Hubby's Favorite Chicken Parmesan

When I met Mike and we started dating, his family would have me over for dinner and often it was for this dish, Chicken Parmesan. I would watch his mom pound the chicken, fry it up and bake it. I would get to enjoy the wonderful taste of it minutes later and I loved it!

Once Mike and I were married and I was trying to figure out what it meant to cook each night, I pulled out this recipe that his mom gladly passed on to me. This is a family favorite and one that I wish I made more often. It is really easy and it makes for wonderful left overs!

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken breasts (however many you'd like to make - a couple nights ago I only used 3 breasts, and it gave Mike and I dinner and lunch and we still have more chicken in the fridge now)
italian bread crumbs (at least 2 Cups)
1 egg
1/2 C milk
olive oil (to coat the pan)

1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 8 oz package Mozzeralla cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Before I pound the chicken I whisk together the egg and milk in a large bowl, I pull out another large bowl and pour in about half a cup of bread crumbs. I have the bowls lined up next to my stove top and pull out my favorite frying pan and heat up olive oil on low.

Pound the chicken using a mallet or the smooth side of the meat tenderizer. I place each breast between wax paper (after I have cut most of the fat off) and pound it, I like my meat thinner (1/4 inch) but do this to desired thickness. Last time I made this it was actually thicker than usual, still delicious but I like tasting more of the fried goodness!

After you have pounded your chicken, dredge it in your egg and milk mixture and then place in the bread crumbs. I usually pour more bread crumbs on top and schlop - yes I just said schlop and I don't even know if that is a word - the chicken around until it is coated with bread crumbs.

Test your oil by flicking some water into it to see if the oil spits back at you, you may need to heat your oil to medium heat.

Then place your first piece of chicken into the hot oil. It should begin making that glorious frying sound the second you place it in the pan, if you notice the oil spitting back at you, it may be too hot. Cooking time varies, but I usually check the chicken after a few minutes and while I wait I am working on the other chicken breasts. Once it is golden brown, flip it over using tongs and continue frying until golden brown. (I have learned to do this through trial and error, don't be afraid to fry your chicken and know that I sometimes burn things or don't have the oil hot enough so I've had to wait forever for things to cook - just try it out!)

Once your chicken is fried up place it on the foil lined baking sheet. If you have thicker pieces of chicken you may need to cook longer, but I place it in the oven for about 20 minutes. When I make it thinner it doesn't take as long, I'm just trying to cook the chicken all the way through. 5 to 10 minutes before the chicken is done I pull out the chicken and spoon spaghetti sauce onto each piece and throw a handful of cheese on the sauce. I cook until the cheese has melted.

Serve with Angel Hair Pasta (and remaining spaghetti sauce) or Salad and rolls!

Earlier this week I served it with pasta and green beans.

Dinner Tonight - Ooey Gooey Chicken and Noodles

As the weather gets colder, I love to make soups and warm ooey, gooey comfort food. One of those comfort foods for me is Chicken and Noodles. I've made this recipe a couple different ways, but my favorite is the crock pot because it is SO easy! The original recipe came from this Pinterest post but I've adjusted it to my liking.

Crock Pot Chicken and Noodles

2 to 4 Chicken Breasts - I do less because it's cheaper and I don't love a TON of meat 
1 box (32 oz) Chicken broth
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 stick butter

frozen egg noodles OR German spaetzle noodles 

(My husband and I prefer the spaetzle noodles, but I can't always find them at a good price. It is usually a holiday item at Aldi but you can also find them in the world food aisle at Meijer.)

Place the chicken, broth, cream of chicken soup, and butter in the crock pot. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8-10. (I usually put things in the crock pot around nap time so I'm usually cooking things on high)

When the chicken is done - pull it out and shred it and throw it back in, and add the noodles 20-30 minutes before you are ready to eat if you are using the Spaetzle noodles or an hour or 2 before you eat if you're using frozen. Make sure to keep an eye on the noodles, because every crock pot is different and I've over cooked mine!


