Chicken Parmesan--It's Easy, I Promise!

Today was early release day at my kiddos' school and it was absolutely pouring all afternoon. I had picked up Subway for lunch since our microwave (yeah, the one we just got last year…) is still at the repairman's shop being tested for why it mysteriously stops heating every once in awhile. It's been three days so far without it, with no end in sight. This is a big deal: no reheating leftovers, no heating up butter or sauce, no popping popcorn, no boiling water or ANYTHING. Aahh!!

 So since it was still pouring outside, my girls and I decided to have a chick flick marathon after lunch while the boys had Minecraft video marathons on the iPad. We girls watched Julie & Julia first, followed by The Help and finally 27 Dresses. After watching Julie & Julia or The Help, I am always, always, always in the mood to cook. And I'm always craving fried chicken and sweet tea--go figure. So tonight I decided to come close to fried chicken and make Chicken Parmesan for dinner. (I know, not really that close…) But I gotta tell ya, this is a SUPER easy meal and it's relatively quick as well. Don't be afraid! You can do this! Promise.

Makes 6 Servings

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup spaghetti sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat oil over medium-low heat in a skillet. In one bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper until frothy. In another bowl, whisk together parmesan and bread crumbs. Dip raw chicken first in egg, then bread crumbs and place gently in the hot oil. Cook about 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown on both sides--turning gently with metal tongs. (I did three breasts at once, but whatever fits in your skillet without being squished is what you should go with.) Remove to a cookie sheet and bake 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Remove from oven, top each breast with 2 tablespoons of sauce and 1-2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella. Return to oven for another 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted but not browned. Serve with additional parmesan over spaghetti, if desired. 

You can flatten your chicken breasts out in between sheets of plastic wrap with a meat mallet if they're too thick or if you prefer them that way. I don't really mind them being a little on the thick side, so I almost always skip this step. Getting all of this together took me less than 45 minutes. I love to cook, but I don't consider myself an expert or a gourmet cook by any means. My husband is usually the one to take care of frying. But this is SO simple, even I can do it. And if I can do it, anyone can! I promise, if you've never made Chicken Parm, you've gotta try it. You'll never spend $13-$15 on it in an Italian restaurant again! Have an awesome weekend, peeps!

What's For Dinner? (An oldie and a new one: Easy Skillet Cornbread)

Tonight my house smells incredible and my stomach is growling in great anticipation of my husband's arrival home from work so we can devour the dish that's been cooking for a few hours in the crockpot and the cornbread that's baking as I type. Here's the original post about these incredible Calico Beans.

And my instagram of it just now in the crockpot, happily bubbling away.

Okay, so I'll share with you my secret for quick and easy skillet cornbread when it's already 6:39pm on a school night and your husband is scheduled to get off of work within the next hour and you've realized you are out of cornmeal and didn't realize it until you've already got the oven preheated and calico beans in the crockpot and now it's really necessary to get some cornbread ready to go alongside the beans or else life just won't make any sense anymore and you just can't let that happen so you turn to the trusty mix that grandma used to use and you sigh in relief.  It fills in the gaps, you see. In the bowl, in the stomach, in the menu…it's necessary. 

Being the good little Southerner that I am, I always keep some of this on hand:

It keeps for 6-12 months on the pantry shelf and it's delicious and easy so on nights like these I don't have to panic. And look how beautiful the result is! Mmmm…

Quick & Easy Skillet Cornbread

Makes 6-8 Servings

2 8.5oz boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix

2 eggs

2/3 cup of milk

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix together cornbread mix, milk and eggs. Place butter in a 12" cast iron skillet and put in preheated oven for about 3-4 minutes until butter is melted and hot. Scrape batter into cast iron skillet, listening for that telltale sizzle that means life is about to be good. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden on top. Cut into pieces and serve.

Not really a true "recipe" considering it's on the back of the box (for muffins anyway), but hey, it's what works for me on nights like these so maybe it can help one of you too. :) Now, if only my hubs would get home so we can EAT! Have a great night,

The MOST Incredible Chicken Ever. Ever.

