Chicken Provolone...

I was conflicted when it came time to prepare dinner.  I wanted to cook from ingredients on hand, but I wanted something out of the normal rotation and filling and that would freeze well for Carey to take to work.  I really wanted Chicken Parmesan, but had no Parmesan.

I did have boneless/skinless chicken breasts in the freezer, spaghetti in the pantry, a half sleeve of crackers, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and sliced Provolone in the fridge.

Ingredients:
4 or 5 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1/2 sleeve cracker crumbs (Ritz or Club)
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Provolone cheese (I used slices)
3 Tablespoons butter
16 ounces spaghetti 

Directions:
Pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a skillet and heat to medium high.  Crush the crackers into a pie plate and add flour, salt, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder and stir to mix well.  Dredge the chicken breasts in the seasoned crumbs and place them into the hot oil and brown both sides.

Melt butter and pour it over the remaining seasoned cracker crumbs.  Mix well so that all the crumbs are buttery.

Spray a casserole dish (large enough to hold the chicken breasts in a single layer) with nonstick spray and pour about 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the casserole and spread it out.  When the chicken breasts are nicely browned, place them in the casserole and top with slices of Provolone.  Pour about 1/2 the remaining spaghetti sauce over the chicken breasts/cheese so all were covered.  Then sprinkle the buttered crumbs over the top and bake uncovered at 350° F for 45 minutes to an hour.  

Cook the spaghetti as per package directions and drain when done.  Return spaghetti to pan it was cooked in and pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over it.  Place over very low heat to warm the sauce. 

Serve the chicken alongside the pasta.  Add a salad, vegetable, and/or garlic bread.  

My notes:  Carey really liked this.  I told him I just made the recipe up as I went along, and he asked if I would write it down so we could have it again.  :)

Dublin Coddle with Kale...

Ingredients:

1 pound smoked sausage

1/2 pound thick sliced bacon

3 cups beef broth 
   (* or 1 can condensed French Onion Soup plus 1 1/2 cans water) 

6 potatoes

3 large carrots (In photo above I didn't have whole carrots and used matchstick instead.)

2 onions

1 bag of kale
salt and pepper

Directions:

Slice the sausage and chop the bacon.  Place in a pan and add 3 cups beef broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Scrub the potatoes and carrots well (or peel if you prefer) and slice 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.    Thinly slice 2 onions.  Wash the kale, discarding large stems, and chop roughly.

Preheat oven to 425° F.  Spray a large casserole with cooking spray, or coat bottom and sides with olive oil.  

Layer:

1/3 of potato slices in the bottom

1/3 of the sliced onions

1/3 of the carrots (in photo above I used matchstick carrots instead of sliced)

1/3 of the kale

1/3 of the sausage and bacon
a sprinkle of salt and pepper

Repeat layers twice more, then pour the hot broth over all.  Cover with a lid or foil, and bake for 40 minutes.

Remove lid.  If it looks too dry add 1/2 cup of water.  Leave uncovered and bake for 20 more minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender.

My notes:  *The second time I made this (3/16/2017) was for an early St. Patrick's Day supper.  I didn't have any beef broth, but I did have a can of Campbell's Condensed French Onion Soup that had been languishing in the cupboard for a long time.  I don't remember when or why I bought it...probably should have checked the use-by date.  :)  I used it (plus 1 and 1/2 cans of water) in place of the 3 cups of beef broth.  The coddle tasted even better than I remember it tasting the first time.  Yum!