The Painted Apron

Yesterday I posted a menu suitable for election night, today’s Party Chicken would make a nice meal for election night also! Get it, Party Chicken? Anyhooo…all the election stuff has made me pretty nuts!  I decided to relieve my stress level a little by playing with some fall decor.  You will save so much time making this dinner that you will have plenty of time for other things!

This little turkey has been patiently waiting for some attention

and I got out a tray for a base piece, my woven burlap table runner, and gathered some pumpkins and dried things I had been using all fall in various locations.

The glass tray provides a textural contrast with all the natural and dried elements.

Just start playing with things, stacking and arranging

experimenting with different arrangements until you find one you like!

A little vignette like this would be great on a hall table, a living room shelf, a welcome on the bureau in the guest room.  It’s fun to tuck decor in unexpected places!  The centerpiece below is what’s currently in the center of my kitchen island.  It will change MANY times during the next few weeks!

You don’t have to buy new things, just displaying things that you already have, perhaps in another room or from another season even, can be incorporated into something new and fresh.  This is what the retail stores do all the time, they make you think they have new merchandise by just recreating their displays to make things look different.  Challenge yourself to change the centerpiece on your table once a week or so to keep everything fresh and exciting!

Okay, time to fix dinner! This is truly one of my go to Plan B recipes, perfect for a night when you have no time or energy.  It goes together in minutes and is comfort food at it’s best.  It does require 2 hours in the oven, but if you stick it in at 5pm dinner’s ready at 7!  Just add a simple side dish of rice or pasta to soak up lots of yummy sauce.

Marinate your chicken in buttermilk for a while beforehand if you can, this step makes it extra tender.  I try to marinate chicken right after purchasing and then freeze it so it’s ready to go straight from the freezer.

Rinse and drain chicken and cut ham slices in half if they are big.

Not too hard so far!

Wrap each chicken tender with a slice of ham

and lay side by side in a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil spray

A dish full of happy bundles!

The sauce is really hard, ha!

Mix the soup and sour cream

Spread evenly over the top

and your dish is ready for baking!

If you are giving this dish to a friend, go ahead and bake it, and they can just reheat for15- 30 minutes until hot.

Here’s the recipe:

Cook the rice according to package directions

Saute onions and mushrooms in a little Olive oil and butter for some more flavor.

Add the veggies to the cooked rice and place in a casserole dish and drizzle with a little more chicken broth to insure moisture if reheating.

and this dish is ready to eat, share or hold for later.  If sharing or holding, just cover and reheat for 15-30 minutes until hot, and label with instructions if sharing.

Thanks so much for visiting me on Take out Tuesday, I hope I have given you some ideas for your decor, your menu or for a dish to prepare for a friend!

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