Breaded Chicken Strips

This recipe is a fail proof classic. My family has been making this chicken for at least a decade, but we call it Friday Chicken, named after the woman who gave us the recipe.

It's a simple recipe and a simple meal, but it wins over just about anyone who will eat chicken. Of all the gorgeous meals I cook for my leading man, this he requests most often. We like to serve it with some Rice-A-Roni, the most simple of side dishes, and it is delicious every single time.


Breaded Chicken Strips
serves two


2 skinless chicken breasts slices into strips
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
A pinch of pepper


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In one bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, and pepper and stir with a fork. In another bowl, melt the butter. 

With one piece at a time, dip a chicken strip into the melted butter and then into the breadcrumb mixture, coating the chicken. Place breaded chicken on cookie sheet and repeat the process with the rest of the chicken.

Bake chicken in the oven for 15 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through. 

Easy Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

If there's one thing I really love about this dish, it's the simplicity of it. Especially when the final product doesn't taste like a meal slapped together when in all honesty, that's pretty much what it is. 

Red sauce isn't really my absolute favorite, but when combined with the reduced balsamic glaze, it gets an extra little kick.


Easy Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
Serves two


2 skinless chicken breasts
3 oz whole grain angel hair pasta
1/2 cup marinara sauce
2 oz mozzarella pearls
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar


Cook the chicken in whatever way is your favorite. (I like to salt and pepper the breasts, fry them in a non stick pan for three minutes on each side, and then place in a 350 degree oven for another ten minutes.) Slice the cooked chicken into strips

In a small saucepan, heat the balsamic vinegar over medium low heat until reduced by half, about 15-30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Cook the pasta according to package directions and toss with the marinara, mozzarella pearls and the sliced chicken. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the pasta and serve.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini

Apparently three of my last four posts have been booze. Whoops.

If you aren't much of a fan of the taste of alcohol, I highly suggest you give this drink a try. It seriously tastes like the liquid version of pineapple upside down cake. It's amazing. 

I think using the syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries makes all the difference. Grenadine always tastes a little too much like cough syrup but the maraschino cherry juice really completed to whole pineapple upside down cake flavor.


Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini


1 shot cake flavored vodka
2 shots pineapple juice
A dash of syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries
1 maraschino cherry for garnish


Pour the vodka and pineapple juice into a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Pour the cherry syrup into the glass and allow to settle onto the bottom. Garnish with a cherry and enjoy.

Copy Cat Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum

There are a lot of benefits to living in Southern California. The sun is perpetually shining, palm trees line the streets, and Trader Sam's makes every other bar on the planet look like a bingo game at the senior center.

If you've never been to Trader Sam's, located at the Disneyland hotel, you are missing out. It's packed with all the fun of Disneyland with the added bonus of alcohol. While you sip tropical treats, the room comes alive. I won't spoil anything, but I highly recommend ordering the Ship Wreck on the Rocks. It's comes with a pretty cool little spectacle.

The Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum is my personal favorite on their menu, and yes, you have to say the all the Tiki's. It's a bit of a spin on a pina colada, but way tastier. 


Copy Cat Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum
(based on Trader Sam's awesome drink)


1 1/2 shots coconut rum (I like Malibu Black)
1/2 shot orange juice
1 1/2 shot pineapple juice
1 shot cream of coconut*
Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg


Mix rum, juices and cream of coconut in a shaker with ice. Pour into a glass, top with shaved ice and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. 

(Don't skip the spices, it's what makes the drink exceptional!)

*A note about Cream of Coconut: Cream of Coconut generally comes in a can and is available in most grocery stores. In my local Ralph's, I found it in the liqueur aisle near the drink mixes.

If you open up the can and you see a thick, chunky paste, don't worry, it was just stored some place cool enough to separate. Just fill up a bowl with warm water and rest the can in the water, making sure no water spills over the open edge. Let it warm for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until it becomes a semi-opaque liquid.  

Pistachio Shamrock Spritz Cookies

St. Patrick's Day is getting close! What's not to love about a holiday that most devote to drinking?

It's times like these that I miss living in Chicago. No one does St. Paddy's Day so well. They dye the river green. It's pretty cool.

But anyways, I always love festive treats, and these were extra fun because they gave me an opportunity to use the cookie press I've had sitting around here for a while. 

Spritz cookies were a staple of my childhood. We'd make trees and wreaths for Christmas every year. The weird thing is, for some reason, we just haven't had as much luck with them the last few years. 

The dough wouldn't stick to the pans and they'd get pretty burnt on the bottom. Worst of all, using parchment paper was impossible for some reason and I heavily depend on that stuff for easy clean up. 

After doing some research, I've found some tips that make the whole ordeal significantly more successful. Plus I added some ground pistachio flour to the mix to create a more complex flavor.

