What's for Dinner?

Quick and Easy Buffalo Chicken Salad

This was the recipe of the day on All_Recipes a couple of weeks ago and it looked d-lish!  Let me tell ya, it was super easy, took all of 20 minutes and was really inexpensive since we already had all of the ingredients with the exception of the chicken and lettuce.  Let's get started!  I'm ready to go--

Ingredients:

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup Ranch-style salad dressing

3 large skinless, boneless chicken breast strips - cut into 1 inch cubes

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup Louisiana-style hot sauce

1 tablespoon salad seasoning mix (such as McCormick® Salad Supreme Seasoning)

1 bag of romaine lettuce

In a small bowl, combine crumbled blue cheese and Ranch-style dressing; set aside.

 Season cubed chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over high heat, and pour in the vegetable oil. Just before the oil starts to smoke, add the chicken. Cook to brown evenly, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and add butter, hot sauce, and salad seasoning mix.

 Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Toss together the lettuce and Ranch-style dressing mixture in a large bowl.

Top salad with chicken, and serve.  

We served it with our favorite garlic toast (I'll have a recipe for that soon!).

What's for Dinner?

Have I mentioned how much I love Love LOVE recipes that are made up of stuff you can almost always find in your pantry?  Well, I do!  And I'm here to bring you another foolproof nearly foolproof  Chicken Parmesan recipe that you can whip up in less than 1 hour!

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 (5-ounce) boneless, skinless, trimmed chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup kosher salt (was too salty with this amount of table salt)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese , sliced
• 1/4 pound Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for garnish, grated
• Olive oil , for frying (about 2 cups)
• 1 pound of your favorite pasta
• Jar of pre-made tomato sauce (i.e. Prego, Bertolli, etc.)
• 1/4 cup minced Italian parsley, for garnish

Lightly pound the chicken breasts to 1/2-inch thickness. Combine the kosher salt, sugar, and 1 quart of water in a 1-gallon size resealable plastic bag; shake until dissolved. Add the chicken breasts and soak at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place the flour in a medium bowl. Remove the chicken from the brine. Shake off excess moisture and, with tongs, lightly dredge the chicken in the flour. Shake off the excess flour and transfer to a large plate.

Mix the eggs and milk in medium bowl and whisk thoroughly. In a separate bowl combine the bread crumbs, oregano, basil, parsley, sea salt, and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the egg and milk mixture with tongs and let excess mixture drain off. Now dredge the chicken into the bread crumb mixture, and lightly pat down in the bread crumbs to adhere.

Preheat the broiler.

Let the breaded chicken sit for 5 minutes before frying. In a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, add enough olive oil to come 1/3 up the side of the chicken. Cook the chicken in batches until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan when cooked and place on a sheet tray. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Boil water and cook your choice of pasta, Brandon's favorite is angel hair, until al dente.  Pour remaining oil out and pour entire jar of pre-made tomato sauce into your oven-safe pan.  Warm on low-med heat.  Place chicken back in pan and sprinkle your mozzarella and parmesan cheeses on top.  Place under the broiler until the cheese melts and is golden brown.

Happy cooking!! 

What's for Dinner?

Tonight, I cooked Chicken Cordon Bleu (my hubby's favorite!), courtesy of this recipe from allrecipes.com.  Here's what you'll need:

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

6 slices Swiss cheese

6 slices ham

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon paprika

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup heavy whipping cream

I'm ready to go!

Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick.

Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges.

Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks.

Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

...and VOILA!!  Partnered with a pasta salad, DE-lish!  Happy cooking!