Smoky Black Bean Chicken Wraps

Guess who was too lazy to cook dinner again??? Ding ding ding - you guessed it, ME! All the fall shows are starting up again, football is on, my SF Giants are in the pennant race, and it's all taking over my life. I have priorities, people.

And that's where my previous round of power cooking becomes super handy. On this occasion, I decided to make (or more like heat up) the Smoky Black Bean Chicken Wraps because I had tortillas and fun toppings (cheese, sour cream, avocados, and tomatoes) on hand. To recap, here's the recipe from my previous post:

Smoky Black Bean Chicken Wraps
To prepare and freeze
1 portion Make-Ahead Chicken
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp Smoky Barbecue Rub, divided
2 cups cooked rice

To finish and serve
½ cup water
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
6 11-in. flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and barbecue sauce or Louisiana hot sauce (optional)
1. Prepare and freeze

In Bag 1, combine chicken, beans and 2 tbsp of the rub.
In Bag 2, combine rice and remaining 1 tbsp rub.
Seal Bag 2 and place into Bag 1; seal. Freeze for up to three months.
2. Finish and serve!
To cook and serve immediately:
Omit water. Place contents of Bags 1 and 2 into (12-in.) Skillet. Cook over medium-high heat 3-5 minutes or until chicken is heated through.
To assemble wraps, divide cheese evenly among tortillas; top with chicken mixture and optional ingredients, if desired.
Roll up tortillas tightly. Cut wraps in half on a bias and serve.

To cook and serve from freezer:
Add contents of Bag 1 and water to (12-in.) Skillet; cover. Cook over medium-high heat 6-8 minutes or until hot, breaking chicken apart as necessary using Bamboo Spatula.
Add contents of Bag 2 to Skillet; cook 4-6 minutes or until mixture is heated through.
Assemble wraps as directed above.

Yield: 6 servings

Alrighty then. Now that's out of the way, let's begin!

First, you take the bag with the chicken and beans and heat that up in a large skillet over medium. I know - WTF is corn doing in there? Well I had leftover corn on the cob, so I just cut off the kernels and threw them in there. Why not.

Then dump in the bag with the rice. It will be all clumpy because it's frozen, so just break it up a bit with a wooden spoon. It will all work out in the end.

After it's heated through, it will look like the above. Now is the time to heat up your tortillas in the microwave and assemble your toppings.

You don't need the whole kit and kaboodle (yeah, I just said that...I'm a granny apparently), just use what you have on hand. I decided to be healthy for like 5 minutes and use whole wheat tortillas. They tasted like caca. But you know, I was healthy! For 5 minutes!

Now, go crazy! The random toppings are the best part about burritos and wraps anyway. This recipe made six decent sized wraps. It was tasty but possibly a little bland if you ate the wraps plain. Just warning you/ But hey, better than running to Taco Bell and probably took all of 10 minutes tops!

Chicken and Mushroom "Hot Pockets"

My local grocery store was having a massive sale on canned biscuits recently. Since I'm a crazed coupon user, I was able to score about 10 cans for a dollar or two. Total. That's how I roll! Get it? ROLL! Ha. Needless to say, I have quite the glut of Grands! biscuits in my freezer (did you know you can freeze those tube things? You can. They won't explode. Promise).

After searching recipes on Pillsbury.com, I happened upon one that resembled a homemade chicken Hot Pocket (they titled it Chicken To Go Biscuits, but a) that doesn't make sense, and b) I can call a Hot Pocket when I see one). Speaking of Hot Pockets...that's another Jim Gaffigan comedy bit that I love. I swear this blog is turning into a Jim Gaffigan fanpage. Maybe because all he talks about is food, and that's all I write about...

Let's get started on the Hot Pockets! Sing it with me: "Hooooot Pock-ets!!!".

