Easy Chicken Parmesan Casserole

This quick and easy chicken parmesan is baked, not fried. The secret is in the croutons you sprinkle on top, making the recipe easy and fast.  The resulting crust is crunchy on top and chewy on the bottom.  If chicken parmesan seems too complicated on a week night (or any night for that matter) try this method.  I think you will enjoy it immensely!

Even the hubs highly approved so you know that means it’s gonna’ be good…yepper!

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 T. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 c. prepared marinara sauce
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces/chunks, divided
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese, divided
5 oz. package garlic croutons
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic and add hot red pepper flakes.  (Note: my dish is smaller as I cut this recipe in half).

Arrange the chicken breasts (may be browned first as seen in the video) in bottom of the dish, salt and pepper chicken to your liking.  Pour marinara sauce over the chicken. Okay, I cheated and did not use marinara, I used this (see below) which was oh my gosh delicious!!! I so recommend. Oh yeah, and the croutons I recommend too…yummy!

Sprinkle basil over marinara sauce and top with half the mozzarella cheese, followed by half the parmesan.

Sprinkle on the croutons, then top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and remaining parmesan cheese.

Bake in preheated oven until cheese and croutons are golden brown and the chicken is no longer pink inside.  About 35 minutes to an hour, depending on the shape and thickness of your chicken breasts.  (I cooked 3 pieces for about 45 minutes and they were still nice and juicy).  An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chicken breast should read at least 160 degrees F.

Original recipe serves: 6

Easy chicken parmesan video and recipe here.

Have a great weekend y’all!  It’s gonna’ be a hot one…hee hee hee ;P  Sorry, you know me, I’m just way too excited!!

Cucumber Salad

So, we finally had the weather that I love this past weekend.  Ninety plus degrees.  Yes, you may want to clobber me over the head with something heavy but, I LOVE the heat.  I wish it was 90 everyday.  Really.  Every. single. day.  I basically did not get out of the pool except to sleep, eat or use the facilities.  I should have just slept on my air mattress but, that didn’t turn out very good one time.  I feel asleep a few years ago on the air mattress, I must have thought I was in bed because I curled up on my side and slept like a baby.  Well, I was literally half red when I woke up.  It was quite funny but, not at the time ya’ know? 😉 (And I had to go to work like that…ha!). Fun times.

With the heat I wanted something cool and refreshing, so I went for cucumber salad.  Tart, tangy and oh so good!  Here’s what you’ll need:

Cucumber Salad

2 large seedless cucumbers
1 sweet (or white) onion
1 c. white vinegar
1 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. sugar (you may want more remember I don’t like sugar too much)
1/2 c. water
1 t. dried dill weed, or to taste
salt and pepper

I prefer this kind of apple cider vinegar, you can find it on amazon.com.

Peel the cucumbers.  Cut in half lengthwise.  Remove the seeds with a melon baller.

Hey why are there seeds, they’re called seedless right?  Hmmm…

Slice width wise into 1/2 inch pieces.  Place cukes in a colander in the sink, generously salt the cukes and let sit for about 45 minutes.  In the meantime, cut your onion into a rough chop.

Rinse salt off of cukes.  Add cuke and onions in a bowl, toss together.

In a medium saucepan combine the vinegars, water and sugar.  Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and let cool.

In a larger bowl because you didn’t grab a big enough one in the first place 😉  Pour vinegar mixture over the cucumbers. Add dill, salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and refrigerate until cold.  Best if marinated overnight.

This is also a great potluck dish if doubled or tripled 🙂

Serves: 4-6

Old Bay Chex Mix

One of my favorite snack-type foods is chex mix.  One of my favorite seasonings is Old Bay.  Love that stuff.  I mix it with butter for corn on the cob or on baked potatoes.  I sprinkle it on french fries.  I use it on baked fish.  I sprinkle it on buttered popcorn.  I even put it on my strawberry yogurt in the morning.  Okay, I’m kidding about that last one but I really do love the stuff 😉

After a couple of tries, I came up with this recipe and it gets requested all the time at work.  I have to say it is pretty tasty.  So next time your feeling chexy, whip up a batch!

Old Bay Chex Mix

2 c.  extra cheddar goldfish
3 c. crispix cereal
2 c. oyster crackers
2 c. pretzel sticks
1 c. dry roasted peanuts

6 T. butter, melted
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. dried basil
1/4 t. ground dry mustard
1/4 t. smoked paprika
1 T. + 1 t. Old Bay Seasoning
Sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the first 5 ingredients and mix together. 

In a cup or bowl combine the next 7 ingredients. 

Mix throughly and pour over the dry ingredients.  Toss to coat evenly.  Spread evenly onto two baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes. 

