Chicken Parmesan

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Did you know that today is National Linguine Day? Mmm Hmm, it is. But you know what National Linguine Day needs? Some wicked Chicken Parmesan and this recipe is just the ticket! It’s just my type of pasta; deep and hearty with vibrant flavors that warm you to the soul.

The Chicken warming up in the sauce pot. Good things are happening here.

   Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded flat

1/2 C flour

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 C olive oil

2 T butter

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 C wine (white or red is fine)

3 cans (14.5 Oz.) crushed tomatoes

2 T sugar

1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 pound Thin Linguine

 

Instructions:

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate. Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

While the sauce is cooking, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated, about 5 minutes. Add more cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

 

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1. Skillet Chicken Vesuvio – An Easier, Lighter, and Healthier Recipe
2. Healthier General Tso Chicken
3. Chicken and Gnocchi Soup – Olive Garden Copycat Recipe

Easy Mole Tacos {with a little help from Progresso}

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These tacos were quick and easy to make and SO incredibly flavorful. I think all in all it took me a little over 15 minutes to get these tacos on the table from start to finish. These weren’t made from scratch but definitely have that “from scratch” taste. Want to know my secret ingredient?

Ya, I put my tacos up on a pedestal because that’s how I roll.

My secret ingredient is a can of Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ fire roasted tomato cooking sauce.  After a long day, preparing a delicious home-cooked meal can be quite a challenge, and getting started is often the hardest part. New Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ cooking sauces give you a head start to a home cooked meal!

Progresso Recipe Starters sauces are available in five flavorful varieties that can each be used as a starter to create numerous home-cooked meals. Inspired by the five “Mother” Sauces that form the basis of classical French cooking, including Béchamel, Velouté, Tomato, Espagnole and Hollandaise, Recipe Starters use a variety of ingredients and the best techniques to make sure your family has endless solutions to the weeknight dinner dilemma. The five varieties are: Creamy Parmesan Basil, Creamy Roasted Garlic with Chicken Stock, Fire Roasted Tomato, Creamy Portabella Mushroom, and Creamy Three Cheese.

Progresso created 80 recipes utilizing this new line of cooking sauces that can be found on Progresso.com. Many of these recipes are classic family favorites, such as Bacon Mac n’ Cheese, Chicken Pot Pie and Chicken Cacciatore, and utilize ingredients your family may already have on-hand. Progresso Recipe Starters are available in stores now – look for them in the soup aisles (and download a coupon for them here)!

Curtis and Mia dig the tacos.

 

   Easy Mole Tacos

Ingredients:

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

1 can (18 oz) Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ fire roasted tomato cooking sauce

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)

12 Old El Paso® Stand ‘N Stuff® taco shells (from two 4.7-oz boxes)

Garnishes, If Desired

Shredded iceberg lettuce

Chopped seeded tomato

Shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

 

Directions:

In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.

Add cooking sauce, peanut butter, chocolate chips and taco seasoning mix. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat taco shells as directed on package. Serve taco shells with beef mixture, lettuce, tomato and cheese.

Makes 8-12 Tacos (depending on how much you stuff ‘em

Source: Progresso

Disclosure:  The information, products and Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ gift pack was provided by Progresso through MyBlogSpark.

 

Related posts:

1. Tacos Carne Asada
2. Shredded Chicken for Tacos
3. Easy Tomato & Basil Pasta

Roasted Veggie & Chickpea Quinoa

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Quin-What?!?

Quinoa (pronounced “KEEN-wah”) is simply ah-mazing. I was unfamiliar with this super grain a year ago, but it has quickly caught on in popularity. Here are just a few factoids about Quinoa:

• Quinoa is close to one of the most complete foods in nature because it contains amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.
• It’s gluten free.
• It’s a complete protein. Quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids that are required by the body as building blocks for muscles.
• Abundant in antioxidants (more than berries like cranberry and lingonberry)
• Has anti-inflammatory phytonutrients

Can you see why I love this grain?!? (The above information on Quinoa was taken from this article.)

I have been experimenting a lot lately with Quinoa and this is one of my favorite recipes…it’s quick, easy, nutritious, satisfying, and makes a ton!

Cook’s Note:  If you want the quinoa to have a nuttier flavor, you can roast it before cooking; to roast, place it in a skillet over medium-low heat and stir constantly for five minutes.

   Roasted Veggie and Chickpea Quinoa

 Ingredients:

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
½ red onion, chopped
1 C frozen corn
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 T olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ C Pecorino Romano cheese (or any other cheese like Parmesan, Feta or Mozzarella)

1 C Quinoa

2 C low-sodium chicken broth
3 T fresh parsley, finely chopped (other fresh herbs like basil or chives will work also)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Add the grape tomatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, corn, chick peas and garlic in a big bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss well and then spread the veggies onto an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.  Roast about 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

While the veggies are roasting, cook the Quinoa. To cook the quinoa, add the quinoa and broth to a medium saucepan over high heat. After the mixture is brought to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer and cover. Cook for 15 minutes and then take the pan off the heat and let steam, covered, for 5 minutes.

