Thursday, August 30, 2007

Um...YUM

I came across the most fantastic chicken recipe, but only if you love artichoke dip like I do. It pretty much tastes (and is) artichoke dip over chicken breasts then baked in the oven.

Artichoke Chicken

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (15 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup mayo
  • 1/4 cup sour cream (I used cottage cheese mushed up)
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • cheddar cheese if wanted
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic . Place chicken in a greased baking dish, and cover evenly with artichoke mixture.
  3. Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear.
I only had 1/3 cup parmesan, and added tons of cheddar instead, and it was soooooo good! I bet it would be even better with all the parmesan. Oh, and it goes without saying you should use no or low fat mayo and sour cream LOL! Oh, and I threw in mushrooms as well! Unfortunately, non magic ones.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Magic Mushrooms

While out at the bird sanctuary, we came across these beautiful mushrooms, and the pictures don't do them any justice. They ranged from a dark red in the middle to orange on the outside, and looked like Smurf 'shrooms. K was just fasincated with them and admittedly, so were Mike and I. They were huge, and all over in one part by the path.


Then I googled them this morning and found :

Amanita muscaria (also known by the English-language common name fly agaric or Fly Amanita) is a psychoactive agaric species of mushroom found commonly throughout much of the world. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large imposing white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture. Though it is generally considered poisonous, Amanita muscaria is otherwise famed for its hallucinogenic properties with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. The mushroom has had a religious significance in Siberian culture and possibly also in ancient Indian and Scandinavian cultures.


Ha! Now Mike wants to go back!