I made this the other night on a whim and it was very tasty.
And easy!

You will need:

2-3 lbs boneless chicken breast
1 pkg Good Seasons Basil Vinaigrette (prepared)
1 bag  Stacy’s Pita Chips
(put in a processor and finely crumbled)

Marinate the chix for as long as possible in the Good Seasons dressing.
Dredge in the crushed Pita chips.
Place in a glass baking dish (sprayed with PAM)
and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
Remove and toss 1/2 cup of the cheese of your choice on top and
broil until browned.
Serve to smiling, hungry guests.
(serves 6)

This is a recipe that needs no intro.
Want a side dish that goes with meat, fish and poultry?
Look no further.

Noodle my Noodles

8oz egg noodles, cooked
2 tbls. butter
2/3 cup cream
1/4 cup grated parmesan (or Romano)
fresh cracked pepper and Kosher salt
1 tbls. Good Seasons Italian dry salad mix

Cook pasta and drain.
Stir in butter to coat.
Add cream, parmesan and dressing mix to taste.

Now and then, I butter a casserole dish, add the noodles and sprinkle with more parmesan. (ritz crackers work too)
Broil until a light brown.
Great as a side dish, almost as good as a meal.

~Dad

This is a recipe I haven’t made in some time.
I will say that it is so damn tasty that you could eat a bowl of it with some decent crackers.
This stuff is awesome on hotdogs, burgers, pasta, potatoes and just about anything else you
can think of.
Just make sure you make enough!

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Brown 3 minced onions, 3 minced celery stalks and 3 minced cloves of garlic
in 3 tbls of olive oil.
Add 2+ cups of crushed tomatoes (canned works fine) and cook for 5 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, 1/2 cup of cider vinegar, the juice of two lemons,
3 tbls dark brown sugar (or honey), 1 cup of Ketchup, 2 tbls prepared mustard,
2 tbls Worcestershire sauce, 1 1/2 tsp salt, pinch black pepper, cinnamon & cayenne pepper.
Simmer and stir until well blended.
About 20 minutes.

Variations:
Hawaiian: to 1 cup of sauce add 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple, drained
and 1 tbls of Kikkoman Soy Sauce

Relish: to 1 cup of sauce add 1/2 cup of pickle relish, drained
and 1 tbls of mustard

One thing that never goes to waste around here is mashed potatoes.
Meals have been had with just a warm bowl of them and a ladle of gravy.
It’s comfort food of the highest order but no one in this house ever makes them except me.
(that’s intentional, I think)
There’s no great mystery to mashed potatoes and I welcome any ideas you readers may have.
This is a basic recipe folks and I expand on them whenever I feel the need to be creative.
(serves 5-6)

You will need:

4lb. Idaho or Russet potatoes
1 stick of butter (I never said they were healthy)
1/2 – 3/4 cup sour cream
2 tbls. salt (celery salt is  nice for a change)
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 cup of milk or light cream

Peel potatoes and quarter.
Place in large pot with cold water and heat on high.
When water comes to a boil, turn down slightly and put timer on 20 minutes.
Make sure the spuds don’t boil over.
Drain and add back to pot.
Add butter and spices and mash for 2-3 minutes.
Add sour cream and milk (or light cream)
and mash to desired consistency.
Sample for taste and sample again.
Ask spouse or children to taste. (Everyone will be glad to lend a hand here)
Adjust spices according to your preference.

Enjoy,

Dad

Enjoy, folks

~Dad

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1 lb. boneless chicken

1/4 cup melted butter

1 clove garlic.minced

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (not 13 like originally posted!)

1/4 tsp salt

pepper

In a skillet melt butter and add garlic
Cook 2-3 minutes (Don’t burn the butter-Low heat)

Discard garlic

Combine bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper mixture in a bowl
Dip chicken pieces in mixture
Place in shallow baking pan
Pour butter over chicken pieces

Bake @ 350 for about 40 minutes or until fork tender

Sweet baked potatoes are best when they are cooked @ 400 for 1 hour or so
You could put those in 1st @ 400 for  about 45 min.
Then lower the oven temperature to 350 and put in the chicken for about 40 minutes
Check a piece of chicken (cut it) to make sure it’s done (White-no pink)
Feel the potatoes -they should feel kind of soft. (Don’t burn yourself)
I usually make more chicken than this-all the measurements are approximate
If you like more cheese then put more.
I usually don’t throw away the garlic because I like it.
If you are throwing it out , leave it in larger pieces-
if you want to use it ,
then chop it really small.(Watch your fingers)

Good luck!  Love, Pamd  Panm  Pamnd  Mom

(Sorry, Pamd, the other video didn’t allow embedding.)

