1965 Ad Time: Chicken Crunch

Today’s recipe comes from the October 1965 edition of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

I picked up a bunch of old magazines from an estate sale, so I’m thinking about a series on magazine ad recipes, because they are something.  In fact I think the ads interested me more than the articles in this magazine.  Here are a few of my favs:

Murder!! Duhh, duhh, DUHH!

Want!  I have the Birthdays and Celebrations and Meals in Minutes, but I could use the rest.

Now for the ad inspiring today’s menu:

Mmm…Cream of Mushroom.  After the nightmare that was cream of shrimp soup, I felt the need to find a recipe to redeem our good friend in a can.  This was totally it.  I made the ad implied menu of peas and sweet potatoes to go with it.  The results:

Crunchy, creamy, easy.  This is one tasty chicken recipe that transcends the decades.  I’m making this one again.

By the way, the peas were just buttered peas, but I got the sweet potato recipe from my favorite cook book author, Meta Given, from her 1955 Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking and it was so good, it almost stole the show from the star.

Chicken Crunch

1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup

3/4 cup milk

1 TBSP. finely chopped onion

1 TBSP. chopped parsley

2 lbs. chicken parts

1 cup finely crushed packaged herb-seasoned stuffing (or 1 cup dry breadcrumbs mixed with 1/2 tsp. each poultry seasoning and salt)

2 TBSP. melted butter or margarine

Mix 1/3 cup soup, 1/4 cup milk, onion and parsley.  Dip chicken in soup mixture; then roll in stuffing or bread crumb mixture.  Place in shallow baking dish (12x8x2″).  Drizzle butter on chicken.  Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour.  Meanwhile, combine remaining soup and milk; heat; stir now and then.  Serve over chicken.  4 to 6 servings.

Honeyed Sweet Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes

1 tsp. salt

3 TBSP. butter or margarine

1/2 cup honey

2 TBSP. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. lemon rind

1/2 tsp. salt

1 TBSP. maraschino cherries

Wash, pare and cut potatoes into crosswise slices 1/2 inch thick.  Sprinkle with the salt and brown both sides of the slices carefully in the hot butter.  Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Combine the next 4 ingredients and pour over the potatoes.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.  Garnish with cherries.  Serve immediately.  4 servings.

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