Day Three Hundred Forty Nine: Chicken For the Gang

My kids love chicken drumsticks, (really, any part of the chicken) so I'm always looking for new ways to bake it.  I decided to try Martha's Cornflake-Crusted Baked Chicken, even though it sounds like one of those recipes that comes from the back of the cereal box.

This recipe is basically chicken dipped in an egg wash and rolled in crushed cornflakes.  It's baked at 400 for 30 minutes.  The result is beautiful, golden-crusted chicken. I don't think my photos do them justice.

 They were such a big hit, I actually had to make a second batch for our ravenous gang.*

* "Ravenous Gang" in this scenario being three very hungry children, ages six, three and one-year old.  

Day Three Hundred Nineteen: Drool-Worthy Wrap

On Saturday, I spent a relaxing day at home.  It was nice and boring after the buzz of the holidays/cleanup/return-to-school and my own month-long impersonation of a chicken running around with a missing head.

For lunch I made Martha's Chicken Salad and Havarti Cheese Wrap.  I've said it before, but wraps are highly under-rated.  This one is easy to throw together and the Havarti cheese is a great compliment to the chicken salad.  It's a little roll of creamy deliciousness.

:drool:

Day One Hundred Eighty Seven: Fraternizing with the Vegetables

Other than sweets, desserts or candy, there are a few things my children will eat without comment or complaint:  chicken, pasta, corn, fruit, broccoli, rice, yogurt, cheese and bread.  If served on a plate, however,  each food must be treated like a prison visitation:  no touching.  No mingling.

But when I saw Martha's recipe for Orzo with Chicken, Corn and Green Beans, I thought I would give it a try.  The kids love these things separately.  Would I be able promote some food fraternization?  That was the question.

This recipe was super easy to make.  I used a grocery-cooked rotisserie chicken, so I didn't even have to cook the chicken beforehand.  It only took about 20 minutes to make and here's what it looked like:

When presented with this bowl, my kids initially started to complain:  Yuck!  It's all mixed up!  My daughter actually started to separate the food into little groups. I oh-so-sweetly reminded them that they liked everything in the bowl.  That didn't help.  Then I oh-so-impatiently informed them that the food gets all mixed up in your tummy anyway.  My son was amused by the thought and quickly got over his issues.  Seeing that her brother had broken rank and abandoned her, my daughter grudgingly proceeded to eat...but only one group at a time: first she ate all the chicken, then the corn, then the orzo.

Divide and conquer. It works with your children too.

Day One Hundred and Eighty Four: Chicken Lickin' Good

My kids adore chicken tenders.  Chicken nuggets.  Whatever you call them.  If I let them, they would eat those breaded chicken bits five times a week.  Unfortunately most chicken nuggets are the poultry version of hot dogs:  all the leftover bits mashed together.  As a result, I go out of my way to buy the actual breaded chicken breasts.     

But why buy when you can make it at home?  (Famous last words?) Today I decided to try Martha's Chicken Tenders with Creamy Honey Mustard.  They are breaded with egg and Rice Krispie cereal.  Yes, the stuff you use to make those marshmallow treats.  Snap, Crackle and Pop made an appearance today.  

These homemade nuggets are delicious and easy to make but I'm not a convert.  They were good, but not as good as the breaded chicken breasts I buy at the store.  The honey mustard sauce, however, was a blockbuster.   My daughter kept licking it off her chicken...until I removed it from the table.  

Finger lickin' good?  No, but it was Chicken lickin' good. 

Day One Hundred Eighty One: Constitutional Burgers

It's Labor Day.

This is the day you are supposed to lay down your heavy workload and rest your weary bones.  Or as my son said, "the day to rest your weary load".  Indeed.

It's also the day you are Constitutionally Required* to grill hamburgers.  If you didn't grill burgers, someone in your neighborhood might report you to the hamburger-equavlent of the IRS.  Just be prepared.

* Not really.  I took a Constitutional Law class and there was nothing about burgers in it.

I made Martha's Cheddar-Stuffed Burgers.  These are surprising.  Just imagine finding a piece of melted cheese the size of your thumb inside your hamburger.  It's fabulous.  It's like a meat version of a Twinkie.  That might sound gross to you but your husband will appreciate the mental picture.

If you didn't make burgers today, I hope you at least ate one.  If not, just tell them you saw the above photo.  That should count for something.

My husband wants me to add that he made Martha's Sweet-and-Sticky Grilled Drumsticks.  

The sweet glaze was very good, although it took 45 minutes to simmer and that was before the drumsticks went on the grill.  I would like to claim some sort of victory, but I was the one inside tending the simmering sauce for 45 minutes while my husband played outside in the pool.  Who was the winner there?

Happy Labor Day!