Crusty Parmesan Chicken

I'm a big fan of any twist on the standard chicken recipes. This one in particular came from The Junior League at Home. They recommended serving this as a main dish or cutting it into smaller pieces for an appey! Either way, I love it! -Allison Y.

Crusty Parmesan Chicken
Adapted from
The Junior League at Home

Ingredients:
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 stick unsalted butter
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a large baking dish with foil. Thoroughly combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, paprika, salt, pepper, and parsley in large bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat. Add the Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Dip each chicken piece into the butter mixture before coating it in bread crumbs. Lay the chicken in a baking dish and spoon the remaining butter mixture over each chicken breast. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

*The chicken goes great with Roasted Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese for the Soul, or Green Bean Bundles!

Roasted Potatoes

This is a very simple recipe for roasted potatoes I found in an excellent Junior League cookbook. The onions and peppers complement the potatoes perfectly! You'll find that the ingredients call for a pretty large amount of black pepper, which definitely gives this dish a kick. So, lighten up on the pepper if you don't like a lot of spice. Enjoy! - Allison Y.

Roasted Potatoes
Adapted from The Junior League at Home

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, quartered
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
1 large red onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, toss the potatoes with salt, pepper, thyme, and half the oil. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes or until tender.

Mix the peppers, onion, garlic, and the rest of the oil in a baking pan. Add the potatoes and mix well. Bake for 15 minutes, until the peppers and onions are tender and the potatoes are beginning to brown.

Eggplant & Garlic Chicken Spread

For those of you who have not ventured into Trader Joe's I highly recommend dropping everything and head there immediately (and no, Trader Joe's did not pay us to say that).  They  have an amazing spread that Alison used on an appetizer for me once.  I decided to turn this into a tasty yet healthy chicken recipe.

XOXO,
Esra

Eggplant & Garlic Chicken Spread

6 chicken tenderloin
2 TB EVOO
¼ c corn meal
½ c Trader Joe Roasted Red Pepper – Eggplant and Garlic Spread
salt/pepper to taste

Heat EVOO in a large skillet on medium-high setting. Rub corn meal all over the chicken. Place chicken in the skillet and pour ¼ c of the Trader Joe Spread on top of the chicken. Cook for about 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and you cannot see any pink. Salt/Pepper to taste.

Sausage and Cheese Mini Muffins

 These are perfect for a brunch!  Delicious and a slightly different spin on 

everyone's favorite - Sausage Balls!

 xoxo,

Alison J.

Ingredients

1 (1 lb.) package ground sausage - I like Hot!

3 cups Bisquick

1 1/2 cups shredded, sharp Cheddar cheese

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can Campbell's Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup

3/4 cup water

Directions

Brown sausage in a skillet, over medium high heat until all pink disappears.  Drain off the grease and cool.  In a mixing bowl, combine sausage, Bisquick and cheese.  In separate bowl, whisk together cheese soup and water.  Pour into your sausage mixture and stir just until combined.  Lightly grease mini muffin tins with cooking spray.  Spoon batter into each muffin cup. 

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly brown on top.  This cooking time depends on your oven temperature - watch the muffins and don't let them get too brown on top. Test your muffins with a toothpick to make sure they are completely cooked before you turn the oven off.  Let them cool in the pan and then remove from the muffin cups.  

Chicken with a Cheese Twist

After a long day at work today I wanted to make something that was quick, easy, and oh so tasty to whip up. It was time to et creative with plain Jane chicken tenderloins. This was a huge hit tonight and took no time at all. I used the time I saved to make a tasty beverage instead!

XOXO,

Esra

Chicken with a Cheese Twist

6 chicken tenderloin
2 TB EVOO

2 TB Blue Cheese Dressing
½ c crumbled feta cheese
1 TB Pesto
1 roasted red pepper chopped
ham deli slices (optional)
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine blue cheese, feta, and pesto. Dip each chicken tenderloin into the cheese mixture, wrap with ham if you desire, salt/pepper to taste. Place a few slices of the chopped roasted red pepper on top of the chicken.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through and you cannot see any pink.

*The picture on top was made with ham, but the picture to the right has none.

Bacon Ranch Broccoli Slaw

I've never been a huge slaw fan, but this is a tasty, healthy, and easy alternative that I found in Hungry Girl 1-2-3. Previously, I had never heard of broccoli slaw. With a little investigation, I found that it's much like traditional slaw except it's made using broccoli stalks rather than cabbage. Some variations also include shredded carrots and red cabbage. It can be tricky to find when you don't know what you're looking for, so I suggest checking out this photo link before grocery shopping.

Enjoy! ~Allison Y.

Bacon Ranch Broccoli Slaw
Courtesy of Hungry Girl 1-2-3

Ingredients:
2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoons dry ranch dressing/dip seasoning mix
One 12-oz. bag dry broccoli cole slaw
1/4 cup precooked real crumbled bacon

Directions:
Combine sour cream and seasoning mix in a large bowl and stir thoroughly. Add slaw and toss to coat. Add bacon and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until ready to serve. Enjoy!

*This is a good side for Slow Cookin' Barbecue Chicken!

Mexican Turkey Burgers

I love ground turkey and always try to mix it up a little bit so the man will enjoy my flavor filled healthy dinner. This takes ground turkey to a whole new level. Tasty guilt free pleasure!

XOXO,

Esra

Mexican Turkey Burgers

2 tomatoes, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
4 green onions, diced
1 green chili, diced
1 lb ground turkey
1 egg white
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 packet taco seasoning
1 c fat free sour cream
1 16oz can fat free refried beans
1 avocado sliced
Salt/Pepper to taste

In a medium skillet, sauté tomatoes, yellow onion, green onions, and green chilies until onions are translucent. Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl add ground turkey, egg white, cheddar cheese, ¾ of taco seasoning packet. Once the onion mixture has been sautéed add it to the ground turkey mixture. Mix well.

Make 8 burger patties out of the mixture. Place on a greased baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes or until cooked through. While the burgers are cooking use the remaining ¼ mixture of taco seasoning and mix it into the sour cream.

Top burger with sour cream mixture, refried beans, and avocados.