At Home - Chicken Francese

 Last night I had the kitchen to myself while Scott was sailing so I definitely was inspired to experiment with a new recipe. The days and evenings have been warm so I was drawn to recipes with citrus flavors. I came across Chicken Francese with a Grapefruit and Tarragon sauce so I decided to make a play on that.

Too get pumped up for my evening in the kitchen I decided to bust out a Lyft Stick to my beverage of choice. Lyft can be stirred into any cool beverage and will kick up your energy a few notches when you need to get stuff done. They are easy! 

I had the perfect beverage on hand to get "Lyfted"! Cascade Ice sent me the cutest package in the mail containing Cocunut, Mango Coconut and Pineapple Coconut Sparkling Waters. They even included little adult beverage recipes that can be used as no calorie mixers for fun summer drinks! I loved it. But this evening all I wanted was a cold Coconut sparkling water and it delivered. My favorite is the straight Coconut so think of me and grab one off the shelf when you see one in your local grocery.

 Chicken Francese is what I decided to make and it was totally easy. The hardest part is dredging the chicken with flour and egg - I hate having messy hands. But other than that lets go...

Chicken Francese 

 Melissa Good Taste

4 Chicken breast filets - pounded thin

1/2 cup flour

3 eggs

2 T Olive Oil

2 T butter

1 C Chicken Stock

1/2 C a fruity white wine

2 T chopped Tarragon

Juice from one lemon

Salt and Pepper

1. Create your dredge station for the chicken. Flour first and then the 3 eggs mixed up in a shallow container. The thin, pounded chicken breasts should be seasoned with salt &pepper and then go in flour first and eggs second.

2. Two Tablespoons of olive oil will be enough to coat your frying pan to cook the chicken, make sure oil is hot before putting in dredged chicken. Three minutes on each side or, obviously until cooked all the way through. If you are a Nervous Nelly, use a meat thermometer or something.

3. Once chicken is cooked set aside on a platter.

4. Pour in chicken stock and scrap up the browned bits from pan, two minutes of cooking is perfect. Then mix in wine and let it play in the sauce for at least a minute. 

5.The recipe I was following asked for segments of grapefruit at this stage and I was not feeling it so I just used the juice of one lemon. Squeeze it in the lemon as well as your tarragon. Your butter will be added at this point and let it melt in smoothly rounding out your sauce.

6. Plate up your chicken and pour desired amount of sauce over the plate.

You could easily serve this up with any noodle, rice or potato but we just ate it protein style last night. It was enjoyed with a nice glass of Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc, I highly recommend!

Waffle House - Amarillo, TX

Greetings y'all! Scott and I stayed the night in beautiful Amarillo, Texas to rest the horses and ourselves. The horses stayed at a motel and did the same. We got a bite to eat and fell fast asleep.

The next morning we fueled up before hitting the road at The Waffle House. I have to admit I was pretty excited as I have never been to one before.

There was a sign on the wall explaining their food takes longer to cook because it is made to order but ours came out like rapid fire! Scott ordered the American and it came with a little of everything... A waffle, eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. He did not come close to finishing it and regretted wasting the food.

I ordered the Pecan Waffle with extra crispy bacon. It was perfect! What I liked most about the waffle was it was not too thick. Sometimes when I order a waffle the outside is crispy but the middle is raw. I do not enjoy that. The bites of salty bacon with the sweet waffle was just heavenly.

As we roll on down the road I get to start reading this new book by Ruth Reichl, "Delicious!". Reichl's restaurant reviewer background sparked an interest in me and I have great expectations for it to be a great book!

Dominos - Product Review

One of the really cool perks about being Melissa Good Taste is I get a lot of emails from people wanting me to review their products on my blog. I am not going to lie, getting sent free products to try is kind of awesome. It keeps my job interesting to say the least. While I was in Texas, I was contacted by a Dominos representative and was asked to review their new Specialty Chicken menu item. 

They were so cool to make a delivery to our hotel room that night. It was kind of refreshing to have a night off from dining out and just grub out in our pajamas in the room.

This is it! Dominos new Specialty Chicken - Boneless chicken covered with a variety of fun toppings. This was the "Sweet BBQ Bacon" and far and away my favorite. The combination of flavors were awesome and to be honest it is a new inventive way to eat the toppings that you favor on a protein base rather than bread. 

The next option we got sent to try was the "Spicy Jalapeno Pineapple". It wasn't bad, just not my favorite. I think this one appealed to Scott because he really likes Hawaiian pizza and this seemed to be a play on that.

Other Specialty Chicken options are: "Classic Buffalo" and "Crispy Bacon and Tomato". I am very excited to try them both at my local Dominos.

They also included a pizza as a complete surprise to complete our meal. It was the "Pacific Veggie" on Thin Crust and it was outstanding. I liked the Specialty Chicken as an appetizer and this pizza as a closer for sure. It was sliced in easy to handle squares so the toppings didn't slide off on pick up.

Before that night I couldn't remember the last time I ate at Dominos. It just wasn't a place I thought about but this meal was a wake up call! You can get really good pizza, appetizers, chicken, pasta and sandwiches for a fair price from this national chain! Give it a try, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity.

Melissa Good Taste Reviews...

I have been getting a lot of requests by companies to do reviews on their products. I love getting samples and trials of products so I gladly welcomed them to send it to me. Over the past few week this is what I have gotten in to try...

I loved this. The Sparking Ice Apple tasted almost exactly like Martinelli's Sparkling Cider minus all the calories. What a great substitution for plain when your sitting at your desk at work or if you wanted something a little jazzed up.

 Highly recommend.

