Day 316: Chicken Parmesan Cheat

This is super easy. You'll need chicken patties or chicken nuggets, spaghetti sauce (homemade or store bought) and
Parmesan cheese (shredded or grated). 

Heat sauce on stove or in microwave. Sprinkle cheese on chicken and cook as directed on packaging. Top chicken with sauce and enjoy with garlic bread or pasta.

Day 304: Mexican Lasagna

This is a perfect meal when you have leftover taco meat. Layer prepared taco meat with tortillas, frozen corn, black beans, salsa, and shredded cheese. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

Day 301: Fried Chicken Cheat

Chicken Thighs Oven Fried

• 4 chicken thighs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 T half-and-half (I just used milk)
• 1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 c instant potato flakes
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 3 T butter, melted
• 1 T vegetable oil (I didn't bother with this, but I did spray the pan with cooking spray)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Wash chicken, pat dry and set aside.
3. In bowl beat half and half with egg.
4. In another bowl combine bread crumbs, potato flakes, garlic salt and pepper.
5. Dip chicken in egg mixture and then in bread crumb mixture.
6. Sprinkle with butter and oil.
7. Bake at 400°F for 35 minutes.
8. Increase heat to 450°F and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Day 201: Pecan-Parmesan Fish Fillets

I found this recipe and it seemed simple enough, so I thought I'd try it.  I used spinach instead of broccoli because I couldn't find any in the freezer.  Also, I only used the lemon juice that gets mixed with the pecan/cheese mixture (I didn't sprinkle the lemon juice on top) and it was a bit much for me.  If I make this in the future, I'll probably just not use the lemon juice at all.  Regardless, I found it to be quite tasty and super easy to make.

Day 153: Tortellini with Pancetta

I just kinda made this up as I went.  I boiled three-cheese tortellini.  While that was cooking, I fried a 3 ounce package of Pancetta.  After the Pancetta was cooked, I removed them to a paper towel to absorb the grease.  I poured some Riesling in the skillet and reduced it by half.  Then I added some heavy cream and dried parsley.  I broke the Pancetta into bite-sized pieces and put it back in the skillet, then added the tortellini.  It turned out pretty yummy.

Day 146: Mexican Chicken

Mexican Chicken Recipe
Chicken breasts
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
Jar of cooked tomatoes (or store bought canned tomatoes)
Chopped onion
Frozen corn
Sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. In a flat baking dish, combine taco seasoning and garlic powder. Place chicken in pan, coat with mixture.
3. Remove chicken, spray dish with Pam. Place chicken back in pan, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and onion to tops of chicken and some juice to pan. Bake 15 minutes.
5. Check to make sure there is enough fluid, add frozen corn, and bake an additional 10 minutes.
6. Serve with sour cream.

Day 137: Taco Chili

Click "Read More" for the recipe.

Day 121: Spaghetti & Bruschetta

Super Easy Bruschetta
1 box frozen garlic Texas toast
Italian seasoning
garlic salt
fresh tomatoes, diced
shredded Parmesan cheese

Bake Texas toast for 5 minutes at 425 degrees.  Remove toast from oven, flip over.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and garlic salt.  Top with tomatoes and cheese.  Bake for another 5 minutes.

Day 83: Salsa

Tomorrow we're having a potluck at work.  I'm bringing chips and salsas.

Mango cucumber salsa contains: English cucumber, mango, purple onion, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, and a splash of lime juice.

Traditional tomato salsa contains: tomato, green pepper, purple onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, and a splash of lime juice.

Black bean and corn salsa contains: corn, black beans, green pepper, green onion, cilantro.

Day 80: Spicy Citrus Chicken

Recipe:
Mix the following ingredients in a medium sized bowl:
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onion sticks, chopped
1 cup of orange juice
handful of cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 chicken breasts, cubed

Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and heat on medium.  Add chicken mixture and cook until chicken is no longer pink and liquid has reduced.  Add another cup of orange juice and a bag of instance rice.  Cook until rice is tender.  (You may need to add water if the liquid reduces too much.)

Day 44: Penne & Vodka Sauce Recipe

Recipe:
1 (13 oz) pkg of penne pasta
2 T butter
3 oz thinly sliced pancetta bacon, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 (4 oz) pkg pearl mushrooms
1/3 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
8 oz tomato sauce
grated Parmesan cheese

Boil pasta.  Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add pancetta and saute until lightly browned.  Add chopped garlic and whole mushrooms.  Add vodka and stir until it is reduced by half, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Stir in tomato sauce and cream.  Simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes.  Stir every few minutes.  Stir in pasta and heat through.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with tossed salad.

Day 40: Kolache Recipe

sausage kolaches and cream cheese kolaches

 Recipe:

1 cup milk (or ½ cup milk, ½ cup water) warmed
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup soft margarine (Imperial or Parkay)
2 T instant yeast
4 cup flour
1 tsp salt

Day 24: Raspberries

Yesterday, I made Chewy Raspberry Squares using the raspberries that Ash had picked last week (top left).  Today, I was up at eight--when it became too hot to sleep--so I picked the raspberries bushes in the backyard clean.  Then I made raspberry sorbet.  It's still not quite frozen yet, but it sure is good (bottom left).

Chewy Raspberry Squares
1/2 cup butter or margarine at room temp
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed (it's awfully sweet, so you could probably get away with only using 2/3 or 3/4 of a cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup oats
1/2 cup raspberry preserves (I just cooked my raspberries on the stove with some sugar)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract.
3. Mix in flour, baking powder and oats until mixture is combined and crumbly. Reserve 1/4 cup of the mixture for topping; set aside. Pat remaining mixture into the bottom of prepared baking pan.
4. Spoon preserves on top of oat layer, spreading as much as possible without disturbing the bottom layer. Sprinkle reserved topping on the top of preserve layer.
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. When cooled, cut into squares.

Day 20: Always Room for Jell-O!

Jell-O Shots
Makes approximately 25 1-ounce shots.

1 3-oz box of Jell-O
1 ½ cups water
½ cup liquor

1. Stir 1 cup of boiling water into dry gelatin , in a measuring cup (for easy pouring), at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved
2. Stir in ½ cup cold water and ½ cup alcohol*
3. Pour into 1-ounce plastic cups with lids.
4. Refrigerate until solid (at least 2 hours). Enjoy responsibly.