That’s it, that is the new title for this weekly segment. It has a bit more punch than Tasty Tuesday don’t you think? Big thanks to reader Rhaea for the title. Rhaea can be counted as an in real life friend, even though I haven’t seen her since the 6th grade. She was in my older sisters class in the little Catholic school I attended. It’s true, we were Catholic school girls. We even wore little plaid uniforms like Brittany Spears only more scrawny, small town Ohio girl than slutty, pop star. You get the idea.

Also new this week, I am preparing a recipe suggested by a reader! Heather sent me a few recipes to try. She also included a challenge (and recipe) to make rice pilaf from scratch. Thanks hussy, you’re awesome. (Relax, she’s a real life friend too so I can call her that. You should hear what she calls me!)

Rosemary Chicken & Rice Pilaf

Ingredients

Rosemary Chicken

Adapted from the Deen Brothers Braised Chicken with Rosemary & Potatos

4 Large Chicken Breasts, cut in quarters

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Black Pepper

3 Tbs. Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbs. Lemon Juice

1 Tsp. Rosemary

4 Tbs. Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces

Rice Pilaf

This recipe is from AllRecipes.com

2 Tbs. Butter

1/2 Cup Orzo, uncooked

1/2 Cup Onion, diced

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 Cup Rice, uncooked

2 Cups Chicken Broth

The original recipe calls for chicken legs and thighs. We do not eat chicken on the bone in this house. I also do not enjoy dark meat. Gross. Heather informed me that you need the skin on the chicken to get crispy or some other BS. I just added half a stick of butter. It worked, and I didn’t have to deal with nasty bird skin and bones in my kitchen.

Anyway.

Whisk together the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, lemon juice, and rosemary. Place chicken in a dish that is safe for both the oven and the broiler. Pour on olive oil mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle butter tabs on top. Let it sit for 10 minutes on the counter. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In my family my Uncle Ralph is famous for saying, “MORE BUTTER” I tend to agree. There’s nothing that wouldn’t be better by adding more butter.

Put the chicken in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until it is cooked through. The time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken hooters. To check the doneness of the chicken press on it, without puncturing it. If it bounces back it’s done,  if not it needs more time. When it is close, turn on the broiler and leave it in for another 10 minutes.

The rice pilaf is very easy. I even screwed it up a little and it was still delicious. Let me say right now, I will not ever make Rice-A-Roni rice pilaf again. I will, as the twinkies say, “make it out of scratch.”

It’s easy. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the orzo and cook until brown. Add the onions and garlic and cook it for one minute. Add rice and chicken broth. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.

I browned the rice with the orzo (that’s how the box crap works). To make up for the starches that were released I added about a half a cup of water. No problem.

Sorry, I didn’t take pictures of the rice while I was making it.

I also made lima beans. I love them, so do Reese and Taryn. Buy the frozen ones, baby lima beans if you can find them. Cook them according to the package, but for crying out loud add some salt and pepper to the water while they are cooking!

Season everything, everything. Always. I put salt and pepper on turkey sandwiches. I’m not kidding.

Once they are cooked toss them with a few tablespoons of butter.

This was really good, like really, really good. I highly recommend you try it.

Who has a recipe for me to make next week?

Tonight’s recipe came from my mother-in-law. I have no idea where she got it. It reminds me of one of those Pampered Chef recipes only you don’t need a $65 baking stone to make it. I bought one of those once and it cracked in half in the oven. (Yes, I know it has a warranty. I’m way too lazy for that.) Stupid, overpriced cookware. This recipe (and almost any other one) is made on any cheap-o cookie sheet you have lying around.

Ham & Swiss Cheese Ring

Ingredients

1 Tbs. Butter, softened

2 Tbs. Dried Parsley

2 Tbs. Mustard

1 Tsp. Lemon Juice

6 Oz. Swiss Cheese, shredded

1 Cup Broccoli, chopped and cooked

1 Cup Ham, diced

1 8 Oz. Can Crescent Rolls

Mix together the butter, parsley, onion, mustard, and lemon juice. As you can see I didn’t have any lemon juice so I used lime. It didn’t make any difference in the taste. Make sure the butter is soft or you will wind up with big clumps of it in the mixture.

This might be the least appetizing picture in Tasty Tuesday history.

Next, add the cheese, broccoli, and ham. I steamed the broccoli until it was just tender. The original recipe said that you could use frozen, but that’s gross. Don’t do it.

Now comes the fun part. Arrange the crescent rolls (on your crappy baking sheet) in a star shape. It should look like this:

Once that is done spoon the mixture onto the large end of each triangle.

Pull the tips over so that it forms a ring. It’s easy.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until the crescent is golden brown.

Tasty looking isn’t it? It tastes a bit like a hot ham and cheese sandwich. When the entire herd is around I make two. I’ve tried making it in a 9×13 pan with a tube of crescents on the bottom, the filling in the middle, and another tube of crescents on top. Don’t do that, its gross.

Before you serve it you’ll want to cut off the crusty brunt cheese from the edges and the pan. And eat them.

Tonight I served it with salad. If you make it for lunch, fruit would be great too.

Enjoy!