Request Newsletter | Food Online Website | Submit Articles and News | Return To Main Page
| |
| |
|
Recipes Information |
|
|
|
The Perfect First Date Meal For The Culinary Illiterate
The Microwave Generation of the 1990's has now finished school and stands ready to step forward into the competitive marketplace. It goes without saying that the workplace is a fiercely competitive place but the marketplace most young adults (and, unfortunately, the newly divorced) have the most difficulty with is "formal" dating. Being a hardened veteran of the dating scene (I didn't marry until after forty), there are many "tricks of the trade" that I developed that always kept me a step ahead of my sports car driving, surgically built competitors who always were the center of attention as soon as they entered the room. So, when you find that special someone, step one is to make them feel special. There is an old adage that says, "The quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach" and how true it is. It is simplistic, but men love to be mothered and any woman willing to take the time to make a home cooked meal for him is going to rise on the "dating ladder." Men who cook, on the other hand, are elevated to the status of "Sensitive Man" and in most women's eyes "Sensitive Man" is a clear-cut winner in the long term competition with "Flashy Guy". So, the answer is a romantic dinner for two at your place but your cooking skills are limited to EasyMac or microwave popcorn. Don't panic! Below is a recipe that is simple and will make you look like you have been doing this for years. Don't overlook the obvious though. Clean up your apartment. Light some fresh smelling candles (you can get them at the drug store) or get some fragrance sprays. First impressions are everything and the proper aroma can set the tone for a romantic evening. Enjoy! Simple Chicken Pepperoni You will need: 1) A 10"x14" casserole dish (8"x8" will do in a pinch), 2) 2 cans (10 3/4 oz.) of Cream of Chicken Soup , 3) 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) of Campbell's Ranchero Tomato Soup , 4) 1 small package of sliced pepperoni , 5)1 package of dry onion soup mix , 6) 2 medium sized red peppers , 7) 1 medium sized green pepper , 8) 1 large Vidalia onion , 9) 4 BONELESS chicken breast (completely thawed, if necessary), 9) Corn oil Spray (Pam or the like), 10) A package of flavored rice (Lipton Side Rices are great but, don't go way out on a limb. Stick with Chicken flavor, Rice Pilaf or something along those lines) First rinse of your chicken and take a sharp knife and trim away anything that you wouldn't want to eat (fat etc.) and set aside. Next, take your three peppers (both red and green) and cut the top off of each, just below the stem. Discard the stems and slice each pepper down the middle from top to bottom. Take each pepper half and, using a standard table spoon, scrap out the seeds and the lighter colored portions of the interior of the peppers. Slice these peppers LENGTHWISE in 1/4" wide strips. When you are done, pile your peppers up, facing basically the same direction and chop across them, making them, each, 1/2 of their original length. Set aside. After that prepare your onion by slicing 1/4" off both the top and the bottom. Peel the outer skin of the onion off and then slice it WIDTHWISE into 4 or 5 equal portions (1/4" more or less). Lay these slices flat and slice the "circles" into 4 equal "triangles". Crumple these up a bit and set aside. In a bowl (large enough to hold three cans of soup), empty your two cans of Cream of Chicken soup, 1/2 of your can of Ranchero Tomato soup and 1/3 to 1/2 of your onion soup mix packet. Mix, with a large spoon, until the color is consistent. Set aside. After that, set your oven at 350 degrees and let it pre-heat. While your oven is pre-heating, spray the inside of your casserole dish with your corn oil spray, making sure that it is completely covered but not runny. At this stage, take your sliced pepperoni and cover the bottom of your casserole dish. The pepperoni pieces can overlap a bit but, basically lay out the pieces like tile, completely covering the bottom of the dish. Take your onions and peppers and evenly distribute them over the pepperoni. Pour half of your soup mixture over the top of the dish contents. Place your chicken breasts, flat and evenly spaced, over the vegetables. Pour the remaining soup mixture over the top of the chicken and cover the dish tightly with tin foil (with the smaller dish you may need to compress the mixture a bit). Place dish on the shelf closest to the middle of the oven and leave for at least two hours. NOTE-If your dish seems overly full, press the mixture down some and include a cookie sheet or tin foil under your dish in the oven! As the vegetables cook the mixture will "fit" the dish better. After your two hours is up, extract the dish and remove the tin foil and leave aside to cool for 15 minutes. While you are waiting, cook your rice according to package directions (these things are tough to mess up) and put the finished product in a nice serving bowl. Transport the food to the table, light some candles and wait for the complements! Bo Walker is the Webmaster for OnlineCountryStore.com, a site that celebrates life at home with informative articles and inexpensive home and garden accessories, gifts, kitchenware and discount furniture. For informative articles go to http://onlinecountrystore.com/home_spun_solutions.html. For a wide product selection go to http://onlinecountrystore.com/index2.html. You may use this article as long as you leave the article as is (you do not have to include pictures), including the author information, and website link (http://www.onlinecountrystore.com). No additional permission from the author is needed but notification at vendorrelations@onlinecountrystore.com would be appreciated!
