Baked Balsamic Chicken

We had two delicious dinners last week inspired by balsamic vinegar. Actually, balsamic vinaigrette, since my husband did the grocery shopping. Silly boy-he thought vinaigrette and vinegar were the same thing! So yes it had more calories than if we had made it with straight vinegar but maybe that's what made it so delicious! I can't vouch for how it would taste with balsamic vinegar but I think the taste would be similar.

Last Wednesday, I stayed up till 1 (whoops) cooking dinner for the next two nights. Thursdays are super busy so we usually have another crock pot meal or leftovers. I decided to cook for Thursday and Friday and decided to switch the recipe up a bit. This is the first recipe. It's inspired by this recipe from Food.com but I switched it up a bit.

4 chicken breast halves (2 whole breasts)

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette

1 tbsp olive oil (I would omit if you are using a vinaigrette)

1.5 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400º. Chop onion and garlic and place in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish. Place chicken breasts in pan. Pour the balsamic vinaigrette over the chicken and sprinkle evenly with the oil (if using), oregano, salt, and pepper.

Bake the chicken for 20 minutes and then baste with the juices. Bake 20 more minutes or until the juices run clear and the chicken is fully cooked. Serve chicken with juices spooned over them. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Casserole

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Like I mentioned yesterday, my V-Day will be spent in class and then with some delicious Outback Steakhouse take out and 2 hours of quality time (hopefully) with my husband before he passes out.

This is actually a recipe we had a few weeks ago but since today isn't a crock pot meal I pulled this one out of the archives. It was my first time making spaghetti in the crock pot where I didn't cook the noodles first. I was worried it would be crunchy and not fully cooked, and part of it was. I made the mistake of not spreading the sauce to the edges and covering the noodles and while the center portions of the casserole were delicious and perfectly cooked, the outsides that weren't covered with sauce were still a tad bit crunchy. As long as you don't make the mistake of throwing it together quickly and not using your brain, like me :0, you should be just fine! Recipe from Reservations Not Required.

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

1 medium onion chopped

1 26 oz jar of pasta sauce

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

12 oz can of evaporated milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp pepper

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti, broken into pieces

3 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese (the recipe recommends sharp but I used a mild cheese and it was fine)

grated parmesan cheese

Cook ground beef and onion in a large skillet, until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain meet and return to skillet. Stir pasta sauce into the beef mixture.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 8 minutes until the mixture has thickened and is bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and pepper.

Spoon one-third of the meat mixture into a lightly greased slow cook. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheddar cheese over white sauce. Repeat layers once. Spread remaining meat mixture over cheese (make sure all sides of the spaghetti are covered). Top with remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese.

Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!

With that I'll leave you with this quote and a non-smiling picture of Lucy who really does love her heart bandana.

"Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with abandon or not at all."

Weekly Meal List

For Valentines, we're picking up some take out from Outback and having a picnic on our living room floor. I don't get home from school til 7:45 and hubby is coaching on the pistol range this week so he has to be on base at 3:45 in the morning. It will pretty much be an eat and sleep kind of night. I'm just lucky he's waiting up for me :) I am cooking a pretty elaborate meal of lasagna, caesar salad, garlic bread, and toasted ravioli tonight as well as some chocolate cookies for dessert tomorrow!

Tuesday: Homemade Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Wednesday: Salsa Chicken

Thursday: Mac and Cheese and Asparagus

Friday: Homemade Pizza with Mozzarella, Feta, and Pepperoni

Saturday: "Benchiladas"

Sunday: Foil Pack Taco Chicken

Hopefully this will last us more than a week. The mac and cheese and manicotti usually provide enough for 2 dinners and 2 lunches for each of us so I'm expecting leftovers in there somewhere. I just wanted to go ahead and plan and grocery shop for 7 days!

Chicken Parmesan

My husband loves this classic dish, absolutely loves it. It's so easy and I think everyone should know how to make it. The ingredients are all things you would normally have in your pantry and it produces a delicious result. No real source for this recipe the measurements can change depending on how many chicken breasts you use.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1 tbsp water

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

olive oil

tomato sauce

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

linguini or pasta of your choice cooked

parsley, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350º. Cut the chicken breast in half from right to left. Slice down the middle to cut into two pieces. Pound with a meat tenderizer to flatten.

Prepare your 3 dipping bowls. Mix 3/4 cup flour, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper in one bowl. Combine the 2 eggs with 1 tbsp of water in the second bowl. Mix the last bowl with 1 cup of bread crumbs and 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese.