Let cool and enjoy!  Have a great weekend y’all 🙂

Finger Lime Chicken with Garlic

I first seen finger limes in my Food Network magazine.  After reading about them I decided to order some.  They are pricey so it will be a one time deal, at least for me.  I did share some with a friend too, as there are about 25 finger limes in a package.  I ordered mine here if you are interested or just want to learn about them. 

When I tasted the finger lime, it wasn’t to much different than a regular lime in my opinion, maybe a bit more tart.  The pulp does come out though looking like cavier.  The colors range from pale greens to pale pinks.  The finger limes I had were all green a.k.a.”lime cavier”.  I made a few recipes with the limes but, this one was my favorite.  Most of us will not have access to finger limes (or want to pay the high price), so I would just use regular limes with some of the pulp in place of the finger limes. 

Finger Lime Chicken with Garlic

6 australian native finger limes
1/4 c. honey
3 small garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. salt
1/2 t. coarsely ground black pepper
24 medium chicken drumsticks (about 6 lbs.), skin removed (I used chicken tenderloins)
australian native finger limes for garnish (I skipped this step)
1/2 c. loosely packed fresh parsley or cilantro leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

From the finger limes, grate 2 teaspoons zest and squeeze 1/4 cup juice and pulp (simply cut the finger lime in half and squeeze the caviar like capsules out the cut end).  If using regular limes just convert this to lime juice, pulp and zest.

In a small bowl, using a fork, mix honey, garlic, coriander, salt, pepper, finger lime juice and pulp, and 1 teaspoon finger lime zest. 

Arrange chicken on two medium baking trays.  Drizzle finger lime mixture over chicken; toss to coat evenly.  Place pans on 2 oven racks.  Bake drumsticks 30-35 minutes, rotating pans between the upper and lower racks halfway through baking and occasionally brushing the chicken with the glaze in the pan, until chicken is cooked through. (If you choose tenderloins like I did, your cooking time is a bit less). 

Transfer chicken to a serving dish.  Drizzle with pan juices.  Garnish with finger lime wedges.  Sprinkle with parsley or cilantro and remaining teaspoon of finger lime zest.

So what “odd” ingredients have you cooked with?

Ocean Springs Shrimp

I discovered this recipe years ago and it’s been a favorite since then.  Sometimes it will stay hidden for a year or two but then I find it again and my taste buds kick into overdrive.  My recipes are not organized.  I have a recipe box that’s full and then I have two drawers in the kitchen just piled with recipes.  I really need to go through them and organize them but, that’s another story for another day.  And to all of you that are organized…psshh!! ;P

This is a dish I would definitely serve to company, though I would double it.  It’s very rich and tasty but, it’s also quick and easy.  Serve with a salad, crusty bread for the buttery, cheesy goodness and a side of rice or baked potato and you’re good to go. 

Ocean Springs Shrimp

1 pound cooked, cleaned, peeled and deveined large shrimp (I bought the 31-40 count)
1/2 lb. of mushrooms, sliced
3 T. butter
1 T. flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. sour cream
5 T. butter, well-softened
1 t. soy sauce
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1 t. paprika

Place shrimp in a buttered, shallow baking dish just large enough to hold them in one layer.  I used a 9 x 13.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

In a skillet, saute the mushrooms in the 3 T. of butter until they are browned. (Optional: saute clove of minced garlic with mushrooms).

 Transfer to a bowl and toss the mushrooms with the flour.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 

Add to the mushrooms: sour cream, softened butter, soy and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.

 

Pour/spoon sauce over shrimp. 

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and paprika.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Oh man, how good does that look?  Nom nom. 

Okay this picture, not so pretty.  Don’t let that fool you though, it really is a must try.

Serves: 4 or in our case 2 😉

Pita Pizzas

I seen these pizzas at a birthday party a few summers ago.  Everyone could make their own pizzas and then one guy was burning them to a crisp cooking them on the grill.  The idea that people could make their own was awesome.  They also had a couple people chopping and dicing any ingredients that would get low.  Great party idea! 

Of course I had to start doing this at home and it worked great for when I had a houseful of hungry teenagers.  It also worked great when we had friends over.  So let’s get started, you will need:

Pita bread (Regular or whole wheat)
Pizza sauce (homemade or canned)
Mozzerella cheese
Pizza toppings of your choice, I had pepperoni and ham pizza.  I’m a meat pizza kinda’ girl.
Garlic salt, optional

Carefully slice the pita bread in half. 

Putting the cut side (rough side) down. 

 

If you put the pizza sauce on the rough side it tends to soak into the bread.  Using the flat side guarantees you’ll have some sauce left once it’s cooked.  Trust me on this one, I’m a pita pizza professional perfectionist!  Say that five times 😉  Sprinkle the sauce with a dash of garlic salt.

