Funny Story

Lately, it seems like coming up with ideas to make for dinner each day is getting harder and harder.  Maybe it is because it is summer. Maybe it is because there are just two of us to cook for.  I mentioned this to Hunter Man one day and he immediately asked for Chicken Pillows, saying that we hadn't had them in quite awhile.  

For anyone who hasn’t made Chicken Pillows, this is what you need and how to do it.  (There are no pictures.  I have really started to hate having to scroll through a whole bunch of pictures on a blog to get to the recipe).

One can of pre-made biscuits or Crescent Rolls

1/2 brick (4 oz) of reduced fat cream cheese

1 can of mushrooms

1 breast and one leg off of a Rotisserie Chicken, broken into pieces

Onion powder

Pepper

Mix everything together, then sprinkle with onion powder and pepper.  You can taste the mixture to see if it is seasoned enough for you.  I think it is about 1 or 2 teaspoons of onion powder.

The can of biscuits has 10 biscuits in it so portion out the chicken mixture into 10 piles on a plate. 

Take a biscuit and flatten it out a little and place a meat portion onto one side of the biscuit, fold it in half, then seal the edges.  It will look like a little turnover.  Repeat for the remaining 9 biscuits. 

Bake the Chicken Pillows according to the directions on the can of biscuits (400 degrees for about 10 minutes). 

If you use a can of Crescent Rolls, you have to get a little bit more creative in folding them around the meat, (stretch out the dough, put the meat into the center and then fold the sides all in until it looks like a little pillow.  Seal the edges and place seam side down on the baking sheet).    

Hunter Man likes to eat them plain, but for myself, I heat up a half  can of Campbells Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup with some milk to make it about gravy thickness and have that on top of my Chicken Pillows. 

I also like to make Ham Pillows.  You just use diced ham instead of chicken, and top the pillows with slices of cheddar cheese before baking. The best way to eat them is to dip them in a mixture of mustard and mayonaise.   (Hunter Man does not really like Ham Pillows).

On to the funny part of the story. 

The next day, I was on my own to find something else to make.  I never know when to begin making dinner, so if I haven’t made anything in advance, I usually don’t start until Hunter Man comes home from work.

I was really going gourmet this time and decided to make Ballpark Hickory Smoked Franks and Smashed Potatoes. 

I usually buy the Hickory Smoked Ball Park Franks for roasting over the campfire (they are pretty pricey for hot dogs), but we haven’t had very many campfire opportunities this summer, so I guess I was craving them for that reason. 

Kj introduced me to Smashed Potatoes and they are a quick way to have some good potatoes with a meal.  

This is how you make Smashed Potatoes. 

Bake some potatoes in the microwave (about 2 minutes per side for each potato)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

When the potatoes are soft enough to poke with a fork, place them on a foil lined, sprayed baking sheet.

Smash them with flat with a potato masher.  I like to use small/medium Red or Yukon Gold potatoes.  This time I used regular oblong Russets, so I cut them in half before I smashed them.   

Brush the tops with olive oil (sometimes I use melted butter)

Season with Garlic Mrs. Dash and pepper shaken over the on top (Kj also sprinkles Rosemary on her Smashed Potatoes, but I do not like Rosemary, so I leave that off).  Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese has melted.
You can also just put the Smashed Potatoes in a microwave safe baking dish and melt the cheese in the microwave, if you are short on time.

While the potatoes were in the oven, I made sure that the hot dogs were boiling, but by then I noticed that Hunter Man had fallen asleep (which is not unusual on hot summer days after work).

I served myself some of the food and then put the potatoes and green beans into the oven on warm, while leaving the hot dogs in the hot water on the stove.  I ate alone (which isn’t uncommon because sometimes he is ready for dinner at 4:30 and I am not and sometimes I am ready for dinner and he hasn’t made it home from work, yet). 

I was working in the office when I noticed that he had gone into the kitchen to get some food and I asked him if he had some potatoes and beans.  

He said, “No, I thought the we were only having hot dogs.”

Seriously?

I could not stop laughing, but managed to ask, “Did you think that I was having such a hard time finding good dinner ideas that I resorted to making hot dogs—ONLY HOT DOGS and nothing else for our meal?”

He did not think it was funny and said that he wasn’t feeling well and that plain old hot dogs were all that he wanted anyway.

Well, it was funny to me.

Sometime, when I am feeling not-so-nice, I am going to boil a pan of hot dogs for his dinner with nothing else in honor of the day when he seriously thought I hadn’t made anything to go with them.

I am an awesome wife.