Christmas Notebook

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” So says Edith Sitwell, British Poet, and I agree. I don’t know what Edith’s thoughts on summer were, but if you know me well, you know there is nowhere I’d rather be than at home, in my own bed, in my own kitchen, in my own garden, any time of year. Of course, a visit to the warm sunny beaches of the south east would not go amiss during the seemingly bleak days of January and February…but home is still my favorite. Three or four days away and I’m yearning to go home, counting down in my head…three more nights and I get to go home…two more nights and I get to go home…but I digress. Here’s a good recipe for a family dinner, chicken and cornbread warm from the oven and smelling, oh, so good, eaten at the kitchen table with the oven still warming the air. Especially if you forget to turn it off…

I change recipes all the time. Substitute this, omit that, double the other thing… But here is one recipe I didn’t change at all. For one thing, there’s not much to change! For another, it has such rave reviews on the blogs on which I found it, that I wanted to give it an unadorned trial run.

Simply Great Chicken
(Source: Country Chicken cookbook)

3 1/2-4 lb. chicken, cut up and skin removed [I used six boneless, skinless thighs and two large boneless, skinless breasts cut into three pieces each.]
1 (.7 oz.) envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 c. packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350*.

Place chicken in a single layer in a greased 9×13 baking dish. [I lined mine with non-stick aluminum foil and sprayed it with cooking spray.] In a small bowl, combine dry salad dressing mix and brown sugar; sprinkle over chicken.
Bake, uncovered, @ 350* for 55-60 minutes or until juices run clear. 4 servings.

It was very good. Everyone liked it and wants to have it again. So there’s another recipe for my binder. Gonna need a new recipe binder any day now. I’ve already made two…one for general recipes and one for desserts. Wonder which way I should go with a new one. Maybe main dishes? And all the sides, beverages, snacks, etc. in the original one? I’ll have to ponder that.

~~Rhonda