P.S. sorry about the weird measurement of egg. This is technically a half batch but I didn't really need to make 80 cookies. 


Pistachio Shamrock Spritz Cookies
(adapted from Wilton)
Yields about 40 cookies



3/4 cup butter, softened.
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons beaten egg
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pistachio flour*
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Green Food Dye


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (350 if you have dark cookie sheets, closer to 375 if you have light cookie sheets)

Fit parchment paper onto two cookie sheets. Place the cookie sheets with the parchment paper in the freezer.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix well.

Slowly beat in the pistachio flour, all purpose flour, baking powder and a few drops of green food dye until combined. DO NOT CHILL.

Fit a cookie press with the desired pattern, shamrocks in this case. Using a spatula, fill the cookie press with dough. Pull the chilled cookie sheets out of the freezer and press dough onto the parchment paper holding the paper down around the press as you pull up. Give the cookies at least an inch and a half of space for room to expand.

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheet then transfer to a cooling rack. Decorate with icing and sprinkles.


* In theory, pistachio flour could be bought already ground, but I always make my own. 

I buy shelled pistachios, generally from a canister, and rinse the salt off using a strainer. I lay them out on a cookie sheet and let them air dry a few hours, then pop them in a 350 degree oven for five minutes.

Cool completely before grinding in a food processor using short pulses. Sift the ground pistachios and the result is homemade pistachio flour.

Lighter Cajun Chicken Pasta

This dish is one of my all time favorites. It is so ridiculously delicious, sometimes we eat it every week. 

The original recipe from Comfortably Domestic had a lot of heavy cream, which of course makes a heavenly alfredo sauce, but also achieves my caloric limit for the day in less than one serving. 

My version is on the lighter side without sacrificing too much flavor. It helps that the Cajun seasoning packs a nice punch while the cream sauce keeps it gentle enough for taste buds of all sensitivities to enjoy.


Cajun Chicken Pasta
(recipe adapted from Comfortably Domestic)
Serves two


3 oz pasta (I prefer angel hair or fettuchini)
2 skinless chicken breasts pounded to about 1/2 inch thickness
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 handful of grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 clove of garlic, diced
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 oz goat cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
Salt and Pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and 8x8 cooking pan with non-stick spray.

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and return to the pot.

Coat the pounded chicken breasts in Cajun seasoning, pressing it on to stick. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken breasts in the pan. Cook for 3 minutes, flip the chicken, and cook for another three minutes. 

Turn the heat off and transfer the chicken to the prepared pan. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Once out of the oven, cut into bite size pieces with a knife and add to the drained pasta.

Meanwhile, return the used frying pan to medium heat and toss in the grape tomatoes. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are tender. Gently mash with a wooden spoon. 

Add the garlic and stir another minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. One the garlic is fragrant, pour the milk and cream into the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Simmer over medium heat until the milk has reduced and thickened. Add in the cheese, stirring until it has all melted. Turn off the heat.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and chicken and stir to coat. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan.

Irish Soda Bread

With St. Patrick's Day drawing near, I started getting a very distinct craving. Irish Soda Bread. 

Besides corned beef and potatoes, Irish soda bread is the most traditional food in my family come St. Paddy's Day. This is even my Grandma's recipe. It's so good, my leading man's wholly Irish Grandfather raves about it.

 The secret to it's awesomeness is buttermilk, but if you don't have any on hand, you could always use the old acid trick: add a tablespoon of vinegar to the four cups of milk and let it sit a few minutes before pouring it into the dry ingredients. It'll wield pretty close to the same results.


Irish Soda Bread
(recipe from my Grandma O'Brien)


6 cups flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 quart (4 cups) buttermilk
1/2 tablespoon baking soda.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 quart ceramic casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, sift and mix all of the dry ingredients and add the sugar and raisins. Measure the baking soda into the pint of buttermilk and let it sit a moment.

pour the buttermilk over the flour mixture and stir until wet but not smooth. Pour into the prepared casserole dish and smooth out the top.

Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack until room temperature. Slice and serve with butter.

Baked Goat Cheese Dip For Two

I've said it before, I really love goat cheese, and this is the ultimate goat cheese appetizer. 

It's so simple to whip up, I could eat it all the time. Oh wait, scratch that, I do eat it all the time. And it's amazing. Every single time. 

Baked goat cheese dip makes the best snack, lunch or party appetizer, and it's so easy to size up or down. This recipe makes enough to serve as a snack for two people or a meal for one. And yes, I do think cheese, tomato sauce and bread constitutes a meal. The best meals.