We are always on the go and usually never sit down for an actual meal until dinner so when I was approached by Komplete Meal Replacement I was stoked. I loved the chocolate flavor but did not care for the vanilla. So if you are looking for a nice meal on the go, grab the chocolate!

When I saw this in the meal mail I thought, "Yee-haw! When do I get to sample this." After a party at the El Rancho Futurity of many hours of dancing, glasses of wine and staying up late - I had my opportunity the next morning. It is very similar to Alka-Seltzer tablets, same concept. And you know what, it worked! I felt revived and ready to start my day.

Shake 'n Pour... Dinner!

My husband judges very large horse shows a couple times a year and that leaves me on my own for running the ranch, tending to our office duties and deciding what to feed myself at the end of the day. It is not fun to eat by yourself! I don't want to mess up the beautifully clean kitchen and create messy dishes. I saw this Shake 'n Pour Bisquick in the supermarket the other day and decided it was just what I was after. Add a little water and heat up a skillet and I have dinner!

The pancakes came out perfect. For two nights in a row I have had pancakes for dinner and there is even a little batter left for a breakfast snack. 

Washing down the butter and syrup laden cakes with milk has made this cowgirl a little less lonely at night as watch re-runs on Bravo and the Food Network. Tick tock... Hurry home Scott Good Taste! 

Mann's Veggie Mac-n-Cheese

 A good friend of mine works for Mann Packing, a not only family owned but women owned company as well! How about that! They grow and pack vegetables across America to families just like you - everyday. I was selected to receive and review their newest product: Veggie Mac-n-Cheese. Scott Good Taste was very excited since he is the lover of all things noodle and cheese - vegetables included. There are four different flavors but I really took a liking to the Broccoli and Cauliflower with Fiesta Cheddar.

All you do is open the bag and dump into a microwave safe container. The veggies, the cheese and pasta... All in one! Cover with plastic wrap and stick into the microwave for only four minutes! That is pretty easy! I do have a side note: I like my vegetables mushy. Almost like a soft baby food so I went ahead and microwaved for another four minutes after stirring. If you prefer them perfectly al dente follow the directions as suggested.

How beautiful is this? Easy, healthy macaroni and cheese all in one convenient bowl! I was very impressed with the taste of the cheese. It was very rich and creamy unlike other cheeses on the market. I paired this with a nice piece of salmon and it made the perfect meal.

This product is available at Safeway, Von's and Tom Thumb. Go try it today. You will not be disappointed in the product. It is a great way to get vegetables on the table with even the pickiest eaters in your family. If you would like more information on this product please check out www.veggiesmadeeasy.com

Melissa Good taste gives Mann's Veggie Mac-n-Cheese her full endorsement.

Oreo Fudge Cremes - OMG!

I, Melissa Good Taste, challenge you to NOT eat the entire box of Oreo Fudge Cremes. It is pretty much impossible though so you probably shouldn't even try it. They are exactly what you want to eat when you are craving something sweet, chocolatey and totally sinful. Don't say I didn't warn you though, they are dangerous!

Sunday Funday - Ventura, CA

Good morning friends! How was your weekend? Ours was just perfect! Saturday was kind of a regular work day for us. I had office chores and Scott worked horses and gave lessons so we were excited about Sunday! We woke up and got rolling fairly early, no dawdling. He surprised with a stop into Taco Bell for breakfast. Nachos Bell Grande for me please! After that, I knew today was going to be a good day! 

We ran tons of errands after that, we had a long list of little things to do. After we worked our way down the list Scott suggested a movie. Snow White? Don't mind if we do! It was entertaining, not quite imaginative enough for me. You only get a brief visit to the beautiful land of the fairies, that was my favorite part. It really didn't stray too far from the original story. Charlize Theron is such a beauty!

Then it was off to the beach! Scott surfed like a champ! I wish I brought my good camera to get some shots of him laying it down! 

I finished reading a book that I had started last week - Summer Rental, by Mary Kay Andrews. It was ok, I mean I am just coming off reading the Fifty Shades of Grey series so please excuse me if i seem a little disappointed in what I read in anything other than that.

Scott and i decided seafood is what we were after so we drove over to the Ventura Harbor and snagged two bar seats at Brophy Brothers. Davy Brown on draft for me and Sam Adams for him to start.

The Clam Chowder came up fast and hot. Just how I like it, not too many potatoes and not too thick. This really was a good batch. 

Scott ordered the Seafood Pasta - Gulf shrimp, scallops over a bed of linguini with a white wine, garlic, lemon, parmesan bath in tow. It was a huge portion so he ate his fill and packaged the rest up to potentially eat for lunch today. I say, "potentially" because I am the leftover thief. I am known to eat up his leftovers for breakfast to leave his empty come lunch time. I am so bad.

 And now for my order, Fish and Chips with cole slaw. This is pretty much my favorite thing to order, no matter where I am at. The fish were perfectly batter, fried and salted on the plate - check! Fries tasted almost double fried so they were crunchy and cooked all the way through - check! The coleslaw was creamy delicious and was a perfect compliment to each bite of fish - check!

Spending time together with Scott is always fun. Errands become an adventure! I love to watch him in his element, surfing really makes him happy. And food, you know that makes me happy so I guess likes to see me in my element too! Have a good week people!

Happy Eating.

Product Suggestion - Brown Cow Yogurt

For breakfast this morning I tried Brown Cow Maple Yogurt. It is very good. It is packaged with a "Cream Top" and it makes for a very decadent experience. It tastes really rich, almost like dessert. 

Check out Brown Cow Farm for their other product flavors and recipes using yogurt!