Chicken Parmigiana

Do you know who the Pioneer Woman is? Oh, if you don't, stop reading right now and go to her website, www.thepioneerwoman.com. Seriously. You'll be glad you did. I love her. My favorite discovery on there was "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels." If you have several hours (ha!), read the whole saga in one go. If not, it will no doubt keep you coming back for more.

Anyway, PW has some great recipes on her site. One of those is Chicken Parmigiana. Now, I personally like Eggplant Parmigiana better than Chicken, but my hubby is kind of anti-eggplant. Anything that resembles squash makes him shudder a little. So I found PW's recipe and it looks great, it just wasn't quite what I was in the mood for. Sounded a little plain for me. Plus it called for red wine, and we're LDS, so no alcohol lying around over here. So I embellished. I just used what I had in the kitchen at the time, so really feel free to omit things or change things around. That's what recipes are for, right? But do check out her recipe; I'm going to try it one of these days for sure.

Chicken Parmigiana
Serves 2

2 medium to large chicken breasts, pounded flat
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup butter and garlic flavored croutons (wait for it...)
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 egg
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz (ish? Hubby cooked the pasta when I wasn't looking) whole wheat angel hair pasta
1 jar Paul Newman brand marina sauce (seriously. try it.)
1/2 cup canned or fresh diced tomatoes
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese

*Tip: To avoid splashing salmonella germs all over your kitchen while pounding the chicken (gross!), put the chicken breasts either in a gallon ziploc bag or between a few sheets of plastic wrap. I prefer the bag. Then pound away and revel in the fact that you will NOT have to bleach everything in your kitchen. Hallelujah.

Pound the chicken flat. Place the croutons in a small ziploc bag and crush. On a plate, combine flour, crouton crumbs, and bread crumbs. Whisk egg in a shallow bowl.

Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Dip chicken in flour mixture, then egg mixture, then back in the flour mixture. Place in skillet and let it turn nice and brown on each side. If your chicken isn't cooked through all the way in the pan once both sides are browned (It depends on the thickness of the breast. Use a meat thermometer. Since we're avoiding salmonella today, your chicken needs to reach 165 degrees to be considered safe), put it on a cookie sheet, cover it in Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and stick it in a 350 degree oven until done. If it does get done in the skillet, add some cheese on it and put it in the oven for just a couple minutes anyway, just to melt the cheese.

While your chicken is finishing in the oven, cook your pasta to al dente. Using that same buttery nonstick skillet, add that jar of marina sauce, the tomatoes, basil, garlic, and chili powder. Let cook on medium low heat for about 5 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. Go ahead and dump some Parmesan cheese in there, too.

Once the pasta is done, here's how plating goes: pasta, sprinkle some Parmesan, spoon some sauce (about 1/2 cup), place chicken breast on top, and drizzle about 1/4 cup more sauce on top. Dig in.

Corn Chowder

I'm feeling a little under the weather today, and whenever you feel like you have a cold, what's the ultimate comfort food? Soup. Any kind will do for me. I'm a little over the whole chicken noodle soup deal for colds, so I like alternatives. Tonight, I decided to try my hand at a recipe for Corn Chowder in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I had tried this chowder at a church function and loved it. Of course, I had to try it my way.

*Spicy* Corn Chowder
adapted from BHG

3 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 small yellow onion, chopped fine
1/2 small green pepper, chopped
1 large banana pepper, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (I used a whole jalapeno and loved it, but it was hot! you choose)
1 tbsp canola oil
2 cups water + 2 low sodium chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup frozen southern style hash brown potatoes
1 rounded tbsp cornstarch
dash of seasoned salt (I like Lawry's)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cups cold milk
approx 3 slices bacon, cooked until crunchy, crumbled, drippings reserved
shredded cheddar cheese


In a large saucepan, heat bacon drippings and canola oil. Add onion and peppers and cook until tender. Add corn, potatoes, water + bouillon cubes, seasoned salt, pepper, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 15 minutes, or until everything is tender.

Scoop the cornstarch into a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk until the cornstarch is mostly dissolved. Stir into the saucepan; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add the bacon crumbles and cook for about another minute. To serve, garnish with shredded cheese. Enjoy!