"Don't Look At Me" Chicken

Wow, I have been gone from blog-land for too long.

RestaurantQuality has been going 'non stop' since last we spoke. We're back 'home' in the Great SouthWest and in the interim we've had a lovely visit from Ms. She 'Who Share's My Birthday' (lots of wine and laughter), several days of caring for LS#5 while her Mommy was on a business trip, and now, an action-packed visit with FS #1, FDIL and LS #1-4. FS #1 calls his house "The Nuthouse", which is how I shall refer to them henceforth in this missive.

The Nuthouse landed on Wednesday morning, and the motion has not stopped.

And, to add joy on top of excitement, FD #2 flew in from The City With Big Shoulders for a weekend visit to get in on all the action.

The best part for me has been having just about everyone together (FS #2 could not be here). The house is bursting when all five of our Little Sweethearts are here. Granddaughters as bookends to the three grandsons. Can't get enough of them.

But, right now the Nuthouse is in SanDiego for a few days of fun and frolic in one of those most wonderful places on earth ----- mountains to your left, Pacific Ocean to your right, gorgeous flowers everywhere, and the relaxation inducing sounds of waves crashing into shore. Ahhhhhh..........

So, I sit hear and say 'listen...............do you hear it'? It is very, very quiet in my kitchen now that the LS are getting ready to watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.

So, with my 'quiet time' I grabbed a recipe to tell you about.

But, first I opened a bottle of wine recommended to me by Mr. Cedarburg. Joel Gott, Cab Sauv.
Very, very nice. Very smooth, which is how I like my wine and my jazz.

'Don't Look At Me' Chicken: very, very easy and quite tasty. I made it for LS #5's parents and Mr. RestaurantQuality FSIL immediately said 'You have to give us the recipe'. Mr. RestaurantQuality deems it a 'repeater'. 'Repeater' is the highest form of praise coming down from the mountain top, in this household.

So, with my glass of Joel Gott raised to all of you, I say 'Slainte'.........................


Don't Look At Me Chicken

Suggested musical background: Last Dance, Donna Summers

Oven at 325 degrees

9x13 pan, greased



4 chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups Minute Rice, uncooked (white or brown minute rice)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

In large bowl, mix together the soups, milk and rice.

Pour into prepared pan.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Remove pan from oven.

Law raw chicken over the rice mixture.

Sprinkle the dry onion soup mix on top of the chicken.

Cover with foil; back into the oven for another hour.

NO PEEKING while baking.



My Notes:

The original recipe uses 2 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken pieces. So if you don't want to use only chicken breast, go ahead and use the bone-in chicken pieces. HOWEVER, if you do, here's the baking adjustment: Place the rice mixture in the prepared pan, and then place the chicken on top of the rice mixture, right away. Cover with foil. Bake for 2 hours; NO PEEKING.

When using just chicken breast, you bake the rice mixture for an hour, on its own, then add the chicken breast. If you put the chicken breast in for two hours, the Mama Bear would say 'this chicken is too tough'..................

The recipe calls for the 9x13 pan to be 'greased'. I did not grease the pan, I used non stick aluminum foil, my new best friend in the RestaurantQuality kitchen. In fact, the two of us are going on a cruise, together.

I used brown minute rice. You could even go hog wild and use a combo of both white and brown.

My recipe above calls for a can of cream of chicken soup. The original recipe calls for a can of cream of mushroom soup. RestaurantQuality has tried (and I am sincere in saying this) to like mushrooms, but to no avail. As LS #2 would say: 'Mushroom alert, mushroom alert, I hate mushrooms'. So, substitute cream of mushroom soup for cream of chicken soup if you like.