Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Creamy Risotto

Ok so no picture today =( I tried to take one and it just didn't do the recipe any justice. You're just going to have to trust me on this one. It is really straightforward and yummy. Usually I like to double the cheese in recipes because I love it so however, this is NOT one of those recipes. If you double any of the cheeses, especially the cream cheese, it will overpower the dish. You can substitue or add vegtables to this if you are not a fan of zucchini although I suggest you leave the onion. I am not a zucchini fan but will eat it in this and it is a good way to sneak green veggies in. If you do substitute, make sure you use something with a similiar texture.

This is really one of my favorite dinner recipes for 3 reasons:

1. Its delish

2. You only have to dirty one skillet

3. It takes less than 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (divided)

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

4-6 boneless chicken breast (remember you can brine your chicken)

2 tablespoons vegtable oil

1 can (14.5 ounces) petite diced tomatoes

1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed tomato soup

1/3 cup of water

1 1/4 cups 2% milk

1 medium zucchini

1/2 medium onion

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 cups uncooked instant white rice

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1. Beat your eggs in one dish. Combine bread crumbs, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and black pepper in second bowl. Dip chicken into eggs, then into bread crumb mixture. Sprinkle chicken with any remaining bread crumb mixture. Heat oil in 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until oil is shimmering. Add chicken; cook 3-5 minutes in each side or until internal temp is 165 degrees in the thickest part of the chicken and centers are no longer pink. (I like to beat my chicken flat. It makes the breading stay on much better and it cooks faster.)

2. While chicken cooks, pour tomatoes, water, soup and milk in a bowl and mix well. Slice zucchini lengthwise into quarters, then crosswise into 1/4 inch slices. Chop onion.

3. Remove chicken from skillet and kep warm. Combine zucchini, onion, garlic, salt and pepper flakes into skillet. Cook 1-3 minutes or until fragrant. Add rice and tomoato mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Cover and remove from heat. (If you don't have a cover for your big skillet like me, put a pizza pan or foil on top to keep the steam in so the rice will cook.) Add cream cheese and remaining parmesan cheese; stir until incorporated. Put chicken on top of risotto and serve.

Fudge Pie

This is my favorite thing. This is the best and easiest recipe. It takes less than 5 minutes to mix it up and 25 minutes to bake. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool off so you can eat it. As long as you mix the ingredients in the order stated, you can't go wrong.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
3 squares of Bakers semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 9-inch frozen pie crust

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Melt butter and chocolate in saucepan over LOW heat.

3. Remove pan from heat and mix in sugar.

4. Next, mix in beaten eggs. (You must add the ingredients in this order.)

5. Pour into pie crust and bake for 22-25 minutes or until pie is set.

Yep, that's it!!

Almond Chicken Stir-Fry & Noodle Cake

This is an easy stir-fry recipe that you will be able to make without looking at the recipe after the first time. Also, the chicken recipe is really good if you want to make chicken for a salad or some other dish. Coating chicken with egg white and cornstarch gives them a light and velvety texture.

Ingredients:

2 packages of Chicken flavored Ramen noodles

1 egg white

2 tablespoons of corn starch (divided)

1 pound chicken tenders

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon ginger root

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 cup silvered almonds (divided)

1 can of chicken broth (about 15 ounces)

2 bags of stir-fry vegetables (I use Birds Eye.)

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1. For the chicken, lightly whisk egg white in a medium sized bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch and one season packet from the ramen noodles. Slice chicken into 1-inch pieces. Toss with mixture and set aside.

2. Place almonds in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes or until toasted. These are easy to burn so watch them! Remove from skillet and set aside.

3. Prepare noodle cake (directions follow) and steam bags of vegetables according to package instructions. While noodle cake and veggies cook, add oil to skillet over medium-high heat for 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add coated chicken pieces to skillet. (They will probably all be stuck together so break them up.) Cook and stir for 4-6 minutes or until center of chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.

4. To finish stir-fry, whisk together chicken broth and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Add to skillet and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Add ginger root and garlic to skillet. Heat until fragrant, stirring constantly. Add cooked vegetables and chicken to skillet; simmer 1-2 minutes until heated through. Stir in half of the almonds. Serve over noodle cake and sprinkle with remaining almonds and pepper.

Noodle Cake Directions:

1. Prepare both packs of noodles on stove or in microwave. Drain water off and add remaining packet of seasoning and 1 tablespoon of oil.

2. Lightly spray a 10-12 inch skillet with vegetable oil or non-stick spray; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until hot.

3. Add noodles to pan. Gently press to form a cake. Noodles will need to cook at least 3-4 minutes (if not longer) on each side until golden brown. Lift edges to make sure the first side is done before attempting to flip or it will fall apart. You will need 2 spatulas to flip - or at least I do. Mine typically looks better and is browner than in the picture below. I had to rush because I had a 2-year latched to my leg. Cut into wedges like a pizza and serve.

