What's cooking at my house

So now that it is summer, my absolute favorite thing to do is spend time pondering over cookbooks and going through my recipe clippings, to try out new recipes. During the school year I also try to do that to, I just don't get to try out as many as I would like. Back in March I discovered three wonderful recipes and combined them together to make one delicious meal that is now one of our favorite dinners:
Oven-Fried (Baked) chicken, oven fries and spicy gravy, salad with home-made vinaigrette and rosemary biscuits.

Oven-Fried (Baked) chicken I found in the Food Network magazine, but I adapted it a bit.
1 1/2 cups of crispy rice cereal (like Chex)
2 1/4 cups bagel chips or Melba toasts
5 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp paprika
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 container of plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp dijon mustard
skinless, boneless chicken breasts of thighs ( I have used both in this recipe and both are very good, I usually just choose which ever is cheaper at the store)

1. Preheat oven to 475F. Coat the baking sheet or glassware with cooking spray.
2. Grind the cereal and bagel chips in a food processor and transfer to a large resealable plastic bag.
I have also substituted rice chex with corn chex and it tastes really good too. Once I had pita chips instead of bagel chips and that tasted great too. My dad has also uses pretzels to bread with, I haven't tried that one yet, but he said it was great. I have also thrown in bread crumbs to on occasion.
Add 3 tsp olive oil, the paprika, 2 tsp salt, and pepper.
3. Whisk the yogurt and mustard in a shallow bowl. Add the chicken and coat. Transfer chicken to bag, seal and shake to dredge the chicken until well coated. Transfer chicken to baking dish and mist with cooking spray. Bake until the chicken is crisp and done, about 30 minutes.

I have always loved breaded chicken, but Brett is allergic to eggs and most recipes call for soaking the chicken in an egg mixture. I was glad when I found this recipe, because Greek yogurt is so good and good for you.

Oven Fries and Spicy Gravy- I found this recipe watching the Rachel Ray Show (www.rachelrayshow.com/food/recipes/oven-fries-and-spicy-gravy/
4 medium starchy potatoes cut into 10 wedges or so (I usually use Russet)
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Steak seasoning or salt and pepper (I use the Hy-vee brand steak seasoning and it is so good)
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp grainy mustard (I use French's spicy brown mustard)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups chicken stock (I have also used vegetable broth when I was out of chicken stock)

Heat oven to 450F. (When I cook this with the fried chicken, I just leave the oven at 475 and just watch the potatoes.
Cut potatoes and drizzle with oil, and seasoning blend. Arrange on foil lined baking sheet (foil allows for easy clean up, and I found that if you spray the foil, then the fries do not stick. Bake 40-45 minutes or so, turning pan and flipping the potatoes halfway.
Gravy
Heat a medium pot over medium to medium-high hear. Melt butter, whisk in flour and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in mustard, W. sauce and stock. Let gravy thicken a couple of minutes or so until it coats the back of a spoon ( I have found that this usually takes a while, the longer the sits, the thicker and better it gets. This recipe has taken me a few tries to get it to the perfect constancy).
Pour into individual cup and serve for dipping. Dipping the chicken into the gravy also tastes great!

For the salad, just chop up some greens and make your own dressing. I found this dressing in a Martha Stewart magazine.
Rose's Vinaigrette
1 tbsp minced garlic or shallot (I use garlic because I always have garlic around)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1tsp light-brown sugar
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black ground pepper
1/4 tsp W. sauce
2 1/2 tbsp red-wine vinegar (I prefer the taste of red-wine vinegar but I'm sure you could easily switch is out for balsamic vinegar)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about a half of a lemon)
3/4 cups of extra virgin olive oil.

1. In a small bowl, mash together the garlic, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper, and W. sauce.
2. Pour in the vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil. Pour mixture into a jar or cruete. Over tightly and shake well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Lastly for the rosemary biscuits I just use a box of Jiffy buttermilk biscuit mix (usually less than $0.50!) I make the drop recipe that is on the side of the box. I follow the recipe as written and add freshly snipped and chopped rosemary, bake and enjoy!

Hope you enjoy these recipes as much and Brett and I have.