Now start topping your pizza with your favorite ingredients.

And lastly add the mozzerella cheese.

The last time I made these it was cold outside so I didn’t grill them.  I used the oven, set at 400 degrees, preheated about 10 minutes.  Cook each pizza 5-7 minutes.  On the grill cook over low-medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, keeping the lid shut.  No peeking, yeah right who doesn’t peek? ;

A grilling idea for those nights when you don’t want to heat up your kitchen with the oven. 

And there you have it, perfect little pita pizzas and everyone is satisfied with their own lil’ creation.  Or two, or three.

I think I need to make these again…pronto!

Perfect Lemonade

Long weekend, short post 😉

Perfect timing though, since it’s finally heating up around here…yay!

Perfect Lemonade

Remove wide strips of zest from 2 lemons with a vegetable peeler (do not remove the pith).  Make 2 cups of simple syrup (see below), adding the lemon zest before heating.  Let cook then pour into an ice-filled pitcher.  Stir in 1/2 t. salt, 2 cups each fresh lemon juice and water, and some lemon slices.

To make 2 cups simple syrup, bring 1 1/2 cups each sugar and water to a boil, stirring until dissolved.  Let cool.

If you like a more tart lemonade, like I do, add the simple syrup gradually.  I actually used half the syrup and saved the rest for another batch.  Pucker up!

This lemonade is one of my all time favorite drinks 🙂

Source: Food Network Magazine

In case you didn’t see the picture on facebook I’ll show you here…

I took Friday off and scored big at some annual rummage sales.  I got everything in the picture for $35! Woohoo!  Preparing for being a Grandmama 🙂  So fun.  Did anyone else get any good deals this past weekend?

Galaxy jars or Glow jars

I first seen this project on Pinterest and I immediately knew that I wanted to make some of these jars.  I have a thing for lights you see.  I think it stems from being outside late in the summer whether using the pool, sitting around bonfires or parties that spill into the night.  I like pretty lights outside, not bright in-your-face lights.  Plus, low light keeps the nasty mosquitoes away, along with some citronella.

Around the pool I have tiki torches filled with citronella, a path to the pool is lit with solar lights.  My driveway looks like a runway with solar lights all down both sides.  Solar lights are lighting the entrance door walkway.  Then on the tables I have regular candles, more citronella candles and tea lights in various colored glassware.  So, you can see my love for soft-glowing light.

And then I seen this project and fell hook, line and sinker…

Galaxy jars or glow jars

mason jars or any kind of jar with a wide mouth works best
glow paint
small paintbrush
water

I bought my glow paint here or you can get it here, I can only vouche for where I bought mine.  The 2nd link the paint was a bit cheaper and looks to be the same.  I can say the paint is the only costly thing in this project.  I bought 2 oz. paints and I would highly suggest buying 1/2 oz. or 1 oz. paints because it does go far and is pricey.  It would also help if a friend or two were interested in the idea and wanted to split the cost.

I hope to sell some jars this summer as I bought a sample pack that consists of 5 (2 oz.) paints.  I’ve only made 3 jars so far and haven’t barely made a dent in the paint.  Many glowing gifts will be given this year!

I lucked out with the mason jars.  I always have some on hand but, I use them for canning.  Our renters just moved out of our rental house and left a whole bunch of stuff/junk at the house.  John found a few tools that are from the 1800’s though and could be worth something.  I scored with two big boxes of mason jars 🙂

So, start with a clean jar.  Stir your paint throughly to get the glowing particles all separated.  I just used the end of my paintbrush to stir it with.  Then you just dip the paintbrush in the paint and start adding dots to the jar.  I started with one color of paint per jar but, you can use more than one color if you desire.  This is what it will look like during the day.

Nothing special right?

Against a darker background.

Here’s how they look after drying and sitting in my windowsill for a few hours.  (They are supposed to stay lit 8-10 hours by the way).

Pretty cool huh? Do you know how hard it is to get glowing pictures in the daylight?  I made sure they had sat in the windowsill for a few hours then decided it was picture time.  So, where do you go for total darkness?  The closet right?  I had to have something to set the jar on and to be able to hold my camera steady, as glowing objects appear to be almost moving and hence turn out blurry.

So, into the closet I went.  A full closet mind you.  By the time I was done taking pictures, I tried to get out of the closet (sliding doors on a track) well, one fell off the track and the other one just fell off!  My hubs comes in and says “What ARE you doing?”  All I could do was laugh, cuz I’m sitting on the floor of the closet with my camera and a jar.  I’m sure it looked a bit odd.  But, he’s used to me so he just put the closet doors back on and went about his day.  No further questioning was needed…ha!

Here is the original post with better pictures than mine, I don’t think she was hiding in a closet though 😉

Have a wonderful Memorial weekend y’all and I’ll see you back on Tuesday.  And remember those who have fought for our freedom…God Bless!