Taking You to School on Juicy Breasts

I am always in a hurry to get dinner done and am paranoid about my chicken being raw in the middle - because even with a thermometer it has happened before. The miracle fix for this is BRINING!!

Brining simply means soaking something in a salt-water solution, and it noticeably improves the flavor, texture and juiciness of the meat. Without getting into too much science, the salt loosens up the proteins in meat, which allows more water to be trapped in the meat when it’s cooked, making it more plump and juicy.

To make a brine solution, dissolve 1 1/2 tbsp. table salt (or 1/4 cup kosher salt) in 8 cups of cold water inside a zip-top bag. Let the breasts marinate (there’s enough brine for four breasts) for 30-45 minutes in the refrigerator.

The Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon recipe (in another post below) is the perfect recipe to test the brining method. Before you insert the herbs under the skin, brine the whole pieces in a solution of 3/4 cup kosher salt and 1 quart of water for one hour. You’ll never cook chicken without brining again.

Chicken breasts are also fairly uneven in thickness—the top end is usually plump and wide, and the bottom end is fairly narrow and thin—which can cause the breast to dry out in some places before the thicker section is cooked. To remedy this, you can pound and flatten the breast (with a meat tenderizer or a plastic-wrapped mallet) to a more even thickness. Flattening-out the thicker parts also means you can cut your cooking time by a few minutes.

The method you use to cook the chicken will also affect its overall juiciness. Grilling, pan-sauteing, roasting or baking the breast in an open pan allows a lot of the moisture in the meat to evaporate. If you cook the breast en papillote [in pap-ee-yoht], a fancy (but super-easy) French technique of steam-cooking meat inside parchment paper packets (aluminum foil works, too), you won’t lose much moisture. The beauty of this method is that you can throw all sorts of veggies, herbs or steaming liquid (think: wine, vinegar, citrus juice) in the packet with the chicken to make a complete, flavorful meal—with very little clean up.

The basic directions for cooking en papillote: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Season both sides of the brined chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Lay out 12-inch squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil for each breast, and place the chicken in the center of the foil. Bend opposite sides of the foil into a tent over the widest sides of the breast and crimp the edges together. Fold once or twice more to seal. Close the open sides of the packet by folding them over several times (but not so tightly that the meat touches the ends of the packet). Place the packets on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. *Be careful when opening the foil to serve. The steam will be very hot!

Also the recipe for Spicy Southwest Chicken Sandwich (also in another post below) calls for leftover chicken, but you could easily cook a few breasts, lightly coated in some of the adobo sauce mixture, in foil packets. The difference in flavor—between the leftover chicken and the fresh, steam-cooked breasts—is kooky.

Or, customize your chicken en papillote with:

Garlic+freshly grated ginger root+soy sauce

Sliced mushrooms+sliced onions+white wine

Freshly ground black pepper+lemon juice

Dijon mustard+rosemary

Diced tomato+fresh basil

**Another option is to wrap a lose piece of tin foil around a chicken breast (pre seasoned and lightly sprayed with olive oil) and put it on the Foreman to cook (you know how I love the Foreman grill!) Very easy to cook and essentially no clean-up and the foil keeps all the juices in.**

Pan-Roasted Chicken With Lemon and Whole-Grain Mustard

This is a Wolfgang Puck recipe. And if you have ever eaten at a Wolfgang Puck resturant (a real one, not the express crap in Cool Springs) you will know that everything there is DELISH!

Serves: 2-4

 

Time: 45 minutes

 

Ingredients:

1 whole frying chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, butterflied

1 sprig fresh flat-leaf parsley, 2 fresh basil leaves, or 1 small sprig rosemary

Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup chicken stock or good-quality canned chicken broth

Juice of 2 large lemons (6 to 8 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into several pieces

1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley or finely shredded fresh basil

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Prepare the chicken. From the neck opening, gently ease your fingertips between the skin and the meat to loosen the skin all over the breast, taking care not to tear the skin. Insert the parsley sprig, basil leaves, or rosemary sprig under the skin. Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt and pepper.

 

Heat an ovenproof skillet large enough to hold the chicken over high heat. Add the olive oil and swirl it in the skillet. As soon as you begin to see slight wisps of smoke, carefully place the chicken skin side down in the skillet. Sear the chicken, undisturbed, while reducing the heat little by little to medium, until its skin has turned golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. With tongs, carefully turn the chicken skin side up. Put the skillet with the chicken into the preheated oven and cook until the chicken is deep golden brown and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh meat is pierced with a thin skewer, 10 to 15 minutes more, depending on its size. When the chicken is done, remove it from the skillet with tongs and transfer it to a cutting board.

