Homemade Shake & Bake Chicken with Steamed Asparagus and Pierogi (Polish Dumplings)

The last part of winter hung on and the cold weather really hasn't let go.  So far, it has been a cold, damp spring with snow still in the forecast.  Last night and this morning, heavy thunderstorms with rain advisories are rolling through.  While it isn't perfect outdoor weather, it is a great time for me to do a bit of home canning and baking, especially breads.  Mid-February through to the first week of May, we are in overdrive mode working 16 to 18 hour days 7 days a week, more so my husband for the past couple of years.  We are in bed before 8 PM and while he drifts off to sleep immediately, I sip on camomile tea and play a hidden objects game or crochet before going to sleep by 8:30 PM.  He's up at 3 AM and out the door 20 minutes later.  I'm usually up the same time, sometimes a half hour later.  I have dinner ready for 5:30 PM and these days I am relying on home cooked comfort foods.

Homemade shake & bake chicken is one of our family comfort foods.  It's quick, easy, no muss, no fuss, and just downright good!  What you may not know is homemade shake & bake chicken reheats nicely so you can cook extra one night then simply reheat for a quick meal another night.  To reheat, place the cooked shake & bake chicken pieces in an oven proof casserole dish.  Cover with aluminum foil.  Heat in oven at 350°F for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve.

I used four bone in chicken breasts for homemade shake & bake chicken, 2 each for Saturday and Sunday's dinner.  The first dinner I served the chicken with steamed broccoli, baked potatoes and homemade creamy coleslaw.  The second dinner I served the chicken with steamed asparagus, potato and cheese pierogi and a small garden salad.

Pierogi are Polish dumplings made with unleavened dough stuffed with a potato filling that are either boiled, or boiled then baked or fried.  Traditional pierogi are filled with a mixture of potato, meat and sauerkraut.  Sour cream or caramelized onion pieces are popular toppings for pierogi.   I have not made pierogi from scratch as they are not something we have very often, as in once a year if that.  I bought frozen pierogi this time to serve as a guideline in making them from scratch.  This is a handy tip for getting an idea of how the final product should be prior to making your own from scratch.  I did the same thing when learning to make fresh pasta by comparing it to store bought fresh pasta and when first attempting certain artisan breads.  At any rate, a 1 kg bag of frozen store brand pierogi costs $1.79.  There were about 30 pierogi in the bag but I used almost half the bag for dinner leaving me half to use in my testing.  Homemade pierogi should come in less expensive with a fresher flavour.  One recipe on Food Net work uses 3 c of flour and 3 eggs for the dough which would cost me 99¢ plus the filling so an estimated added 50¢ for potato and cheese, which gives a total cost of $1.49 for 72 pierogi.  So, based on this homemade pierogi should be under half the price of store bought.  I'm off to do a bit of experimenting so will report back on the results later this week.