Pinteresting Recipes: Panko and Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Panko and Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Ever have one of those moments where you can't decide what to have for dinner until you find a recipe that you just happen to have all the ingredients for? That was me tonight and this was the recipe. How we just happened to have panko lying around I yet to figure out but I wasn't about to question it. Bring on the recipe!

The finished product!
(Also pictured, Smashed Red Potatoes)

Ingredients:
     2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
     1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
     3/4 cup Plain Panko Bread Crumbs
     1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
     1/2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning
     1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
     1/4 tsp Paprika
     Salt & Pepper
     1 Egg
     2 tbsp Olive Oil
     2 tbsp Butter



Directions:

Assembly line (right to left)

1. (Optional) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (used for keeping the chicken warm, if desired. I didn't do this). 
2. Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper & pound thin, about 1/4". They make large servings. You could easily cut the breast in half & make 2 servings out of one!
3.  Set up your assembly line.
   --- Place the flour on one plate, lightly beat the egg with 1 tsp of water on another plate.
   --- Combine the Panko, Parmesan & seasonings on the third plate. (You could substitute regular bread crumbs but I think the Panko gives it a much crispier & lighter texture.) 
4. Dredge the thinned chicken breasts (one at a time) through the flour, then the egg, then coat in the Panko & Parmesan mixture.
5. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil & 1 tbsp of butter in a skillet over medium/ low heat. I used a 10" skillet & cooked 1 at a time, but I was only making 2 chicken breasts. If you are making more, use a larger skillet & add more olive oil & butter accordingly. Fry the chicken breasts, until the 1st side is golden & the chicken is partially cooked.
6. Gently flip & cook the other side until the chicken is fully cooked. This is such a quick cook, it cooks in about 3-5 minutes on each side.
7. Remove & place chicken on a sheet pan (I like to line the sheet pan with parchment paper first).
   --- Keep warm in the oven, heated to 200 degrees, while you cook the other chicken breasts & get the rest of your meal together.
   --- OR line a plate with two paper towels, place the chicken on the plate and put an additional two paper towels over the chicken.
   Wipe out the bread crumbs & excess oil from the pan with a paper towel in between cooking so the bits don't burn. (I failed to do this, I burnt one of the chicken breasts. Luckily I made an extra.)
8. I sprinkled some extra Parmesan Cheese on top
   (Original Recipe)

Cooking: just after the flip.
(I clearly used more than one tbs of butter/oil)

Warning:

Flipping - For the love of God be careful when flipping the chicken. The oil can and will splash up and may burn you. I got as far from the stove as I could while still able to flip with a spatula at arms length.

Speed bumps:

Wet hand Dry hand - When going through the assembly line, use one hand only for the dry parts (flour and panko plate) and the other hand for the wet parts (egg plate) to avoid "hulk hands" where a thick doughy mess forms on your hands and you end up at the sink trying to get the gunk off.

Verdict: Good

 The chicken tasted awesome: spices were great, it was nice and crunchy, chicken was juicy. My husband and I agreed that some sort of sauce might help this one and that this chicken would be a great replacement for the traditional chicken  in chicken parm. We will be making this one again, but we will also be tweaking the recipe.

Pinteresting Recipes: Smashed Red Potatoes

Smashed Red Potatoes 

Fresh out of the oven,
just before adding cheese

Today I blog hopped via Pinterest and found Our Blissfully Delicious Life's blog which was packed with awesome sounding recipes. After going through every post (and I do mean every single last one) on the blog I decided this would be the one, Smashed Red Potatoes. Why? Because we have a 10 lb bag of them in our kitchen (I am in no way joking) and we need to eat them! I did modify the recipe a bit; the original will be linked bellow.



Ingredients:
    Red skin potatos
    Olive oil
    Salt
    Pepper
    Garlic powder
    Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
    Sour Cream

Directions:

1.  Clean (scrub and rinse) your desired number of potatoes (it helps if they are roughly the same size).
2. Boil the potatoes on the stove top until fork tender. Salting the water is optional (we did).
3. Preheat the oven to 450 while your potatoes are coming to a boil.
4. Once potatoes are fork tender, drain the water from the pot and move the potatoes to a greased sheet pan (use olive oil to grease the pan).
5. Using the smooth side of a meat tenderizing mallet (the chicken side, if labeled) smash the potatoes.
   It normally takes about 3-4 whacks. If the potato falls apart just push it back together into a potato like form.
6. Drizzle the smashed potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
   I think I used about 1/2 a tsp of garlic per potato (or maybe a little bit less, but really it's up to you.)
7. Bake for 15 minutes
8. Flip the potatoes and bake another 15 minutes
9. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with cheese (as generously as you would like, we did a healthy pinch per potato)
10. Top with sour cream and serve/enjoy!