The ingredients. I made a few small changes I should warn you about - first, I had some sliced raw mushrooms in the fridge, so I just cooked those down really quick in a skillet instead of using the canned ones. Secondly, and more important, I did not use the crushed cornflakes as a breading as the recipe states  - because why? Also: ew! What kind of crazy person decided that cornflakes needed to be used on anything other than a bowl of milk? Cornflakes are kinda sweet too, and I don't want sweet near anything with chicken and/or mushrooms. It would be like coating your Hot Pocket with chocolate chips. Yeah, flippin' gross. The same argument goes for Hawaiian pizza and the insane people who like it. Why not pepperoni and oranges? Sausage and cherries? It's the same idea, you sickos!

Start by melting some butter in a skillet on medium heat, then stir in the flour, salt and pepper. It will quickly start to thicken up.

Dump in the milk, and heat for a minute or so.

Stir in the chicken, cheese, and mushrooms, take off the heat, and set aside. I kept snatching bits of this to eat because well, I'm chubby and I wanted to, so there.

Now take your can of biscuits and open it up. Or, if you're like me, make someone else (AKA my dear husband) do it for you because the anticipation of the can popping open wigs me out. You're going to want to roll out (or just use your hands to press out) the biscuits into a large circle, as large as you can get it. I found it helpful to sandwich the biscuit between sheets of wax paper, and also to do one biscuit at a time - when I rolled out all of the biscuits, by the time I started filling them they reverted back to their tiny normal shape. I even tried "tossing" the biscuits like pizza dough to stretch it out further. Place 1/3 cup of mixture onto the flattened biscuit.

Ugh, I need a manicure. Anyway, start pinching together the ends of the biscuit into a calzone shape. This was kind of a giant pain in the butt, but it got easier with practice.

Then, use a fork to go around the edges to press down and seal again.

Why do my fingers look so pink? Ew. Ahem. Dip the Hot Pocket into egg, then bread crumbs and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

The final product. I let mine cool, taste tested one of them - it was yummy! Lightyears better than the storebought ones - then put the remainder in a freezer ziploc bag to take to work for lunchies. You can pop these directly from the freezer into the microwave for about a minute and 30 seconds,  or until the middle is molten lava.


Chicken Hot Pockets

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash pepper

1/2 cup milk

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 1/4 cups (5 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup (4 oz.) chopped or sliced drained mushrooms

1 (16.3-oz.) can Pillsbury® Grands!® Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 cups cornflakes, crushed (I used a cup of Italian breadcrumbs instead)

Heat oven to 375°F. In medium saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Add milk all at once. Cook about 1 minute until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken, cheese and mushrooms; set aside.

Separate biscuit dough into 8 biscuits. Roll or pat each into 5-inch circle. Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on each biscuit circle. Wrap dough around chicken mixture, pressing edges to seal.

Dip rolls in egg, then coat with crushed cornflakes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F. for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Source: Pillsbury

Crispy Baked Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce

New policy here on Diet Starts Monday!: when a recipe is a bust, I'm not posting the step-by-step pics. I figure, what's the point, right?

Well kids, we're putting this policy into action today. I know, how convenient. I found a recipe online for the most delicious looking, faux-fried, chicken yummy perfection with a homemade teriyaki dipping sauce and started drooling. It looked like chicken katsu, one my favorite entrees from Hawaiian restaurants where the chicken is deep fried. Japanese restaurants also make something similar, but with pork. Mmmmm deep fried pork. Check it out the recipe here for yourself, why don't you? It's ok, I'll wait.

Doesn't that look just delish? Well, compare her glorious chicken with my hot mess above, and you have why this recipe was a bust. My chicken did not brown up at ALL, it was seriously was pale and scary in person. Maybe it's my oven? I considered putting it under the broiler to brown it up, but the broiler scares me (what?!? It gets too hot! Yes, I know that's the point).

The teriyaki sauce was good, but in my opinion, not really worth the effort to make at home when a good quality bottled sauce will do just fine. Here's the recipe below, if anyone else wants to give it a whirl.

