Chicken Parmigiana This is one of the go-to dishes I make for my family of six. Rich, flavorful, and totally satisfying, we all love it, including my big, strapping cowboy of a husband. And that’s a very, very good thing. Break out the good Parmesan for this one, my friends. Begin with four to six boneless, skinless, trimmed chicken breasts. I’m actually beginning to believe fear of raw chicken is a diagnosable phobia. Place the chicken breasts inside of a Ziploc bag—either one at a time or, if the bag is gigantic like this one, all at once. I put them inside Ziplocs so that when I pound the heck out of them here in a second, microscopic particles of raw chicken will not end up across the room on my computer’s keyboard. Now THAT would gross me out the door. Pound the chicken with the smooth side of a mallet. You want them to be very thin–about 1/8 to 1/4″ thick. Add the flour to a large plate. And pepper. Then season the other side. The raw chicken is almost over. Now it’s ready to cook! And butter. Mmmm. Oh!
Cruft: Lasagna Cupcakes When Intelligentsia Coffee opened in Pasadena recently, I was intrigued the lasagna cupcakes they served. The cupcakes are made by Heirloom LA, a catering business. About the size of a muffin, a single lasagna cupcake was a delicious meal. After seeing how much my daughter enjoyed them (she ate my entire cupcake and I had to order a second one), I decided I had to try making them at home. After a bit of research, here is my method. The girls love them and take them to school as lunch. The ingredients are fairly simple. Spray or wipe the cupcake tin with olive oil for prevent sticking and add a little flavor. Once you filled in the first layer, gently press another wrapper in, forming another cup. Once you've placed the second wrapper, repeat the filling as you see fit. A bit of Mozzarella cheese on top of it all. I baked them for 20 minutes at 375° F and then come out perfectly browned. You can do pretty much anything you want as filling from more meats to a vegan version.
100 Delicious, Dirt-Cheap Recipes for the Starving Student Most students don’t have a lot of cash to spend on food, but that doesn’t mean you have to go hungry. With the right recipes and some kitchen savvy, you can eat great even on a student’s budget. Here we’ll share 100 tasty recipes that you can make on the cheap. Along with saving money on meals, budget-savvy students can also save big on a college education by attending inexpensive online colleges. Breakfast Get a good start to your day with these cheap-o breakfasts. Ramen A college staple gets dressed up in these recipes. Sandwiches Use these recipes to step up your sandwiches. One Pot These simple recipes can be pulled off in one pot. Salads Use these healthy recipes to make cheap, delicious salads. Casserole You’ll find delicious casseroles in these recipes. Pizza & Pasta Get your grains with these recipes. Entrees These recipes offer affordable main dishes. Sides Use these recipes to complement your entrees on the cheap. Desserts Satisfy your sweet tooth with these affordable dessert recipes.
