Dreamy, Creamy Chicken

Fast. Simple. And so good I forgot to take the picture before I had a few bites! The chicken is super moist and tender from finishing in the stock and the sauce is fabo! Thumbs up from Little Mouths, too. Big Mama loves the taste as well as the ease of cooking and time to prepare.

Creamy Onion and Chive Chicken Breasts



Four boneless chicken breasts
1/3 cup flour
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
2 cups or so “Stock in a Box” or homemade chicken stock
1 container Onion and Chive Soft Cream Cheese (light is ok if you can find it)

Flour chicken breast and brown in olive oil. Don’t cook all the way through. Deglaze pan with chicken stock and simmer chicken in stock until cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan and add the cream cheese. Whisk until smooth and melted into the stock. Reduce or add a little more stock to reach the desired consistency. I serve this simple little dish on nights I have to have dinner on the table in 20 mintues…and still have a few minutes to spare. I normally serve with rice, but it’s also good with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

Double Orange Glazed Pork Chops

I had intended on grilling pork chops.  However, last night's steaks only got half way done before the grill tank fizzled out, so I needed a new plan.

They've been on sale for weeks and I am running out of ways the little mouths will still eat them. Their biggest complaint is that they are hard to chew, so I knew I needed to do something to keep them moist.  I had an orange that was somewhat past it's prime, some left over chicken stock from soup the other day and a half a jar of marmalade in the back of the fridge.  Necessity being the mother of invention, I looked in fridge and came up with this new recipe.  Thumbs up from Big Mama and Little Thumbs alike.  Yummy!

Once upon a time I had a recipe for this.  I think it was Paula Deen.  Maybe.  But I couldn't find it so I had to wing it.  Aren't they pretty??

Double Orange Glazed Pork Chops

4 boneless pork loin chops
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
1 large clove minced garlic
Juice of one orange
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 glugs of boxed chicken stock (about a half a cup)
1-2 tablespoons real butter (I use unsalted)

Heat a saute pan on high and add olive oil.  Dry, salt and paper pork chops.  Throw them in the pan to brown, but not cook through.  3-4 minutes on each side.  Remove chops from pan.  Melt a tablespoon or butter or a little more oil in the pan and add the garlic.  Cook for about 30 seconds or so.  Watch closely so it doesn't burn.

Deglaze the pan with a couple of glugs of the chicken stock and add the orange juice.  Add the marmalade and whisk until it melts into the sauce.  Add the chops back into the pan with any accumulated juices on the plate and simmer for 10 or so minutes until cooked through, basting or turning the chops in the sauce several times.

Remove the chops again and reduce sauce to desired consistency.  Remove the sauce from the heat.  Finish it with 1 tablespoon butter (totally worth it and a minute amount of calories per serving) and serve.