know why, if the artichokes are cut instead of mashed (i.e., food processor or knife), the taste of the dip changes dramatically for the worse.

Artichoke Dip -

This is best made the night before.

Drain two cans of artichoke hearts in water. They can either be quartered or halved. Using your hands and ONLY your hands mash the artichoke hearts. Your hands will hurt a little as you do this. As you can see by the picture, the dip is meant to be chunky. Let the artichokes drain a bit more.

Place the artichoke hearts in a glass bowl and add 1 packet of Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing Mix (dry powder), 1 tablespoon garlic powder and 1 cup of mayo. Blend with a regular table fork, cover and refrigerate over night.

Place dip in a bowl surrounded by plain Ritz crackers and enjoy.

Note: This is a chunky dip and Ritz crackers seem to be able to stand up to the pressure better than several other crackers we have tried. You also want a somewhat plain tasting cracker so the taste of the cracker will not compete with the dip. Dip will last in refrigerator covered for one week.

Soccer and Au Gratin Potatoes

Aren't the colors beautiful in the Smokies? We took a ride to Gatlinburg with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Sunday and we were in awe. I wish I was a better photographer and was more up to speed with Photoshop.

I'm in Chattanooga and thank goodness for high speed access in hotels; it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.

Well, girls lost tonight 4-0. They played very well and gave it their all. I know they will be back next year and hopefully both of my homegirlz will be on the same team. So we're heading home tomorrow morning. When our team was being introduced on the field, my daughter wasn't wearing her #16 jersey. What in the world? She was wearing #27. After all the checking and re-checking, she forgot her "away" jersey. So here she is in action and I just wanted to go on the field and slap that girl behind and tell her to quit crowding my baby. My husband convinced me that wasn't such a good idea.

I appreciate that you have continued to visit even though I haven't cooked anything. Last night before we left for Chattanooga, I made Au Gratin Potatoes from my River Roads Cookbook. Kaitlin, my youngest said these rock.

Au Gratin Potatoes -

Peel 4 potatoes and slice thin rounds. Place rounds into a bowl and season them generously with salt and black pepper. In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine with a whisk, 3 cups of milk and 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour milk mixture over potatoes. Set aside for a few minutes while you get everything else ready.

Butter casserole dish, preheat oven to 40 degrees. Grate 3 cups of sharp cheddar cheese or grab a bad of shredded sharp cheddar cheese from the fridge.

Use a slotted spoon and drain a few potatoes at a time and layer the potatoes on the bottom of the buttered casserole dish. Dot the potatoes with butter and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over the potatoes. Sprinkle a layer of cheese over the potatoes and start over again until you have 3 layers. Pour the "seasoned" milk over the potatoes and bake for 45 minutes.

Cover aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes (to finish cooking the potatoes.)

Just a little heads up here. I didn't know things would bubble over. I would suggest covering a cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray (for easy clean-up) and placing the casserole dish on the cookie sheet. It will keep the bottom of you oven clean.

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Thank You Duckie!

Thanks Duckie!

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Off to State!!

The past several days have been amazingly wonderful. My husband's brother and sister-in-law came to town Friday and are visiting the area for their anniversary. We spent the last couple of days with with them and it has been fabulous.

To top it off, our freshman's soccer team beat Pigeon Forge Saturday morning 3-1 and they are leaving town tomorrow to head to the state playoffs. I am tearing up as I am typing this, I can't believe my baby is this grown up. We will be in Chattanooga with Lauren this week (added bonus, our in-laws will be there too) and probably won't be cooking or posting much this week. Keep your fingers crossed that they make it through.

In the meantime go through the archives, there's plenty there that you may not have seen yet. I served Ribeye with Penne Pasta Friday for the in-laws!

Beef Stew

Disclaimer - this isn't your mom or your dad's beef stew.

This stew is just too darn good and totally worth the time, effort, blood, sweat and tears. I made this last night and we didn't eat until almost 8:15 PM. Although everyone was groaning and starting to look emaciated. Groaning turned into looks of enternal love and devotion for the cook.

Beef Stew -

Cut up a 2 to 3 lb. chuck roast or pot roast into 2 inch cubes and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat a large heavy pot Dutch oven over medium-high heat with 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 3 tablepsoons of butter.

While the pan is heating, place about 1 cup of all-purpose flour in a large bowl. Dredge the cubed meat through the flour and shake off the excess. Place the meat into the heated oil/butter and brown on all sides, be careful not to over crowd the pan. You will have to brown the meat in batches. Once all the meat has been browned remove it to a plate and set aside.

Add one bottle of red wine, preferably burgundy to the pot and bring up to a simmer while you scrape the bottom of the pot with a spoon. Make saure you scrape up all those tasty bits. Once the wine is heated through, add the browned meat, 8 sprigs of fresh tyme, 6 cloves of smashed garlic, 3 wide peels from an orange, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste, 2 bay leaves and 2-1/2 cups of beef stock. Bring the mixture up to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered until the liquid starts to thicken just a little, about 20 minutes. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, add 5 medium sized red potatoes quartered or 8 small new potatoes halved, 3 peeled and sliced carrots, 1/2 lb. frozen pearl onion/green pea melody and a pinch of sugar to reduce the acidity of the wine.

Turn the heat up slightly and simmer, uncovered, for 30 more minutes, until the vegetables and meat are tender. Season with salt and pepper and remove the thyme sprigs.

Cook 2 cups of white rice.

Spoon a serving of rice in a bowl and ladle stew over rice. Garnish with a slight drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, freshly chopped flat leaf parsley and a dollop of Horseradish Cream Sauce. Serve some crunchly, garlicy bread on the side.

Horseradish Cream Sauce -

Whisk together 1 cup of reduced fat sour cream, 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish, salt and pepper to tasted and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a bowl. Garnish dollop with chopped chives.