Last Minute Chicken

It's so named because tonight’s dinner wasn't one that was thought about in advance, which means earlier today instead of right before cooking dinner. Ever have one of those days? What to do with 4 defrosted chicken thighs and figure out how a way to do them that would not be hard and not require many ingredients or prep time. Looking through some cookbooks wasn’t helpful – ever notice how it’s harder to find something when you don’t know what you’re looking for in the first place?

Then, the New Joy of Cooking had a chicken in the oven recipe that was for baking a dozen chicken legs or thighs, so it needed some changes. And tonight's chicken thighs already had the skin removed, unlike the recipe drumsticks. The amounts were revised and the chicken thighs took about 1 hr and 10 min to cook compared to the 45- 60 min the recipe indicated for drumsticks. Set oven temp 350°.

Mix in bowl

• ¼ C milk or yogurt
• ½ C sour cream
• ¼ C Dijon mustard
• ½ tbsp minced garlic or use garlic powder (it’s easier)

Combine in wide, shallow bowl

• 1 C breadcrumbs
• ½ C Parmesan cheese
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper

1. Coat chicken pieces with mixture, then roll in bread crumbs mix.
2. Press the breadcrumbs to make sure they stick.
3. Arrange chicken in baking dish or on baking sheet. Bake until coating is browned and clear juices run out when pricked with a fork.

Potatoes, Onion and Peppers

Next decision was what side dish to prepare that could go in the oven too. A kitchen check produced some potatoes, onion, and fresh rosemary. Oven temp also set to 350°

• 3 small potatoes sliced – not too thin
• 1 small onion chunked or sliced (your choice)
• 1-2 tbsp fresh rosemary or dried
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper

A small bag of frozen peppers from last spring’s F&P garden was cut up and added.

Mix liberally with olive oil. Put in baking dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Steamed broccoli was also on the menu, but it's an easy one to prepare either by microwave or steamer. We cooked it fresh and added some butter and seasonings.

Frog & PenguINN rating...chicken needed more spicing, but not bad for last minute menu planning.