Chicken Parmesan- One for tonight & One for the Freezer

If I can cook once and eat twice or even three times I am a happy girl.  This is one of the first recipes that I started freezing. (Don't worry I will be sharing more!)  And many years later I am still making it.  It's awesome to have a meal that tastes so good in only the amount of time it takes to cook the spaghetti.  

Ingredients:

• Parmesan Cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Shredded Parmesan
• Boneless Chicken Breasts
• Garlic Powder
• Seasoned Bread Crumbs
• Eggs
• Milk
• Olive Oil
• Marinara Sauce
• Spaghetti

I am sorry, I forgot to measure while I was making this.  The amount of each varies depending on the amount of chicken you are making.  

Combine bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder.

Cut large chicken breasts in half.  Place in between sheets of wax paper and pound them to about 1/2 inch thick.

Beat a couple of eggs (you can add a splash of milk if you would like).  Dip chicken in egg.

Dredge chicken in bread crumb mixture until completely covered

Heat olive oil in skillet.  Lightly fry chicken on each side.  It doesn't have to be cooked all the way through because it will finish cooking in the oven.  

When the chicken is done place the portions you are going to eat tonight in a baking dish and the others on a plate to cool.

After the pieces for the freezer are cool place them in a freezer bag, label, and place in freezer.  

Back to the portion for tonight...Preheat oven to 350.  To finish cooking bake chicken for about 10-15 minutes.  Take chicken out of oven and sprinkle a little grated Parmesan on each piece of chicken, put a small layer of sauce, then a little bit of shredded Mozzarella and shredded Parmesan.  Place chicken in oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve over spaghetti with your favorite marinara sauce.

 When you are ready to eat the portion from the freezer, simply thaw chicken in refrigerator and follow the directions above.

This recipe was featured on our Appetizing April Menu. Check out the entire April menu for a variety of dinner ideas!

Perfect Picnic Chicken Salad

I decided to take the night off from cooking on Friday. I still needed to run to the grocery store for a few items so I picked up a rotisserie chicken from Wegmans prepared foods section. We ate half of it for dinner and I used the other half to make chicken salad for lunch on Saturday.
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sweet relish
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 hard boiled egg diced (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken cubed

 ***makes enough for 4 sandwiches**
Mix all ingredients, except egg, together in a bowl. After they are all mixed together add in the diced hard boiled egg. I do this last because I don't want it to get smashed.

Serve chicken salad on croissant or toasted whole wheat bread. This is perfect for lunch or GREAT on a hot summer night when you don't want to eat hot food. BTW I think that the chicken salad is SO much better when it sits for a few hours in the fridge. The flavors mix together nicely!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Spicy Bacon Carbonara

This recipe is a variation on something that I made before, but this one is MUCH better. My family has actually requested it be put on the menu again and I just made it last week! My oldest son, who is VERY picky, loves bacon so I was able to get him to eat it too!
Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 2/3 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• Parsley Flakes (I didn't measure, I just shook it a couple times)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 lb bacon fried crisp and crumbled
• sliced mushrooms (I didn't measure, I just through in a couple handfuls)
• 1/2 of small onion
• about 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1 16 oz box of fettucini

First I cook and crumble the bacon. I have to do this quickly so that my son doesn't try to sneak any! Set bacon aside. Start water for pasta. Next I chop the onion. I am not a huge onion fan, but I do understand the flavor value of onion in cooking so I do use them. I cook the onion and minced garlic in about a tablespoon of butter, but you could use some of the bacon grease for extra flavor. When the onions are almost cooked all the way through I add the mushrooms. You might need to add just a little bit more butter to saute the mushrooms. When done, leave them in pan but set them aside

Next, in a bowl beat with a fork eggs and heavy cream. Add Parmesan, parsley, salt and red pepper and lightly mix again.

Drain pasta (save about 3 tablespoons of pasta water just in case sauce is too thick) and return pasta to pot. Add the mushrooms and onions to pasta (you may need to heat them up in their pan first depending on how long you had to wait for pasta to finish cooking). Pour the egg/cream mixture over the pasta. Stir over LOW heat for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in bacon. Top with additional Parmesan Cheese and serve with bread and a salad! DELICIOUS!
Note: Make sure that when you add the egg/cream mixture that you have the stove on LOW. You do not want to scramble the eggs! I was very worried about this process. The first time I made it I actually made my husband leave the room just in case I completely ruined dinner I didn't want him to witness my failure. It has gone together perfectly every time! Also, if you like less spicy food you can add less red pepper flakes.

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Sausage and Pepper Pasta

Unlike Sherrie's family, we LOVE pasta and could eat it multiple times in one week. We have several great recipes that we make often, but this one spices it up a little bit.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Penne or Rigatoni Pasta
• 4 Pieces of Italian Sausage (either mild or hot)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• half of a green pepper- chopped
• 32 oz of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I make my own. Maybe someday I will share the secret:)

First, I cook the sausage along with a little bit of water in a skillet over high heat.

After the sausage is cooked thoroughly, I remove the sausage and dump the grease. Then I put the green peppers in and cook them until tender.

While the peppers are cooking, start the water for the pasta, and slice the sausage into bite size pieces.

When the peppers are finished add them and the sausage to the sauce and heat through.

When pasta is cooked, mix with sauce, and pour into 9X13 baking dish top with Parmesan cheese and bake in oven for about 7 minutes. We serve ours with a salad and garlic bread. I always top mine with a little extra Parmesan and a shake of red pepper flakes for an extra kick! My family likes this dish because we can make it as spicy as we like and the adults and kiddos are both happy:)

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Crispy Parmesan Potatoes

This is hands down the best way I've learned to make roasted potatoes. As with most of my recipes, you can change around the ingredients, but the prep stage is what makes these potatoes.

Ingredients:

• - 3 large potatoes (you can easily double this recipe to feed more)
• - 4 Tbsp. Crisco shortening
• - Parmesan Cheese
• - Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place your baking sheet in the oven to heat it up.
2. Cut potatoes into half then quarter the halves.
3. Place potatoes in pan with cold water and salt. Bring water to boil and immediately drain the potatoes. The trick is not to cook the potatoes just get them warm.
4. Return potatoes to the pan and cook over medium heat just to get them dry.
5. Add crisco and heat and stir until the potatoes are evenly covered in the oil.
6. Arrange potatoes in single layer on baking sheet and top with Parmesan and salt to desired amount.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, turning potatoes halfway.