With money seeming tighter and tighter these days, many of us are finding that dining out has become a thing of the past. We've all been eating more meals at home.

It's been months since I've dined out! Yet, I still want to enjoy a nice dinner from time to time and feel like I'm getting a restaurant quality meal at a fraction of the cost!

So with a little experimenting, paying a little closer attention to sale items, and a few kitchen enhancements (spice replenishments, a few handy untensils, some extra mixing bowls...) I've made some really fantastic dinners...without ever having to find a parking spot or leave a tip!

JANUARY 9TH, 2O11:
Hello followers! Hope you've enjoyed my blog so far. I'm so glad you all keep checking even though my posts last year were few and far between.
Like a lot of you, I am going to commit to post more often this year, at the very least once a week @ the cooking blog. The baking blog, I'll aim for once a month or so.
My intention is to post on the cooking blog ALL my favorite recipes this year and put together a cool, little cookbook for my kitchen at the end of the year. :)
(You'll notice recipes at the end of each post. The text in bold are my modifications and there is a link to the original recipe at the bottom for your convenience)

Keep checking back to see what I've been mixin' up...

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Almost like a TV dinner!

The same night I made the apple crisp, I had a few thawed chicken thighs and legs to use up and mac and cheese and crunchiness was on my mind.  So, I decided on an Oven 'Fried' chicken dinner...with some homemade mac and cheese and some veggie, I would figure it out along the way.

I breaded the chicken pieces with a panko bread crumb and spice mixture...and I usually add a couple tablespoons of shredded Parmesan  to breadings.
This particular recipe I was looking at called  for a mixture of mayo, milk and a tiny bit of ranch dressing to dip the chicken in before breading.  I have to say it was pretty good.
This chicken turned out nice and crispy!
And the mac and cheese...looks like Velveeta shells and cheese, I know...but it isn't!  Yuck.  I just like using shells because it traps in the tasty cheese sauce.


And I decided on some sauteed spinach for the veggie...













When it was all said and done...if reminded me of a TV dinner when I was a kid...minus the little weird brownie thingy...
 Just another modest, yet yummy and cheap meal idea!
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