Just because it came out of a square box, doesn't mean it's a square meal!

Haha

I was thinking about this last night as I was lining up the stuff for a photo. I have come to terms with the necessity for "convenience foods" since moving into my house. I still don't have a working cooktop, so the microwave and the oven are my only tools. The microwave is quite a versatile machine after all, so long as you're not worried about radiation leaks, and adding extra molecules to your food.

Dinner last night actually turned out well. I made pork chops, broccoli and carrots in sauce, and penne pasta with bacon and alfredo sauce. The vegetables and pasta were done in the microwave according to package directions. The pork chops were baked in the oven with broccoli soup.

Pork chops with broccoli(or mushroom)soup
- line your dish with foil (because we hate cleaning)
- layer half the can of cream soup on the bottom
- lay out chops in pan
- mix remaining soup with half can of milk and pour over chops
- bake in oven at 350 for 35-45 minutes (thicker chops will take longer)

This recipe goes well with rice or egg noodles, you can use the soup as a sauce.

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.