“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” – Soren Kierkegaard
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
What a difference a week makes! Last Wednesday we celebrated our oldest granddaughter home from college on break and went to The Rainbow Fish at Children’s Theater. It turned out that was one of the few performances of that play, as shutdowns developed the rest of the week almost by the hour due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. We are now in ‘Stay at Home’ mode while schools, restaurants, museums, theaters, sporting events and more are temporarily shut down while we live through the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic not really knowing what to expect.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
This was a delicious recipe from Taste of Home that I made this week. The chicken was tender, the sauce a cheese sauce that didn’t taste ‘cheesy’.
MONTEREY CHICKEN with roasted vegetables
- 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into pieces
- 2 large sweet red peppers, cut into strips
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper, divided
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup white wine or additional chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place asparagus and red peppers in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish; toss with oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast just until crisp-tender, 5-8 minutes. Remove vegetables from dish.
Season chicken with remaining salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat; brown 3 chicken breasts on both sides. Transfer to the first baking dish. Repeat with an additional 1 tablespoon butter and remaining chicken. Top chicken with roasted vegetables.
In same skillet, melt remaining butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually whisk in broth, cream and wine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; cook and stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup cheese until melted. Pour over chicken.
Bake, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted into chicken reads 165 degrees, 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and serve with rice, fettucine or mashed potatoes.
