going green

An illustration today … one of Daddy’s magic grilling recipes and how it has evolved from kid to kid. We are down to only one kid who won’t eat lettuce. I keep trying to convince him that it’s OK, I mean it IS his favorite color! But this logic isn’t working on Capt. Kindergarten. When it comes to clothes, comforters and coloring pages, green rules. When it comes to mealtime, green’s for fools.

It wasn’t too long ago the second grader felt this way. Now he stretches his serving of lettuce over several helpings of chicken, but he
eats most of it and that’s all I can ask. I mean, a 7-year-old boy who isn’t afraid of salad! How can I complain?

Any chicken that survives the original onslaught (which is precious little lately!) is chopped up and parceled into an ice cube tray. I double wrap that with plastic wrap and foil and put in the freezer. One of my daughter’s favorite lunchbox lunches is “buf chic sal” (the abbreviation they see on the calendar!) with some buttered bread and a treat. A couple of cubes from the tray defrost nicely by lunchtime.

But they all started out above. None of them minded tomatoes or black olives. The older two like carrot sticks. The boys also like raw mushrooms. (Go figure!) So this is Capt. Kindergarten’s “salad,” which he swoops through a puddle of ranch. Here is my daughter’s plate, which I “over lettuced” this particular night … but that was only because she, too, had several helpings of chicken.

As I said before, Hubby has no recipes. But here is what we started with, which has evolved into the chicken he does on the grill that we serve over salad.

One other note … My grandma didn’t believe in buying bottled salad dressing when she could make it herself. When it comes to ranch and bleu cheese, I agree. The Hidden Valley packets are easy, as is Gram’s recipe for bleu cheese, which she and Mom taught me when I was about 10. After Gram died, I found it in her “treasure chest,” a yellow clipping from the Chicago Tribune. (Mrs. Drake won $5 for getting published!) I use the pre-crumbled cheese, of course, and leave out the water. Store this in a glass container. Plastic absorbs the aroma.

(Check out the new Pillsbury link in the sidebar!)

Grands! Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 16.3-oz. can refrigerated biscuits
1/3 to ½ cup hot pepper sauce (Hubby likes Crystal)
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. oil
½ cup bottled bleu cheese dressing
8 lettuce leaves

Flatten each chicken breast to about ½ inch by pounding between 2 sheets of waxed paper. In a 9x13 glass baking dish, combine hot sauce, garlic powder and pepper, blend well. Add chicken; turn to coat both sides. Refrigerate 20 minutes to marinate.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake biscuits as directed on can. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add chicken; cook 10 to 13 minutes or until light brown and internal juices of chicken run clear. (Or insert instant-read meat thermometer in thickest part of chicken. Temperature should read 170 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Split warm biscuits. Spread bottom half of each with 1 Tbsp. salad dressing. Top with chicken, lettuce and other half of biscuit. Refrigerate leftovers immediately.

Blue Cheese Dressing (about 2½ cups)
1 package (4 ounces) blue cheese
¼ cup hot water
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 cups sour cream

Break cheese into small pieces and blend with water until smooth and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until blended and smooth. Store in covered container in refrigerator until serving time. (Mrs. Gordon Drake, 1211 Marquette St., SW, Wyoming, Mich.)