W4DW Guest Post Chicken Cutlets with Mustard Sauce

Good Housekeeping.  You remember that magazine right?  This magazine is one I remember from my childhood and I think it always have one of the nicest covers at the check out lanes.

Good Housekeeping gave our family a recipe we absolutely love!  We recently served it for our annual couples gathering. The mixture of seasonings and sauce come together in just the right way!  The Good Housekeeping recipe is on  their website.

I am sure if you do not want to cut your chicken breasts into cutlets it is just fine.  We probably will not when we make it for our own family.  We did however for our event.   

We hope you enjoy this summer time grilling recipe! It will definitely be going into our grilling rotation!

Thanks!

Julie @ In Between the Sunsets of Life

The total time it takes to make it is about 35 minutes and this recipe serves 4.  

Mustard Sauce

2 tbsp. light mayo

1 tbsp. fresh dill

1 tbsp. fresh mint leaves

1 tbsp. dijon mustard

1 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tsp.   sugar

Chicken Cutlets

4 medium chicken breast cutlets

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. fresh dill

1 tbsp fresh mint leaves

2 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp.  vegetable oil

.25 tsp. ground pepper

Prepare mustard sauce in a small bowl by mixing all the ingredients and set aside.

Pound chicken breasts to flatten some.  In a medium bowl, stir sugar, dill, mint, vinegar, salt, oil, and pepper until mixed.

Place the chicken breasts in the bowl, tossing to coat well.  Grill chicken until the breast is done by using a meat thermometer to determine if meat is done.  Which is 165 degrees.  

Serve with sauce on side.  

Link to original recipe site.

I always love to read Julie's blog In Between the Sunsets of Life for the recipes and to see what is going on in their part of the state on the farming front.  Her second blog, Pushing Forward with Grace, has giving me inspiration and grounded me on more than one occasion.  I recommend you go check both of them out. 

Flat Aggie Visits Northwestern Kentucky

This is the final Flat Aggie report for this school year.  I am kind of sad, but excited that at least a few of the teacher's are ready to do it again and one class wants me to talk to their teacher for next year to see if they can keep following Flat Aggie.  That makes me happy that they actually like learning about farms and where their food comes from.  If you are a farmer and would like to host Flat Aggie next year, send me a message.  If you are a teacher who would like to use Flat Aggie in your class, send me a message, too.  I would love to work with you. -KFM

Hello again Mrs. Leiker’s class! I’ve been spending lots of time in northwestern Kentucky with Daniel and Danielle Hayden! Kentucky is very different than Kansas, everything is very green and there are lots of hills.

As soon as I arrived, the Haydens’ started showing me around. Daniel manages his family’s beef and poultry farm (that means cows and chickens). Since it is spring, baby cows — which are called calves — were being born. I got to help Daniel put tags in the newborn calves ears. Farmers put tags in ears so that they can identify which baby belongs to which momma and other important information.

 

Since I had already visited a cattle ranch, Daniel and Danielle taught me a lot about chickens. Hayden Farms has four poultry houses, each house holds 25,000 chickens apiece, so that’s a 100,000 chickens! One thing that surprised me was how big each house one, even though there were a lot of chickens, they still had lots of room to run around and chase each other.

 

The chickens arrive at the farm right after they hatch, when they are only about 40 minutes old, they stay at the farm for six weeks until they are grown. When the chickens are babies the houses are temperature regulated to stay 94°F, but when they are full grown the houses are regulated to stay at 66°F. This is done to make sure they are always at a temperature where they are most comfortable.

 

After the chickens leave, Daniel and the other guys that work on the farm scrape out the floor, remove all the fans and wash them, sanitize the entire inside of each house and make any necessary repairs.

 

While I was in Kentucky I also learned that there are jobs in agriculture besides being a farmer. For example, Danielle is an agriculture writer and photographer. One morning during my time with the Haydens’ we took a three-hour drive to the opposite side of the state so Danielle could interview a family that runs a thoroughbred and Hereford cattle farm.

California Chorme's Granddam (grandma) with this year's foal.

 

Thoroughbred horses are used mostly for racing. In Kentucky, horse racing is very popular. The week we visited the racehorse farm was a special week for the state, because it just so happened to be the week of the Kentucky Derby, one of the most famous horse races. The grandmother of the horse that won this year — California Chrome— lives at the farm we visited! I found out racehorses are very pampered, which is understandable since the owners of the farm said the horses ranged in price from $2,500 to $975,000. Yikes!!

