It's 6:30. Alex is home from work. My chance to escape to the supermarket! The usual deal is this: "What did you have for lunch today?" From there we make a reasonable decision on what to make for dinner. I am the one (I asked Alex for his guess on percentages) 98% of the time, who comes up with the menu and 93% of the time the one who cooks it (that other percent accounts for his time at the grill during the summer). That's some pressure, right? I give Alex more credit than that, he does come up with some great weekend inspiration. Most recently it was a steak tip recipe that used Coke in its marinade (anyone want 5 extra bottles of Coke?)...I digress.
Already had the broccoli out, thinking it would be steak night... "You had steak for lunch? And last night???!!! That is sooo bad for you!"
I glanced around the kitchen in desperation, not really knowing what I wanted... I saw a full mesh bag of cherry tomatoes and something came back to memory, fondly! Alex approved. Off to the store!
First on: Near East rice pilaf. Stop and Shop store brand is also great. I wouldn't buy any other, they all have too much sodium. I halve the package amount which is perfect for 2.25 people.I was set to buy chicken tenders but maybe as of this blog post, I will stay away from them. Sure, they are tender, but the annoying part is the tendon which runs through them. It's rather chewy and inedible. I try to cut it out. Tenders were $5.59/lb. Chicken breasts were $1.99/lb.
I split a $6 package of breasts into 4 meals!
They were divided into the usual freezer bags, air squeezed out (I prefer Hefty quart freezer bags) and a single large breast was simply sliced, across the length, into tender-sized pieces.
Now to bread them: With clean hands, sprinkle with desired seasonings (see above pic, with Panko), then sprinkle flour over. Get your hands dirty and flip around to coat evenly. Dip one piece at a time into egg mixed up with a splash of water (below is yet unmixed), then carefully turn to coat in Panko crumbs.
Sometimes I get away with using a fork for this gooey part so I naturally reached for it. Small pieces lend themselves to "individual attention" and a fork is just slowing to the process.
You can have an extra plate to keep the finished pieces on but I wasn't working with a lot of meat so it wasn't necessary.The tomatoes are washed and ready to go. The syrupy balsamic is on hand. This particular bottle is great, from Trader Joes.
Fry up your tenders in oil. I used my favorite 4-qt. All-Clad sauce pan with a splash of olive oil and a smaller splash of canola. Don't put your meat in until the oil spatters vehemently when a drop of water is in. Medium- medium high heat. Cook 3 minutes one side, one minute the other. This is highly variable depending on your stove/cookware, etc. so the best bet is to use a timer as a guide but flip the meat when it begins to look pink on the top but nearly cooked through and brown on the sides. Please keep in mind: switch up or wash your tongs after handling raw meat.
Once the tenders are done and set aside on triple thick paper towels, I drain the oil into a grease jar and rinse out the pan.Next: the tomatoes. A splash of olive oil in the pan, heat set a tad higher than for the chicken. I almost heated it too high (some smoke was released when I took the lid off). In went the tomatoes! They cooked so fast, two minutes total. Once they're in, keep the lid on. Toss the pan around to keep them rolling around. Once they are a little browned and their skins look like they are shriveled, add a nice splash of balsamic. Continue to cook another minute to blend and concentrate the flavor. Dump into a bowl to cool.
Serve it up! See top photo. Lots of greens. Andrew ended up eating 5 tomatoes, he loved them! I wilted some greens in the still-hot tomato pan but he didn't try them (oh well). I think a mistake I made was adding some sweet salad dressing on his plate, next to them! It was supposed to be dip for his chicken (he ate the chicken anyhow, without it) and instead, like a good toddler he just ate up all the dressing with his fork. Can't blame him, it's good stuff: Brianna's Poppyseed. We used it on our greens.
