Cheddar Baked Chicken

My sister-in-law is known for this chicken, and after doing some research, it looks like it's a recipe originally found on allrecipes.com. It tastes like chicken covered in Cheezits (now that's an idea!). I don't normally make baked chicken dishes all that often - too predictable for my taste - but I would make this 100x over in a heartbeat. You can serve it with a baked potato, rice, or veggies. Or whatever.

What I'm trying to say is it's good with anything.

Enjoy!


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 pouch Shake 'n Bake Extra Crispy
• 1 cup Rice Krispies
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves

Directions:

Melt the 1/4 cup butter and spread in baking dish. I chose to use this round dish, but if you're making more than 2 chicken breasts, I suggest using a 13x9 pan.

In one bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and milk.

In a third bowl, mix the cheese, bread crumbs and cereal.

Get your assembly line in order {flour, egg, breadcrumbs}.

Dip chicken pieces in the flour mixture...

...then drench in the egg mixture...

...then press into the breadcrumb mixture to coat.

Arrange in the prepared baking dish. Drizzle 2 more tablespoons butter evenly over chicken.

Bake 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until coating is golden brown and chicken juices run clear.


That's it! Super easy. And yummy. And isn't that why we're all here?


Love and yumm,

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Lemon Roasted Chicken

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: my mother is what we in the Doney household refer to as the "total package." Stressed about anything and everything in life? No worries. She has it all under control, and she knows exactly what you need to do to fix your situation. Which is nice, because I have absolutely nothing under control or figured out.

I'm working on it. Sometimes.

I called mom yesterday and expressed my woes about how my lovely husband packed (aka, LOST) my camera cord. This means that I have about 5 different pictures of tasty recipes held captive on my camera, unable to make an appearance on my blog or on your dinner table. It has me in a funk. So she has shared this recipe with me and you, my wonderful readers.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1-1/2 Teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 Teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 lemon- cut into 8 wedges
• Olive oil and thyme sprigs for seasoning

Directions:

• Warm olive oil in a small pan on medium low heat.  
• Add minced garlic and cook for one minute.  Don't let the garlic get brown.  Remove from the heat and add white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, dried oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.  
• Pour sauce into a 9X13 baking dish.
• Wash and pat dry chicken (remove any giblets).
• Season well- inside and out with salt and pepper.  
• Put two or three wedges of lemon into the chicken cavity and place the chicken on top of the sauce in the 9X13 pan.  
• Rub well with olive oil and lay a few sprigs of thyme on top.  
• Place other lemon wedges around the chicken for seasoning.
• Cook at 375 for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.  (Adjust time, depending on the size of the chicken.)
• Once roasted, allow to "rest" under tin foil for 10-15 minutes. 
• Enjoy with white rice, sauteed green beans and biscuits.

Love and mothers-fix-everything,
Rachael

Crispy chicken tacos

I know what you're thinking. Tacos. Pssh. Amateur work. I'll admit, these probably didn't make it into Julia Child's book, but then again, do any of us really have the luxury of spending the whole day in the kitchen? I know many individuals who celebrate "Taco Tuesday," but I personally get bored with soft tacos and/or the cheap-o Taco Bell taco shells I buy in bulk at WalMart. I made about 12-15 of these tacos, and even though it's not necessarily the most convenient way to do it, it adds some extra flare and is incredibly delicious. So delicious, in fact, that my health-obsessed hubby got out of bed at 12:30am and ate the two leftovers in the fridge that were for my lunch.

Oh, the sacrifices we make.



Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 package of white corn tortillas
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed
• Shredded Mexican cheese
• Shredded lettuce
• Canola oil
• Sour Cream
• Taco Bell restaurant sauce
• Taco Bell taco seasoning
• 1 small can diced green chilies
• Fresh chopped cilantro (optional)
• Diced tomatoes (optional)

Directions:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil over medium high heat
• Chop up chicken breasts into small, bite-sized pieces. Throw in the pan with the heated oil.
• Add the can of green chilies.
• For the record, I do not like chilies, but you and any other picky eater in your home won't even notice they're there. They're diced so small that they'll blend right in, but they pack a lot of Mexican flavor.
• Sprinkle taco seasoning onto chicken while cooking. How much you put is up to you.
• Add 1 tablespoon of sour cream and combine. This makes the chicken mix nice 'n creamy.
• While the chicken is cooking, pour canola oil into large pan and turn the heat on high. 

• This is another area where the amount of oil is up to you. I make it so that it was about 1 inch deep, but for those of you who don't sit in a cubicle all day, feel free to add more.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon of the fully cooked chicken mix into two corn tortillas.

• I double-up the tortillas because they can be very fragile and break easily.
• Only spoon 1 tablespoon of the chicken mixture into the taco shell, otherwise it'll spill over the sides. Practice safe deep-frying, people.
• Using tongs, place the chicken-filled tortilla into the hot oil. Using a fork or the tongs, hold it almost closed for about 15 seconds to keep that structure in the tortilla and to keep it from opening. After a few seconds, they'll stay by themselves.
• Let them sit on each side for about 2 minutes or until crispy and brown.
• Once you've done one, just keep 'em coming. You can do as many at a time as your pan can fit.
• Once both sides are done, remove tacos from hot oil with tongs, draining any additional oil back into the pan.
• Set on a pile of paper towels and pat dry
• When they are dry, gently open the taco just enough to add the shredded cheese, sour cream, taco sauce, lettuce and diced tomatoes. Be prepared to get your hands a little messy. But it's worth it.
• Top with fresh cilantro
• Warning: it's not the same without it.

