Friday, August 31, 2007

Tasty but not very exciting
--Chicken Breasts with Tomato-Basil Butter



Chicken Breasts with Tomato-Basil Butter
Better Crocker’s Best Chicken Cookbook Copyright 1999

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons garlic pepper
½ cup margarine or butter, softened I used butter because I was out of light butter and margarine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves I used dried
3 tablespoons tomato paste

Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat. Sprinkle chicken with garlic pepper.

Cover and grill chicken 4 to 5 inches from medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until juice is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Mix remaining ingredients. Serve chicken topped with margarine mixture.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 285 cal, 19 g fat, 115 mg chol, 230 mg sodium, 2 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 27 g pro
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This was another simple grilled dish. The Tomato-Basil Butter is the star here. I can imagine it on all sorts of things. I had a lot left over which I'll freeze.

I know, it' s been a boring week. I was super tired this week and it was my own darn fault. I know I should go to bed earlier but every single night I stay up past my bedtime. Shame on me. And my blood pressure started creeping up so I cut back on caffeine several months ago. I was only drinking one cup per day but I increased that to two cups a few weeks ago. I really need to get more sleep - it's as simple as that. Why do I torture myself?

Next week will probably be a short week. I don't think I'll be posting on Labor Day. I have two cookouts to attend this weekend and I can't decide which desserts to make. Banana Cake has been requested already. I was surprised - I thought they were getting sick of it.

I'll probably have to drive through hoops to get to auction tonight. A bicentennial is going on in the town I usually drive through. A road is closed on the alternate route. But I'll get there!

Don't forget today is the last day to sign up for the August Cookbook Giveaway. You could be the lucky winner. It's Bobby Flay, Boy Meet Grill. I haven't tried it yet. This book is for when you feel like cooking something that you would order in a restaurant - of course. What else would you expect from a restaurant chef? He's not going to spend his time on recipes that you could easily make at home. He's going to give everything a twist that makes it worth coming to one of his restaurants. The recipes aren't too far out there that you couldn't or wouldn't make the recipes at home though. Don't be afraid.

Blast From The Past: Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes from February 2006. I'm in the mood for pancakes. Maybe I'll make some this weekend.

Question of the Day: How much sleep do you average each night?

7 comments:

Wanda said...

Yes, I torture myself too. Sometimes I don't know where the deliberate staying up ends and the insomnia begins. I think mine is a combination of both. Last night I stayed up until 3am, then tossed and turned until sometime after 4, and woke up at 8am.
So about 4 hours last night, and 5 the night before. Before that I was doing better - about 6 or 7 hours each night for the previous week.

Unknown said...

Well, I try for 8 but end up around 7...unless I'm on call an then it's much less.

DancesInGarden said...

If I got my way I would get 12 solid hours per night. But we all know how THAT goes LOL. I tend to force myself to stay up to get some "quiet time" when I should be sleeping. But if I try to just sleep I don't - I toss and turn because I am too wound up. Exhausted, but unable to sleep.

If I were smart I would go to bed at a good time and get up EARLIER to get that quiet time, but I am not exactly a morning person.

Anonymous said...

I probably get 8-9 hours a night. And I go to sleep fast, no tossing and turning for me. I've always been lucky that way. If I don't get that much sleep, I take a little snooze during the day. I'm fortunate enough to be able to do that. Soon, though, I will be getting the DGD's to and from the school bus, so things may be changing.

Jan

pam said...

thanks for posting the tomato-basil butter recipe, it sounds really good. I get about 7 hours of sleep a night.

. . . said...

the grill marks on your chicken look very pretty =)

um. i usually get 6-7 hours of sleep each night.

Anonymous said...

I get between 6 and 8 a night but am usually up before 7am each morning regardless of what time I go to bed. Yuck.