Take one of the pieces of chicken and dip into the flour until covered. Dip both sides of the chicken into the egg mixture. Cover the chicken with the bread crumb mixture to finish. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken. Heat olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pan) in a saute pan. Place the chicken in the pan and saute until golden brown. Remove from the pan and place on a plate covered with a paper towel Continue sauteing the chicken placing a paper towel in between each piece until finished.

Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in a 9x13 pan. Place the chicken in a single layer along the bottom of the pan. Spread about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of tomato sauce on each piece of chicken. Sprinkle each piece with mozzarella cheese and a little parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove foil and broil for an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve over pasta. Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Enchiladas

This is one of the deleted posts so sorry, no picture.

Whenever I make dishes involving chipotle peppers, I usually try to include 2 recipes that need them on my meal list. I can't handle a lot of spice and even though this is smokey spicy, I still only use a few and we always have at least a half a can left over. When I put the Spicy Chipotle Shredded Beef on the menu this week, I had a hard time finding another recipe using chipotle peppers. I found this one on Pineapple Grass and decided to add it to our menu!

It was delicious and the filling made a ton. A nice twist to your usual enchilada filling and sauce!

3 large tortillas (we had lots of filling leftover so I suggest having more on hand just in case)

1.5 cups cooked rice (we used brown rice, but yellow or white would be fine)

1 cup cooked, shredded chicken

1 chipotle chile

2 tbsp adobo sauce, from can

3/4 cup salsa

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (reserve 1/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 350º. In a small bowl, combine chopped chile, adobo sauce, and salsa. In a large bowl, combine rice, chicken, sour cream and 3/4 cup shredded cheese. Add half of the salsa mixture to the chicken mixture. Divide evenly between the three tortillas and roll up. Place seam-side down in an 8x8 baking dish.

Top enchiladas with remaining salsa mixture and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is hot and bubbly.

Fried Pickles

Something happened with my blog and the posts I had scheduled for this past week, including my Super Bowl post, deleted themselves. I'm not sure why or how but they did. So the nest few recipes won't have pictures since the pictures deleted themselves as well. Luckily, I hadn't posted these guys yet.

Fried Pickles. Yum. Back in Georgia, there was a restaurant that brought out free appetizers including sweet potato fries and fried pickles. I love love love pickles. They are my favorite salty food. And fried pickles are no exception. This recipe was delicious. It's no exact Hooters or BDubs replica but it's still delicious. I consumed way too many the night I made these and I'm selfishly glad hubby doesn't like pickles. Recipe from the Food Network.

1 pint sliced dill pickles, undrained (spears, slices, or chips work)

1 large egg, lightly beated

1 tbsp all-purpose flour, plus 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp hot sauce

1 1/2 to 2 tsp ground red pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

Vegetable oil

Drain pickles, reserving 2/3 cup of the juice. Press pickles between paper towels to dry. Combine 2/3 cup pickle juice with the egg, 1 tbsp flour, and hot sauce. Stir well and set aside.

Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour with ground red pepper, garlic powder, salt and paprika. Blend well. Dip pickles in egg mixture, then dredge in flour mixture. Fry the coated pickles in 375º oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

I followed the recipe exactly for half the batch and for the other half I dipped twice in both the flour and egg mixture. The ones that were dipped twice had a thicker coating which I personally liked more. Also, make sure to place the coated pickles in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. This makes the coating crispier when you fry it. Enjoy!

100th post! and Spicy Chipotle Shredded Beef

I love the taste of chipotle peppers. I prefer the smokiness of the peppers over the overt spiciness of other peppers. Plus it's a crock pot meal which makes it even better. I didn't shred the beef but hubby thinks this would make a delicious alternative to barbeque beef sandwiches or as a delicious way to spice up your taco meat. Recipe from Angela's Kitchen.

1.5 lb pot roast

1 onion peeled and quarterd

1 small can of green chiles

7 oz can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I used less but choose the amount based on your preferences)

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

5-6 garlic cloves, minced

3 tsp ground cumin

3 tsp oregano

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp chili pepper

1 cup water

2 tsp salt

3 tsp ground pepper

Liberally salt and pepper the roast and place in the crock pot. Sprinkle the roast with chili pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano and cumin. Chop all the veggies and crush the chipotle peppers. Place into crock pot. Add the water and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Enjoy!