It's Friday night. Some of you will hit the bars. Some of you will hit the sheets. And some of you will do the right thing and make these crispy chicken tacos.

Love and getting-wild-because-it's-the-weekend,
Rachael

Chicken Parmesan

This dish happens to be very near and dear to my heart. When Tim and I were first dating, my parents were kind enough to host a dinner party for both our families at their lake house. My mom insisted it was important that I learn how to cook for my new man, and I finally gave in. This was only a few months after my first attempt to cook for Tim in California, where he threw up my add-water-only pancakes and my barely-thicker-than-water scrambled eggs. So I took my mom's advice, and we set out to make this particular dish for my future in-laws and my future husband.

The great thing about chicken Parmesan is it's not a bunch of frills and lace. It's very meaty, filling and inexpensive, to which I very enthusiastically say, "amen." It looks much more complicated and fancy than it really is, but that doesn't change how divine it tastes.

Ingredients:

• Chicken breasts (1 per person, unless you want leftovers)
• A few eggs
• Bread crumbs (I use Progresso Italian bread crumbs)
• Spaghetti sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Spaghetti noodles (1 box per 5 people is normally plenty)
• Minced garlic
• Olive oil
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Take thawed chicken breasts and place in a large ziploc bag.
• Use whatever you have on hand to smash it until it's nice and thin.
• Whisk together the milk and eggs and dip the chicken into it until completely covered
• Roll the chicken in bread crumbs
• Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat
• Add a teaspoon or two of minced garlic to the olive oil and let it simmer for a minute
• Turn the stove up to medium high heat and place the chicken in the warmed olive oil
• Leave the chicken in there until both sides are browned and have developed a crust
• This can take anywhere from 3 minutes per side to 10 minutes per side, depending on your pan and the heat settings. Just keep an eye on it and peek every few minutes to make sure it's not burning.
• Place the chicken in a cooking dish
• Cover the chicken with mozzarella cheese (whether that's individual slices or shredded is up to you)
• Pour spaghetti sauce all over the top of the chicken and cheese
• Sprinkle with a little more mozzarella and parmesan cheese
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes uncovered, or until cheese is bubbly
• Cook spaghetti noodles according to instructions and set aside until chicken is done cooking
• Once everything is finished, place a large portion of noodles on a plate, cover with warmed spaghetti sauce, and top with one of the chicken breasts.
• Serve with salad and garlic bread.

Probably the greatest thing about this meal is that it can be done well in advance. You just follow all of the steps except for baking the chicken and cooking the noodles, and 30 minutes before your guests arrive, throw the chicken in the oven and the noodles on the stove.

** Leftover Tip: Chicken parm makes for great leftovers, but if you have a leftover-phobic husband like I do, follow these steps to make a chicken parmesan sub: Grab a large sandwich roll (or 2 slices of Texas toast), cut it in half, and place mozzarella cheese on both halves. Throw it in a broiler or toaster oven until the cheese is bubbly. Cut up the leftover breaded chicken into long slices and place on top of the bread. Cover with remaining sauce, and there ya' go — they have a chicken parm sandwich the next day at work.

Love and leftovers,
Rachael

Broccoli chicken bake

Have I ever mentioned that I used to be quite large? My mom will inevitably get angry at me for writing this and will follow up with a phone call explaining how my body simply matched my "larger than life" personality.

She's my mom. She has to say that. And now that I think about it, I don't even see that as much of a compliment, anyway.

So when I was a freshman in high school, I started a less-intense version of the Atkins diet. It involved a lot of chicken, a lot of broccoli, and a lot of cheese. Mom came up with a broccoli chicken bake that I ate at least once a day. Keep in mind, this is before Atkins was trendy and there were all those fancy schmany "no-carb chocolate bars."

Psshh.

About 25 lbs later, I embraced bread again and have re-made this broccoli chicken bake. It still has the broccoli. It still has the chicken. And it still has the cheese. We've simply thrown in some bread and butter.

Because life without bread and butter is simply no life at all.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen broccoli
• 2 slices of sourdough bread broken into small pieces 
• 2 cooked chicken breasts
• Garlic salt/pepper
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 can cream of broccoli soup
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 Directions:

• Steam the broccoli until tender and place in a 8 x 8 x 1 1/2 in. glass pan
• Cut up thawed chicken and cook on the stove over medium/high heat
• Add the juice of the lemon
• Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and pepper
• Place cooked chicken on top of broccoli
• Mix the milk and soup in a separate bowl
• Pour mixture over chicken and broccoli
• Sprinkle with cheddar cheese
• Drizzle melted butter over bread crumbs in a separate bowl
• Spread bread crumbs on top of broccoli/chicken/soup mixture/cheese
• Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the top is browned. Remember...every oven is different. Keep an eye on it.

Guys, you would not believe how great this stuff smells. When you pull it out of the oven and get that first big whiff, it's like you walked into a Panera that only serves broccoli cheese soup.

I wish there were such a place.

Have a beautiful day, readers! And please, for heaven's sake...

...make this!

Love,
Rachael