Just a break from recipes.

~Dad

I’m beginning to realize there are 1,000 ways to make Cinci Chili.
Scour the net and you will find 10X that many recipes.
That said, I’m putting my own up here culled from years of recipe tasting.
This one is requested often by the girls and Pamela.
If you’re visiting from Texas you may want to go elsewhere as I use kidney beans.
Sorry, folks.
The recipe I’m posting yields 8 servings.
I usually double it.
And let me tell you, it’s usually gone in two days.
A few tablespoons of this stuff with a slathering of mustard on a grilled hot dog is
the foodstuff of the Gods.
Trust me.

You will need:

1 – tbls vegetable oil
3/4 cup of chopped onion (Vidalia, preferably)
2 lbs of decent ground beef
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ground clove
2 bay leaves
1 tbls. cocoa
2 (10.5 oz) cans Beef Consomme
1 (15oz.) can of tomato sauce (not flavored with basil or oregano!)
2 tbls. cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
2 tbls. good habanero hot sauce
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Diced Vidalia onions
1 lb. Linguine

Here’s the deal:
*Heat oil in a large saucepan over Medium heat.
Add onion and minced garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 6 minutes.
*Add beef and cook, breaking up if necessary with a wooden spoon, until browned.
*Add  remaining ingredients (except for the Cheddar cheese, Vidalias & kidney beans!) and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
(if you want to thicken this thing up, mix 2 tbls of flour with 4 tbls of warm water and add to the mix)
*Add kidney beans and simmer on low for another 30 – 45 minutes.
*It’s best if you refrigerate this overnight . . .  if not . . .
*Remove bay leaves and reheat gently over a medium heat.
*Serve over hot, drained linguine.
*Top with shredded cheddar and diced Vidalia onions.
Enjoy!

~Dad

I promised to post this so here it is in all its simplicity.

You will need:

1lb- bag of coleslaw
(ready shredded, if you want to go through all the work of shredding cabbage, carrots and everything else, be my guest)
4 tbls sugar
3 tbls white vinegar
4 tbls mayo
dash of caraway seed

Mix sugar, vinegar, mayo & caraway seed in a bowl and pour over coleslaw.
Toss and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
Done.
*awesome with Pulled Pork!

~Dad

This is a recipe I’ve culled over the years and to be honest, is one of the very best hummus recipes around.
I don’t make a point of tooting my own horn but I’ll make an exception here.
Make sure to get the freshest Syrian bread you can find.
Some nice olives help, too.

You will need:

1- can of chick peas (Progresso, if you can get them. They taste the best, imho)
1- clove of garlic
1 1/2- tsp salt
1/2 – 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice (bottled is GodAwful)
1 cup of sesame Tahini (check the supermarket or middle east store)
pinch of cumin & cayenne pepper
Some decent Olive oil
Paprika (not smoked)

Pour can of chick peas and half the liquid into a food processor.
Process for 30-60 seconds.
Add remaining ingredients (not olive oil or paprika) and blend until smooth.
If too stiff, add a bit more of the reserved liquid from chick peas.
Serve on a round flat dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.
Get out the Syrian bread or bagel chips for dipping.

~Dad

This is a very simple recipe.
So simple, in fact,  it was given the above name.

You will need:

*Boneless Chicken Breast
*Ken’s Italian Salad Dressing
*Trader Joe’s Corn Flakes (they work the best)
*Spices (oregano, basil, red pepper flake . . . )
*Salt & fresh ground pepper

Marinate chicken for at least 4 hours in the fridge.
Crush Corn Flakes and add spices.
Roll chicken in flakes and place in a non-stick baking pan.
Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes.
Goes great with mashed sweet potatoes & fresh steamed green beans.

~Dad