Thursday, September 15, 2011

Creamy herb chicken

I can't find a recipe for what I want to make, so I'm inventing one.  Here's my proposed recipe; planning to make it tonight, so I'll get back to you on how it went.

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
half and half
butter
flour
onion
fresh thyme
fresh rosemary
cheese?

Directions:
Melt butter in a skillet.  Cook onions slowly, over med low heat, until caramelized.  Add flour and cook over medium low heat until browned.  (This is called a rue.)  Add in thyme and rosemary, cook for two minutes while stirring.  Slowly add half and half until it reaches desired consistency.  (Add shredded cheese?)  Remove to bowl; set aside.

Cook chicken in oil/butter on stove until nicely browned and nearly cooked through.  Pour sauce over it, and finish cooking.  Serve with mashed root vegetables and something green.

EDIT (9/17/11)
Wow, this was SO GOOD!  Changes from the original: I didn't actually caramelize the onions, just cooked 'em slow till they were translucent.  I added the H&H before I added the thyme and rosemary, and was a little worried at first about how goopey the flour made it.  But after the H&H heats up, the rue sort of dissolves into it, and it comes out creamy.  Make sure to cook it for a few minutes after adding the herbs, otherwise they end up kind of... stem-y.  I did end up adding parmesan cheese, and garlic salt.

I recommend pounding the chicken breasts flat with a mallet before you cook them, to ensure even cooking.  I knew I should really do that, but I thought I didn't have time, so we had to nuke our plates when it turned out the chicken wasn't totally done. 

To serve this whole thing, I plated the chicken and put a glop of sauce on each piece, then sprinkled with chopped chives.  Chives are also good on the root veggies, and I didn't end up cooking the spinach I bought (my guests weren't wild about the idea of cooked spinach.  Oh well.)

The best part?  Leftover sauce, good for using on pork or chicken, or perhaps adding to soup, although that might be a little too rich.

Thursday Thirteen

For more information on the Thursday Thirteen go here.

1. Chiropractic care.
2. Being able to bend over and tie my shoes without feeling dizzy.
3. Cats, specifically, Abby.
4. Birthdays, birthday cake, and snickerdoodles.
5. The freedom to question and politely disagree with professors.
6. Books, blogs, and the ability to edit.
7. A kitchen to cook in, food to cook, and wonderful people to help me eat it.
8. The Oxford English Dictionary, and the many and various words contained therein.
9. Ice packs.
10. The blessings of work, even part-time work.
11. Vegetables.
12. Cool fall weather.
13. Sweatshirts.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Chiropractic care

On the recommendation of a friend, I have started going to a chiropractor in town here.  I had a headache from last Monday through yesterday; went to see Dr. C on Friday and again today.  No headaches today!  But Dr. C "adjusted" me again, so now my lower back is kinda sore.  Hooray for ice packs!  More adjustments three times a week for a month.  Hoping to get my spine sorted out.

Anyone else have experience with going to a chiropractor?

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Thursday Thirteen

Susan over at Wednesday Grace has suggesting bringing back the "Tuesday Ten", except now as "Thursday Thirteen".  I think it's a good idea, so I'm joining in, at least for this week.

Thank you, Lord, for
1. a beautiful place to live
2. the generosity of friends in offering #1 and in helping me get there
3. libraries, and the helpful, friendly people who work in them
4. patience, and the ability to recognize the need for it
5. meaningful work
6. the good fortune of loved ones near and far
7. our capacity for big dreams, even when they seem out of reach
8. good food, and people to feed it to
9. the incredible diversity of life on this planet
10. John McCutcheon, and how You speak to me through the songs I get stuck in my head
11. books, both for information and for pleasure
12. the gift of ingenuity You've given our species, to create technology that allows me to see and talk to Susan and her son from over six hundred miles away
13. Your amazing, forgiving, gracious love, and our calling to spread it around.