Recipes from "Heat n' Serve" blog

When I set out to make these recipes, the main idea was to do anything that would help heat the house, since we were not using our heat at the time, due to our air handler's odd behavior and fears of a possible fire. So I chose to bake chicken and potatoes in the oven to help generate some heat. So along with the extra warmth, we got a bonus of some delicious, roasted food that was quite simple to throw together!

Roast Chicken Thighs

*Since there is just my husband and I, we can cook in small amounts. A family of 4 will wish to either have 4-6 thighs or roast a whole chicken.

2-chicken thighs, with the bone and skin on
assorted seasonings (any you like. I used kosher salt, pepper, Lawry's Poultry Seasoning,
Thyme & a little granulated garlic)
Olive oil (and a drop of canola oil to "oil" the baking dish with)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken pieces dry and lay, skin-side up, in oiled baking dish. Rub a bit of olive oil around each piece then season as you like. Bake, uncovered, about 45-50 minutes.


Scalloped-Gratin Potatoes

2 medium-sized white potatoes, peeled and sliced (rather thin slices, like 1/8" wide)
small amount chicken broth
small amount half n' half or milk (if desired) *I did not use this, but it is common with scalloped
potatoes).
Grated cheese, your choice (suggested: Fontina or Mexican cheese blend, can also be cheddar...
your choice).
A couple pats butter, cut up
Assorted seasonings: Lawry's seasoning salt, white pepper, chives. (Whatever you like).
Drop of canola oil (to "oil" baking dish)

Place sliced potatoes in a small baking dish. (You can increase the potatoes, ingredients & dish, depending on how many people you are feeding). Pour in broth (and a bit of milk, if using), not too much, just till you can see it when you look down into the potatoes. Put in the cheeses and seasonings and toss around. Lay on the cut up pats of butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You can either put this in the oven uncovered the whole time, or loosely cover it with foil at first, then remove part-way. This time I covered it loosely till partway ('cause I did not want to darken the cheese too much), but I'd added a little too much broth, and this would have probably completely boiled down nicely had I left it uncovered the whole time, allowing evaporation. You will have to be the judge. The other option is you leave it uncovered the whole time, then the last 15 minutes, sprinkle the cheeses on. Enjoy!

*We enjoyed this was some Smoking Loon Chardonnay.