A New Favourite Recipe

Over the years I've collected quite a few 'chickens'. As a matter of fact, I posted of photo of some of my collection on another site I think. Today, however, I want to begin by posting another of my favourite recipes - this one I found on the internet and have only been using a couple of years. I've used it to go in  salads, with leftover vegetables and pasta and in a chicken cobbler recipe that I'll post next week.

     Moist Tender Chicken Breasts

     Ingredients:
     1 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
      salt and freshly ground black pepper
     1/4 cup flour
     1 teaspoon freshly chopped herbs (optional)
     olive oil
     1/2 tablespoon butter

     Equipment:
     10-inch sauté pan with lid

     Instructions:
1.  Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness with the handle or flat part of a knife.
2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breasts. 
3. Mix about 1/2 teaspoon salt in with the flour along with a little pepper. Chop the herbs finely if using and mix in as well. Here I omit the salt completely and substitute Mrs. Dash for the herbs.
 4. Quickly dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, so they are just lightly dusted with flour.
5. Heat the sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the olive oil and butter. Let them melt and swirl the pan.
6. Turn the heat to medium. Add the chicken breasts and cook just about a minute to get one side just a little golden (You are not actually searing or browning them). Then flip each chicken breast over.
7. Turn the heat to low. Put the lid on the pan. Set the timer for 10 minutes and walk away. Do not lift the lid; do not peek.
8. After 10 minutes have elapsed, turn off the heat. Reset the timer for 10 minutes and leave chicken breasts in the pan. Again, do not lift the lid; do not peek.
9. After the 10 minutes are up, take the lid off. You have soft, tender, juicy chicken breasts that aren't dried out in the least. Double check them to make sure there is no pink in the middle. Slice and eat. 

The first time I made this, I discovered that the recipe calls for way too much salt for my liking, so if you're careful about your salt intake, I advise you to reduce the amount you use. Other than that, the recipe is a keeper for me.

 I just realized today marks the anniversary of the failed military coup d´etat of 1981. The Spanish monarchy have become less and less popular over the years, and I have to admit with a lot of reason. One of the reasons for supporting the King is the role that he played or didn't play in the attempted takeover. I also liked it when the then President of Spain Rodriguez Zapatero was speaking and Chavez was speaking over top of him. The King angrily asked Chavez why he didn't shut up. That's the only rude thing I think I've ever heard the King say.

We've finally got a day of nothing but sunshine after so many grey days. The only problem without cloud cover is it'll get colder tonight. I have quite a few things to do still so won't have time to go out this afternoon for a walk. I have some friends with birthdays coming up and want to start making them some presents. One of the things I want to make up is a relaxing bath soak for which I ordered some lavender essential oils from France through Amazon. When the parcel came, there was a flower drawn on it and a muchas gracias message next to the flower. When I opened the parcel, I found an extra bottle of citrus essential oils. How nice of them! This company got a good rating from me.

I'm newsless this week. My weekend is slowly slipping away. The one good piece of news I can mention is a law has been passed making it illegal for telemarketers to call before 9 a.m. and after 9 p.m. on week days and at the weekends and holidays at no time. The problem is the telemarketers calling from outside Spain. The other day, someone called from a mobile phone. I usually answer these calls even when I don't recognize the number (cell phones in Spain always begin with 6). It was someone trying to convince me to have a shower stall put in. When I want work done, I'll find the right person and not trust someone with just a mobile number.

Hope everyone has got some pleasant weather. Have a good week.