This post is to prove that shit happens bad dinners happen and Pinterest does sometimes disappoint me.
What a failure. I was oh so excited to make this recipe yesterday. I had planned it for a week. I waited until yesterday because it was my day off and I knew I would have time to put it together in the afternoon, etc. I watched and rewatched Chef John’s video. It had everything my kids loved – chicken and cheese and spaghetti sauce and more cheese. I skipped going to the park to make this. I got cocky enough to let my neighbor know I’d be making her dinner as well since it made so much. And I read all the comments about the varied baking times, so I cut my thick chicken breasts in half to be sure it would be ok. I stuck it in the oven EARLY.
Note to self. DO NOT TRY A NEW RECIPE ON THE SAME NIGHT AS SWIM LESSONS. Folks, it did not take 35 minutes to bake. Even cut in half, it did not take 45 minutes to bake. One hour…nope! I’m actually not sure how long it finally took. See, we had to leave. Before it was finished baking. So we had sliced turkey, wheat thins and cheese “sandwiches” instead. And in a rush because time kept ticking as I did the “clock-math” and figured out we were running out of time!!
Luckily, I did not have to trash it. I called in the neighbor to finish baking it in her oven and handed the whole thing over for her family to enjoy. With a tear in my eye. Apparently it was good. I was still bitter about the whole thing hours later. (not towards her!)
So be warned, it may take a LONG time to cook through.
The neighbor was kind enough to give me my leftovers back. So tonight we’ll try it reheated over pasta.
Oh no! Well make sure you see how much longer it took your neighbor to make bake it so you know how long in total for next time, if you decide you have 2 hours to wait for dinner next time.
I think I’ll try he chicken tenders next time!
Made the same thing tonight with chicken tenderloins. Took 40 mins and was yummy. I bet it will be great as a leftover.
It was a bit soggy, but good with the spaghetti!
I’ve had pinterest let-downs before when it came to meals. They were the ones I was most excited about trying, too. I like to chalk it up to my mature taste buds, though (my only ounce of maturity). That’s nice you could let your neighbors enjoy it.