Ms. Elaine Kneeous
Jennifer is a one in a million stay-at-home mom. (More like one OF a million stay at home moms!) She graduated from a liberal arts college but there is nothing liberal OR artsy about her. She is married to Kevin Fischer of This Just In, and together they have a beautiful toddler daughter Kyla Audrey. In no particular order she loves dogs, wine, a good bargain, her family, pizza, and entertaining. Follow her blog of all things miscellaneous including but not limited to cooking and baking, entertaining and party planning, being a mommy, and homekeeping.
How To Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Doesn’t it crack you up when you read a “recipe” that requires nothing but common sense? Have you ever seen how-to’s for grilled cheese, BLT, and spaghetti & meatballs that use pre-made meatballs and jarred sauce? Boggles the mind, doesn’t it? I’m not knocking them because I’ve found some yummy things there, but Taste of Home has plenty of reader submissions that fall in that category. I’m sure that while I haven’t seen it personally, someone submitted a “favorite” for boxed cake mix, canned frosting, and sprinkles.
But I digress.
Everyone has days of “I have no idea what to make for dinner.” You’re either out of ideas, out of energy, out of food or any combination thereof. One of these days I’m going to do a longer post with several recipes (yes, they do fall in the RECIPE category) that can come to your rescue when you face that dilemma.
In the meantime… the next time you’re stumped for supper, try this ridiculously easy dinner. (There are probably other versions of this floating around the ‘net but this is what my own little brain concocted.) Seriously, in the time it would take you to order a pizza from Greasy Hut, you can have real food and you don’t even have to put up with a Rachel Ray episode.
Chicken “Mexi-sagna”
What You Need
Four boneless, skinless chicken breasts (try to get uniform sized ones on the large side)
Taco seasoning or Southwest seasoning of your choice (I like Penzey’s
Vegetable oil, optional
One 16 oz. jar of your favorite salsa
4-5 slices Pepper Jack cheese (I used Sargento brand packaged slices and needed 1¼ slice for each piece of chicken. You could also get any kind of peppery cheese sliced from your deli.)
Packaged Spanish Style rice (I like this one.)
Corn (frozen, canned, your choice)
What You Do
Season/marinate your chicken ahead of time, if time allows. I use a bit of canola oil and then sprinkle on my seasonings. You could skip the oil and just shake on the seasonings but sometimes chicken can be dry.
Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 9X13 glass baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray.
Lay the chicken in the baking dish and spoon salsa over each piece. (I didn’t quite use the entire jar, but you could if you didn’t want a few spoonfuls left in your refrigerator.)
Top with cheese. You can cover with cooking sprayed foil for the first 15 minutes of baking, that’s what I do. I’m sure some people wouldn’t bother.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until chicken is done and cheese is fully melted.
About 5 minutes before your chicken is ready, heat the corn per your favorite method. Heat the rice. (Personally I add a dollop of butter to the rice for a richer flavor and because it always seems a little dry to me.)
I’m no food photographer so you won’t get a picture of how lovely this looks when it’s plated. You’ll have to trust me on that. It’s a nice diversion from the usual chicken parmesan-style preparations and has just enough “kick” to wake up your taste buds.
Mangia! Or, Ole! Whatever.
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