you want simple and tasty? oh, I gots simple and tasty. in fact, it is soo tasty that while Doug was eating it, he was muttering under his breath every other bite: "goddamn this is good."

so, take it from Doug ....TASTY!! and oh, yeah? did I mention simple? no notes on this one, tis perfect just the way it is. now, pardon me. I have leftover creamy wonderfulness to go scarf.

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last night I got to try something new! butterflying chicken breasts. and I totally did it wrong, I found out later thanks to google. but whatever, it worked.

this recipe smelled wonderful and tasted even better. make sure you make the sauce, because it really brings it home. also, a tip? I cut each slice of cheese into four pieces and rolled the ham around them to make a tube...helped hold the cheese IN the chicken a tad. enjoy!

Pee. Ess. the broccoli? fresh from my friends' garden and FABULOUS.

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lookey!! another chinese recipe! and also? another chicken recipe. :) I didn't change a damn thing on this, because it didn't need it. twas fabulous just the way it was.

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I was really surprised at how good this turned out...not that I don't adore chicken and broccoli and anything that puts them together...I wasn't too sure about the "crust". but bread crumbs and butter? they make a FABULOUS crust. next time? try cream of chicken soup (dispite my love of broccoli, I don't really like cream of broccoli soup...it tastes OLD) and MORE BREAD CRUMB CRUST. much, much more.

oh, and also? I seasoned the chicken with season salt while cooking it. (in a skillet, with butter, sauteed...or whatever you like to do to your chicken)

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making dinner last night was an adventure, to say the least. I had a terrible case of the dropsies. went to swirl the pan to coat the oil one last time before adding my steaks...and promptly spilled half of the HOT OIL right onto my kitchen floor. and also? I dropped the pan of potatoes and lost a third. methinks I need to mop my poor floor tonight when I get home.

but dispite my mishaps, this turned out delicious. I've always been intimidated by pan gravy, but I done did a good job this time. the only thing I screwed up is I didn't have the oil hot enough when I added my steaks (to sear them...see the point about spillage above) so they came out a tad greasy...but the gravy was HEAVEN.

this is another recipe I snagged from Southern Plate. check out the original for halarious commentary and a much more thorough explanation.

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anyone who doesn't love chicken and dumplings is completely un-American, in my very humble opinion. the original recipe is courtesy of Southern Plate, which is an awesome recipe site if you haven't discovered it already.

the only deviation I made to her recipe was adding onion. next time I think I will try doubling the sauce (surprise surprise) and adding onion, carrots, and celery to the liquids before heating them. YUM!!!

pee.ess. normally I try taking a photo of the food both in the pot and plated...this time? I was too busy ENJOYING this wonderful recipe, so I totally forgot the whole photo-ing thing. so you only get the pot.

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