Chicken Parmesan

After the Super Bowl Party Sam and I had last week, I haven't really been doing a whole bunch of cooking.  Not even the shiny new stainless steel pots and pans that I got could lure me back into the kitchen to cook.  This coming week is probably going to be about the same.  Work is going to be hectic with the annual maintenance shutdown of the entire mill.  

Home Cookin’ at the Homewood

As I mentioned earlier, Sam and I have been going to reliability training in Camas, WA for a week at a time. Maybe I’m odd, but I get a little twitchy when I don’t get to cook for a week, and have to eat out every night. Since the Homewood Suites have little kitchenettes (but no ovens) I’ve decided to attempt to make a home-cooked meal at least once during the week that we’re in Camas. My first attempt wasn’t very well planned out, so I won’t go into detail, but this time I planned out dinner. Since there isn’t an oven, and only two small burners, cooking can get a little tricky.
Sam likes Chicken Marsala, and it’s easy enough to make in a super small kitchen, so that’s what we went with. Once I started cooking, I realized there weren’t any measuring cups, which freaked me out because I like to measure everything (maybe it’s the engineer in me). Then I realized that I had forgotten to pack olive oil, so Sam got sent down to the Homewood’s kitchen to sweet talk the ladies down there into giving us some packets of margarine. They really must have thought Sam was great, because he came back with 8 of those little packets.

(Sorry for the bad picture quality, only had my old point and shoot)
Chicken Marsala

Serves 4

4 tbs. margarine, divided
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 tbs. shallots, chopped
1 tbs. garlic, minced
2 chicken breasts
0.25 tsp. salt
0.25 tsp. pepper
3 tbs. flour
0.75 c. chicken broth
0.25 c. dry marsala wine
2 tbs. half and half (you can use heavy cream if you’re feeling frisky)
Pasta

• Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes, or until moisture evaporates; remove mixture from pan, set aside.
• Pound chicken breasts down to ¼ inches thick. Salt and pepper chicken, dredge breasts in flour.
• Add 3 tbs. margarine to pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken, cook 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from pan. Add mushroom mixture back in, stir in broth and marsala.
• Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, or until reduced to 1 cup. Add remaining margarine, salt and pepper. Return chicken to pan; cook until heated.

Pandemic Polllo (con Arroz!)

So, the pandemic has fizzled out it appears, and I'm left feeling a bit bitter that I didn't get to work from home for a week. I did see a woman wearing a mask at the Starbucks in Newport this morning, and it really irritated the hell out of me. If you feel that you are unwell enough to wear a mask out and about (or susceptible enough to germs), then why the hell are you going to Starbucks?

When all the media outlets started getting skittish about the imminent pandemic which would send us all into the dark ages again, I decided to make a good ol'American bastardization of Mexican Rice, and I added chicken to make it a full meal.














Southwestern Chicken and Rice

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs. olive or canola oil
2 chicken breasts
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. long grain rice
1 tsp. ground cumin
0.25 tsp. ground turmeric
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 14.5 oz. can sweet kernel corn, drained

• Saute pepper, onion and garlic until soft. Add rice and saute for an additional 2 minutes, or until rice begins to brown.
• Cook chicken, either on the stovetop or in the oven. Remove from heat and cut into small pieces once cooled.
  
• Stir in broth, cumin and turmeric. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
  
• Add in black beans, chicken, tomatoes and corn. Cook until heated through. Sprinkle with fresh or dried cilantro before serving.
  

Being a gal who shacks up with a New Mexican, I should have used the green chiles we have in the freezer, but they melt my face, so I went with the canned stuff this time around. More on New Mexico and it's love for green chiles later....