Which is where his recipe comes in. The app features a list of his “app-only” recipes – many of which I’ve written down, hoping I’ll get around to fixing them. Last night, I was searching for something simple, relatively low in carbs and extremely high in taste.

Enter his recipe for Oven Baked Boneless Chicken Tenders. I’m telling you it was OFF THE CHARTS GREAT! (Actually they tasted just like the best hot wings I’ve ever had at a restaurant.)

The chicken part wasn’t that difficult. But for our purposes of simplicity, buy a bag of your favorite chicken tenders or nuggets and bake according to package directions. How easy is that?

Here’s the ultra-surprising simple sauce (at least I was surprised):

Heat a 1/4 cup butter with 1/2 cup hot sauce. (I used Franks). Yes, it was that easy. I was in chef’s heaven, I tell ya. Stir or whisk often while chicken bakes.

The other interesting twist David added was shaved celery. When the chicken is cooked through, place it in a bowl with the celery, pour over the hot sauce and toss well to coat. Personally, I like the celery to have  hot sauce on it, too. So this worked out great for me (ok, I didn’t shave the celery, I just cut it into thin sticks).

At this point, you’re ready to eat! Just serve with your favorite dressing. David, you out-did yourself with this one. Not only is it a keeper, it’s already a family favorite.

-Liz

But sometimes I out-do myself. Like last night. Granted, I’ve fixed many a dinner that I really like. But this dish is ranking up there with one of my all-time favorites. And for a chick who doesn’t like to eat her own cooking, that’s saying something. So I figured it would be fun to highlight those dishes that rise above the fray – that stand out as the best of the best. Top Dishes, if you will. (I wouldn’t look for me to run this new feature often if I were you, though. How often can I get this lucky?)

Anywho, in today’s inaugural Top Dishes post, I bring you

Tarragon Chicken

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 4-6 boneless chicken breasts, cut or pounded thin
• Seasoned flour
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1t. dried tarragon
• 1 c. cream (I used regular, not heavy cream)
• 1 c. Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 c. dry white wine (or cooking wine or chicken broth)
• Couple dashes of hot sauce
• Angel hair pasta, cooked

Here’s how to put it together:

Dust chicken with seasoned flour. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and saute chicken a couple of minutes on each side. Mix together garlic, tarragon, cream, Parmesan cheese, salt, wine and hot sauce in bowl, and pour over chicken. Continue cooking over medium to medium low heat for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Sauce will thicken as it cooks. If sauce gets too thick, add a little chicken broth. Serve over warm pasta.

Now if I can just figure out what to fix for dinner tonight…

-Liz

This is a super quick, three-ingredient salad (sans any seasonings you’d like to use). It’s light, tasty, crunchy, and I’d like to think, good for you. Great as a side dish, afternoon snack, or even a light lunch.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Cauliflower florets (or a head of cauliflower)
• Broccoli florets (or a head of broccoli)
• Light mayonnaise (or some bottled light ranch dressing)
• Salt and pepper (and any other seasonings you like) to taste

Here’s how to make it:

Wash veggies and shake off excess moisture. Using a food processor or veggie chopper, (or even a knife for that matter), chop the veggies into very small pieces. (I’m not sure why this salad tastes better with small bits of broccoli and cauliflower, I just know that it does. Trust me.) Mix in a small bit of mayo or ranch dressing and toss well, adding the dressing of choice a little bit at a time until veggies are well coated, but not drenched Season with whatever you like, taste-testing along the way.

How easy (and tasty!) is that? I promise you won’t be disappointed! If you’re feeling really inventive and want to kick this one up a notch, here are a few add-in ideas:

• cucumber
• radish
• celery
• onion
• shredded cheese
• bacon bits
• sweet bell peppers

While you’re at it, you may want to come up with your own add-ins. If so, let us know! Meanwhile, Happy Eating!

-Liz

Actually, things really don’t get going until Nov. 24 with Celebrate Your Unique Talents Day. Oh sure. I can celebrate my multiple talents all day long (and you could, too). But the trick on this day is to celebrate talents unique to each of us. Hmm. Maybe we could change this one to FIND Your Unique Talent Day. But no one asked me.

Tie One On Day lands on Nov. 24, so if you’re planning on doing some Turkey Day Eve cooking, you may want to tie one on after your work in the kitchen is done.

Flossing Day, Buy Nothing Day, Sinkie Day and Your Welcomegiving Day are all rotating holidays, falling on the Friday after Thanksgiving every year. While the first two are self-explanatory, and the last one is just stupid, Sinkie Day may need a little explanation. It’s the one day of the year where we’re given the all-clear to eat over the kitchen sink. (Actually, I do that just about every time I’m the only one in the house.)

Should you need any ideas for this one, the best leftovers for over-the-sink eating would have to be a turkey sandwich, with dressing, gravy and cranberry sauce on top.And when you’re done eating, be sure to floss

Until next week – get your party on!

While you figure out the best ways to celebrate these holidays, don’t forget to send us your favorite crafty Christmas ideas! Email lizandkate@live.com!

It’s Thursday, so that means it’s once again cheater recipe time.

So what’s a “Cheater” recipe?
It’s a way to end up with a delicious home cooked meal, side dish or dessert without spending lots of time to get there.

