Savory Baked Chicken and Potatoes

This was a super easy dish to make and I loved the kick the mustard gave to everything. Quite a bit of mustard is used so if you don't love mustard this is not the recipe for you! All you mustard lovers read on!!

First things first, preparing the chicken with the mustard by brushing each side with enough Dijon to coat it and then placing it in the Bisquick mix.

Once that is done place the chicken in a pan with cooking spray coating the bottom. Place the chicken in the corners of the pan to leave room for the veggies and potatoes. Place your bell peppers, I used all three colors, red potatoes and red onion in the middle of the pan and coat with Dijon Mustard. Then spray cooking spray over everything so the veggies don't burn. Lastly, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top of everything.

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. You will have a tangy yummy chicken and potatoes dish that is filling and delicious!!

I loved the underlying flavor of the mustard and the red onion, it gave the potatoes and chicken the most fantastic flavor! And the best part is it was easy and QUICK! This goes into the vault as a will make again recipe! See below for the recipe!



4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup Dijon mustard (NOTE: I used almost a whole 8oz jar...WAY more than they called for)

3/4 cup Bisquick mix

1 1/2 lb small red potatoes, cut into fourths

1 medium bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 medium red onion, cut into 16 wedges

cooking spray

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon paprika


Heat over to 400 degrees. Spray 15x10x1 inch pan with cooking spray. Brush chicken with 2 tablespoons of the mustard, then coat with Bisquick mix. Place 1 chicken breast in each corner of the pan. Place potatoes, bell pepper, and onion in center of pan; brush vegetables with remaining 2 tablespoons of the mustard. Spray chicken and vegetables with cooking spray; sprinkle with cheese and paprika. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes, stirring vegetables after 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender and the juice of the chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut.

My Review of Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy

I started reading this book while staying at a cabin on Orcas Island on vacation. It was rainy and cold outside and I was bored so I picked up a book on the shelf and started reading. I immediately fell in love with the characters and actually got really far into the book. I liked it so much I actually considered taking the book with me when I left but opted for just writing the name down instead. I bought the book and then ended up getting it on my Kindle.
The book takes place in England during World War II and the main character is Elizabeth who is a very shy uncertain girl. Her parents want to get her away from the war so they send her to Ireland to live with her mothers childhood friend. The Irish family is loud and boisterous and large whereas Elizabeth comes from a family where she is the only child and her parents dont really like each other. Elizabeth learns to come out of her shell and makes a friend for life in Aisling who is the same age as her. The two grow close even when the war is over and Elizabeth goes home. The friends go through different experience although they share the same man and still stay as close as ever.
I have to say I didnt like the ending of the book. It got very strange. The beginnng of the book was about family and closeness and in the end Elizabeth isnt the person you think she is through the whole book. I was not excited about the ending at all.
I think the thing I didnt like the most was the book didnt make me think. I didnt put myself in the characters place and think..."what would I do in this situation" and I dont like that.
Over all though, very well written. Loved the characters, at least till the end. I would recommend it.

Peppered Pork In Tangy Mushroom Sauce

I found this recipe by accident while madly searching for something to make for dinner this evening. I honestly picked this because I liked the way the picture looked. Ha ha! Lucky for me this meal turned out so good!! I am adding this to the recipe box!

I changed this recipe up a little since I already had pork chops in my freezer I used them instead of pork tenderloin and the recipe calls for "mixed pepper seasoning" which I wasnt quite sure what that was so I used a mixture of regular black pepper, garlic pepper and cajun seasoning. I have to say Im quite happy with my changes!

I made this dish with fresh green beans and mashed potatos. For those of you who arent cooking experts....start your potato water FIRST. Otherwise your potatos wont be soft and ready for mashing and all your other food will be done!! I know this from experience. :)

So, while my potato water was boiling I put all my seasonings on my pork chops and rubbed them into the meat. Sort of made a custom salt rub type thing.

I got all the rest of my ingredients out so that they were easy to grab. This really does help especially when you are bringing your ingredients to a boil and need to add things quickly!

Once I had everything organized to my liking and my potatoes boiling away I added my veggie oil to my skillet and got that ready for the pork chops. Once the oil was heated on medium-high heat I got my pork chops a cookin!

