True Confessions: Hooked On Dishes and A Food Post-Mortem

Yay, it's Friday! Bring on the weekend. But first, let me confess . . .
"My name is Cass, and I am a dishaholic."

I am also participating in Julia's "Hooked On" Friday blog party, at her absorbing Hooked On Houses blog. Click here!
And I've got a recipe, of sorts, for Gollum's Foodie Friday. No great pics, and one of the items is actually plucked from the trash, but -- well, see for yourself, and also see much much better food stories right here, at Designs By Gollum!

*******************************************

Dishes. I have a lot.
Witness the old walnut cupboard at the end of my kitchen:

Open the doors if you dare,

to find stacks and stacks of Christmas dishes, and

even Christmas flatware (wrapped in the yellow plastic).

There is very little upper cabinet storage in this kitchen. We plan to build open shelves on one wall, to hold much of this china clutter. It ain't pretty, and it should be.

I think there are 7 different patterns represented on these shelves.

In the dining room, the big pine breakfront does its bit for the cause:

There's that new Aynsley pattern I got at the hospital thrift shop:

And my oodles of Mikasa Far East; I confess I just got another service for 8 on Ebay for $25.

Wedgwood, rummage sale tea cups, and assorted glassware,

and underneath? Noooo.... don't look!

I warned you. Stuffed with white Thanksgiving china (embossed Della Robia type borders), and in the upper right corner, a stack of old Limoges plates with pink roses.

Look to the left of the Limoges -- clear fish platters!

Mikasa Ribbon Pink behind a side door:

The rest of it is tucked behind the Christmas dishes in the old walnut kitchen cupboard!

Across the dining room, my grandmother's china cabinet, a hodgepodge of bits and pieces, including. . .

yes! More of that old Limoges -- some plates, and bouillon cups!

A small stack of Far East dinner plates rests on the sideboard,
waiting to be tucked away in the breakfront:

We used those plates several nights ago, when we had a dinner guest on a night I did not feel like cooking. So I took an easy way out. No, not takeout food, but the next best thing:

Baked Salsa Chicken

Never heard of it? Neither had I, till I made it up a few months ago.
It's a foolproof chicken dish that cooks up easily -- my kind of everyday meal.

I don't have a picture of the finished item, but I can show you what we used.
Literally, what we used. I didn't take pictures of the cooking either, but I have evidence that I can show you.

You need chicken. I find that frozen boneless, skinless breasts or tenderloins work best. Here's the remains of the package I used, from Target of all places, and still in my freezer:

And you will need. . . Salsa. Thank goodness we recycle.
Using my best forensic investigator skills, I found this in the bin:

We use the Mild, but you can kick it up.

And you can use this:

Shredded cheese. We use sharp cheddar or a Tex-Mex mix,
but it's not critical what cheese you use, or even if you use it.

Method: Preheat your oven to 450-degrees.

Spray the bottom of a shallow baking pan with cooking spray, and add a very thin layer of salsa. Plop in the frozen chicken, in a single layer.

Dump on the rest of the salsa, and smoosh it over the top of the frozen chicken. I used two small jars the other night, for a lot of chicken.

Cover the whole mess with foil, and pop into the hot oven. Set your timer for 45 minutes, and go walk your dog or read a good decorating magazine. Don't start drinking yet; you aren't done and will be playing with hot food.

When the timer dings, take off the foil, reset the oven for 350-degrees, and reset your timer for 30 minutes. You can take a long fork and wiggle the chicken around a little bit if you have an urge to feel needed.

When that timer dings, pull out the baking pan, stir up the salsa and chicken a bit, and then sprinkle on whatever cheese you want, as much as you want, and put back into the oven. When the cheese melts, you have dinner.

We served this with Spanish Rice, and roasted broccoli. The chicken was fork tender, and every bit was gobbled up. I overcooked the roasted broccoli almost to the point of burning it, and discovered that it is fabulous that way -- crunchy florets! Serendipity.

Dion DiPoochy says it was delicious. Well, at least it smelled delicious. He is asking someone to call the authorities to stop the abuse; why, why, why is it always dog food?

Have a lovely weekend! Howard and I are planning an early traffic-avoiding start and heading out to the family beach house tomorrow; we need to get it ready for the season! I'll take pictures -- Cass