Crispy Baked Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce

For the sauce:
3 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tbsp. sake
3 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. mirin
For the chicken:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 large eggs
1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2-3)
Nonstick cooking spray


To make the sauce, combine the soy sauce, orange juice, sake, sugar and mirin in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 6 minutes, until slightly thickened.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 475˚ F.  In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  In a second bowl, lightly beat the eggs together.  Place the panko in a third shallow bowl or pie plate.  Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Butterfly the chicken breasts into halves so that you have 4-6 pieces total.  Lightly season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  Using tongs and working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture to coat both sides.  Shake lightly to remove any excess.  Then dip into the eggs and shake gently to remove any excess.  Finally place in the panko, turning to coat well.  Transfer to the prepared wire rack.  Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.  Once all the chicken pieces are in place, spray lightly with cooking spray.

Bake for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the bread crumbs are golden.  Let rest a few minutes before slicing and serving.  Serve with the teriyaki dipping sauce.

Source: Annie's Eats

Greek Chicken Orzo Skillet

Remember a million years ago when I made a crap ton of chicken and froze it into different meals (AKA power cooking)? Well, I finally tried one of them. I was scared, I admit it. But it actually came out ok! It's not the epitome of haute cuisine by any means, but definitely better than any other store bought frozen microwaved dinner shenanigans (although I don't know how Weight Watchers does it, but their Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti is delicious, cheesy, yet low in points heaven - get on it).

Also, Pampered Chef wasn't joking when they said this would make 6 servings - it's 6 large servings, and to be honest with you, I was sick of it after eating it for the third meal in a row. But I also get sick of foods very quickly. Unlike my dear friend Nicole, God love her, who ate the same Chicken Tikka Masala from the same Indian place everyday for a month straight while we were studying for the California Bar Exam. She passed; I didn't. Maybe there was something in the curry.

But I digress - to rehash, here's the recipe from my previous post:

Greek Chicken Orzo Skillet

To prepare and freeze:
1 portion Make-Ahead Chicken
2 medium zucchini, cut into ¼-in. pieces
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 oz) garlic and onion flavored diced tomatoes
3 tbsp Greek Rub (substitute with lemon zest, dried oregano, and pepper)
To finish and serve:
2 cans (14 oz each) chicken broth
½ cup water
1 lb uncooked orzo
2 oz crumbled feta cheese
½ cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives (optional)
1. Prepare and freeze

In Bag 1, combine chicken and zucchini.

In Bag 2, combine beans, tomatoes and rub.

Seal Bag 2 and place into Bag 1; seal. Freeze for up to three months.


2. Finish and serve!

To cook and serve from freezer:

Add contents of Bag 2, broth and water to (12-in.) Skillet; cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook 8-10 minutes or until mixture comes to a simmer, breaking contents apart as necessary using Bamboo Spatula.
Reduce heat to medium; add orzo. Cover and cook 5 minutes (or halfway through cooking time, according to package directions), stirring occasionally.

Add contents of Bag 1. Cover and cook 5-7 minutes or until orzo is tender and zucchini begins to soften. Remove from heat; top with feta cheese. Sprinkle with olives, if desired.

So let's begin, shall we?

The ingredients: my bag of frozen stuff (as prepared earlier), chicken broth, orzo, feta, olives (not pictured - they're shy).

Add the frozen hunk of bag 2 to some water and chicken broth, cover, and bring to a simmer. It looks kinda sketchy right now. I was nervous.

But then it all melts and looks like this - soup! Reduce heat and dump in the entire box of orzo, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Now, add the other bag, cover, and cook for 5-7 more minutes.

And voila...this is starting to look pretty edible, amirite people? At this point I did a taste test and it was a little bland, so I added some salt and pepper to taste.

Now sprinkle on the feta and olives, and serve.

Power Cooking (huh?)

In my spare time, I like to scour the internetz for interesting recipes and blogs about food. I should probably be using said spare time to work out...or clean...or anything remotely productive. But alas. Anyhoo, I found some websites about something called "power cooking". I had never heard of such a thing, and apparently, it's NOT a euphemism for using the microwave (or anything else for that matter - get your mind out of the gutter! Oh wait, maybe that's just me).

So power cooking is basically cooking and freezing multiple meals in one fell swoop, saving you time on a weeknight because you can literally pull a bag from the freezer, heat it up, and have dinner. Or if you're me, saving you from getting Mickey D's because you're being lazy and want to watch a marathon of "16 and Pregnant" on MTV after work with a glass of wine.

