Crispy Parmesan Chicken Strips

There is nothing I despise more than coming home from school, slaving over five hours of homework, and having to cook for two hours. I have been searching relentlessly for quick but delicious recipes that I can have made and eaten in under an hour. These yummy chicken strips hit the nail on the head. If you have pre-thawed chicken breasts, the prep time should be no more than 10 minutes (about the time it takes to heat the oven up!) I have made these twice: once with homemade Alfredo noodles, and this time with garlic mashed potatoes, which take the same time to prepare as the chicken!

Crispy Parmesan Chicken Strips

1.5 cups season croutons, crushed

1.5 oz. (1/3 c) fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

1 tsp. dried parsley, optional

1/4 tsp garlic salt

2 egg whites

1 T. water

1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1'' pieces

1/4 c. prepared Ranch dressing, can be lite

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Crush croutons into resealable bag. Grate Parmesan cheese. In large bowl, combine crushed croutons, cheese, parsley, and garlic salt. Whisk egg and water in a separate bowl. Dip chicken pieces into egg mixture, then into crumb mixtures to coat evenly. Arrange on 13" round baking dish. Bake 14-16 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

What You Need:

crouton mixture^

egg and water mixture^

1st, dip chicken in egg mixture...

then evenly coat chicken in crumb mixture

YUM!

Hearty Chicken Gnocchi Soup

I fell in love with this soup last night! It is the ultimate cold weather-warm your insides kinda meal! The garlic bread complimented the soup nicely... made me feel like I was at Olive Garden eating their chicken gnocchi soup!

Hearty Chicken Gnocchi Soup

*Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups fat free half-and-half

1 cup lowfat milk

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

16 ounce package gnocchi

1-2 cups cooked, shredded or diced chicken breasts

1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped (left this out)

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a 4- or 5-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot and rippling. Add the chopped onion, carrots and thyme. Cook until the onion is translucent and carrots are slightly tender, stirring often, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking or stirring constantly, until the flour is lightly golden, 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the half-and-half. Whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Stir while bringing the mixture to a boil over medium to medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is slightly thickened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the uncooked gnocchi and simmer over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup should thicken up quite a bit while the gnocchi is cooking. Stir in the chicken and spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Step One:

add olive oil

Step Two:

add onions, carrots, and thyme

Step Three:

add garlic

Step Four:

whisk in flour

no photo

Step Five:

add half-and-half

Step Six:

add low fat milk and chicken broth 

Step Six:

bring to boil

Step Seven:

add gnocchi

Step Eight:

add chicken (and spinach*)

This soup seriously made it to my favorites list with the first spoonful! Don't skimp on the pepper at the end... makes it that much better!

Churros {The Mexican Funnel-Cake}

"I hate funnel cakes"- Said by no one ever.

"I hate extra credit"-Said by no one ever.

In Spanish class, the opportunity arose to use cooking for extra credit...I snagged that opportunity up like no ones business. The food to be created are known as Churros. In Spanish speaking countries, Churros are a dessert served with a drink similar to hot chocolate. Churros taste a lot like funnel cakes, but with regular sugar instead of powdered sugar.They are simply amazing... but a little difficult to create. This tutorial is my first attempt at making these, so bare with me.

My Spanish teacher told me my churros were very good and tasted as they should. However, they didn't look as they should. Real churros are piped into the oil using a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch star tip, which makes them straight and pretty. I used a sandwich bag with the end snipped off. As you can see, they look like strips of a funnel cake.

These are how they will look if you use the pastry bag and star tip!

What You Need:

-1 cup of water

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-4 large eggs

-1 cup sugar

-1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick)

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-oil for deep frying

1. In a heavy saucepan, bring water, butter, and salt to a full boil.

2. Remove from heat. Add flour all at once, stirring briskly. Stir until mixture pulls away from the side of the pan and forms a ball.

3. Put the mixture in a bowl. With an electric mixer on medium speed, add one egg at a time. After adding the last egg, beat mixture for one more minute.

4. Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a deep, heavy saucepan at 375 degrees F (the number 6 on the stove).

5. Transfer the mixture to pastry bags with the 1/2" star tip, or seal-able bags. Do not cut the tip of the bags until you are ready to squirt into the hot oil.

6. When oil is hot, pipe out 6 inch-long tubes of dough into the oil. Fry, turning a few times, for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

*This is where things got messy for me. When I began to squeeze the dough out of my baggie, the tip would jerk back and forth, making the dough go into the pan in a wavy-fashion. I do believe this is where the star-tip would come in, making the end of the bag stay straight.*

7. When all the batter has been fried, place the sugar on a plate, and roll the churros in the sugar.

I am now thinking of these as funnel cake- bites. And I will be making these again, soon. They are to die for!

Best of luck to you! This is a perfect excuse to have "Mexican Night" every night.

Individual Apple Pies

Seriously, who doesn't love apple pie?? Who loves apple pie(s) that take 20 minutes... ME!!

Ingredients:
-Crescent rolls, 8 count (reduced fat is fine)
-1 medium apple, cut into 8ths
-1/4 cup of sugar
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon 
-2 tsb. butter

How to make it:

1) preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2) roll out and separate your crescent rolls, mix together sugar and cinnamon, cut apple into eighths, and melt butter.

3) sprinkle sugar mixture over unrolled crescents, then place an apple slice on each. Roll up.

4) Brush each roll with melted butter. Now, sprinkle sugar mixture heavily over rolls.

5) Bake for 13-15 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Sue's Chili Beans

 This recipe below comes from a lady named Sue. This recipe happens to be not only a fall favorite of mine... but one of those "I could eat this everyday for the rest of my life and never get tired of it" kind meals. Yes, it's that good. I give you the best chili beans known to man, aka,  Sue's Chili Beans!

Ingredients:
2 lbs hamburger
3/4 c. ketchup 
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
3/4 c. brown sugar
50-60 oz. pork & beans {drain juice}
50-60 oz. kidney beans {drain juice}
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery 

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brown hamburger, combine onion, pepper, and celery. Add remaining ingredients to mixture. Transfer to dish and bake covered for one hour. Serve immediately. 

These chili beans are to die for! I enjoyed them while doing a little DIY project, which you can catch a glimpse of in the background of the photo above. Check back tomorrow so see what all those thumbtacks are about!