a NO clean up dinner :)

cooking in tin foil packets is quick, easy and there is virtually NO clean up! You can just throw everything together and forget about it. I decided to make a dinner using all tin foil packets...

Honey Dijon Chicken, The BEST Ever potatoes, and country corn on the cob! I even used paper plates so there truly was NOclean up :)

Honey Dijon Chicken..

You will need:
4 chicken breasts
1/2 stick butter
1 bottle Lawry's dijon marinade
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon ground mustard
Tin foil

Combine the marinade, softened butter, honey, and mustard. Spray each piece of tinfoil with a non-stick spray. Place chicken in the packet and cover each breast equally with sauce. Pinch the packet shut, place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for one hour.

After the chicken is in the oven move on to the BEST potatoes EVER. super quick and easy!

4 large potatoes, diced
4 pads of butter
8 ice cubes
garlic powder
italian seasoning

Dice each potato and place it in a tinfoil packet. (Spray the foil with non stick spray!) place a pad of butter on each packet (about a tablespoon or so) sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and italian seasoning, top with 2 ice cubes and close up the packets. Place them in the oven on a baking sheet. Pop them in the oven with the chicken for 45 minutes.

The chicken and potatoes are in the oven, now move on to the corn. Aaron and I literally ate this almost every night over the summer when corn on the cob was available everywhere!
This recipe was a series of trial and error after a summer of eating “Aw Shucks” corn at fairs and baseball games. Aaron and I both love it, so I had to come up with a way to make it at home. The ingredients sound a little crazy… but the end result is AMAZING!

4 ears of corn on the cob, cleaned and strings removed

½ cup mayonnaise

4 tablespoons softened butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons season all

1 teaspoon sugar

Grated parmesan cheese to desired pastey consistency

Mix together all the ingredients in small bowl. This should form a thick paste. Taste, add more seasoning as needed. If it is too thick, add more butter, if it is too thin add more grated cheese.

Place each ear of corn in foil. Coat each cob with the mixture on BOTH sides. Seal the foil packets tightly and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. 

In an hour you have an amazing meal with virtually NO clean up! Enjoy!!!

 Potatoes before going in the oven and corn before going in the oven!

What the corn on the cob mixture should look like!

chicken wrapped in bacon with apricot bbq sauce

So Aaron and I LOVE a restaurant near our home town called Platz's. It was recently re-named and changed. I still call is Platz's. They have something on the menu there called "Chicken Winston" it's basically chicken wrapped in bacon with bbq sauce... AMAZING! We both love it, so I decided to mix it up and do my own take on it!


You'll need:

4 chicken breasts, cleaned
1 pound of bacon (I use honey glazed)
1 bottle honey bbq sauce (I love Jack Daniels)
1 jar peach preserves
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I use Texas Pete's)
1 cup whiskey, beer, or ginger ale to tenderize

Wrap each chicken breast in bacon. I start at the narrow end, overlapping each side. I use about 3 pieces of bacon per breast so the entire thing is covered. Do not worry about securing it, I just overlap it and try to keep the ends on the same side, so when it sears it secures itself. Heat a medium sized skillet to medium high.

While the pan heats.... whisk together the jar of peach preserves and bottle of bbq sauce. Then, add the garlic and the hot sauce. Taste... add more of whatever you like to suit your family's taste. I tend to add more garlic and hot sauce.

Place each breast in the hot pan to sear (about 3 - 4 minutes per side. Be very careful with the bacon. Once each side is browned, reduce the heat to low. Pour in the whiskey, beer, or soda. Deglaze the pan.... Scrape all the bits off the bottom (that's the best part) Cover the chicken with the sauce mixture. The sauce should just be simmering and about half way up the chicken. If the sauce is not half way up the chicken, add more liquid (this keeps the chicken moist). Cover the pan and let the chicken cook for an additional 10 minutes. Flip it only once, you do not want to tear the bacon. Check the sauce to make sure it is not cooking down TOO much. You want it to thicken, but not become syrup - like. If it thickens too much, just keep adding more liquid.

I serve this with oven roasted potatoes and corn on the cob! Enjoy!

Budget friendly meal! Spinach and Chicken Tortellini in Vodka Sauce

This week, I decided to make a meal just out of looking at the weekly circular for my grocery store. My challenge for myself was to only use items on sale and items I already had as stapled in my fridge/pantry I have every week!

You'll need...

2 bags cheese tortellini (in the frozen section, they are often on sale for $1)
1 pkg frozen spinach (on sale for $1)
2 tomatoes, diced ($1)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into small strips (on sale for $5.50)
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 jar vodka sauce (on sale $2)
Parmesan cheese, grated also on sale this week!

In a large skillet, heat a few tsps of olive oil. Add the sliced chicken. Season with garlic powder, season salt, and basil. Brown on each side (5 minutes). Once the chicken is browned, add the frozen spinach to begin cooking. Dice the tomatoes, add them as well. Put in 3 tablespoons of garlic. Continue to cook everything together until the chicken is done (15 minutes total). In the meantime, boil a pot of water and add the frozen tortellini. Once they rise to the top, remove them from the heat and drain. (They cook quickly). After straining, combine the chicken skillet mixture and tortellini in the large pasta pot. Add the jarred vodka sauce. Heat together and taste. Add more seasoning, if desired. Top with grated Parmesan while it's still hot and enjoy!