I found some recipes from Pampered Chef for using either boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, which happened to be on sale at the grocery store and thought I'd give these shenanigans a whirl. Come along with me on my scary frozen meal journey!

Here's the ingredients - it looks like a lot, but again, this will make five dinners (of six servings each)...so 30 meals total.

You start with cooking some chopped chicken breast in oil on the stove, one pound of chicken per recipe (the recipes below are for three pounds of chicken, which makes three recipes). I'm fully committing to this - so I'm making all five recipes, which means cooking 5 pounds of chicken.

Then get out your freezer bags and permanent markers and start labeling! I included the recipe name, the items that need to be added at the time of serving, and the date.

Now you can start filling the bags with the ingredients (listed in the recipes below). Evenly distribute the chicken in the five bags, seal, and mix. Place the bags laying flat in your freezer and you are done!

A printable pdf of the recipes listed below from Pampered Chef can be found here, and probably will make more sense than my never ending list. I will be updating with future blog posts when I actually sit down and eat some of this stuff - cross your fingers it's edible!

Make Ahead Chicken
3 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs (or 1 lb per recipe - I'm trying all 5 recipes, so I made 5 lbs of chicken)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1. Cut chicken into ½-in. cubes using Chef's Knife.
2. Heat oil in (12-in.) Skillet over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add chicken and cook 7-10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Drain chicken, if necessary.
3. Divide chicken into three portions.  

Stir Fry Chicken  
To prepare and freeze
1 portion Make-Ahead Chicken
1 cup frozen shelled edamame (soybeans)
2/3 cup prepared stir-fry sauce
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips
3 cups small broccoli florets
2 tbsp Asian Seasoning Mix (this is a Pampered Chef product that I don't own - you can instead substitute: one 1 inch piece of fresh finely grated ginger, 2 minced garlic cloves, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper)

To finish and serve
1 tsp vegetable oil
½ cup water
6 cups hot cooked rice
Sliced green onions and coarsely chopped peanuts (optional)

1. Prepare and freeze
In Bag 1, combine chicken, edamame and stir-fry sauce.
In Bag 2, combine carrots, broccoli and seasoning mix.
Seal Bag 2 and place into Bag 1; seal. Freeze for up to three months.

2. Finish and serve!
To cook and serve immediately :
Heat oil in (12-in.) Skillet over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add contents of Bag 2. Cook 3-5 minutes or until broccoli is slightly tender.
Add contents of Bag 1. Cook 3-5 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender and chicken is hot.
Serve stir-fry with rice. If desired, garnish with sliced green onions and coarsely chopped peanuts.

To cook and serve from freezer :
Omit oil. Add contents of Bag 2 and water to (12-in.) Skillet; cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
Add contents of Bag 1 to Skillet; cover. Cook 4-6 minutes or until mixture is heated through and vegetables are crisp-tender, breaking chicken apart as necessary using Bamboo Spatula.
Serve as directed above.
Yield: 6 servings


Dijon Chicken Noodle Toss
To prepare and freeze
1 portion Make-Ahead Chicken
2 cups frozen peas
¼ lb deli ham, diced into ¼-in. pieces
1 can (10¾ oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 tbsp Dijon mustard


To finish and serve
12 oz uncooked rotini pasta
½ cup water
8 oz sour cream
1 oz grated fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)
¼ cup snipped fresh parsley

1. Prepare and freeze
In Bag 1, combine chicken and peas.
In Bag 2, combine ham, soup and mustard.
Seal Bag 2 and place into Bag 1; seal. Freeze for up to three months.