Baked Goat Cheese Dip For Two


1 ounce of goat cheese
1/3 a cup of marinara sauce


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crumble half the goat cheese into a 6 oz ramekin. Pour in the marinara sauce and crumble the rest of the goat cheese on top.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Serve with crispy bread crostinis.

Slow Cooker Chicken Quesadillas

Mexican food is the perfect combination of all of my favorite things to eat: meat, cheese and bread. Plus, tortillas are awesome flexible bread that you can wrap around your food, turning any meal into something you can eat with you hands. Pure awesomeness.

Of all the homemade Mexican food I've made over the years, these chicken quesadillas are me and my leading man's all time favorite. The chicken gets a great flavor and the slow cooker makes it tender enough to shred, cutting down on the difficulty of the recipe.

The meat is pretty versatile, it could be used for assembling pretty much any Mexican dish you like, but man does it taste awesome in a quesadilla. The slow cooking process with the salsa and taco seasoning also works great with any meat. I've used flank steak and it made some great tacos.

Slow Cooker Chicken Quesadillas

(Chicken recipe from My Chocolate Therapy)

For the Chicken

2 skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 teaspoons homemade taco seasoning mix or packet mix

1/2 cup of your favorite salsa

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients, coating the chicken in the taco seasoned salsa.

Cook on low for 3 hour or high for an hour and half or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from the slow cooker and shred with a fork.

*Recipes generally call for longer cook times but I find that for whatever reason, my slow cooker cooks food a lot faster than that. I suggest checking your meat periodically or relying on whatever cook times work with your machine.

For the Quesadillas

Shredded Chicken

Mexican cheese blend

Flour tortillas

Butter

Warm a non stick frying pan over medium heat. Spread a very light coat of butter on one side of a tortilla.

Lay the non buttered side down on the frying pan for 10-15 seconds or until that side is slightly warmed. Turn it over, butter side down, and lay down the desired amount of cheese and meat onto half of the tortilla, folding the other half over on top.

Press down on the folded half with a spatula and cook for 30 seconds to a minute or until desired browness is achieved. Flip and cook another 30 seconds or until side is browned and inside is gooey and delicious.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some guacamole.

Taco Seasoning Mix

I know this is already all over the internet, but seriously, it's ingenious.

I don't know about everyone else, but I always forget something at the grocery store no matter how much I plan or how many times I check the list. It is physically impossible for me to get everything I need in just one trip. 

Seasoning packets are one of the most commonly forgotten things on my lists. Either I never remember to grab them when I walk past, or they fall through the wire mesh of the grocery cart, or maybe they enter the land of lost socks and television remotes somewhere between the aisle and the checkout counter. 

Whatever the case is, the convenience of having a jar of taco spice mix lying around was worth picking up the few spices I didn't already have in my cabinet. It doesn't have any of the weird stuff they put in the pouches, it's cheaper, and with a recipe for this stuff, you can make Mexican food whenever you want.

My favorite application: Slow Cooker Chicken Quesadillas.


Taco Seasoning Mix
(recipe from Spend with Pennies)


1 tablespoon Chili Powder
1/2 tablespoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 teaspoon Oregano


Measure out ingredients into an airtight container (I like a mason jar). Close up the container and shake until thoroughly mixed.

Use about 2 tablespoons for tacos, or to taste.

Dirty Girl Scout

To celebrate both the upcoming St. Patrick's day holiday and the best time of the whole year; Girl Scout Cookie season, I wanted to whip up a nice green cocktail to feel a bit more festive. 

These minty babies satisfied both requirements.


Dirty Girl Scout
Recipe from This Bottle of Vodka


1/2 shot Green Creme de Menth
1 shot Bailey's Irish Cream
1 shot Kalua
1 shot vodka


Pour ingredients into a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass.

Bruschetta Mozzarella Sandwich

This chain in Illinois called Go Roma has the best bruscetta I've ever eaten. It's probably because it is overflowing with balsamic vinegar, my favorite part of bruscetta, but it also helps that it comes with delicious toasty bread. 

I can't get any Go Roma in California, so I figured I would try making my own bruscetta, and why bother balancing it on toast when I can just put it between some bread with mozzarella pearls. 

The result is a light, delicious sandwich, one that is definitely making its way onto my list of favorites.


Bruschetta Mozzarella Sandwich
(makes one sandwich)


Nice french bread (I use La Brea Take and Bake)
About 4 grape tomatoes
1 leaf of fresh basil
1 tablespoon balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper
1 oz mozzarella pearls


Heat panini press (if so desired).

Finely dice the tomatoes and shred the basil into small pieces. Stir together in a bowl with the vinegar, oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Slice and toast the bread under the broiler or in a toaster. Spread the tomato mixture over one on the halves of bread, drizzling the vinegar across the entire half. Place the mozzarella pearls on top of the tomatoes and close the sandwich.

