A Special Meal For No Special Occasion

My husband was coming home late last night and the children and I weren't hungry at supper time.... so we put together something a little special. I hadn't planned on doing anything out of the ordinary but I did happen to have Cornish game hen in the fridge. I had been planning on having it later in the week. Also, my husband has been wanting me to make cheesy potatoes. I like to make a double batch of them when I make them but it takes a while to prepare so we generally don't have them. We had salad in the fridge and every vegetable imaginable so our meal was just asking to be put together.

The game hen took two hours so that gave ample time for the potatoes and I chose carrots to add color to our table. The carrots took only a short time in comparison with the other dishes. The quickest part, besides setting the table, was the salad. I just went with the simplest thing, mixed green salad. We have a buffet server that holds plenty of toppings to spice things up in a more personal way.

When my husband came home, he said that he could smell supper before he even walked in the door. Everything smelled wonderful. The game hen was a hit with the kids and myself and the potatoes are always a treat to everyone. To my surprise, my husbands favorite part of the meal was the carrots.

Here are the recipes:

Herbed Game Hen
6 Cornish Hens ( 1 to 1 1/4 pounds each) thawed, split in half
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and dry hens and arrange in a baking dish, skin side up. In a bowl mix all other ingredients. Pour mixture over hens. Bake uncovered, spooning juices over hens every 20 minutes, for 2 hours or until juice runs clear when poked with a fork.

Next time I will thicken the juices and use as a sauce. The children and I loved the game hens and the juices. The Mr..... not so much.

Potatoes au Gratin
2 pounds potatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 pound cheese, grated
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups milk

Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and salt and blend until smooth. Stir in cold milk gradually and cook over direct hear, stirring constantly until sauce boils and becomes thick and smooth. Add potatoes to the white sauce and heat until sauce bubbles. Butter a casserole dish and arrange in layers the creamy potatoes, then grated cheese. Continue layering. End with cheese on top. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove cover and brown top under the broiler.

These are so good, you will want to make more than one dish at a time!

Herbed Carrots
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 tablespoon tarragon
1 pound carrots (I used whole baby carrots)

In a heavy saucepan combine all of the ingredients. Cover and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes or until the carrots are done. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.