2. Finish and serve!
To cook and serve immediately:
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
Meanwhile, place water and contents of Bag 2 in (12-in.) Skillet; cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Add sour cream to Skillet. Reduce heat to medium; add contents of Bag 1. Cover and cook 4-6 minutes or until chicken is hot, stirring occasionally.
Toss cooked pasta with parsley. Spoon chicken mixture over pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

To cook and serve from freezer:
Cook and drain pasta as directed above.
Meanwhile, place water and contents of Bag 2 in (12-in.) Skillet; cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking
contents apart as necessary using Bamboo Spatula.
Proceed as directed above.
Yield: 6 servings


Greek Chicken Orzo Skillet
To prepare and freeze
1 portion Make-Ahead Chicken
2 medium zucchini, cut into ¼-in. pieces
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 oz) garlic and onion flavored diced tomatoes
3 tbsp Greek Rub (substitute with lemon zest, dried oregano, and pepper)

To finish and serve
2 cans (14 oz each) chicken broth
½ cup water
1 lb uncooked orzo
2 oz crumbled feta cheese
½ cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives (optional)

1. Prepare and freeze
In Bag 1, combine chicken and zucchini.
In Bag 2, combine beans, tomatoes and rub.
Seal Bag 2 and place into Bag 1; seal. Freeze for up to three months.

2. Finish and serve!
To cook and serve immediately:
Add contents of Bag 2, broth and water to (12-in.) Skillet; cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to medium; add orzo. Cover and cook 5 minutes (or halfway through cooking time, according to package directions), stirring occasionally.
Add contents of Bag 1. Cover and cook 5-7 minutes or until orzo is tender and zucchini begins to soften. Remove from heat; top with feta cheese. Sprinkle with
olives, if desired.

To cook and serve from freezer:
Add contents of Bag 2, broth and water to (12-in.) Skillet; cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook 8-10 minutes or until mixture comes to a simmer, breaking
contents apart as necessary using Bamboo Spatula.
Proceed as directed above.
Yield: 6 servings


Smoky Black Bean Chicken Wraps
To prepare and freeze
1 portion Make-Ahead Chicken
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp Smoky Barbecue Rub, divided
2 cups cooked rice

To finish and serve
½ cup water
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
6 11-in. flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and barbecue sauce or Louisiana hot sauce (optional)

1. Prepare and freeze
In Bag 1, combine chicken, beans and 2 tbsp of the rub.
In Bag 2, combine rice and remaining 1 tbsp rub.
Seal Bag 2 and place into Bag 1; seal. Freeze for up to three months.

2. Finish and serve!
To cook and serve immediately:
Omit water. Place contents of Bags 1 and 2 into (12-in.) Skillet. Cook over medium-high heat 3-5 minutes or until chicken is heated through.
To assemble wraps, divide cheese evenly among tortillas; top with chicken mixture and optional ingredients, if desired.
Roll up tortillas tightly. Cut wraps in half on a bias
and serve.

To cook and serve from freezer:
Add contents of Bag 1 and water to (12-in.) Skillet; cover. Cook over medium-high heat 6-8 minutes or until hot, breaking chicken apart as necessary using Bamboo Spatula.
Add contents of Bag 2 to Skillet; cook 4-6 minutes or
until mixture is heated through.
Assemble wraps as directed above.
Yield: 6 servings


Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup
To prepare and freeze
1 portion Make-Ahead Chicken
3 cups tortilla chips, finely crushed
2 cups frozen corn kernels
8 oz pasteurized process cheese spread, cut into 1-in. cubes
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 tbsp Chipotle Rub (2-3 tbsp chopped, canned chipotle peppers can be substituted for the Chipotle Rub)

To finish and serve
2 cans (14 oz each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
Optional toppings, such as shredded cheddar cheese, snipped fresh cilantro, diced tomatoes and additional crushed tortilla chips

1. Prepare and freeze
In Bag 1, combine chicken, chips and corn.
In Bag 2, combine cheese spread, tomatoes and rub.
Seal Bag 2 and place into Bag 1; seal. Freeze for up to three months.

2. Finish and serve!
To cook and serve immediately:
Add contents of Bag 2 and broth to (4-qt.) Casserole.
Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook 12-14 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally.
Add contents of Bag 1 to Casserole; simmer 4-6 minutes or until soup is thickened.
Serve soup with optional toppings, if desired.