Fluff the quinoa and place into a large bowl. Pour the roasted veggie and chickpea mixture over the quinoa. Add the cheese and fresh herbs and toss. Serve immediately.

Makes 12 side servings or 6-8 main dish servings

 

Source: a Food Folks and Fun Original!

Related posts:

1. Roman Pizza Series 5 of 5 – Sausage & Roasted Pepper Pizza

Food Folks and Fun Favs: September Edition

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Every month I’m going to post an unsolicited list of items I love. Mainly because I love hearing about products people have tried, tested, and love.  Below are items I’m loving this month.

Last month for my birthday my mom gave me a Micro Polishing System from DDF (Doctor’s Dermatological Formula). Think Clarisonic but BETTER (and cheaper)! This system not only exfoliates your skin but also polishes it. Since using it, I’ve been told by a few people that I’m “glowing” (and no, I’m not preggers).  I bought a second set of brush and polishing heads for my hubby to use and he loves them almost as much as I do (but shhh, don’t tell anyone because I don’t think Marines are supposed to be into microdermabrasion and things like that).

 

 

I love Benefit’s Bentint Lip & Cheek Stain; it gives you a lovely rosy tint. I don’t like heavy cosmetics and often go for a “natural look”, and the sheerness of Benetint is perfect for me. It’s a small bottle, but a little goes a long way! I bought it back in April, use it almost daily, and I am only 1/3 through the bottle.

 

 

 

I LOVED this book! After reading it I realized Julia was even funnier, smarter, and quirkier than I had originally thought. It was a great read and I learned a ton about French culture, the lifestyle, and food. It has inspired my new-found love for French “cookery” (recipes coming soon to the blog). If you loved “Julie and Julia” you will love this book! It was co-authored by Julia herself along with her niece.

 

 

 

So you may have noticed that my blog has some pretty sweet new digs. Well, the lovely and talented Kendra from Key Lime Digital Designs is responsible. She did an amazing job and I couldn’t be happier. I highly recommend working with her! If you’re not ready to hire a graphic designer yet go ahead and follow her blog, she often posts super useful blog and design tutorials.

 

 

 

Mia’s art work has been piling up on the fridge and I haven’t had the heart to get rid of any of her skillfully crafted pieces (she’s 2 ½ by the way). Luckily a friend told me about the ArtKive App.  The idea is you take a picture of their art work and it archives it for you. You can then turn your child’s artwork into a book or other gifts and keepsakes like mugs, mouse pads, etc. Genius, right?!? The best part: this app is free (at least for the time being)!

 

 

I went into West Elm recently just to“look” at some of the things I’ve been drooling over in their catalog…$70 later I came out with some awesome pieces for staging my food pictures including these “bowls” (shhh, don’t tell my husband). Here’s the conversation I had with myself in my head:

<<<<<<< Ohhhh, there are those bowls. They’re even cuter in person. Ok, I’ll just get the white one as a food photography prop. Ok, and maybe one other color…I’ll get the red one. No, no, no the yellow one. Yes, the yellow one, it’ll contrast nicely with winter soups. Hmmm, but the green and light blue will go nicely with my kitchen décor. Ohhh, I can’t decide so I’ll just get all 6 colors. >>>>>>>

Now I just need to save up for the coordinating serving bowls…and maybe the pitcher, too.

 

 

 

I recently searched stores for cute, yet versatile décor. If I’m going to spend good money on an item I want it to be able to take me through multiple seasons. These Apothecary Jars from Pier 1 fit the bill. They’re super cute, stylish, on trend, AND I can see using them year round. For Christmas I’m thinking rustic elegance…awesome, right?

 

 

Confession time: I recently went to a baby shower and <gasp> purchased, instead of made, the pie I brought. I know, I know…I’m holding out my hand for you to slap.

Second Confession: the pie I bought, Butter Pecan Apple Crumb Pie from Mom’s Apple Pie Co, was better than any homemade pie I’ve ever made. They have received accolades and awards from various media outlets including Country Living and Southern Living magazines, and even the First Lady bought and loved one of their pies! Mom’s Apple Pie Co. has 2 locations in the DC metro area: Occoquan and Leesburg.  Don’t fret if you don’t live in the DC metro, you can order their pies online and they’ll ship ‘em to you!

 

So, this is what I’m loving this month. What are you lovin’? Leave me a comment below!

 

 

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