Lazy cooking

 

When I was young and newly married, my mom gave me a copy of Peg Bracken’s I Hate to Cook Cookbook. I remember I thought Lazy Day Beef Stew was the best thing ever. Fast forward to retirement, after over the years I’ve become much more of a foodie and have been researching Helen Corbitt (think Neiman Marcus, although there is much more to her story) and the food culture in our country in her day—the fifties and sixties. It was the era of Bracken and Poppy Cannon. Never heard of Poppy?

If Julia Child championed French cooking and Corbitt shed light on the beauty of American cooking, Poppy Cannon was the queen of convenience cooking. At various times, she was food editor of Ladies Home Journal and House Beautiful, and she published several cookbooks, including The Can Opener Cookbook, The Bride’s Cookbook, and Poppy Cannon’s all-time, no-time, any-time cookbook.

It’s no secret I love to cook. I am more on the side of Corbitt and Child than Cannon and Bracken. But occasionally, inspiration fails, and I want quick and easy. All my principles go out the window, and I even resort to the packaged and prepared foods so beloved by Cannon. Such was the case the other night when Jordan was going to be out, and I was to feed Christian and Jacob. I needed something both would eat, and I wanted something quick and easy. Coincidentally I had six chicken thighs that were a product of my continued inability to order the chicken I really want from Central Market online—I wanted bone-in, skin-on thighs to roast. I got boneless, skinless, and wasn’t sure what to do with them. Google came to my rescue. Here’s what I did:

Stuffed chicken thighs

Six boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 box Stovetop chicken stuffing

1 envelope Pioneer chicken gravy mix

Make the stuffing and gravy following instructions on the package. The nice thing about boneless thighs is that they automatically have little pockets. Put chicken thighs in a greased baking pan just big enough to hold them comfortably. Spoon stuffing into the thigh pockets and don’t worry if you’re a bit sloppy and some spills over. Pack it in, because you’ll still have leftover stuffing that you have to figure out what to do with. Pour gravy even overall. The thighs will end up sitting in a sea of gravy. No problem. Bake at 375^o for 30 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked through. Let sit five minutes and serve. Both boys ate heartily, and Christian commented on how tender the meat was.

In our house, an entrée like this and a salad is enough for dinner. So here’s my new favorite quick-and-easy creamy salad dressing:

Creamy salad dressing

2 Tbsp. sour cream

1 Tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. white vinegar, either cider or wine (you can also substitute lemon juice—just get that acid in there.

Pinch each of sugar and salt

Whisk together until thoroughly blended. Like blue cheese in your salad dressing as much as we do? No problem—just add some crumbles to taste.

You’ll probably have leftover chicken thighs, leftover stuffing, and no dressing, but that’s okay because it’s so easy to make. Enjoy!