Meals as a Mrs. ~ Chicken with Red Pepper Cream Sauce

Oh. My. Goodness.



This Chicken with Red Pepper Cream Sauce recipe was the most complicated one I ever attempted.  It was soooo much work.  I started preparing it about 1 hour and 45 minutes before our dinner guest, Katy, was coming over for dinner.  Well, we ran out of time, made a couple snafus, and it seemed like so much work for a sub par dinner that I don't know if this is a repeat or not.

Thankfully, Adam helped me out with the meal prep but my forgetfulness in obtaining one ingredient and not having a familiarity with the recipe led to some frustration on both our ends.  At one point, Adam exclaimed, "I can't work this way!" when we bumped into each other one too many times and I misread the recipe a second time.  Oops.  Shortly after, when Katy showed up and said, "What can I do to help?!" she exuded a calming presence.  She saved the day with helping with the dogs who were completely underfoot and barking up a storm and also by showing me how to cook the chicken better toward the end of the meal prep.

I learned a lot by preparing this recipe!  It was the first time I used minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, roasted a red pepper and peeled off the skin, and was taught how to tenderize the chicken even if I don't have the mallet hammer thingamajig.  I have to apologize since I started out taking photos but then forgot once the recipe got too detailed and when I made mistakes in following the steps.  I also completely forgot to post the finished product so I will share the image from the recipe that is online for you!

I had such high hopes for this particular recipe.  This was at the beginning when things were going pretty smoothy.

However, I let the oil get too hot in the skillet therefore making the onions turn brown when they should have stayed white.

Next, add in the rice.

....and the chicken broth and 1 cup of dry white wine that I forgot to purchase from the store.  I didn't want to use any of my bridal shower wine gifts for this dish so off Adam went to the store for me to pick up a bottle of dry white wine.  He returned with sherry figuring it would be okay to use that instead.  Beats me but we did!  ; )

This batch of onions was suppose to turn brown as they cooked in the oil but I didn't let the oil get hot enough before putting the onions on the heat.  Ahh!

Roasting the red pepper was fun!  We opted to use the toaster oven for this task.

At this point, quite a few mistakes had already occurred with the sauce preparation and I was frazzled.  Fortunately, Katy stepped in and took over as she explained how to tenderize the chicken for next time (whack the meat off a plate over a cutting board).  That will be fun to try!  =)

These were the skins that I peeled off the red pepper...a slimy job but someone had to do it.

So, when all was said and done, we did not sit down to eat a little after 8pm as originally planned but we did eventually serve ourselves....right as the puppy got sick in the dining room.  What impeccable timing that little one has.  We had leftover salad from the other night and drank cranberry juice or water with the meal.

We had a TON of leftover cream sauce without the cream so I froze it.  The next recipe that calls for a heavy cream or cream sauce can make do with this leftover sauce.  We also have some of the Red Pepper Sauce left and I'm excited to try a recipe Katy and I made up after dinner one night next week.  Stay tuned for that one!

The meal itself was alright.  Again...lots of work...but the meal didn't blow us away or leave us wishing for more.  So, that makes the last two meals of trying new recipes so-so.  Things happen in threes so I'm hoping the next meal is not a bust!



Hmm, what did I learn from this experience last night?

• I need to read the recipe more carefully ahead of time.
• It's okay to ask for help.
• Follow each step in order regardless of distractions.
• I'm thankful for good friends who stay until close to midnight on a work night chit chatting the night away in spite of a less than ideal dinner experience!  ; )

In light of this difficult dinner last night, it seems fitting to post this piece from Humane Vitae addressed to Christian Couples:

We have no wish at all to pass over in silence the difficulties, at times very great, which beset the lives of Christian married couples.  For them, as indeed for every one of us, "the gate is narrow and the  way is hard, that leads to life."  Nevertheless it is precisely the hope of that life which, like a brightly burning torch, lights up their journey, as, strong in spirit, they strive to live "sober, upright and godly lives in this world," knowing for sure that "the form of this world is passing away."