Easy but bland

Southwestern Chicken and Corn Dinner


Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour inside a large foil bag (like Reynolds Hot Bags or another brand).  Sprinkle 4 bone-in, skinless chicken breasts and 4 thighs with 2 teaspoons Mexican seasoning blend.  Arrange chicken and 3 ears fresh or frozen corn-on-the-cob (cut into pieces), 1 each medium red and green bell peppers (cut into 1-inch pieces) and 1 medium onion (cut into eighths) in an even layer inside bag.  Sprinkle 2 more teaspoons seasoning blend over vegetables.  Double-fold end of bag and place in 1-inch-deep pan.  Bake 50-55 minutes.  Open away from your face to allow steam to escape.

As the heading of this post suggests, this recipe was super easy (for the most part), but pretty bland.  I cut the recipe in half because it's just me and I don't need that much chicken.  I made my own foil bag because I couldn't find any in the grocery store and when I opened it up after cooking, there was quite a bit of water in the bottom.  This could have contributed to none of the seasoning sticking to vegetables.  I am wondering if I should have cut slits in the bag to let steam out.  Maybe that would have helped.  Here is what my bag looked like.

I used fresh corn on the cob and the only hard part to this recipe was cutting the corn into pieces.  Do you know how hard the middle of the cob is?!?  You practically need a chisel to get it to break.  Or maybe I just need sharper knives.  That was by far the most difficult and longest part of the prep work.  If any knows of an easier way to cut corn on the cob into pieces, please let me know.  As for the Mexican seasoning blend, could not find anything with that name in the grocery store so I bought Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning blend.  Since most of it probably dissolved in the water in the bag, I couldn't really tell you what it tasted like, but it smelled really good.  If anyone has any ideas on how this recipe could be improved, let me know.  It was easy and has potential.  

Linda, this one is for you!

Ravioli with Mushroom Sauce


1 lb. frozen cheese ravioli
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dry sherry or chicken broth

Cook ravioli according to package directions, adding carrots during last 2 minutes of cooking time.  Meanwhile, in skillet melt better over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms and scallions; cook until mushrooms begin to give off some liquid, about 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium.  Stir in flour and pepper; cook, stirring 1 minute.  Stir in broth, milk, and cheese.  Bring to a simmer.  Stir in sherry; cook until thickened, about 2 minutes.  Drain ravioli and carrots.  Gently toss with sauce to coat.

So, I haven't posted in a while.  Life has been little busy, so my apologies.  But I have been getting hassled by quite a few people about not having posted anything and since the latest has come all the way from Lincoln, Nebraska (and I'm on break from school), I decided I better get on it.  So Linda, since you were the last to ask about the blog, this recipe is for you!


If you like mushrooms, pasta, butter, and Parmesan cheese, then you need to make this.  Super easy and super tasty.  I used the chicken broth at the end instead of the sherry and I did not add any carrots because I'm just not a big carrot fan.  I added some extra Parmesan cheese on top at the end (because you can never have too much cheese).  Although I should have taken the picture first before adding the extra cheese so you could see the mushrooms. Oh well, you can make this yourself and see all the mushrooms you want.  Enjoy!