Chicken and Rice...

This was one of those nights that I made it in the door with less than an hour to plan and prepare a dinner... basically I do this about 4 nights out of 7... Sure I could be more organized, but that takes time too!

* Quick tip on getting the clutter out of your house- Get someone who you know and trust- who knows you fairly well- have them over to your house on a Saturday. Give them a box of trash bags and tell them to toss everything that they think you don't need. You MUST leave the house while they do this. Tell them to take the bags away when they are done, so you are not tempted to go digging through them to "rescue" your crap. Remember- it's ALL CRAP! LET IT GO.
You will more than likely never guess what they threw out, and you will have so much less clutter!


Ok. Back to dinner...

You will need-

• 1 lb chicken breast- boneless, skinless (or one per person)
• Honey Garlic BBQ sauce
• Garlic powder
• pepper
• Minute Rice
  
• Mixed vegetables

Heat oven to 375 degrees, line baking sheet in foil BECAUSE WE HATE CLEANING, place chicken face down on sheet, sprinkle liberally with garlic powder and pepper. Turn right side up, make several shallow (1/4'') slices lengthwise (that's ALONG the "grain") into the meat and baste liberally with BBQ sauce (remember we didn't have time to marinate the meat, so this will help get the flavor in while it's cooking). Stick it in the hot oven on the middle rack and go do something for 20 minutes.
...
Ok, now that you're back, get your medium sized pot (one with a lid that fits, OR you can use a dinner plate to cover the pot if need be)... Basically you will prepare the rice according to the directions on the box PLUS add 1 cup of mixed- frozen veggies to the water. Bring the water and veggies to a rolling boil, add the rice, slap the lid on and remove from heat. 5 Minutes later you will have rice and veggies! YAY

Assuming that took altogether another 10 minutes, you can pull the chicken out and cut into it. If it's white all through and the juices are clear (not pink) then you have Chicken! YAY! If you're not so sure about the done-ness, kill it for another 10-15 minutes.

TADA! My hubby thinks rice is for sissys and chicken is for girls (I'm paraphrasing here) So I asked him to rate it on a 1-10 scale. 1 being "Rancid Pork Fat" (I'll tell you about that some other time) and 10 being "Prime Rib"... He actually gave it a 6! Really! Coming from the Neanderthal, that's fairly decent! He even had 2nds of the rice.

Pork Chops and Perogies

Tonight's dinner... this is a 45 minutes meal... takes approximately 5-10 minutes of prep (assuming you can find what you need in the kitchen) and about 30-35 minutes to cook. Notice there are no vegetables... My hubby hates vegetables, although he will eat pretty much whatever I put in front of him, sometimes I just can't be bothered.

You will need

• 4 medium sized boneless chops (1/2'' thick 3 '' across)
• 1 pkg shake& bake (whatever flavor you like)
• 15 Perogies (cheemo brand is best, you can throw them into the pan frozen)
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• toppings of choice (Hubby likes bbq sauce and sour cream)

Heat your oven to 375 degrees, While oven is warming line baking sheet with foil BECAUSE WE HATE CLEANING! Coat both sides of chops with shake-n-bake (use a bag or pour the stuff on a plate) arrange on baking sheet and place on center rack in oven.

Look at the time- you will start the perogies in 20 minutes...

In a regular frying pan, heat 2 tbsp cooking oil and put perogies in... only do as many as will lay flat in the pan, they'll cook more evenly this way. The pan should be just under medium heat- enough to cook them through without burning the outsides. Turn perogies when they begin to brown.

Grate cheese and make ready your condiments.

At the 30 minute mark, check the chops; the coating should be crisping and the juices bubbling underneath. Cut into one, they should be somewhat juicy, but the juices should be clear and the meat should be white. If so you can turn off the oven and leave them in there to keep warm until your perogies are finished. If not , return to oven for an additional 15 minutes.

Once the perogies and chops are done, you can put grated cheese on the perogies and dig in!

Cleanup should be easy, just toss the foil that covered the baking sheet and put a little hot water in the frying pan so it's easier to wash out... and sic your hubby on the dishes at the end!



Like I said, no veggies. It's a quick and simple dinner, easily accompanied by frozen veggies or a salad (if you're the salad type ).

Cooking for more people- figure one medium- large chop per person, and about 6 perogies each. Veggies are 1/2 to 3/4 cup per person.