While I was in Kentucky, Daniel and Daniel were in the process of buying their first farm. Eventually someday their farm will be joined together with Daniel’s family’s farm, but for now they’re just starting out. I went with them for closing day and hung out while they signed a bunch of paperwork.

They were really excited about finally owning their own farm, but I was really excited about the humongous bowl of Tootsie Rolls!

 

I was sad to leave, but excited to come back to you all and share my exciting adventure in the Bluegrass State. Someday I hope to get a chance to visit Kentucky again and learn new things about agriculture in that state.

W4DW- Chicken Crescents

What's 4 Dinner Wednesday?  A guest recipe post from a young woman of agriculture that has written a cookbook sharing recipes from her family's summer journey, harvesting wheat.  Be sure to read to the bottom to find where you can buy her cookbook. -KFM

My name is Karly Frederick, last year when I was a senior at Sterling High School, I was required to complete a senior project. I was inspired by the cookbook Pioneer Woman and my family's custom harvesting business to create our own cookbook, so along came Meals From the Field. This cookbook is full of recipes that my family uses on the harvest run to feed the crew; main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. Throughout the book it shows what life is like on harvest. Here is an excerpt from the introduction:

"Custom Harvesting is quite different from most people's day job. Our family packs up every summer to harvest crops from Oklahoma to North Dakota. Frederick Harvesting is a family-owned business with Christian values. We operate green and yellow machinery with employees from around the country and world who run them. While Frederick Harvesting has been growing since 1983, it was when Drew Frederick married Connie Rich in 1985 and Lance Frederick married Lynette Hand in 1988, that the harvest trail became more bearable and enjoyable. Food. Wholesome, delicious, mouth-watering food. This little change made a huge difference. The crew looks forward to the sight of Connie and Lynette's vehicle pulling into the field with the meals each night. They know what comes next: a voice on the two-way radio saying, "Time for supper boys." That little break from work each night to eat a hot meal makes harvest feel a bit more like family – more homey, more comfortable. The simple concept of good food can do so much good for a group of people. Food brings people together, holds a common ground, and soothes the soul. That is just what this cookbook is: good food. We've used many of these recipes for a long time on the harvest trail and want to share some of our harvest traditions for others to enjoy."

 

While I was on this journey for this project, I never knew how big it would truly grow! I published the cookbook and made it available for sale online in hardcover, softcover, PDF version, and ebook version, so that any budget could afford one of the versions. 

Here is one of my family's favorite from the book, Chicken Crescents. These are my sister's absolute favorite food in the world. One bite into that pouch is mouth waterin' good. What is great about these is that you can make quite a few extra and keep in the freezer for later as well.

Chicken Crescents

Ingredients 

4 cups of cooked, diced chicken

3 ounces cream cheese

2 cans cream of chicken soup

4 teaspoons milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 ounces sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 packages crescent rolls 

1 stick butter, melted

2 cups seasoned croutons, crushed

Directions: 

In medium bowl, mix chicken, cream cheese, soup, milk, sour cream, cheese, and spices. Separate crescent rolls so that you have 8 squares and press each square flat. Spoon 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture into half of each square. Fold other half and seal by pinching the crescent dough together. Brush top and bottom with melted butter and roll each crescent in crushed croutons. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350º for 25 minutes.

Here is the link straight to the hardcover book on sale, but there is also softcover, PDF version, and ebook version available!

 http://www.blurb.com/b/4228176-meals-from-the-field

Also like Meals from the Field on Facebook! 

https://www.facebook.com/MealsFromTheField

Karly Frederick

W4DW- Cream of Chicken and Vegetable Soup

What's for Dinner Wednesday?  How about a guest post from Erin from Diaries from the Dirt Road.  She is a Missouri farm girl that is currently serving as the Missouri Honey Queen.  Erin also participated in the Christmas in the Country.  She has been sharing some of her favorite recipes on her blog and was kind enough to share one with all of you.-KFM

Cream of Chicken and Vegetable Soup

2 tbs. Butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups water

1 cup cream

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp thyme 

1 cube chicken bouillon 

3 chicken breasts cooked and cubed

2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups mixed peas and carrots (frozen kind)

Melt the butter in a large pot, over medium heat. Add flour and stir until well combined. 

Whisk in broth, water, cream, and seasonings including the bouillon. 

Add chicken and potatoes, cover and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are done. 20-25 min. 

Add mixed peas and carrots and cook another 5-6 min or longer if peas and carrots are still frozen. 

Enjoy!!