To cook and serve from freezer:
Cook contents of Bag 2 and broth as directed above, whisking occasionally using Silicone Sauce Whisk.
Add contents of Bag 1 and cook as directed above, breaking chicken apart as necessary using Bamboo Spatula.
Serve soup with optional toppings, if desired.
Yield: 6 servings

Grilled Chicken Skewers and Asian Noodle Salad

One of my favorite websites to find recipes is The Pioneer Woman - I'm not sure how I stumbled across it, but I am very happy I did! I had saved a recipe for a cold Asian "pasta salad", and was waiting until I had all of the insane amounts of veggies it called for to give it a whirl. Here's a link to the recipe on the Pioneer Woman site - she explains the steps and has way prettier photos that give my pics an inferiority complex.

I halved (halfed? halved.) the salad ingredients, and kept the dressing amount the same. I used half of the dressing to marinate chicken, then had Mike skewer the chicken and grill it (that's what she said....?).

Here's the finished salad - even with half the recipe it still filled a huge serving bowl (I would guess 5-6 servings). Everything came out well, but fair warning: I had to make trips to two different grocery stores to get all of the ingredients, and was chopping like a maniac for hot minute. I'm of the opinion that the noodles and dressing are what "makes" this recipe - you could probably sub in any veggies you have on hand. But hey - I got in my five servings of fruits and veggies right? I'm super healthy right now! Take no notice of the oil in the dressing! Ahem...

Please note: I seriously considering making a themed dinner in honor of tonight's "Jersey Shore" premiere. Lasagna....pickles....and tequila shots?

Ed. note: This noodle salad does NOT make for good leftovers. It got super watery and turned almost into soup - I think it's due to all the veggies, especially the cucumbers. Mushy cashews are not cool. If you're going to follow the recipe as is, eat it immediately. I'm guessing if a lot of the veggies were omitted (or replaced with less "watery" veggies  - I'm thinking whole snap peas and broccoli) it would hold up better in the fridge.

Mom's Mushroom and Chardonnay Chicken (AKA "Second Date Chicken")

This is the first of many recipes I have "borrowed" (stolen? pilfered? inherited? Yes, let's go with "inherited") from my Mom, the best home cook ever. She has an affinity for certain ingredients; namely boneless skinless chicken breasts, pesto, garlic salt, pastas and rice of all sorts, and pine nuts. She's strange. I'm also strange. But that's neither here nor there. Anyhoo, this recipe is a riff on a basic chicken piccata, and is deceptively easy.  I made this dish for Mike on our second date, and now we're married. I'm not making any promises, ladies! Just sayin', is all. ;)

The ingredients...don't mind the bottled lemon juice and pre-chopped garlic. Yes, Anthony Bourdain would probably sneer, but whatever, I'm all about saving time people! The chicken is missing but um, let's be honest - raw chicken kinda looks grody.

Heat the oil, and carefully place the breaded chicken breasts in the pan.

Once they start getting brown, flip them.

Let them brown up on the other side...

...then remove to a plate.

Drain the oil. Don't worry if there is still some nasty breading bits in there - it adds flavor!

Pour in the lemon juice and wine (don't freak out if it steams and bubbles like crazy), add the mushrooms and garlic. Taste the sauce - it may need a little salt.

Place the chicken in top, add the capers, and simmer covered over low heat until mushrooms are cooked.

Mom's Mushroom and Chardonnay Chicken

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup white wine, preferably Chardonnay
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced garlic
oil
2 tablespoons capers, drained

Cut chicken breasts in half, lengthwise, to end up with double the amount of chicken breast pieces (this is easier to do if chicken is semi-frozen). Chicken should be 1/2" thick - if needed, cover with plastic wrap and pound with a rolling pin or mallet to make chicken breasts thinner.

In a large skillet, add 1/4" of oil and heat on medium high. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Toss dry ingredients with chicken breasts until well coated. Add chicken and pan fry until golden brown.

Drain the oil, add the wine, lemon juice, mushrooms, and garlic. Simmer on low heat, covered, until mushrooms are cooked. Garnish with capers.

Note: I like to serve with either steamed broccoli or asparagus, and chicken flavored Rice a Roni. That's right, I said Rice a Roni - it's the San Francisco treat! Besides - here's a tip - add an extra 1/2 cup of regular uncooked long grain rice, and an extra cup of water to the Rice a Roni. Cook as directed and pretend it's your own rice creation.