MORE RESOURCES:
Recipes - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Converting Recipes for Your Crockpot Crockpots vary but the low setting is typically around 100 degrees and its high setting is around 300 degrees.Knowing this, it is fairly easy to convert most recipes for use in your slow cooker. Cool Summer Gazpacho This refreshing tomato soup is a great cool meal for those hot summer days. If you don't like your food spicy, you can leave out the jalapenos, if you like it spicier, just add a few drops of your favorite hot sauce. A Victory Garden In the early nineteen forties,women shopped with ration stamps that limited the amount of groceries they bought in order to support the war effort. To supplement the their meager rations, they grew vegetable gardens in spare plots of land and also in their own back yards. Frugal Microwave Cooking Microwave cooking can save you time and energy all year long. But it is especially nice in summer because it enables you to cook hot meals without heating up your home. Juniors Cheesecake Juniors cheesecake restaurant was founded in 1950 by Harry Rosen, and named Juniors after his two sons, Walter and Marvin. Harry and Eigel Peterson, the master baker, hit upon the secret formula for Juniors cheesecake recipe and it has been part of the Rosen family for three generations. How to Easily Make Sourdough French Toast Like Cracker Barrel I got an idea one day when I was in a Cracker Barrel restaurant eating breakfast. They had sourdough French toast and it was the best French toast I'd had, so I wanted to re-create the recipe at home. Spanish Food - How To Prepare Boquerones Whilst on your travels in Spain and pausing to take a breath from site-seeing, you have surely experimented with "tapas" at a welcoming bar.If this is the case, it is more than likely that you have come across the small, tasty filleted fish, preserved in olive oil, sliced garlic and chopped parsley, and highly popular throughout Spain. All-Wheat Superb Rolls Note: The stone ground whole-wheat flour adds only 1.3 Teasps of flour to each roll (our of a total of 18 rolls). Cooking Roast Prime Rib on the Grill Love the taste of prime rib? Love the taste of barbecue? You can combine them together for cooking roast prime rib on the grill. It takes a bit longer than hamburgers, but cooking roast prime rib on the grill gives you a fabulous roast that everyone enjoys. Digging Up Earthnuts (Conopodium Majus) The custom of grubbing for Earthnuts, or Pignuts is as ancient as mankind itself. Although these tasty tubers are beloved of pigs (hence the name) they are a most unusual and rewarding woodland snack and there was a time when they were a popular nibble for country children on their way to and from school. Kalasan Fried Chicken (Indonesian Sweet Fried Chicken) Ingredients:4 pcs Big Red Chili (omit the seeds) 100 cc of coconut water 1 pc Tomato (Cut into 4 pcs) 2 pcs Shallots (1 pc cut into 2 pcs) 3 pcs of Salam leaves or bay leaves as a substitute 1 pc of Galangal (bruised) 1 pc of Brown Sugar 1 chicken (cut into smaller pieces)Method:Simmer chicken with coconut water, salt and all the ingredients until the water has almost evaporated and the chicken is tender. Drain and allow to cool. 5-Minute Strawberry Jam Nothing tastes better than fresh picked strawberries. For many people, making homemade jams and jellies conjures up memories of grandmother in the kitchen preparing bushels of fruit, stirring and straining, and sterilizing jars. Parmesan Crusted Sole with Lemon Beurre Blanc Sole/flounder is a refreshing sweet and mild flavored fish which allows it to be used in a variety of ways. With its long thin flesh, sole is often stuffed or used in other extravagant plate presentations. Weight Loss Recipe: Apricot Chicken Just because you are watching your weight, doesn't mean the whole family can't enjoy your health enhancing meals! The kids will love "Apricot Chicken" and you will love it because it is so low in calories and fat!Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It's a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food that your body needs and enjoys. Cinco de Mayo Recipe My ex reminded me last week that the holiday that "my people" celebrate was coming up.My people. Low Fat French Toast French toast was one of my favorite breakfast foods when I was little. Dieting can be hard, especially when you can not enjoy many of the foods that you love. Weight Loss Recipe: Veal Mango Just because you are watching your weight does not mean you can't prepare fantastic meals for company. "Veal Mango" is one of range of hunger fighting, low fat recipes that will assist you manage your weight. Weight Loss Recipe: Turkey Tomato Wrap Are you struggling to lose or maintain your weight? Then this recipe can help you along the journey. Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. Crab Stuffed Salmon with Lobster Sauce I served this dish at an event I catered and people are still talking about it a year later. The lobster base used in the sauce can be found at stores offering specialty foods or you can order it off the internet. Weight Loss Recipe: Whole Fish In Ginger Sauce Lean protein is your diet is essential to weight loss and weight maintenance. Fish is an excellent source of lean protein as it is lower in fat that red meats.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