Warning:

When flipping the potatoes in the oven, beware of hot oil splattering. It does sting.
Additional caution when flipping, pieces may fly off the sheet pan, try to avoid this by flipping carefully.

Speed bumps: 

The finished product!
(Also pictured, Panko and Parmesan crusted chicken)

This is another "to taste" recipe, so it may take a little tweaking to get the spices just how you like them.
This recipe is a little time intensive: 30 minutes in the oven and at least 30 minutes in the pot.

Verdict: Yum!

We loved this spin on the Original Recipe (which was a bit more healthy than my version and did not include cheese and sour cream). We've made them both ways (with and without the last 3 ingredients) and they just rock. They are a little time intensive but if you have the time give them a try (both ways!).

Pinteresting Recipes: Cake Batter Fudge and Chocolate Fudge

Cake Batter Fudge 

&

Chocolate Fudge

Cake Batter Fudge

Well I saw a Pin last week... Cake Batter Fudge, and had to run on over to Baked From a Box (blog) to get the whole story. The recipe seemed very straight forward: yellow cake mix, butter, milk, and confectioners’ sugar (about a cup of each dry and a 1/4 a cup of each wet). Cook time? 2 minutes in the microwave, and an hour in the fridge. Here is the exact recipe:

Ingredients
    1 cup yellow cake mix
    1 cup confectioners’ sugar
    1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter or margarine, cut into small squares
    1/4 cup milk or 1/8 cup soy milk

    sprinkles (optional)

Instructions
    Mix cake mix and icing sugar in microwave-safe bowl. Add butter and milk. Don’t stir.
    Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir immediately until completely combined. Add sprinkles.
    Do not overmix as sprinkle color may bleed.

    Spread into greased pan. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

* Makes one 6 x 6” container, or double for an 8 x 8” pan.
** Notes: If the batter comes out too runny, stir in about 1 tsp or sugar or cake mix at a time until stiff. If too thick to stir in all components, slowly add 1/2 tsp of milk at a time, but batter should be thick!

The recipe seems very simple to remember however.... when making it I discovered it isn't quite that simple.  

Warning:

The brand of mix you use will vary how much of the dry ingredients you need.
I think I used at least an extra 1/2 cup of each dry ingredient. 

Speed bumps:

1. I did not have sprinkles... so ours was just yellow, no fancy colors. 
2. My first batch was way too runny and I only discovered this after it had been sitting in the fridge. The good news? It's fixable. take the mix out of the pan, powder your working surface with powdered sugar, and knead in some extra powdered sugar (and mix, if you want), then put the thickened fudge back in the pan, pat it down, and let is sit for about 30 minutes.

Verdict: YUM -

 This recipe is "stupid easy" aside from the whole eyeballing it part. Last minute party? Surprise guests? No problem, it takes less than 5 minutes to mix up the recipe, microwave it, and put it in the fridge. In an hour you have dessert (and really, that's a flexible time frame, sometimes my fudge was done in 30 minutes.

You can also go for chocolate chip cookie flavor by substituting chocolate chips for the sprinkles. Just pour the fudge in the greased pan, and then press the chocolate chips into the fudge quickly (it will start to melt, don't worry, just move quickly and pop it right in the fridge.

Also, you can use specific colors of sprinkles or chocolate candies to give the fudge a holiday feel (think red and green, or orange, yellow, and brown).

Alternate Recipe for Cake Batter Fudge

Ingredients:
    2 cups yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
    2 cups powdered sugar
    1 stick butter
    1/4 cup milk
    1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles
Directions:
    Place cake mix and powdered sugar in a large bowl and combine.
    Pour in the milk, top with stick of butter, and microwave for 2 minutes.
    Immediately begin mixing everything together – the butter may not be fully melted but will as you continue mixing.
    Lastly, mix in the rainbow sprinkles, then pour fudge into a greased cake pan.
    Chill for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.
From: Girl Meets Life

Chocolate Fudge

My husband had an idea. Cake batter fudge is awesome and all.... but what about chocolate cake batter fudge? Touche Tom, Touche! So I grabbed a box of chocolate cake mix and gave it a whirl. Good news! It works! Here is what I came up with:

