The Chicken Was a Hit

The Coach signed the game ball for Mr. Baseball.

It's amazing how much my cooking has in common with the game of baseball. I am up against a pretty tough crowd. There are nights when I will hit a home run and there are others when I know I've struck out.

Then there are the slumps. No matter how hard I try, nothing tastes good to any of us. We usually go about a week eating ham and cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, and waffles. I am famous for making brownies for dinner when I am in a slump.

This gets old really fast.

There's something about the arrival of Autumn that inspires me to cook. For tonight's dinner, I wanted to try something different. I took a risk and concocted a chicken dish.

What's for dinner tonight? Kayleigh and Everett both asked.

I had to quickly come up with an appealing name.

"Cheesy Ranch Chicken." I said as I pulled it out of the oven.

"Smells good." Kayleigh complimented me.

We also had mashed new potatoes, fresh green beans with garlic, and homemade blueberry muffins. Just so you know how picky my crowd is, Everett does not like green beans, and Kayleigh does not like mashed potatoes. Everett loves the blueberry muffins, and Kayleigh barely tolerates them.

And then there's Cozette who eats nothing.

The Coach did not have time to eat dinner with us before the baseball game.

After we said a prayer, I intently studied their expressions.

Kayleigh took a bite.

"Mmmm... Mom, this is really good. You should submit it to Southern Living."

"Thank you Kayleigh. It's not that good." I assured her.

Everett was busy eating his food. I asked him to please eat all of his dinner, so he would have a good game.

He finally spoke.

"This chicken is so good that I am going to hit a home run tonight!

I just about fainted.


Guess what?

Everett hit a home run.

And he received the game ball too!

It looks like we're all back in the game.