This recipe has been floating around for years.   Chocolate Sheet Cake.  Texas Sheet Cake, etc.  

I was recently sent this cutting edge cookery book on grains to review.  Entitled Grains as Mains and written by Laura Agar Wilson, it  features a comprehensive collection of modern recipes using ancient grains.

Ancient grains first cooked thousands of years ago are now back in vogue, as more and more people become more health conscious and actively seek out food that is nourishing as well as being delicious.

I was really wanting something light today.   We eat chicken a lot in our house. We only ever very rarely have another form of protein.   Pork or beef are a rare treat.  Eating chicken as often as we do, it can be somewhat of a challenge to keep it interesting.  Chicken breasts are so very adaptable and mild in flavour.  They make a pretty decent canvas for other flavours.

I like to think that one of the most wonderful things about blogging is the fabulous people you meet via this medium.   Like minded people . . .  good people . . . invisible friends.  

Rice wasn't something we ate a lot of when I was growing up.  My brother wouldn't eat it at all, my mother didn't like it either and when she did cook it, it was always minute rice, which is a sort of instant rice product they have in North America.  Not exactly nutritionally sound    . . . but we did not know that then.  She always made it taste good when she did make it.  She would chop up celery and onion and add some herbs . . .  usually oregano.  That was her favourite add in . . .

I was recently sent a lovely Hamper from the people at Baking Mad and challenged to bake myself a loaf of bread!  I have a real fear of baking with yeast.  Most of the time (even when I use the bread machine) my bread turns out lousy!  I kid you not!  My ex husband was a beautiful bread baker.  He baked all of our bread when he was home.  It was lovely.   Me . . .  I have always only ever made great door stops.

I've been very lucky in my life to have been inspired and taught by remarkable women and cooks.   One of them was my good friend Leona.  

I was in my mid twenties when we met and Leona was probably a good 16 years or so older than myself.   She was and is a remarkably great home cook and this is one of her recipes which she shared with me all those years ago.



It's not much to look at, but it's really a very simple dish and uses things we all probably have in our kitchens all the time, with the exception of maybe the onion soup mix.  

 

I do always have a packet or two of that on hand . . .  for dishes just such as this, but I know not everyone will.



It does not photograph very well . . .  but don't judge this book by it's cover . . .  it's really far, far more delicious than it looks!   

Trust me on this.  Would I lie to you?  I think not!

 

You can use any combination of chicken pieces that you wish to use . . .  legs, thighs, breasts, etc.   Today I used boneless chicken breasts.  

You will obviously not need to cook them as long as you would the bone in pieces.



You simply whisk together simple ingredients . . .  tomato ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, water, lemon juice . . .  and pour them over the chicken in a baking dish.   

 

The dry onion soup mix is sprinkled evenly over top afterwards and then the whole thing is popped into the oven to bake.



I like to baste it every 15 minutes or so.   The end result is tender chicken with a delicious sauce.  Your family will think you have slaved all day, but that's okay . . .  you don't need to tell anyone that you haven't!  

 

I have always said that it is the simple things in life that are the most delious of all.

  

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Place the chicken pieces into a shallow baking dish.  Mix together the vinegar, water, sugar, ketchup and lemon juice.  Pour this over top of the chicken.  Sprinkle the soup mix evenly over all.   Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, basting frequently with the pan juices, until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear and the meat is nicely glazed.

I am somewhat ashamed to say that there were not a lot of homemade . . .  made from scratch . . .  cakes that didn't come from a mix in my life prior to coming over here to the UK.   I did some psuedo homemade cakes . . .  you know the kind I mean.  You use a cake mix and a few other ingredients to make a type of cake . . .  but there's not really any science or skill involved in that is there.  I did make my mom's hot milk cake from time to time and the odd gumdrop cake, and maybe a fruit cake now and again, but mostly . . .  my cakes came from a mix.  They were quick, easy, convenient and didn't taste all that bad.

 (source)


This Sunday is Mother's Day Mothering Sunday here in the UK.  I'm not sure why they choose to have it a couple of months earlier than they have it everywhere else, but I am sure there is a good reason for it.  In any case I have a lovely variety of beautiful baked goodies to show you today from the people at Dr Oetker, guaranteed to make any mom happy.  I know I would be thrilled to pieces if one of my babies showed up with one of these!

Today I tortured my pasta hating husband with some comfort food from my childhood, which rang all my bells, but left him feeling rather off key! haha He says he hates pasta, but he always eats it when I make it. I think it's because he knows it's cheap . . . and that part of him that grew up during the War and during rationing, likes a good bargain!

I think two of my favourite things have to be macaroni and cheese and hot dogs . . . (don't judge me!).  Put the two together and I am in heaven.  And by that I don't mean slicing some hot dogs into a casserole of mac an cheese . . .  I mean topping a hot dog with mac and cheese!  Yes, I am a big kid at heart!!

