Zesty Chicken Saute Dinner

Okay, so I finally have a dinner recipe to add...even though I'm last :-) This was tonights dinner. From start to finish it took about 25 minutes, but only because I had leftover mashed potatoes instead of having to make them. The recipe for the chicken comes from a book called "Cheap, Fast, Good!"

Zesty Chicken Saute
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice (optional)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (defrosted)
1 Tbsp vegetable (or olive) oil

1. Place all the spices in a gallon-size zipper-top bag and seal. Shake the bag to combine thoroughly.
2. Make chicken pieces about 1/2 inch thick (with mallet, rolling pin, etc) Book says serving size should be about 6 oz.
3. Put chicken in zip-lock baggie and coat the chicken with the spices.
4. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until lightly brown and then flip to other side to cook. (about 4-5 minutes per side depending on thickness).
**I put the lid on it so they cooked faster

I wanted green beans or peas to go with the meal, but we were out of all the veggies...so I made bisquick biscuits instead. Jared thought it was a gourmet meal. Oh, I also added some parsley flakes to the chicken after it was cooked, mostly to add color to the otherwise bland looking plate.

**Note: If you want the chicken to be a little spicy, add some cajun pepper.

SpAgHeTtI

I know, WHY am I posting a spaghetti dinner?  Geoff asked the same question when I whipped the camera out before taking a bite.  That seems so boring---but then I thought, ya know, spaghetti is such a staple around here and this isn't a gourmet recipe site but is about feeding our normal families. Since we all make spaghetti a little different, it might be fun to compare and get some new ideas. 

Here's how I usually do it:

Brown approx. 1/2 lb ground beef

Add half jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce and 1 14.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes. (the ones in the photo are normal size though)

Add just a little bit of water to thin if necessary. 

Serve over spaghetti with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. 

Boring but tasty. How do YOU make yours?

Last night's dinner

you take this

and make it into this

Easy Chicken Parmesan

here's the original recipe (and I feel bad cuz I can't remember where I got this one)

3 lb chicken parts  (I just used chicken tenders, partially thawed)

1 cup bread crumbs

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp pepper

salt to taste

1 clove garlic or 1 Tbsp garlic powder

3/4 cup melted butter

Combine bread crumbs, cheese, oregano, salt & pepper; set aside.

Lightly saute garlic in 2 Tbsp butter, then stir in remaining butter. 

Dip chicken in garlic butter and then roll each piece in bread crumb mixture. Place chicken in 9*13 pan and sprinkle with remaining bread crumb mixture. Pour remaining butter on the top.

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. 

This turned out pretty good but I've never tried another chicken parmesan recipe before to compare this to. This was easy to do. Geoff said he didn't notice the garlic flavor in it and recommended I leave it out next time because it made the house stink (his words). I used fresh garlic so maybe next time I'd try it with the garlic powder. 

Wedding Chicken Salad

Yum!

I made the chicken salad recipe from last week's family newsletter. Mom & Dad tasted it at a wedding reception and got the recipe from the chef after they liked it so well. I can see why!

Here's the recipe again. 

4 chicken breast

1 can water chestnuts, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, roasted

1/8 cup honey mustard

1 cup mayo

1 cup red grapes, quartered

1/8 tsp thyme

1 red pepper, chopped

Grill chicken--season with salt and pepper. Cool and chop.

Mix mayo, mustard, thyme, garlic, green onion, celery, water chestnuts, and red pepper thoroughly.

Add chicken and grapes---mixing carefully.

Serve on croissants.

My notes: I didn't grill the chicken because I already had cooked chicken in the fridge. I also didn't roast the garlic because I didn't plan ahead. Next time I'll try to do this! Instead I used a bit of garlic powder. I halved the recipe and it was enough filling for 8 of the small croissants. I chopped everything pretty small. Don't skip the honey mustard and definitely splurge on the red pepper! 

Thanks chef Derek Bagley of Kennewick, WA!!

My Favorite Brownies

Ok, so this probably isn't a very helpful recipe, but everyone always loves chocolate right? (plus I didn't want to be the last one to contribute something...) These are not overly sweet but very rich, from the williams-sonoma website.

Ingredients:

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup cake flour, sifted

3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, semisweet
chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or
white chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish, preferably glass.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and unsweetened chocolate. Heat, stirring often, until melted, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir until just blended. Stir in the chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out almost completely clean, about 30 minutes (longer if using a metal pan). Do not overbake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into 2 1/2-inch squares. Makes 9 large brownies.