This week’s cheater recipe…

Hot Fudge Cola Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 chocolate fudge cake mix
• 1 can cola soda
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Microwave Hot Fudge Topping

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
3. Combine cake mix and cola in large bowl and mix until smooth.
4. Pour into pan and bake for 30 – 35 minutes.
5. Cool and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and your favorite hot fudge topping.

Enjoy!

Other Cheater Recipes

Related articles by Zemanta

• Hot Fudge Pudding Cake (thefrugalgirl.com)
• Ice Cream Sundae Brownies (picky-palate.com)

This week’s cheater recipe…

Restaurant Style Steak Fries

Ingredients:

• 28 oz. bag of frozen steak fries
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1.Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

2.Line baking sheet with foil. (Makes for easier clean-up). Bake steak fries (without the topping mixture) for 15 minutes.

m

m

3. Combine the cheese, seasoning and salt.

m

4. Sprinkle over potatoes and mix gently.

5. Bake 4 – 5 minutes longer or until potatoes are browned and crisp.

More Cheater Recipes

Related articles by Zemanta

• Unique French Fries Recipe (notecook.com)
• 7 Healthy, Hearty Sandwich Recipes (lifescript.com)
• Great chicken fried steaks can be found on the South Side (mysanantonio.com)

This week’s cheater recipe…

Breakfast Casserole Muffins

This recipe was given to me by the wife of a co-worker, and has become one of our favorite breakfasts. While we love traditional breakfast casserole, this one is much quicker, and need not be made a day ahead like the traditional version. Perfect for on-the-go or a leisurely morning, you can’t go wrong with this one!

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Eggs
• 1 pound ground sausage
• 2 cups Shredded Cheese
• 1 Can Grands Flaky Biscuits

Directions:

Brown sausage and drain. Beat eggs (I usually use 8), add cheese, stirring well, then fold in sausage. Set aside. Pull each biscuit into three layers (this is why we use flaky or layered biscuits – makes this job much easier), and use them as the “liners” for greased muffin tins. Scoop a moderate amount of egg, cheese, sausage mixture into each muffin cup. Bake according to directions on the biscuit can. Makes 24 muffins.

The winner of last week’s Hershey’s Chocolate Milk Tornado Mixer & Hershey’s Syrup +Calcium is…

WWillows6

Congrats! We’ll be sending you an email from lizandkate@live.com to get your mailing address.

m

This week’s giveaway -

Sandwich and Chips Basket Set and Liners

Add some old-fashioned summertime flair and simplicity to this summer’s cookouts with a set of bright red baskets and red and white checkered liners. Perfect for a sandwich and fries, a basket of hot wings, or a little of anything in between, these adorable and re-usable baskets are sure to become one of your family’s favorites!

Set includes four red plastic baskets with 8 basket liners, as well as a package of 50 replacement liners. Let’s eat!

Here’s how to enter…

Just add a comment below, and you’ll be entered to win!

Want to enter again? Go to the home page, take a look around and comment on another story! It’s as simple as that!

Enter as many times as you’d like.

More entry details…

There are several ways to enter.  You may choose to enter one way, or you may choose to do them all.  It’s up to you.  The more times you enter, the more you increase your chances  to win.

• Leave a comment on this post between now and Sun., June 27th  9:00pm MST. and you’ll automatically be entered.

• Leave a comment on any other Coffee Break with Liz and Kate post between now and Sun., June 27th. (9:00pm MST) and you’ll automatically be entered again.  The more comments you leave, the more entries you’ll get.

• Link to this post on your own blog (include the url in your comment) and receive an extra entry.

• Please include email address with comment so we can contact you if you are the winner.

So good luck readers and Enjoy your Coffee Break.

This week’s cheater recipe…

Campfire Ham Packets

To go along with my Camping 101 post this week, I thought I’d give you a  fast and easy camping recipe to help you feed the troops with a minimum of prep time and work.

Campfire Ham Packets

Ingredients (for single serving):

• 1/2 cup cubed ham
• 6 pineapple chunks
• 1 small diced potato (1 inch pieces)
• 1 tbs butter
• 1/2 tbs brown sugar
• aluminum foil

Directions:

1. Cut off two 12 inch pieces of foil and double layer them. (You can eat the meal right out of the packet.)

2. Spread butter on foil.

3. Place all ingredients in center of the foil.

4. Fold edges together and roll the edges together two or three times to seal in the steam.

5. Throw in fire for 10 to 20 minutes to cook.

7. Fold triangles into the four corners. Unroll the center folds to form a bowl of the foil.

Enjoy! And the clean-up is easy, just throw the foil away.

Other Cheater Recipes

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

mm

m

m

m

Related articles by Zemanta

• Campsite Cooking: Use Foil to Reduce Toil (hikingbackpacking.suite101.com)
• Campout Foil Pack Meal Receipe (hikingbackpacking.suite101.com)
• Campfire Cooking (lighteningonline.com)

This week’s cheater recipe…

Cheesy Salsa Rice

This side dish is so easy and so delicious. It’s a snap to make, and is great along side some tacos or burritos.

m

Cheesy Salsa Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups chunky salsa
• 2 cups uncooked instant rice
• 1/1/2 cups shredded Cheddar – Jack cheese

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, bring salsa and water to a boil.
2. Stir in rice and remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in cheese; cover and let stand for 1 minute or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 5 servings

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

m

Other recipes from Coffee Break with Liz and Kate

Related articles by Zemanta

• How to Make Enchiladas! (notecook.com)
• Easy Crockpot Salsa Chicken (notecook.com)