So several months ago, I came across a simple recipe on my mayonnaise jar and decided to try it. That night, my husband and children declared me the Queen of Food Forever. They worshipped the ground I walked on, kissed my feet and anointed my head with oil. Okay…not really on the last three, but in all seriousness, they were ecstatic over this chicken. I must admit, I was pretty freaking in love too. And it's SO simple. Beyond simple. Like, takes 10 minutes to prepare simple. And, obviously, given the ingredients (heLLO mayonnaise!), it's not the healthiest of recipes, so you really don't want to eat this every day. But, I've experimented with substituting Greek yogurt for the mayo, or even half Greek yogurt and half mayo, and that's pretty good too. I do that most of the time, but sometimes you just want the real thing. So, behold….the real thing, baby. (My apologies that it's on the tray and not plated…this chicken doesn't last on the plate long enough to be photographed.)

Makes 6 Servings

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup Parmesan

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix together mayo and parmesan in a medium bowl. Spray cookie sheet and place chicken evenly. Spoon mayo/cheese mixture onto each piece of chicken and spread to cover. Sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs. Bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through. 

The easiest and most delicious chicken you've EVER made, guaranteed. The Best. Chicken. Ever! When my kids ask me if I'm making "The Chicken", I know this is what they're referring to. When my 7-year-old son asks me, "Are you making that really yummy chicken that you make!?!" this is what he means. My daughter loves it so much, she requested it for her 14th birthday dinner, above any catering options I gave her. So I made about 20 pounds of it for her birthday party. I always do half breasts and half thighs just because half of my family likes the dark meat and the other half likes the white meat, but you can certainly do just the one kind that you like if you have a preference. Also, I never measure it anymore. I just eyeball the mixture until it's the consistency I want and sprinkle bread crumbs on top with a spoon…I probably use more of those than what it calls for, but we like the extra crunch it gives them. I bet it'd be phenomenal with some seasoned Panko too. Mmmmm….I'm going to have to make this dish again soon, it's making me hungry typing all this! 

Bev's Famous Meatloaf (Miranda Lambert's mom)

I've been feeling under the weather for a few days and for a person who likes to stay busy and be productive as much as possible, being forced to rest in bed or on the couch is NOT fun! When I'm in the mood for some chill time with a fantastic book or maybe some Pinterest, or some of my DVR'ed shows like (guilty pleasure) The Bachelor, The Walking Dead, Person of Interest or Glee…that's a whole other thing. But when I'm forced to rest, it's ridiculously challenging. I always think of so many more things I "should" be doing than I do when I'm imposing relaxation time upon myself just for the sake of vegging out. Um, anyway, rabbit trail much? My point is that yesterday I finally felt much more like my usual self and to celebrate, I decided to make some delish comfort food for dinner. So, what made it on the menu? Miranda Lambert's mom's famous meatloaf, steakhouse-style baked potatoes, fresh steamed broccoli and homemade creamed spinach. Can we say "Oh my yum!"? So on to the meatloaf.

Serves 6

2 lbs. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork sausage

18 saltines or Ritz, crushed into crumbs

1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon Worcestershire

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a bowl using your hands until well mixed. Form into a loaf and turn into a greased casserole dish, shaping as needed. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and pour off grease. Stir together ketchup and brown sugar and spread evenly over meatloaf. Return to oven and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 15-20 minutes. 

So to be honest, the original directions say to mix half of the brown sugar into the meatloaf, but I'm not a fan of the sweetness in the actual meat part of it, so I just mix it all into the ketchup for the glazed part. I'm weird, I know. To the rest of the world it probably tastes the same on top as it does mixed in, but to me, it tastes fine in the glaze on top, but not fine when mixed in. Also, if you're like me and your meatloaf tries to exit your pan while you're pouring off the grease, you can either a) remove the loaf to a dish temporarily, or b) do the more complicated route that I usually do and use a spatula to hold that sucker in place while you pour the grease out. Why keep things simple when you can over-complicate them? Reminds me of that meme of the person performing all sorts of acrobatics to reach the TV remote without leaving their chair/bed. Yep, that's me! I don't think I've made the same exact meatloaf more than 2-3 times each because I am constantly trying new meatloaf recipes, but I must admit this one is probably my new favorite. I loved the addition of the green peppers. I might try adding those to one of my other recipes too--so good! 

Hope you have a great Friday!