Danielle's Cookbook: "Chicken again??? Can't you find a new way to cook it..?" .. "BUT I DID!!!! And with new potatoes too!!"

Do you ever feel as though you can never think of a new way to cook chicken?? I know I do and frankly it becomes annoying sitting in the kitchen staring at it wondering "How do I cook you today?"... Perhaps it is the many choices that have us lurking around our spice cabinets wondering how to prepare a meal in which your boyfriend or husband won't say, "Really babe, this again?" Too bad we don't have a movie we can pop in like "Forrest Gump" and have Bubba tell you 1,000 ways to cook chicken instead of shrimp. And potatoes. Oh the wonderful vegetable that we call a "potato". When you look at the word, it makes no sense. Perhaps a reason why it is so difficult when deciding how to cook a potato, but like chicken, you have so many options!! So today I decided, ENOUGH of the difficult choices... let's see what we come up with!?

Alas... we have zesty dijon chicken served with au gratin potatoes. And no... not the ones in a box.

** I recommend cooking the potatoes earlier in the day if possible and then reheating in the microwave when the chicken is almost done... you have two different oven temps for these dishes and the potatoes take longer**

Au Gratin Potatoes Ingredients:

6 large Idaho potatoes
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion (one small onion)
4 tablespoons margarine
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups milk
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Au Gratin Potatoes Prep:

~ Peel and thinly slice potatoes (pictured below)
~ Chop onion (pictured below)
~ Preheat oven to 375 degrees
~ In a sauce pan, melt butter and cook onion for about 2 minutes stirring occasionally (pictured below)
~ In a 2-3 quart casserole bowl, spray with non-stick cooking spray
~ Place peeled potatoes in bowl (pictured below)
~ Add milk to onion and butter, till boiling, stir often (pictured below)
~ Stir in 2 cups of cheese until melted, stir often so cheese doesn't stick to bottom and burn (pictured below)
~ Pour sauce over potatoes in bowl, then bake for one hour (pictured below)
~ After the hour is up, pull the dish out, sprinkle remaining cheese over the top evenly and then do the same with the bread crumbs, put back in oven for 15-20 minutes or until top is browned (pictured below)
~** I also VERY LIGHTLY sprinkled paprika over the top of my potatoes before putting them back in the oven with the bread crumbs, but this is entirely up to you, do it if you have the paprika at home, but it's not worth it to go out and buy it just for this**

Chopped onions

Peeled potatoes and shredded the cheese

Melt butter, then add onions, flour and pepper

Add milk after onions have cooked for a few minutes

Bring milk to a boil, stirring often

Add cheese (2 cups)

Stir until cheese is melted

Cut potatoes into slices (somewhat thin)

Put them in dish

Pour cheese sauce over potatoes - put in oven for one hour

After one hour, remove from oven and layer remainder of the cheese

and sprinkle bread crumbs evenly across the top

After 20 minutes pull back out of oven.... (reheat in microwave later if cooked early)

Chicken Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless thawed chicken breasts
1 tablespoon of ranch dressing
1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tbl bread crumbs (or 1tbl if you want a thicker batter)
2 tsp chives

Chicken Prep:

~ Trim the fat off the chicken (pictured below)
~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees
~ Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray
~ Mix dressings, bread crumbs, pepper and garlic in a bowl and then lightly coat both sides of chicken (pictured below)
~ Bake chicken for 30 minutes
~ Sprinkle chives over top of chicken and serve