One of my favourite things to eat is . . . Buffalo Chicken Wings . . . scrummy yeh . . . but not so good for you with all of that skin and fat . . . that's probably why they taste so good. Why does everything that's bad for you have to taste soooo good???? It's not fair I tell ya! It's just not fair!

I was recently sent some vouchers to try out the Menu at TGI Fridays.  We have one very close to us in Ellesmere Port so I was really excited to go and check it out.   We don't eat out a lot in this house because I am usually disappointed.

First off I have to say that it was really difficult for us to find.  That could be because we are old and not that great at finding places.   We had such a hard time finding it that we almost gave up and came home.  It was when we were in the process of turning around and coming home that we stumbled onto it.  So we were really happy because we were starving by then!  It was advertised as being in the Cheshire Oaks Super Mall Area, but in reality it was across the road, and tucked in next to a KFC.  I think it could benefit from a much larger sign!



Once we found the place and got inside, we were both impressed with the decor and spaciousness of it.  Because we had gone in the early afternoon, and on a week day, it was busy enough, but it wasn't overly busy, which was good.  I have heard that it gets really busy at the weekends.



The music was not too loud and quite fun to listen to.  I liked that it was not so loud that we couldn't hear each other speak. With a choice of either booths or tables, I can see where it would be quite family friendly also, which is a great thing to bear in mind with Mothering Sunday coming up here in the UK very soon now!

The staff were friendly and very welcoming.  Bonus.

They do have a special offer menu - available from Monday to Friday - you can eat two courses for £10.99 or £15.99 (two menus to choose from, selected restaurants only, check availability at your local restaurant on line) which can offer significant savings compared to the main menu.

The main menu was filled with ample choices and it took Todd and I quite a while to make up our minds.  We opted to eat from the main menu because there was only two of us, but I can see where the special offer menu would be very family friendly.



For starters Todd chose to have Jack Daniels Cajun Battered Shrimp which was £4.99.  For that price  he got six jumbo battered shrimps on a bed of lettuce, served with a lemon wedge and their signature  Jack Daniel's Smoky Glaze for dipping.



Here he is enjoying it.  He thought it was quite delicious.  He loved the glaze.  We hardly ever have starters when we eat out so this was a real treat for him. The shrimp was crisp, well cooked and a nice size and the glaze went very well.

 

I had the boneless Chicken Wings, priced also at £4.99.  Crispy coated chicken breast chunks tossed in Franks Hot sauce and served with blue cheese for dipping.   These were delicious, but they were hot!  Oh baby, was I ever grateful for their bottomless soft drink service!  Yep, free refills on soft drinks and I needed a refill after these.   They were fabulous, but very very hot.



I tried really hard to talk Todd around to ordering something different for his main meal, but he was really set on having a steak.  He chose the 12 ounce rib eye, choosing to have a wild mushroom sauce with his, mixed vegetables and cheesy mash. (£17.49).  Over all he was quite pleased with his steak. It was done exactly how he wanted it.  It was HUGE.  He couldn't eat it all.

 

I ordered the 7 ounce Fillet Steak, served with wild mushroom sauce, crispy fries and a house salad with blue cheese dressing (£19.49)



I thought the presentation was a bit lacking.  When you spend almost £20 on a steak dinner, a bit of garnish would be a nice addition, but overall the steak was done exactly as I wanted it (rare) and the salad was huge.  I was stuffed when I was only halfway through the steak.

Needless to say neither one of us had any room for any pudding, but apparently they do  great puddings or so I hear.

We took our leftover steak home for Mitzie to enjoy.  She is one pampered pooch for sure.  She really enjoyed it.

This would be a great place to take your mum on Mother's Day, although I would book in advance if possible as I am sure that with food and service this good, it will be a hopping place on the day!

What I liked:
A wide menu with something to pretty much suit every taste, as well as a wide selection
on their special offer menu.
A children's menu for kiddies under ten.
Free refills on soft drinks.
Our steaks were cooked to perfection.  (This is a real bonus with me as it only ever
rarely happens.  Most times my steak ends up overdone.)
Pleasant serving staff.
Clean and well laid out.
Music at the right tempo and volume for an enjoyable dining experience.

Negatives:
It was difficult to find.
The entrees could have benefited looks-wise with some garnish.   (I am being really picky here.)

Really.  I could not fault it.  This was our first time eating at TGI Friday's. We both really enjoyed our experience and we would go again.  I would love, LOVE to try the ribs.  They looked fabulous.

Disclaimer:  I was given £50 in vouchers to use towards our meal.  Irregardless of this any and all opinions are my own.