Pour off all but a thin glaze of fat from the skillet. Return the skillet to high heat, add the chicken stock or broth and the lemon juice, stir and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan deposits, and boil the liquid until it has reduced by half its volume, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn down the heat, add the mustard, and, stirring briskly with a wire whisk, add the butter a piece at a time to make a creamy sauce. Make sure each piece has been incorporated completely before adding the next. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper and stir in half of the parsley or basil.

 

To serve, spoon the sauce into the centers of two to four heated serving plates. With a large, sharp knife, cut the chicken into two halves or four equal pieces. Place the chicken on the plates, sprinkle with the remaining parsley or basil, and serve.

Recipe from Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy.

Spicy Southwest Chicken Sandwich with Avocado and Bacon

Ingredients:

6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 canned chipotle chile, plus 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 ripe avocado, pitted

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced leftover chicken

4 thick slices bacon, cooked until crisp

1 large ripe tomato, cored and thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

8 slices focaccia or sourdough bread, lightly toasted

Directions:

1. In a blender, mini-chop, or food processor, pulse the sun-dried tomatoes, chipotle, adobo sauce, water, oil, vinegar, mustard, and brown sugar together until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and pulse again. Transfer to a small bowl.

2. In another small bowl, mash the avocado with half the cilantro and all of the lime juice. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Spread 4 of the slices of bread with the avocado mixture. Spread the remaining 4 pieces of bread with the sun-dried tomato-and-chipotle mixture, then layer on the chicken, bacon, tomato, onion, the remaining cilantro, and the bread. Cut in half and serve immediately.

This recipe is from 150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken & 50 Ways to Roast It.

Cookies 101

If you don't already know, baking is my passion. There are certain things I do not allow in my household because I will totally binge. Cookies, ice cream, cakes and pies are my vice. I will eat them non-stop. As a result, I know cookies forwards and backwards and am pretty darn good at making and eating them. That being said, I do not allow store bought cookie dough in my house. I am a cookie snob and proud of it. You can make homemade cookies so easily and they taste so much better than anything you can buy that it just isn't worth it to me.

So today I am going to give you a staple recipe for cookies. This is not a sugar cookie recipe. It is a brown sugar cookie recipe, typically what you would use for chocolate chip cookies. The variations of this recipe are endless but before we talk about the 'what' lets talk about the 'how-to.'

Like I said, I bake a lot of stuff, and for that stuff I use a few pieces of equipment that you probably already have...

Plastic bowls

Wooden spoon

Sifter

Good vanilla

A good cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (If you don't have the vanilla or cookie sheet, please see my MUST-HAVES post.)

Maybe I'm old school but I swear by wooden spoons. They are a bakers best friend. I really think that they make a difference in your end results and I won't use anything else.

Now one more thing before we talk ingredients, lets talk about the baking process and how not to burn your cookies. Bake at 350 degrees, use the pan and paper I told you about and pull the pan out of the oven BEFORE they are done. When the sides are brown and the center still looks gooey and raw, pull them out. The cookies will continue to cook on the cookie sheet while it cools off. With that being said, if you forget about your cookies while they are in the oven (that would never happen in this house) and they look all the way done, take them out of the oven give them about a minute to firm up and take them off the cookie sheet so they will stop cooking. This is true with pasta also. If you over cook it, you have to take it out of the water and rinse it with cool water to stop the cooking process.

So now about the recipe.. you can put anything in these cookies you want. Chocolate chips, nuts, M&Ms, whatever. I personally like to use 1/2 a cup of chopped pecans, one big Hershey chocolate bar and 2 Milky Way bars cut into chunks. The unlimited options make this great for kids and adults. If you decide to get chocolate chips, I do not advise you to get generic or store brand ones. Chocolate is one of the things where you get what you pay for so go for the Ghiradelli or at very least get the Toll House chips.

Also, I use dark brown sugar for chocolate chip cookies and light brown sugar for white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. You can use whichever you prefer.

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/4 tablespoon of baking soda

1/8 tablespoon (a pinch) of salt

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1 stick of room temperature lightly salted butter (don't use margarine!!!)

1 egg

1 tablespoon of vanilla

Whatever chips, candy or nuts you prefer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in one bowl. Sift if possible.

2. In another bowl mix your butter and brown sugar with a wooden spoon until it is well mixed and creamy. (If your butter is cold, put it in a bowl in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften before mixing with brown sugar.)

3. Mix egg and vanilla into butter/sugar mix until well incorporated.

4. Gradually mix in your flour mixture.

5. Add your chocolate, nuts, candy or whatever you decide to use. (You can also roll a ball around a Rolo for a gooey center.)

6. Put on lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until edges start to turn brown.

You can make them any size you want...as small as a quarter or scoop the dough on to the pan with an ice cream scoop. Because all ovens are different and sizes vary I can't give you a cook time. I typically put my dough on about the size of a golf ball and they are done in about 10 minutes. These cookies don't get dark brown like store bought cookie dough if you use quality ingredients. Keep an eye on them and watch for the brown edges.

Enjoy!