Ingredients
    1 cup chocolate cake mix
    1 cup confectioners’ sugar
    1/4 cup (half stick) margarine (I haven't tried butter but it probably works)
    1/4 cup milk

    Chocolate Chips (optional)

Instructions
    Mix cake mix and icing sugar in microwave-safe bowl. Add butter and milk. Don’t stir.
    Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir immediately until completely combined.
    Spread into greased pan.
    Press chocolate chips into the fudge (liberally and quickly as they may start to melt)
    Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Verdict: YUM - 

It was good, very good. Possibly better than the original (because of the texture the chips gave it)

Just like with the cake batter recipe, you can use specific colors of sprinkles or chocolate candies to give the fudge a holiday feel (think red and green, or orange, yellow, and brown).

Find more Pinteresting Recipes!

Welcome to "Pinteresting Recipes"

For the past few months I have been Pinning-- neigh, hording new recipes on Pinterest and I must admit, I am totally addicted. I love that site and I have no less than 4 different boards dedicated to food; party food, holiday food, desserts, just plain ole great recipes and more.

That being said, having hundreds of recipes is great and all... but that doesn't get our little family fed.

SO! I have decided to give myself some homework; It is time to start going through the boards and actually trying to cook some of those things. Pinteresting Recipes is a portion of the blog dedicated to trying new things, new recipes, new techniques and new foods.

There may be successes or total failures, but hey, it's all food! 

Let the trial and error begin!

Interesting ideas

Mac & Cheese Waffled

Cell Phone Stack Game

Wandering in the World without a Map

Months and I haven't written a thing... I admit I am lost. Life seems like it has just begun and I am lost, wandering and confused. I had a plan and it has been turned upside down. I had it worked out in my head with a timeline and everything... Married young, kids before 30, licensed and working as few years after returning to Virginia... Now everything is spinning in some dark void where I can only see snippets of what life is supposed to be.

 I admit, at this point, that I have lost my way, and I am desperately trying to see the path. I've started keeping a prayer journal but I admit I am not doing it enough... I started counseling (counselor heal thyself), I started exercising again (a little) and felt great for a small period of time, I've been buying books left and right to try to gain perspective (might be going on another book buying binge later today). I need to pick up "Eat, Pray, Love" and one more book. There is a quote from the book which makes me think i need to read more. I'm watching the movie presently (Thank you Blockbuster for having a closing sale where it was only $3).

"I disappear into the person I love. I am the permeable membrane. If I love you, you can have everything. You can have my time, my devotion, my ass, my money, my family, my dog, my dog's money, my dog's time-everything. If I love you, I will carry for you all your pain, I will assume for you all your debts (in every definition of the word), I will protect you from your own insecurity, I will project upon you all sorts of good qualities that you have never actually cultivated in yourself and I will buy Christmas presents for your entire family. I will give you the sun and the rain, and if they are not available, I will give you a sun check and a rain check. I will give you all this and more, until I get so exhausted and depleted that the only way I can recover my energy is by becoming infatuated with someone else."
                                                                                -from Eat, Pray, Love

I want to run away and go to some beautiful foreign country and just find me again. Or run home, where home really is, and hide under my sheets... I have never been, to the best of my memory, so confused and torn... then again, perhaps I was and my memories just fail me.

I have started burning incense again, having candlelit baths, journaling a lot in a private journal (it's been one month and I've filled almost 80 pages), the prayer journal, drinking more fruit smoothies in hopes of improving mood... I want to get back into meditation (probably another book I'll get) and breathing, and I still stand here, holding pieces and threads that will somehow lead me back to where I am supposed to be. I just wish I knew where that was.

 I am so looking forward to the time I can sit on a beach in the morning with a mug of coffee with my mom...
The day can't come soon enough.

Recipe: Chicken Tacos

Here is our recipe of the week.  Good stuff! Picture to follow the next time we make some!

The Recipe

1 tbs chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder or granulated
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp course salt

Thanks to this page for the recipe.

I chop raw chicken into cubes, cook it off in a pan with about a table spoon of olive oil (until it just changes from pink to white).

Add the entire spice mixture to the pan with about a 1/2 cup water and stir, while cooking, until it coats the chick and becomes sauce like (Monitor  this step fairly closely, if too much water cooks off it could burn the spices to the pan and infuse bad flavors.)

Serve on you preference of taco shell with your favorite toppings (we like cheese, salsa, and a tiny bit of sour cream)