Garlic Herb Rolls

I was excited to make these because the amount of garlic that was in the recipe.  So, we’ll get right to it and then maybe someone can answers my questions that I have.  I’m so not a baker.  Cook, yes.  Baker, no.

Oh and notice I have lots of pics for something as simple as rolls yet, other blogs I will have one final picture.  I guess some days I like the camera and others I don’t or I’m really, really hungry…lol! 😉

12 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 c. milk + milk for glazing
4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. table salt
2 1/2 t. active dry yeast
1 1/2 t. dried, crushed Italian herb seasoning
2 T. canola oil
1 large egg, beaten
Coarse sea salt

Place garlic cloves and milk in a 2 quart saucepan. 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Place in a blender and pulse to puree the garlic.  Set aside.

Place flour, salt, yeast and herbs in a large bowl.  Whisk to combine. 

Add milk, oil and egg to dry ingredients.  Mix with hands or a wooden spoon to form a dough. 

Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and smooth, about 3 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume, about 1 hour. 

Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Turn dough onto a work surface.  Knead gently for a minute or two.  Form into 8 rolls (I made 15 or they would have been huge).  Place on prepared baking sheet.  Lightly score the tops of the rolls with a knife.  Cover and let rise for 15 to 30 minutes. 

Brush rolls with reserved milk.  Sprinkle with sea salt. 

Bake until rolls are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Yes, I like love butter 😉

Recipe from One Perfect Bite

These were good but, they were very “heavy”.  We ate what we wanted after they cooked.  The next day though, even covered, they were hard as a rock.  The birds ended up getting them.  I followed the recipe to a T. 

My question is how can these be lightened up to be light and fluffy?  And what can you add or do differently so they keep more than overnight?  The garlic flavor was spot on, so I want to keep the recipe, just change a couple things.  Any suggestions? 

I’ve read cake flour “lightens” things up but, I really have no clue when it comes to different kinds of flour.  It’s kind of like speaking to me in Swahali.  Plus, I know baking is precise measurements and I’m not about to go changing things in the baking world because Lord knows what kind of kitchen disaster that could be!

MIA…

Really, I’m not missing in action.  I just tend to leave on occasion.  I’ve had a bit of the blah-blues but, I’m also super busy with photography projects.  I love doing photo shoots but the time that I spend editing just about drives me bonkers!!  It’s soooo time consuming.  No wonder professional photographers make bookoo bucks!!  And yeah, I have no idea if that’s how you spell bookoo.

I’ll recap the week though.  I did have a bit of fun coloring the ends of my hair.  It brightened my hair and spirits.  It did take a couple of times but, yeah I got it and I like it and yes, I’m too old to being doing this.  So what.

Oh and the necklace (and matching earrings…unseen) are my Mama’s day gift, which I LOVE!!! 🙂

Also, part of my Mama’s day gift was a surprise from Afghanistan.  Kind of.  My son filled out paperwork before he left for overseas to send a gift for Mother’s day.  He thought it would be some oddball gift and just did the paperwork, not thinking much of it.

To both of our surprise an awesome gift came.  It contained seeds for flowers and the garden.

A very neat note and little package containing tissues.

3 surprise packages

which were perfume, nail polish and hand lotion.  All from wonderful companies that I really like.

Lastly a bracelet from Things Remembered, a company that I order from frequently and I just adore! 🙂

(It even says “Love from Afghanistan”).

Oh, and also a $10 Sears gift card and a gift certificate to make my soldier a photo album (60 pictures) and have it sent to him for free!!! How cool is that?!?

The program comes out of Virginia and I think it’s an awesome program.  How wonderful that they do that for families of loved ones.  Love, love, love it!!

I also bought this for myself (a whole $5) while shopping for the hub’s Mom

So hope it works!! 🙂

I had hoped, very much hoped to go to the Union Woodshop to eat on Mother’s day.  We had went to my husband’s Mom’s house and she lives about a half hour away from Clarkston, MI.  Union Woodshop is a restaurant that was featured on Food Network’s Diner’s, Drive-in’s and Dives…starring my fav chef Guy Fieri.  This particular episode Kid Rock and Guy were hosting.

As luck would have it, everyone was game to go…yay!  So, I called and there was at least a 2 hour waiting period.  Boo! Guess, that’s the price you pay for being on triple D!! 😉  We figured maybe next year we’ll have better luck 🙂

Last but not least, news about my grandbaby!!  I just found out the gender Friday and am so happy to share.  I am soon to be the proud Granmama of a baby boy.  I.can. not. wait. 😉

Here is the little Mama…love my Crissy!! xoxo

Have a great week y’all and I will try to post at least one recipe this week! 🙂