Slow Cooker Barbecue Beer Chicken Sliders are so quick and easy! The hard part is when you start smelling that heavenly odor and know you still have to wait for it to finish cooking. Make it the night before and let the chicken breasts marinate in the sauce overnight, before popping into the crockpot early the next morning. It’s what’s for lunch! I served this on Hawaiian Slider Rolls, which are perfectly kid sized. Or Charlene sized. Though I did split one in half to share with Wheels so as not to leave any good thing behind. For extra flavor, butter the buns and toast them in a large skillet just before adding the filling. This is also a good recipe to make ahead and freeze so you have one waiting in the freezer for those evenings you need a quick dinner. Pop it in the ... [Read More]
Quick and easy
Italian Chicken Breast with butter lemon sauce
Italian Chicken Breast is a Quick and Easy recipe that is delightfully delicious and so easy to make that it will become a regular on the menu. Thaw the chicken breasts in the refrigerator overnight. Yes, you can thaw them in the microwave, if you forget. But it's one less hassle if you think ahead and throw the bag of frozen chicken breast in the refrigerator overnight. You can get right to cooking after work. The package of chicken breasts I used were wildly varied in size. Slice them in a way that will give you relatively uniform thickness. I laid the breasts on the cutting board and made slices abut 3/4 inch thick. Those will cook easily with about 5 minutes on each side. Be sure the oil is hot before adding the meat, dredged in egg and crumbs. This will make a quick and ... [Read More]
Creamy Tortellini Soup
Creamy Tortellini Soup is worth a regular spot in anyone’s lunch planning rotation. The flavor is so creamy and delicious it’s hard to believe that it goes together so quickly easily. Or that it has only 12 carbs! I often think of soup as a great place to use leftovers. A half cup of any kind of vegetable – in it goes. A bit of leftover meat – dice it up and toss it in. Half a baked potato – chunk it up and chuck it in. Not this soup! It’s already well balanced with great flavors. Don’t mess with this by adding something more! However, there are still some options. Use vegetable broth if you prefer. Broth a bit short? It’s okay to add up to half water to make up the difference. Out of fresh garlic? Use minced garlic from a jar. No cream or half and half? Use whatever ... [Read More]
Asian Beef and Noodles
What’s for lunch? Asian Beef and Noodles. This is a colorful, budget friendly stir-fry dish that takes only five ingredients—all of which you're likely to have on hand. Ready to eat in about 20 minutes! Serve with fruit (fresh, frozen or canned – whatever you have available) for a complete meal. I had to raid Bytes’ cupboard to find the ramen. I don’t usually buy it, but he keeps it on hand because he likes it for a snack. Or a meal when he is pressed for time. It was worth sneaking down the stairs, avoiding the laser beam network, dodging under the security camera, giving the guard cat a generous handful of treats to keep him busy, and opening the cupboard door just right to avoid setting off the piercing alarm. Actually, I just asked over the stair rail, “got any ramen?” and ... [Read More]
Deviled Egg Salad Sandwich
What’s for lunch? Today it is Deviled Egg Salad Sandwich. Egg salad is my favorite sandwich . This one has a couple of twist that make it special. First, toasting the bread takes it to a new level. Ordinarily I wouldn’t bother. But since we are trying to treat ourselves nicely with what we have – staying at home and all --, I did. And it was worth it! The mustard and pickle relish add the devil to the egg salad for a tasty change. The recipe makes four generously filled sandwiches. If you don’t need that many sandwiches, the recipe will divide in half easily. OR make the whole batch, make the number of sandwiches you need. One? Two? Pop the rest of the egg salad into the fridge immediately, where it will keep, tightly covered, for use within 3-5 days. The best way to boil ... [Read More]
Chicken Bacon Biscuit Cups
Chicken Bacon Cups were nowhere on the radar as the answer to What’s for lunch? I pondered the question as I stood in the open refrigerator door. Soup from two days before – but not quite enough for hearty servings. Hmmm, a can of biscuits. 3 grilled chicken tenders from the dinner Bytes cooked last night. Half a package of bacon in the cheese drawer. Cheddar and cream cheese. The perfect accompaniment to not quite enough soup! The lunch menu now starred Chicken Bacon Cups. With a little more broth, some mixed vegetables and a dollop of sour cream added atop the somewhat spicy soup it had a fresh perspective instead of a “leftover vibe”. The biscuit cups were a filling addition and no one realized the chicken had been on the table the night before. Every good cook has a way ... [Read More]
