A busy week.

I feel bad for not posting anything last week, especially since it was a pretty busy and wonderful week food-wise for me. R. and I were packing up to leave and head back to my hometown for a few days before he left to go back to the golden coast of California to visit his family, and I'm preparing to move back home for the foreseeable future.  It was busy, hectic, but we finally made it, and now I can sit and recount the meals we shared that were memorable.

The week started out with our monthaversary, and R. decided he wanted to do something "special" for dinner, and that "special" turned out to be something that fit our personalities and relationship really well -- homemade BLT sandwiches and a Star Trek movie marathon.  The BLTs were made with Publix bakery italian bread (Thick, delicious, squishy slices of heaven), crispy oven baked bacon and nice in-season tomatoes sliced thick.  I put a little spicy mustard on mine, and R. ate his plain.  With a pasta salad, we had our meal that we enjoyed curled up on the couch, watching Picard and Kirk, debating the strengths and weaknesses of our favorite Captains.

A real challenge for us that week was eating everything we had in our fridge, and to cook without really making leftovers. Our solution was chicken sandwiches one night, with a side of the leftover pasta salad, and to make another pizza the next.  Between that and omelets galore, some pancakes and biscuits with chili, we managed to pretty much clear out both of our freezers and the perishables from our pantries.

My favorite way of making chicken breasts is a pretty simple one.  I hate, hate, hate, hate dry chicken breasts.  Even grilled chicken breasts lose their appeal to me when they're dry and chewy.  That's saying a lot, because chicken is one of my favorite proteins, serving as a lean source of protein that can be low in calories, and perfect served complexly or simply.  I love chicken (remember the Never Fail Chicken Chili?) and I've gotten pretty good at cooking it.

Here's what you need to make great moist chicken breasts (or strips, or tenderloins.  I haven't tried it with anything with the bone in, but consulting your handy-dandy cookbook like the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook for cooking times, you can use this technique as well):

• 1 deep baking dish, either metal or glass, line with aluminum foil for easier cleanup.
• 1 can (or more, depending on how much chicken you have) low sodium chicken broth
• Chicken!
• Spices such as salt, garlic, pepper, chili powder.  Whatever floats your chicken flavoring boat.

I place the chicken in the foil lined pan, and season well.  I rub the seasoning thickly on the chicken, because it's going to come off with the broth poured in, but still seasoned.  The seasoned broth leftover from this is pretty wonderful for uses in sauce as well.  I cover the chicken with another layer of foil, creating a type of packet that will keep the steam from the broth in.  Into the oven it goes, at about 450 degrees.  The time depends on how much chicken you have, but for three or four chicken breasts I have found that 35 minutes or so works well enough to cook the chicken through.

When the chicken is done, it's great for eating plain with a side of vegetables or starch, or using in sandwiches like R. and I did, or in chicken salads, on top of salads, etc.  Whatever your favorite use for chicken, this gives you good moist chicken to use.  R. and I topped the pizza we made with the leftover chicken, some mushrooms, and other vegetables and meats we had leftover, smothered it in cheese and called it good.  It went through basically the same process as our previous pizza adventure.

Now I have to come to terms with the fact that R. is three thousand miles away, and relearn how to cook for one person, and adapt my parents' style of eating to one that will help me stay on the healthy eating train.  Here's to steam pack vegetables and chicken breasts!

... putting that in writing just makes it seem worse, after all the culinary fun I've been having for the past few weeks. Sigh.

Still cookin',
-A