"Coped" out ...

I should be sitting in front of a computer - other than my own- right now, allowing whatever program to assess my customer service/sales abilities. Yep, I called the HR lady, informed her that I landed another job, and thanked her for the opportunity and consideration. I received a call last week from the now-outsourced company, asking me if I would like to temporarily work in the packaging department for the season. Far be it for me to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I enthusiastically said I would, hoping my tone didn't belie my somber mood. It appears that I'll be twiddling my thumbs and scaling the walls until the week after Labor Day. I admit that I'm a coward, for I'd rather be safe than sorry. There isn't much to think about as far as weighing options. I'd take the temporary former job over a full-time customer service/sales position any day. I'm not stressing, so it's got to be good.

Enough of that topic for now.

My dh (dear husband) decided to fix baked chicken wings, french green beans, and broccoli au gratin rice for dinner last night. Naturally, it was quite good. Whenever we have chicken or pork chops (haven't experimented with beef yet), I'll soak the meat in a brine for at least an hour - preferably longer. The first time I attempted the brining - about three weeks ago - I was quite surprised. The baked chicken breast came out very tender and moist.

Here's what I did:

I rinsed 7 chicken breasts. I poured 4 cups of water into a huge bowl. To the water, I added 3 tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar. After mixing thoroughly, I added the chicken breasts and allowed it to set for a couple of hours.

Afterwards, I rinsed the brine off of the chicken. After spraying a baking sheet with non-stick spray and preheating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, I prepared a mixture of 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper in a medium-sized bowl. After the coated chicken was placed on the baking sheet, I added a dollop of butter to the top of each piece. Of course, the butter is optional. The chicken breasts were baked for 30 minutes, flipped, then baked for another 30 minutes. My husband raved about my method. Initially, he stated that I could fix the chicken from that moment on; however, he seems to enjoy experimenting as much as I do.