chicken parm

I've always been a fan of chicken parmesan... it's kind of a classic... like the Grace Kelly of chicken... kind of.

I found this recipe on Chef in Training (one of my favorite blogs) and knew I had to try it.

This is all you need. A classic. Made unbelievably easy. Sign me up. Immediately!

The only change I made to the original recipe was not adding the mozzarella to the crockpot. I didn't have any in the house (the horror!) so I asked AJ to pick it up on the way home from work. I added it just before serving and it tasted delicious. The chicken was cooked perfectly.

I apologize for this awful picture. I was in a hurry to eat! :)

Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders

That's a mouthful!

I love chicken tenders. However, I rarely eat them. I have a thing... I can't eat meat that has anything funny about it. Red spots? Not eating it. Chewy part? Not eating it. Bones? Not eating it. Anything I think that seems weird? Not eating it.

However, I was craving chicken tenders. What's a girl to do who has weird rules with chicken? Make them, of course. I didn't want to just make plain chicken tenders... I wanted lemon pepper ones! YUM.

I know how to make basic breaded chicken... but I googled lemon pepper chicken tenders and came on this beauty. I'm not the only one to think of this!

I used her recipe loosely, and I'll outline the changes in the recipe.

Let me just warn you... these.were.amazing. AMAZING, people.

I only had chicken breasts in the freezer so I defrosted and cut them into strips (try and keep them about the same size so they cook evenly.) 

The cut strips then need to be dredged in the above: 

1. egg (I added some lemon juice, about a tablespoon)
2. flour
3. panko (I added a tablespoon of lemon pepper seasoning)

I recommend (STRONGLY) only using one hand in the dredging process. Or else you're going to look like Edward Scissorhands and no one will be home to turn on the faucet. And then you'll think about salmonella growing on your kitchen sink because you touched it with eggy-hands. That might just be me. But I don't think so.

After you coat each one, put it on a greased cookie rack on top of a baking sheet. I got this secret from above blog; apparently, it makes them crispier :) I did do a little research and found that some cookie racks can emit fumes in the oven... check yours before you try... or just put them on a baking sheet (sprayed with cooking spray)

Don't these look so yummy?

Then you just bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes. Flip 'em and finish for 8-10 minutes. Keep your eye on them. Your kitchen will smell like paradise!

We had ours with roasted asparagus and I used this recipe. It was DELICIOUS.

All together now... YUM!

On a completely related side note, I just discovered via another blog that some stores sell lemon pepper panko! GENIUS. Unfortunately, 'some stores' is not my grocery store :(

Ingredients:

• 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon (or more if you really love it) lemon pepper seasoning
• cooking spray

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425.
• Cut the chicken into strips.
• Set up your coating stations: one bowl full of flour, one bowl full of egg and lemon juice, and one bowl full of panko/lemon pepper mixture.
• Dredge chicken strips through flour, then egg mixture, and then panko mixture.
• Place on greased cookie rack over baking sheet as you finish.
• Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

a new twist on an old favorite...

AJ and I met up in the Adirondacks in 2007... long story... but I hooked him with Rachael Ray's bacon wrapped chicken (with pecans and blue cheese inside!) That was the beginning of our story :)

I still make this chicken on special occasions for AJ, and he loves it just as much now! It is very, very yummy but it takes some time.

The good news is: it's very easy to simplify and sub in different ingredients depending on what we're in the mood for. Today, after work, I wandered around the grocery store (they change the sales on Wednesdays... I am such a nerd) trying to figure out what to make for dinner.

I got a few good deals and then headed home. I have a new-found obsession with colby-jack cheese so I decided to use that...and then it hit me! Make chicken roll-ups with cheese inside! How could this go wrong?

Here are the ingredients I used, plus the chicken that was defrosting when I took this picture ;)

I pounded the chicken breasts until they were about 1/4 inch thick. I did this by putting them in a closed ziploc bag and then hitting them repeatedly with a soup can... that took some of today's stress away :)

After that, you just take it out and then place the cheese and hot sauce inside:

Roll them up like a pinwheel and secure with toothpicks... and then pour some shake and bake on them. I tried to pick up the pieces and get some of the mixture on the bottom as well...

And then I baked for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees and they got nice and crispy!

They went perfectly with some fresh celery and blue cheese mixed with some more hot sauce:

Delicious! Hope you had a great Tuesday.