Quit Being Such a Dill Weed

I took a brief vacation over the past few days to see my precious nephew for his 1st birthday. He taught me so much about food! For example, cake is best eaten smeared all over your forehead. Also, Ritz crackers taste delicious when spread with avocado and goat cheese. He was very cute and I'm a very proud Aunt!

Thankfully, most of my trip was spent with a pleasant child. Unfortunately, the flight to my nephew's state found me sitting in front of the most annoying children in history. Now, I'm not a big complainer about kids on planes - I feel sorry for their little ear drums and their short attention spans, so crying children don't bother me.

Obnoxious, middle-school-aged children with an equally obnoxious parent who are all sporting loud, obnoxious accents from a part of the country that I'm NOT from drive me bananas. It began with the brace-faced little girl suddenly screaming "EWWWW. Put that stuff away mom!" The ensuing argument between mother and daugther identified that "stuff" as hand sanitizer gel...that her mother was not using...but that I was. I was secretly glad to have offended her preteen olfactory nerves.

What followed was literally three hours of loud complaining about every nuance of flight ("that baby better not sit next to as" as the baby and parents walked by; "do you hear that snoring?" in reference to a sleeping businessman; "I hate peanuts."; "Why do the bathrooms have to be so small?"). I, of course, responded in the only way I could: I repeatedly used my hand sanitizer gel. The little elderly lady across the aisle from me did one better. She quietly closed her bible, removed her granny glasses and leaned over to me.

"I wish those little dill weeds would shut the Hell up," she confided.

In her honor, I've made a meal focused on dill weed and it didn't hurt that the herb was growing out of control when I returned home from my vacation. Enjoy a light, summery meal of Feta-Stuffed Chicken, Snap Beans with Bacon and Mushrooms and Garlicky Red Potatoes.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup crumbled feta

1/4 carmelized onions

1 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 cup cornflake crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

Rinse and dry chicken breasts

Place chicken breast between two sheets of wax paper or two sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or a rolling pin, flatten chicken breasts to approximately 1/2 inch thickness.
Combine cheese, onion, dill, celery salt and pepper.

Spoon 1/2 of the cheese mixture onto one of the chicken breasts. Fold chicken breast in half and secure with toothpicks.

Combine cornflake crumbs and garlic salt on a plate. Dip chicken breast into beaten egg and then coat with cornflake crumbs. Repeat with other chicken breast.
Place chicken in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Snap Beans with Bacon and Mushrooms
3 slices of center-cut pork bacon (lower in sat-fat!)

1/2 small onion, diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 lb snap beans, snapped
1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 tsp dill weed

Salt and pepper

Cook bacon in a large skillet until partially crispy.
Add onion and carmelize (you may add 1 whole small onion and use 1/2 for the chicken recipe above!)
Meanwhile, steam snap beans in salted water for 8-10 minutes.

Add mushrooms and continue cooking until bacon is crispy.

Remove bacon and dice. Return bacon to the pan.

Add steamed snap beans to the pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together vegetable broth, sour cream and dill weed.Add sour cream mixture to the pan with the beans and bacon
Simmer until sauce is thickened slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garlicky Red Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, washed and any eyes removed

1/4 cup milk or half and half

2 tbls butter

1 tsp garlic salt

1 Tsp dill weed

Chop potatoes but do not peel. Boil in salted water for about 15 minutes.

Using a potato masher, crush potatoes, but do not cream.

Add milk, butter, garlic salt and dill. Mix well.