Poor Man's Emergency Vegetable Soup

Ingredients
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp curry powder
2 cups water
2 cups chicken stock (or 1 large bullion cube in 2 cups water)
1 (16-oz) frozen Ranchero Fiesto blend vegetables (Stop & Shop brand; made up of broccoli, white beans, dark red kidney beans, Garbanzo beans, carrots, Italian green beans, and red peppers)
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Method
1.  Heat oil in a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, thyme, and curry powder and cook, stirring for about 1 minute.

2.  Add water, chicken stock, frozen vegetables, and brown sugar. Bring just to a boil.

3.  Reduce heat and cook until vegetables are heated through, about 10 minutes. Add salt and red pepper flakes to taste.


Adapted from the Hartford Courant recipe Easy Vegetable Soup.

Breaded Dijon Chicken Breast

Ingredients
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Olive oil

Method
1.  Prepare an ungreased baking pan and set oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Pat the chicken dry using paper towels.

3.  In a shallow dish whisk the eggs with Dijon mustard until well blended.

4.  In another shallow dish, combine the dry bread crumbs with the garlic powder, seasoned salt, black pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper.

5.  Dip chicken breasts into the egg/mustard mixture allowing any excess to drip off, then place the chicken into the breadcrumb mixture turning to coat with the crumbs and pressing down with hands firmly to adhere the coating to the chicken; place onto a plate or the prepared baking sheet.

6.  Cover the bottom of a skillet with oil then heat over medium-high heat.

7.  Add in the breaded chicken one or two at a time and brown both sides (about 3 minutes per side or until golden brown, do not cook thoroughly).

8.  Transfer to ungreased baking sheet and bake the chicken for 30 minutes or until cooked through.


Adapted from the Food.com recipe "Kittencal's Tender and Juicy Breaded Dijon Chicken Breast."

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups mashed cooked sweet potato

1/2 cup milk

Method

1.  Sift together first five ingredients.

2.  Cut in butter until mealy.

3.  Add potato and milk and knead into a ball. Divide into smaller pieces.

4.  Turn onto a floured surface and roll dough into about 1/2 inch thickness. Fold in half and cut into circles.

5.  Bake on greased sheet at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.