Place in the panini press and close the lid, cooking the sandwich for 4-6 minutes or until desired crispiness is achieved.

Four Bagel Thin Snacks Under 300 Calories

I hate the fact, but since I've been trying to lose weight, I haven't eaten a single bagel. As a born and raised mid-westerner, this pains me terribly. 

I love bagels. There was a time in my life when the majority of what I ate was bagels. (I should mention, not the healthiest point in my life, but maybe the most delicious.) The Great American Bagel stores in my hometown would sell whatever bagels they had left during their last hour open at ridiculously reduced prices and me and my friends would stock up on them.

Just thinking about it is making my mouth water.

But back to the point. I haven't had a bagel in ages but I was sorely tempted by Thomas' Bagel Thins. At 110 calories a bagel, they packed even less of a caloric punch than the whole wheat white bread we've been eating a lot of lately.

With that in mind and with my weight goal so ridiculously close, I put it upon myself to come up with some snacks and meals using bagel thins that would be delicious and satisfying, but would be low in calories. These were my four favorite.

Cream Cheese and Strawberry Jelly Bagel Thin
280 calories

1 Bagel Thin
2 tablespoons 1/3 less fat cream cheese
2 teaspoons strawberry jam

Turkey and Laughing Cow Cheese Bagel Thin
195 Calories

1 Bagel Thin
2 oz turkey deli meat
1 wedge of your favorite Laughing Cow Cheese (I used Sun Dried Tomato Mozzarella)

Bagel Thin Pizza
235 Calories

1 Bagel Thin
2 tablespoons marinara sauce
3 tablespoons mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
Sprinkling of oregano

Fried Egg and Cheese Bagel Thin
270 Calories

1 Bagel Thin
1 fried egg
1 slice of muenster cheese

Easy Pizza Bread

Pizza bread is a meal so ridiculously easy I feel a little silly posting a recipe. On the other hand, it is so damn tasty that I just want to make sure that everyone has tried it out.

There isn't much to preparing pizza bread, but I've picked up a few tricks that I'm posting below. I didn't specify any amounts because half of what makes it so good is you can create it according to your own tastes. I don't like a lot of sauce so I'm light on mine, but I pile it on for my leading man. It's done in less than ten minutes and every bite is completely awesome.


Pizza Bread
Serves two


1 small french baguette (I use La Brea Take and Bake French Baguette)
Marinara Sauce
Oregano
Cheddar cheese
Mozzarella cheese


Preheat your oven to 385 degrees. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut your baguette in half vertically along middle of the loaf. Stand each half up on it's cut side and, using a bread knife, cut in half length wise. 

Arrange the four pieces cut side up on the baking sheet and toast in the oven for 3 minutes. This allows the bread to stay crunchy once the sauce comes into play.

After 3 minutes in the oven, pull out the sheet pan. Using a spoon, spread the desired amount of marinara on each slice of bread. Sprinkle a bit of oregano on top for an extra burst of flavor.

Arrange the desired amount of cheese on top of each bread slice and put back in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. 

Finish off under the broiler for about a minute, checking regularly until the cheese is golden brown and delicious.

One Pot Mac and Cheese

Despite my somewhat improved skills in the kitchen, sometimes what I really want is just a simple bowl of macaroni and cheese. I think it's one of the few foods nobody really grows out of. After all, what's not to like? You got your cheese, you got your pasta, what more could you ask for? I suppose if you put it between two slices of bread you'd have all my favorite food groups in one.

Some macaroni recipes I've tried are on the fancier side, like this Gnocchi Mac and Cheese, or this Three Cheese Mac and Cheese. While they were both pretty tasty, they just were a little bit too much work. Sometimes I like a little extra effort in the kitchen, but apparently not when I'm making macaroni. 

That's where this recipe comes in. The whole thing is cooked up in one pot. No straining, no draining, no flour. Just pasta, milk and cheese, it's as easy as can be.

Is there some weird part of me that still prefers box macaroni to home made? ...Maybe. Maybe that's the part of me that is still a kid. But this is something fancy enough to impress company with barely more effort. 


One Pot Mac and Cheese
Serves two
(Recipe barely adapted from white on rice couple)


4 oz pasta (I used rotini)
2 cups milk
1 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 oz goat cheese
1/2 oz shredded parmesan*
salt and pepper


In a saucepan, combine the pasta and the milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Drop the heat and keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil over, stirring every few minutes. 

Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the noodles are tender and the milk has thickened to a sauce. Stir in the cheeses until everything is combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with a bit more shredded cheese and serve.

*The cheese is this recipe should equal about a cup and you can get as creative as you want with flavors. I like a little goat cheese in mine, but I've heard Asiago is good too. I suggest trying out combinations with your favorite cheeses.