Dinner for a Friend: Crumb-Coated Chicken Thighs

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of having an old friend over for dinner. We went to high school together, then went to college in neighboring states, and then separated pretty completely. She moved to England for a few years and I moved first to Pennsylvania, then to Maryland. Now, she’s back in the States and working for Congress. It’s funny to meet up with someone you used to have sleepovers and bonfires with when you’re in your late 20s. I guess our conversation was a little different than it was back then, but hanging out was pretty much exactly the same as it used to be, except that we drank wine.  She’s a scientist and I’m in mental health, and we talked about the profound difference between those. I honestly remember having conversations like that in high school. Love it.

I made a dish that I’ve made several times before but never blogged bout because it’s so simple. Simple and delicious, yes, but simple. I guess I felt like a fraud taking pictures and saying “Look what I accomplished!” when an 8-year-old could have done the same thing, but ah well. I’m doing that now.

Start off with a mixture of bread crumbs (I used Italian seasoned), salt, cumin, paprika, chili powder, curry powder, and black pepper in a large zip-lock bag.

Drop in chicken thighs and shake it, shake it, shake it like a polaroid polaroid picture. Drop on a pan and bake at a high temperature. The end.

For sides, I did roasted potatoes that are also too easy to blog about.

And remember that lime-cilantro rice that I screwed up last time? I made that again, though this time with only white rice, not a mixture of brown and white, and I did it in my rice cooker.

Apparently I didn’t get a picture of everything together. Forgive me, maybe it was the wine. Or maybe it was just too fun talking like a bunch of school girls. But it all turned out pretty well. A good hearty meal that left me with yummy leftovers for lunch the next day.

Texting Roundup

I’m not one of those people who wants to impress you with my cooking. I want you to come over and share it with me, or at the least, I want to inspire you to make whatever dish I just attempted and enjoyed. I’ll never keep a recipe secret from you, and I’ll be genuinely happy if you decide to attempt a recipe that I’ve blogged or posted somewhere.

And I LOVE getting picture texts from people who have.

Like a college friend who is raising three beautiful children and has to work around gluten allergies, and somehow still has time to send me pictures of her version of things that I’ve blogged about, like my Grandma Dorothy’s German Potato Salad, or what seems to be modification of my peach crisp (the text itself only said “Mmmmmmmmmm”).

Or my sister-in-law, who sent me a picture of my Home Ec coffee cake, modified for a Bundt pan, which seems like such a classy improvement over my square Pyrex dish. Judging by the fact that almost half was gone by the time she took a picture, her family enjoyed it!

Or my other sister-in-law, who is working her way through a bunch of recipes that I gave her and who has shared evidence of her success with twice-baked potatoes and apple crumb pie (both of which I think I need to make again and blog about!).

Or my BFF, who shared her first experience with her new Kitchenaid mixer, along with a picture to show that she also has a puppy that understands very well when there is something yummy on the counter.

Or my brother, who just seems to like to send me pictures of things he enjoys eating in general.

To all of you, and to those who participate by telling me about things they’ve made or by sending me recipes, thank you. You make this fun.

Also… brief note: hubby and I are giving Nutrisystem another go. I may be posting less frequently until we’re done with it, though I’ll definitely still be posting. I’ve got pictures from a bunch of things that I’ve made and haven’t had time to blog about yet, though, so don’t give up on me just yet.