My very first foodie post!

I'm excited! It's my very first recipe post. I got all giddy while cooking dinner last night so I (with the help of mi Madre) took pictures while cooking. Can't promise I'm going to be able to do that all the time.

Some of you may know that at our house we have dinner nights. I'm responsible for cooking dinner on Mondays and Tuesdays. Tasha and Kris handle two nights a week as well and then mi Madre does Sunday dinner. The arrangement works to save both time and money. It totally works for me and it allows for me to do more on the two nights I'm responsible for since I know I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the week.

Last nights dinner was oven "fried" chicken strips and potato spinach casserole with a side of honey mustard dipping sauce. YUM! Right? It was a hit! I wanted to try something new and we had everything at home already so I didn't have to go shopping. SCORE! It was so easy too! You can find instructions below. I should probably mention that I made enough to feed about 15 people. You many want to downsize the recipe a little if you don't have such a big group to feed. Enjoy!

Oven Fried Chicken Strips
1 6lb bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips. You can decide how thick/thin you like them.
3 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
salt/pepper to taste
splash of hot sauce
1 big box of crushed corn flakes

Mix everything EXCEPT for the corn flakes in a big bowl until it's all combined. Throw your chicken in and cover with the sour cream mix completely. I apologize for the lighting in this picture, I'm obviously not the greatest photographer. LOLWhile the chicken is "marinating" in the sour cream mix, go ahead an smash those corn flakes! Grind them down as much as you can. I had a little help. ;-)
Now that your corn flakes are crushed dip each piece of chicken into the corn flakes individually just like you would do with "Shake and Bake". Once they are fully coated lay them onto the bottom of a foiled pan or an aluminum tray.Bake at 400 degrees uncovered for 30-40 minutes depending on how thick you cut your pieces. They'll come out crunchy and golden brown.

Now for those potatoes. They were pretty yummy! Of course my kids caught the first glimpse of them and immediately thought it was lu. I had to tell them that it wasn't their FAVE Tongan dish and then convince them to try it anyway. Wasn't happening. BUT everyone else liked it!

Here's what you need -
6 potatoes
1 cup of shredded cheese
1 block of frozen chopped spinach
1 cup of sour cream
2 cups of milk
1 tablespoon of garlic (I LOVE GARLIC!)
Salt/pepper to taste (about a teaspoon of each)
Bacon (optional)

Peel and slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick pieces. I had help with this part too.In a separate bowl mix sour cream, milk, garlic, salt and pepper to create your "drizzle". Once your spinach is thawed (I put it in hot water then squeezed out the liquid) you're ready to assemble.

I baked mine in an aluminum pan but you can use any baking dish you like. First layer the potatoes on the bottom of the pan then add a layer of spinach. Go back and forth between spinach and potatoes until the pan is half full. I snuck in a layer or two of cheese as well. At the half way point, pour half of the sour cream/milk sauce over the entire pan. Go back and repeat layering until the entire pan is full then top with bacon. Finish off with the rest of the sour cream sauce.Then top it off with cheese.Bake at 400 (I put the potatoes on the bottom rack while the chicken was on the top) for about an hour covered with foil. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until fork tender.It kinda does look a little like lu doesn't it?

Now for that honey mustard sauce. THAT was the highlight of last nights dinner believe it or not! And it was the easiest to make. Funny how things work out that way. Here are the ingredients and directions. I will definitely be making this again soon.

1 cup of mayo
1/4 cup of yellow mustard
1/4 of honey (or as much as your heart desires really!)
splash of lemon juice
Simply throw it in a bowl and mix it all together!You can change it however you like. Our house happens to like it sweeter so I add a little more honey to counter the "mustardy" taste. Do what you like!

ENJOY!!!!!!