Chicken Parmesan

I made this delicious meal for dinner. I hope if you make it, you enjoy it, too!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (divided into 1/4 cup portions)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 to 1/2 cup flour, in a shallow bowl
2 eggs, lightly beaten, in a shallow bowl
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 jar prepared tomato sauce (2 cups set aside)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound out to 1/2" thickness using a mallet or rolling pin.

Combine bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, oregano, basil and cayenne in a shallow bowl.

Coat each breast in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Dip each breast in the egg and then into the bread crumb mixture. Set coated chicken aside on a plate. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet. Cook until golden on both sides.

Spread one cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish and top with golden chicken breasts. (You will have to decide how big the pan needs to be. a 9x9 pan was not quite big enough for me, but a 9x13 would have been overkill.) Top each breast with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with spaghetti and tomato sauce.

I also recommend some hearty bread to enjoy with this meal. Very yummy!

String Bean's Stove Top

On New Year's Eve, I decided that String Bean needed a cooking surface for all her new dishes and food so she could continue to learn the fine art of home making. Our condo is not large enough for a full-size kitchen, so I decided to create a stove top surface for her using only a shirt box, contact paper, 4 cabinet knobs with screws and washers, a sheet of red foam paper, and a black sharpie.

Here are some pictures of the final project:

String Bean is cooking up a storm! Please note the princess tent in the background. This is a favorite Christmas present of String Bean's.

Mr. Bean was kind enough to do the marker work on the burners and the knobs.

Close up of the knobs.

View from the top.

For those of you interested in step-by-step instructions on how to make this stove top for your little ones, stay tuned for tomorrow's post!

A Full Day's Work

Two batches of mint chocolate chip merengues made (because I put too much peppermint extract in the first one and had to make a second to balance it out), cooled and stored away...

A shopping trip to pick up part of my mother-in-law's Christmas present, some wedding things at Target and wrapping paper for some of the larger gifts completed...

A batch of sugar cookies made, cooled and stored away...

A trip to the zoo to see the Christmas lights...

Dinner out with the husband and child...

Made a breakfast casserole for a friend who is packing up to move...

The kitchen cleaned and ready for another day of cooking...

Balanced the checkbook...

And now I am waiting for Mr. Bean to get up and start prepping his famous homemade lasagna so I can clean up after him. At least a huge chunk of my to-do list got checked off today!

Holiday Meal Planning

I am doing most of the holiday cooking this year. Here is what is on the menu:

Main Dishes
White Chicken Chili with crusty bread
Stay-in-Bed Stew
Baked Macaroni and Cheese + broccoli as a side

Appetizers
BBQ Meatballs (oven)
Cool Veggie Pizza (crescent rolls w/ cream cheese and veggies)
Deviled Eggs
Fruit stuff
Artichoke Dip w/ triscuits
Cheese/Crackers or Nacho stuff
Pickles
Jesus’ Birthday Cake

Breakfast Foods
Breakfast Casserole (bread, cheese, bacon, eggs)
Cheesy Potatoes

Cookies and Snacks
Russian Tea Cakes
Sugar Cookies
Chex Mix
Mint Chocolate Chip Merenges*
Molasses Gingerbread cookies*
Mint Chocolate Oreos
Spritz Cookies (made by my brother-in-law)*

I will be adding more main dishes to the list, but my cookies/snacks are almost finished! Only the ones with asterisks still need to be made. If you have any suggestions for improving my
menu, let me know!

Another Crock Pot Creation

Mr. Bean asked me today why I have been doing so much cooking lately. I think the answer lies within the magic of the crock pot. I just love it.

Tonight I made chicken in the pot which is the first time I've ever tried chicken. Here is my recipe:

Chicken Stew-like Yummy Food
Chicken Breasts
Family size cream of chicken condensed soup
milk
celery
1/2 onion (or more)
garlic
salt
pepper

Defrost chicken. Combine cream of chicken soup and 1/2 of its can full of milk in the crock pot. Add garlic, salt and pepper to your liking and stir. Coarsely chop celery (I used 3 stalks) and add to pot. Finely chop onion and add to pot. Add chicken last and be sure it is smothered in mixture.

Leave in fridge overnight, or begin cooking. Set on low for 6 to 8 hours. Once chicken is cooked, shred it by using a wooden spoon. It should fall apart pretty easily.

Serve over rice, biscuits, toast, or potatoes....or...or even plain! (To borrow a line from Holiday Inn.)

Pot Roast

Best Pot Roast recipe. Hands down. And I'm not even charging you for it.

1 roast, thawed
1 bag of baby carrots
1 onion, chopped
3/4 of a 5 lb bag of potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups of water

Put roast in large crock pot. Add all other ingredients. Turn crock pot on low. Wait 6 to 8 hours. Salt and pepper to taste.

I usually check mine around hour 4 to see if it needs to be turned onto high to speed up the meat cooking. You know when the meat is done when it starts to fall apart easily.

Cooking up a Storm

String Bean and I spent a good part of our afternoon cooking today. We made cherry jello, chocolate pudding (with chocolate chips), chocolate chip cookies, and ravioli for dinner.

String Bean loved using the measuring cups and spoons. I'd fill it up while she held it and then she'd dump it in the bowl. Another highlight was watching the cookies in the oven as they cooked.

All evening she's been asking for cookies. I tried to give her the ravioli and the pudding and its a no-go so far. When the jello finishes setting, we'll have to try that. I'm not holding my breath.

Cooking 101

Today I went to a live cooking demonstration by Dan Smith of The Next Food Network Star and The Party Line fame. He co-owns The Hearty Boys business with his co-winner of TNFNS, Steve McDonagh. They have a pretty neat idea of doing "cooking karaoke" in their Chicago-based TV studio.

Photo courtsey of Mr. Bean.

It was fun to watch (live) the process of making a meal by an actual professional. (If you only know me on this blog, you do not know that I am a HORRIBLE cook. Mr. Bean does the cooking in our house.) Besides sharing some history on how he got into the business, it was fun to hear some of the behind-the-scenes secrets of having a cooking show.

String Bean enjoyed eating his Orange Blossom Pancakes with Mascarpone Cream and Fresh Berries. Well, she didn't eat the mascarpone cream and only ate the blueberries, but she enjoyed those and the pancake quite a bit!

As an added bonus, the official photographer for the event took a lot of photos of the Bean family (including my in-laws) since we scored front row seats and we had an adorable child with us. How could he resist?

If you haven't had the opportunity to enjoy a live cooking demonstration, the mirror over the counter alone is reason to check it out. Free samples don't hurt either!