Baked Mashed Potatoes with a Creamy Gruyere Topping My friend Donna Natale Mason…what can I say other than that Texas is not nearly as colorful without her? She is a vibrant, loud, gorgeous bit of Texas stomping through the snow in Indiana in red cowboy boots. We were debutantes together in Wichita Falls and she keeps threatening to come back to Texas and have a get together where we all wear our (very small sized yet shockingly poufy) deb dresses and eat lots of food and tell raunchy jokes. In the meantime she has given me a very decadent, yet simple recipe that is dear to her heart. This is part of the note that Donna sent to me: “My sweet Momma made these for me when I was pregnant with my daughter, Molly in 2005. Hence, I call these Donna’s Good Luck Potatoes. My only other comment on mashed potatoes is that it is important to mash in the butter before you add the milk. Scrub the potatoes and poke several holes in each with a fork. Whip the cream until it is fluffy, but soft and fold in Gruyere cheese. Notes: In closing:
Someone Left The Cake Out In The Rain Nutella Cupcakes With Philly Cream Cheese Nutella Frosting! — A Happy H... My daughter is a Nutella freak and just loves the creamy chocolaty spread! She would take a jar of it to school and her classmates would pass it around during lunch and eat it straight from the container. Probably not the most sanitary thing to do, but teens live for the moment and don’t put much thought into that kind of stuff. I wanted to bake my daughter something special, so I decided to search for recipes using Nutella and found Self Frosting Nutella Cupcakes at Baking Bites. Nutella Self Frosted Cupcakes 10 tbsp(140 grams) butter, softened 3/4 cup white sugar 3 eggs 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 3/4 cups (200 grams) sifted all purpose flour 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup Preheat oven to 325F. I followed the recipe using exact measurements and the cupcakes came out looking gorgeous. Philly Cream Cheese Nutella Frosting 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese at room temperature 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature 1/4 cup powdered sugar 2 oz Nutella
Shop Sweet Things with Jeanne // MAGIC JUICE Wow, yesterday’s ballpark outing totally wiped me out. I came home and slept from 8pm – 8am, hahaha! It’s been a long time since I did that and now that my baby is sleeping through the night I’m finally able to get some uninterrupted zzzzzzz. Though when you sleep like that you tend to have the wackiest dreams… and I had a dream that my sister was dating Brody Jenner (from the Hills, hahaha!)… apparently my dream told me that Arvil Lavigne dumped him because he was a lazy ass…LOL! (Are they still together? Anyways, I was hoping to post on the SF Decorator Showcase I went to last Friday, but I think I’m going to keep things light today and share that with you next week. :) I’ll be meeting a few friends for happy hour at Chaya later today… it’s not a new place or anything but believe it or not, I’ve never been. I can’t wait to sip on some magic juice with my friends.
Parmesan Roasted Potatoes Ok fine. I’m officially ready to make the transition to fall. And I thought, what better way to do it than with my all time favorite Parmesan Roasted Potatoes! These are like candy. 100% addictive. I always, without fail, make these with Yukon Gold potatoes because here’s the truth… I’m too lazy to peel the skins off potatoes. This is more a technique rather than a recipe, since you can scale these potatoes up if you’re cooking for a crowd. You’re going to start with some naked potatoes…. Add on all the seasonings… Using your fingers, go ahead and toss everything together…. Put them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Once they are nice and golden and crispy, throw them onto a serving platter…. And then EAT!! And just a public service announcement – make a double batch and then serve them with breakfast the next morning too. Parmesan Roasted Potatoes Ingredients Instructions Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.Place the cubed potatoes into a baking dish.
Garlic Butter Rolls › shutterbean For those of you who swoon over garlic twisty bread but can’t bring yourself to order whole pizza to make the delivery worthwhile, this one’s for you! They are scrumptious! Dip some in marinara or serve them with a salad and pasta! You could also eat them alone, directly from your kitchen counter. No one will know. To push them over the edge of deliciousness, I am going to tuck a little bit of Parmesan cheese in the middle of each roll before I form them into little dough balls next time! I used Trader Joe’s plain pizza dough for this batch! Start by mincing 4 cloves of garlic. While your dough is getting to room temp, get your muffin tin ready and put some oil in a little bowl. Cut the dough into 12 pieces. Put a pinch of garlic on top. Brush the tops with olive oil and place in the oven for 15-18 mins. Here’s what they look like after 17 minutes in my oven. Dip them in a bowl of melted butter and parsley. You have yourself a very delicious little garlic knot/roll. Makes 12
Design Crush & Popsicles! Not to sound full of myself, but I’m pretty sure this is the be all, end all of popsicle roundups. There’s a little something for everyone: the foodies, the purists, the ones who prefer frozen yogurt, the ones who prefer a little alcohol, everyone. Tweny-five options to be exact. The post I did last summer on the cold guys was one of DC’s most viewed ever, so I thought you’d all be up for another round – was I right? Click on the photo to be taken to the recipe. All photos and recipes copyright of their respective source unless otherwise noted.