First Meal With New Dishes!

So the wedding was two and a half weeks ago, but this is the first time that I was really able to use any of our wedding gifts. I decided to break in our new Fiestaware. It is so fun and colorful! The first meal I chose to make was Island Chicken (courtesy Annie's Eats), only I forgot about the need to marinate it ahead of time. So instead of marinating for ten hours and then baking for one, I marinated for an hour and then threw it on the George Foreman. It was not too bad, but even better in a chicken wrap the next day. The Green Beans with Bacon, Onion, and Tomato were okay. I think that I prefer traditional, if I make them again I will leave off the lemon juice it took away from the real flavor. The garlic mashed potatoes were my favorite part of the meal! Matt said they tasted just like regular, but he does not have a very sophisticated palate, I guess.
Tonight's Recipes:

Island Chicken

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/3 tsp. salt

Ground black pepper

2-4 chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a large airtight plastic bag. Shake well until the marinade is well mixed. Add the chicken breasts to plastic bag so that they are covered by the marinade. Press out all of the excess air and seal the bag tightly. Refrigerate and marinate up to 10 hours.

Method 1- When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and pour the excess marinade over them. Bake in the oven until cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 164 degrees, about 45 minutes (time varies depending on size of the chicken breasts). Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Method 2- Cook them on the George Foreman until heated through.

Source: Annie's Eats

Green Beans with Bacon, Onion, and Tomato

Ingredients:

1 lb. green beans

4 slices bacon, cut up
1 medium onion

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp, chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

Dash of pepper

2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice (optional)

Place beans in water (about 1 inch) and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 6-8 minutes, drain. Rinse with cold water, drain.

In skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet leaving about 1 tablespoon of fat. Drain bacon on a paper towel.

Add the onion to the bacon fat and cook until tender. Stir in the tmato, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the beans and heat until warm. Drizzle with lemon juice and garnish with bacon.

Source: Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Make mashed potatoes as you normally would, just add peeled garlic to the water while cooking the potatoes. I think 1 clove of garlic per potato was about right (I smashed them a bit before adding them). When you drain your potatoes, don't take out the garlic. Leave it in and mash it up with the potatoes. I also added some dried chives for color. Yum!

Source: Adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook