Category: MISC

CHICKEN KIEV ~ CLASSIC GOOD EATS

8 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large whole eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
2 cups Panko crumbs + 1/4 cup for filling
1/4 bag frozen broccoli florets, chopped
salt and pepper to taste for chicken pieces
Safflower oil for frying

  • Combine butter, parsley, tarragon, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer. 
  • Fold in broccoli floret pieces.
  • Place mixture on plastic wrap or waxed paper and roll into small log; place in freezer.
  • Place chicken breasts, 1 at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Spray chicken lightly with water as well as the top of the plastic wrap. Pound to no less than 1/8-inch thickness. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.
  • Lay 1 chicken breast on a new piece of plastic wrap and place 1/4 of the compound butter and 1 tablespoon bread crumbs in the center of each breast. Using the plastic wrap to assist, fold in ends of breast and roll breast into a log, completely enclosing the butter; roll very tightly. Repeat with each breast. 
  • Place chicken in refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to overnight.
  • Place egg and water mixture in 1 pie pan and 2 cups bread crumbs in a different pie pan.
  • Heat 1/2-inch of safflower oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat until oil reaches 375 degrees F.
  • Dip each breast in the egg mixture and then roll in the bread crumbs. 
  • Gently place each breast in oil, sealed-side down, and cook until golden brown, approximately 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. 
  • Remove to a cooling rack set in sheet pan and allow to drain for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

SUMMARY OF LIFE another email worth sharing

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can’t baptize cats..
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don’t let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can’t trust dogs to watch your food..
6) Don’t sneeze when someone is cutting your hair..
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don’t wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you’re sad is Grandma’s lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jello to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don’t hurt.
3) Families are like fudge…mostly sweet, with a few nuts
4) Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut that held its ground…
5) Laughing is good exercise. It’s like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy..

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD:
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional…
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you’re down there.
4) You’re getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It’s frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions…
6) Time may be a great healer, but it’s a lousy beautician
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way;
BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.
Have a wonderful day with many *smiles*

ROLL UP THE SIDEWALKS AND CALL IT A DAY?

TODAY IN MY LIFE…

If your lawyer asked you if you wanted to champion a cause to expose the bungling incompetents in a corrupt town full of bigoted, self-serving personnel, what would you do?  
By the way, there are no guarantees of winning because the local justice system is biased against “outsiders” (those with no family in the local area who were looking for small town America) and rumor has it that they can be bought also.
Oh and by the way, the town has lost multiple businesses (some quite large) in the past couple years and several more in just the past few weeks with more to come at the end of the year and is home to multiple sexual predators including the former chief of police and a current “person of interest” for an international child sex abuse pornography ring.  And the next town over has removed a stop light and reverted to a 2-way stop sign system.
Remember also that this is the same town that would “not get involved” when you were swindled to begin with when you bought a home full of black mold that was not disclosed, despite the agents and owners as well as the previous owners knowledge of it.  Every lawyer you called cited “conflict of interest” because of their involvement with either the previous owners or the real estate company and your were forced to seek out lawyers two towns away.  Remember too that of the lawyers that would even talk to you the advice was to spend the money it would take to fight fixing the problem instead of on the layers it would take to get out of the deal. 
Remember that now 5 years later you once again spent days finding a lawyer that would even talk to you because your town/country are “goofy” and “do things weird” so they don’t really want to take your case.
And don’t forget you will be footing the bill for ALL the fees until you win, IF you win.
I just wanted to give you enough background to make an informed decision.
BUSINESSES GONE IN THE PAST 2 YEARS WHILE YOU WERE AWAY CARING FOR FAMILY AND DEALING WITH CANCER:
  • BAKERY
  • CHURCH
  • 2 MOTELS
  • GIFT SHOP
  • PIZZA PLACE
  • RACE TRACK
  • COPY CENTER
  • LUMBER YARD
  • HARDWARE STORE
  • SANDWICH BISTRO
  • ANTIQUE/GUN SHOP
  • CHILD CARE CENTER
  • AUTO PARTS STORE (ONLY ONE IN TOWN)
  • ATV/SNOWMOBILE DEALER (ONLY ONE IN TOWN)
1/2 OF SCHOOL SHUT DOWN AND CLOSED UP, BUT NO LAYOFFS 
SO RATIO IS NOW 1 TEACHER TO 10 STUDENTS
BUSINESSES GONE IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS:
  • RESTAURANT
  • BAR & TAVERN
BUSINESSES RUMORED TO GO IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS:
  • RESORT
  • CHILD CARE CENTER
  • FURNITURE STORE (ONLY ONE IN TOWN)

BUSINESSES RUMORED TO GO OUT TO ATTRITION (RETIREMENT) THIS YEAR:

  • BARBER SHOP (ONLYONE IN TOWN)
  • SHOE REPAIR/RED WING DEALER (ONLY ONE IN TOWN)
     BUSINESSES STILL THERE (TECHNICALLY), BUT NEVER OPEN:
    • THEATRE
    • ANTIQUE MALL
    • BOWLING ALLEY

    Baked Nutty Brown Balls – Cooking with Chaya

    I had two cups of leftover rice so I decided to mix some other ingredients in and bake myself brown rice balls. I knew right away, I wanted nuts and veggies, in this recipe so off I went to create. I did read a bunch of recipes for something similar, but when push came to shove, I used what was in my fridge and cabinets and did not worry about anything, I had read about.

    Baked Nutty Brown Rice Balls 

    2 cups fully cooked and cooled brown rice 
    1/2 cup ground walnuts 
    1 carrot, shredded 
    1 zucchini, shredded 
    1 onion, shredded 1 teaspoon soy sauce 
    1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
    1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
    1/4 cup sliced green onions 
    1 beaten egg 1/4 cup flax seed meal
    •  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
    • Combine all of the above ingredients. Mine did not stick well so I suggest either another egg or a little bit of liquid, added. Mix well. 
    • Fill 18 mini muffin cups with rice mixture. I used a tablespoon cookie scoop to get approximately the same size balls. 
    •  Bake in a 325 degree oven for 23 minutes. They brown a little. Remove from tins and serve. These have a nutty flavor to them.