I cooked these about 5 minutes only flipping them once. While those were cooking I got the sauce ready bu adding my chicken broth and flour together in a small bowl.

Once that 5 minutes is up for the porkchops I dumped in the sauce along with the balsamic vinegar, rosemary and mushrooms.

At this point everything started to smell so amazing!!!! The recipe says to bring to a boil and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. I cooked for 10 and had to cook for an additional 10 for the pork chops to not be pink on the inside. Once that was done cooking I served up the plates making sure to pour the sauce over the mushrooms and pork chops. YUM!

It was DELICIOUS!!!!! The sauce was so good! I will be making this for years to come!!!! See below to get the recipe!




1 pork tenderloin (1 to 1/4 lb)

1 tsp mixed pepper seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 cup chicken broth

2 tblspn flour

2 tblspn balsamic vinegar

2 tsp dried rosemary leaves, crumbled

1 package (8 oz) fresh whole mushrooms


Cut pork into  four 4oz pieces. Between sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper, flatten pork pieces with meat mallet to 4x3 1/2 inches in diameter, less than 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle both sides of pork medallions with mixed pepper seasoning and salt; press in seasonings. In 12-inch non stick skillet, heat oil over medium -high heat. Add pork; cook about 5 minutes, turning once, until browned. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix broth and flour until smooth. Add broth mixture and remaining ingredients to skillet. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occansionally, until pork is no longer pink in center and mushrooms are tender.

Cheddar Potatoes

This recipe takes first place for New Recipe of the Year. This was a very spur the moment choice and I had no idea how it would turn out. Luckily for all involved it was SO yummy. I really want to make it every night for a month! Left-overs heated up in the microwave the next day were just as good as fresh out of the oven which is always important! I also love that the recipe is so quick and easy. It takes a little while to bake but doesn't take long at all to prepare!

To start you grab your ham, green beans and potatoes and throw them all in a 2 quart glass baking dish that has no stick spray on it.

In a separate bowl I combined the soup, milk and 1/2 of the shredded cheddar cheese. Now the recipe calls for nacho cheese soup (does anyone know what this is???) or cheddar broccoli soup. I couldn't find either of those at the Safeway by my house so I went ahead with Cheddar Soup...which until the other day I didn't know existed. I mixed all of the cheesy-ness together with a hand mixer and then poured it over the stuff already in my baking dish and mixed it so everything was coated.

I sprinkled the remaining cheese on top and then decided rather than have a layer on top I would rather have pockets of cheese throughout so I stirred it in with everything.

Now the next part of the recipe calls for butter and bread crumbs to be mixed and put on top of the dish. I did that and felt like it just wasn't enough and my boyfriend suggested using PikNik Shoestring Potatoes on top as well. If you aren't aware of PikNik's get in your car....drive to your local grocery store....and buy some IMMEDIATELY. They are the most amazing thing ever on baked casseroles.

Once that is all put together get ready to toss it in the oven! (Not literally of course)

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly.

WARNING: WILL SMELL POSITIVELY HEAVENLY WHILE COOKING....SO MUCH SO THAT YOU WILL WANT TO TAKE IT OUT EARLY AND EAT IT. I ASSURE YOU IT IS WORTH LETTING IT COOK THE ENTIRE TIME.

I let this cook for the entire time and it turned out perfect. So yummy and had the best ham flavor. My boyfriend and I both LOVED this dish and I will be making it all the time!! See the recipe below and make this soon!




1 pkg refrigerated potato wedges

1 cup cooked ham strips

1 (14.5oz) can green French Style beans, drained.

1 (10 3/4oz) can fiesta nacho cheese soup or cheesy broccoli soup

1/2 cup milk

4oz (1 cup) shredded cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 cup Progresso Plain Bread Crumbs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 quart glass baking dish with nonstick spray. Place potatoes, ham and green beans in sprayed baking dish. In small bowl, combine soup, milk and 1/2 cup of the cheese; mix well. Pour over mixture in baking dish; stir gently to mix. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. In small bowl, combine butter and bread crumbs; mix well. Sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until mixture is bubbly.