Mama's Chicken

Today is just one of those days.  It's cold, rainy, gloomy, and all around ugly.  I'm at the point in the year where I am just OVER winter.  February is the shortest month but it always feels much too long!  On "these days" you just need some comfort food.  Which is why I decided to make my mom's famous lemon soy sauce chicken.  When I was a kid, this is the meal I always requested on my birthday.  This recipe was passed down to my mom from my grandma so it's definitely a family favorite.  All you need are these ingredients:

Really though, my mom always said she guesstimates on the amounts of everything.  Now I'm at the point where I do the same.  But for me it's mostly so I don't have to use measuring cups and therefore have less dishes :)  The point is that you don't have to strictly adhere to these measurements.

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper

You might also like to know that this recipe made it into my first grade class cookbook.  We all turned in our favorite foods and our teacher compiled them into a book.  And it's not weird at all that I still have this.

The chicken you use is really up to you.  I chose to use bone in chicken thighs this time around.  Then preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Put your chicken in a baking dish and pour the soy sauce and lemon juice over it.  Then sprinkle with oregano, garlic powder, and pepper.  If you want, cover it with foil to keep more of the juice in.  Bake for 45 min-1 hour depending on the type of chicken you use.  Serve with rice of course :) I know the trainers on the Biggest Loser would freak out if they knew this, but white rice is a staple in our house.  (mostly because I throw it in the rice cooker and walk away for 20 minutes)

The final product is delicious.

I also promised my favorite pasta sauce recipe.  I got sick of buying those giant jars of spaghetti sauce because we never finished the whole thing.  Then I ended up throwing out half empty mold infested sauce.  Waste.  So I decided to make my own.  You need:

1 can tomato sauce (Hunt's is my fav)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

Add all the spices and stir.  Really difficulty concept, I know.  Put a lid on it and let simmer for a few minutes.  We put it over my homemade noodles the other night and had no leftover sauce!

Hope you're staying dry on this yucky rainy day!