Oven Herb Chicken, Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 1962

As promised I have a recipe this week!  This one comes from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book circa 1962.  My copy was my mother's, probably a wedding or shower gift.

It's the same one displayed in Betty and Henry's kitchen in a Mad Men episode.  Lookee here:

It's between the spice rack and the window.

I chose this recipe because it was easy.  We all need an easy quick dinner sometimes, right?  This recipe isn't what I consider "from scratch" but I made it as close to healthy as I could given the time I had.  Here are the ingredients:

I found organic onion soup mix (but not onion salad dressing mix) and the ingredients in the package are pretty basic.  No chemicals I couldn't pronounce but the bread crumbs made up for it.  (I've tried homemade bread crumbs made from homemade bread but my family just doesn't like it as much.)  And that stick of butter.  At least it's organic...

Here it is the way I did it:

1- 3 lbs chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 pkg onion soup mix

1 stick butter

1t paprika plus more for sprinkling

1/2 to 3/4C seasoned bread crumbs

Melt the butter in a shallow bowl.  Stir in onion soup mix and 1t paprika.  Pour bread crumbs into another shallow bowl or plate.  Dip chicken pieces one at a time in the butter mixture.  Be sure each piece gets some seasoning- it tends to drift to the bottom.  Then immediately press each piece into the bread crumbs and place on a greased baking dish or jelly roll pan skin side up.  When all the chicken is on the pan  sprinkle each piece lightly with more paprika. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Check and top loosely with foil if the chicken is too brown.  Bake another 15 minutes or until cooked thru.  

Yummmmers!!  This was a hit all the way around.  Moist and flavorful.  (A stick of butter will do that...)  I had intended to make rice along with the green beans but as you know sometimes life gets in the way.  I had some salad remnants in the fridge so it worked out.  

I highly recommend this recipe.  You could easily make your own onion soup mix (There are recipes on line but I've never tried one.) and make your own bread crumbs to make it more "from scratch".  This will add some steps though.  You could also remove the skin from the chicken pieces to eliminate some calories and fat.  

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend and official start of summer!

Sarah 

the Balm binge!!!!! And my thoughts on the Mad Men finale

Soooooo excited to share this with you!!!!!  Above is my makeup binge from the Balm.  While it's not vintage it is retro.  And adorable!!!  It's the kind of makeup women buy for themselves- not to impress a man, despite the pin up ladies and men on the packaging.  That's just for our delight.

Apparently this was all the rage about five years ago on Youtube.  (Back before I knew Youtube was for more than just teenage boys posting their Mario Kart races.  ...My then six year old was really into Mario Kart back then.)  The brand has a bit of a cult following and is popular among European and Asian Youtub-ers right now.  I remember seeing it at Sephora back then (It's no longer sold at Sephora.) but not being makeup obsessed like my friend Stacy who got me into the store I poked around in a few testers and moved on.  Well things have changed and now I'm the one who is a bit obsessed...

What I really love about these products is they are made without parabens.  (My hormones don't need anymore disruption, ya' know??)    Also the cute packaging comes with a little sarcasm.  You long time readers may have noticed I love my sarcasm...

I just received my big box from Hautelook today and haven't tried everything yet but I can tell you I loved the products I bought a few months ago.   The eye shadows and blush are well pigmented and easy to use.  (I'm not a beauty blogger so that's the best description I can give you...)   The concealer is better on blemishes than under eye circles if you have dry under eyes like me.  The eyelid primer is excellent and I love the double ended brush.  The only thing I opened was the eyeliner (Mr. Write (Now) - how awesome is that name???) in Bill be Mocha.  I'm telling you it's creeeeeamy-dreeeeeeamy!  Totally went on smoothly and I got the perfect thin line for the perfect backdrop to my less than perfect lashes.  And now my eyelashes rock.  Isn't that what eye liner is for??

My first goodies from the Balm.

Just so you know...this is not a sponsored post.  I bought all of this myself.  (Don't tell hubby.)  I think it's worth every penny!  

Changing gears for a minute- anyone watch the Mad Men series finale?  Oooooh that Don!  And poor Sally.  My heart ached for her.  I'm glad Betty could be loving in her own way.  I'm so happy for Joan but bummed Peggy didn't join her.  Am I the only person who didn't see Stan and Peggy falling in love?  I was kind of surprised.  Love Roger and Marie together.  He's finally met his match.  I hope Pete is sincere in his renewed love for Trudie.   I will miss my Sunday night treat.  :(

In honor of "the end of an era", as the Mad Men promo voice over guy quipped, I'm trying a new recipe this week from the 1950 edition of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  I spied this exact cookbook in Betty and Henry's kitchen during the Mad Men marathon this weekend on AMC.  I'll post it here if it's a winner.

Sarah

Meal Planning II- Two Weeks at a time

Hey there.  I've been busy wrangling my kids, walking my pooch, and cleaning my house (And doing laundry.  There's always so much laundry...)   but I wanted to share the new way I do meal planning.  Well it's not so much new as perfected from last fall.

With the spring soccer season in full swing and my daughters both in rehearsals for local theater productions I've opted to simplify as much as I can.  Planning two weeks at a time just makes more sense.   I'm making basic meals, many without recipes.  (So no vintage creations for a while longer.)  I organize my grocery shopping so that I buy everything in one or two big trips.  My master grocery list is on a spreadsheet.  Hubby just about cracked up when I asked him to help me set it up.  This is just so not me.  I like short shopping lists on cute family stationery with my kids' names under their stick figures.    Now I whiz thru the store with the spreadsheet clipped to a clipboard and a pen clenched between my teeth.  I must say I look like a boss in my black yoga pants and mom bun.  Unfortunately this look rarely makes it to a yoga class.

Here's a pic of our meal plan for April 26 thru May 8th.  It goes with my hubby's pay periods so it's not exactly in the beginning or middle of the month.  I only plan dinners.  Breakfasts, lunches, and snacks are simple- leftovers or whatever one likes.

I still use the binder I showed in my meal planning video but there haven't been any new recipe additions in a long time.  Luckily I've built it up enough that everyone is relatively happy with our meals.  (And if not I remind them that I'm not a short order cook.  I'm a boss.  With a bun...)

Here's the accompanying  master grocery list.  I do one big trip the first week and another the second. I still may run in to buy a little unanticipated something (or a sale item) but for the most part this is it.

The prices are to help me stay on budget and the highlight colors tell me what to buy at which store.  I started crossing things off but stopped when I thought about doing this post so you could actually read it.  The best thing I ever did was to list the items according to categories.  Helps me whiz faster thru the store and there's less room for error.

How do you meal plan?  Does it change with the seasons or the school year?

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying spring.  It finally feels like it here in the midwest.  :)

Sarah