Cumberland Chicken

Exciting as it is to try brand new recipes, there is also a certain thrill to reviving old favorites. That’s what we did this Easter at the convent when we chose Cumberland Chicken for our Easter dinner.
This was something we served to guests and retreatants and at several events over many years, and having it on Sunday brought back many memories that provided much of the table conversation. It was like having an old friend among us again for this special day.

This recipe takes a plain chicken breast and transforms it into a buttery corn-crusted bundle of goodness that is enhanced with an unexpected sparkling red currant sauce. We served it with fresh
asparagus and a lovely medley of wild rice. It could not have been a more welcomed choice…a perfect springtime meal followed by many requests to please not wait so long to serve it again.

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Cumberland Chicken
SERVINGS
8people
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
people
COOK TIME
45-60minutes
PREP TIME
20minutes
READY IN
65-80minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle onion salt and pepper over the chicken breasts, dip in melted butter, roll in stuffing crumbs, and place in shallow pan.
  2. Bake approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and serve with Cumberland Sauce.
  3. Combine sauce ingredients until smooth, warming if necessary to melt the jelly.






 

Citrus Chicken Cutlets

Last week the Food Network pronounced chicken to be currently the most popular choice of meat, and kale the most popular vegetable. I was not surprised about the chicken. I was a little  surprised about the kale, but also delighted because we still have a vibrant crop of it in our garden….healthy and wholesome as ever having survived wind, sleet, rain and snow….just like the old fashioned US Postman of the past.

I think most cooks would agree that it’s wise to always have a supply of chicken on hand, especially boneless breasts. They have saved many a chef from disaster in a time of crisis or emergency.

My recipe is one I concocted on the spur of the moment when I was suddenly called on to produce an unscheduled and completely unexpected  meal in a very short period of time, using only what was on hand, and available from the freezer, fridge, and pantry.  To my surprise and delight it was a success that received many compliments, while no one eating it ever knew the circumstances under which it came to be.

Citrus Chicken Cutlets on a chiffonade of garlic-sautéed Kale

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Citrus Chicken Cutlets
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Brown chicken in butter and oil.
  2. Remove and set aside in warm oven.
  3. Add thinly sliced onion to pan of chicken drippings and simmer slightly.
  4. Remove onions and add to chicken.
  5. Next stir remaining ingredients into pan of chicken drippings and simmer all together into a sauce. Leave sauce in pan. Remove from heat.
  6. Cut kale into long thin strips and sauté in oil with garlic.
  7. Cover and simmer until tender, adding water as needed.. Add salt to taste.
  8. Place chicken and onion slices in pan of sauce heating thoroughly until chicken is completely cooked but still tender and juicy.
  9. Serve on top of kale, pouring pan sauce over all and garnishing as desired.

Summer Smoothie

What’s cool, fun, beautiful to look at, satisfying, refreshing, easy to eat, pleasing to young and old alike, simple to make, nutritious and delicious?

A smoothie of course! They have definitely established themselves in our normal everyday diet. No longer unusual as they originally were.

Recently a group of friends wanted to do a little something more than just give a gift to someone on their 60th birthday. This “someone”, having many friends and well wishes had already received a number of invitations to lunch, dinner, tea and coffee hours.  What would be an appropriate way to enhance the giving of their gift?  Aha!  A “smoothie break”.  Just right. Perfect in every way.

They knew their birthday girl loved fresh fruit so they arranged a beautiful basketful as a center piece. Then they blended up a tray full of assorted smoothies. For hers, they combined strawberries, bananas, mangoes and peaches, all her favorites.  It was a tremendous success!  She loved everything about it and made it very clear that it pleased her as much, if not more, than some of her more elaborate expressions of care.  What a rewarding experience for all.

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Summer Smoothie
SERVINGS
3cups
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
cups
COOK TIME
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READY IN

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Add ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.
  2. You will have to turn the blender on and off intermittently and stir to help the blending process.
  3. For variety: You can add any amount of yogurt, ice cream, mint, orange zest, honey or mint in any combination that you desire.
  4. Also fruit can be fresh if you prefer.

Buttery Orange Balsamic Beets

Sometimes the plain pure flavor of a food is so enjoyable in itself, I am reluctant to do anything to alter it.  This summer some of the beets we grew in our garden as well as some we purchased were so sweet and delicious on their own, we simply brushed them with a little olive oil, roasted them in the oven till tender and “watched them disappear.”

However this is not always the case.  When they are not so naturally perfect there are a variety of ways to enhance them, and one of the ways which many people find enjoyable is to turn them into what I call my Buttery Orange Balsamic Beets.

Simply add to your cooked beets these ingredients to the degree you wish.

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Buttery Orange Balsamic Beets
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Simply add to your cooked beets these ingredients to the degree you wish.