I've also made this recipe over the stove top when I didn't have a crock pot on hand or when I just didn't realize what I wanted to eat until an hour before dinner time :)

Stove Top Directions: 

Drizzle some oil in a large pan and add chicken to the pan (I cut the chicken up when cooking it this way). Cook until no longer pink - about 15 minutes. Add broth and cream of chicken and butter to the cooked chicken and stir. Add noodles once the liquid is simmering, cook on med/low for 20 minutes or until noodles are done. If you are using the frozen noodles you may need to cook longer.

I'm serving this with Mashed Potatoes tonight and I can't wait! If you want to add veggies, feel free to add peas to it or broccoli as a side. But tonight on this cold fall night, I'm sticking with the basic starches!

Baking is My Love: Sopapilla "Cheesecake"

Sopapilla Cheesecake Dessert

When I tell people I love to bake, they assume I enjoy all aspects of cooking. Now I don't mind all cooking, but baking...baking is my stress reliever and the one thing I can do without "thinking". While cooking, I always never follow a recipe. I can hear my family laughing at me right now because me following a recipe isn't common! I always change something or add something extra or don't add enough of *insert ingredient*. Even when I bake I tend to do my own thing. But baking, baking is something I love to do. I love that I usually have all of the ingredients on hand, I love to eat what I make, and I love that you get the quick satisfaction of whatever you made!

One of the hardest things for me when my daughter was born, or maybe not the hardest but something that frustrated me was that I couldn't bake. I didn't have time or I couldn't figure out to do it safely with her wrapped in my arms. I also didn't have much of a desire to, because any free time I had I wanted to sleep...or watch tv and just sit!

All of this to say, I love that I have time to can usually find time to bake . I was looking through a magazine recently, and I found this recipe for Sopapilla Cheesecake. Now I didn't change this recipe, much.

If you're looking for something easy, rich, and yummy - try this!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 cans of crescent rolls (keep cold)
2 8 oz packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1.5 tsp mexican vanilla (Original recipe calls for 1 tsp, I added 2 tsp)
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (I used a heaping teaspoon)
1 stick butter, room temperature
Less than 1/4 C honey (I didn't' use all of the honey maybe only half the amount, nor do I think it needed it)

Grease 9X13 and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Press one can of the crescent rolls onto bottom of the pan. Beat cream cheese and 1 C sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over the pressed crescent rolls. Roll out and press the other can of crescent dough on top of the cream cheese mixture. Mix room tempurature butter, 3/4 C sugar and cinnamon until well combined. Scoop spoonfuls (I used my smallest melon baller) of the mixture all over the top of the pastry. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown.

When the pastry is done, pull out of the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely before cutting.

The recipe says it serves 12, I cut mine into small pieces because it is so rich! And I'm actually enjoying it today, the day after I made it, even more because I prefer it cold.

I tweaked this recipe a little bit.
The original came from allrecipes.com, and I found a copy in a Parenting magazine. 

Stuck in a Rut: Taco Soup

Taco Soup

I get stuck sometimes when I cook, I tend to make the same 5 things week in and week out. Pinterest has helped quite a bit with trying new recipes, BUT I still go back to my familiar, easy, favorites.

So I thought I would share some new and old recipes that I consider easy and are doable while chasing a 2 year old around. And honestly to keep a journal for myself for when I get stuck in a rut cooking and want to try some different recipes. 

Last night I made Taco Soup and it was delicious and better yet - easy! I had searched online and tried to compare all of the different Taco Soup recipes out there but when it was all said and done, I called my mom. So I can't claim this recipe to be my own, it came from my Mom and it was a hit last night!

Taco Soup:

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 can Rotel (I used the Aldi brand and it was perfect)
1 can Pinto Beans
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can Corn
1 pack of Ranch Seasoning (I used Aldi's brand once again and no one could tell)
1 pack of Taco Seasoning (any brand - I used Aldi's brand)
8 oz Sour Cream

Shredded cheese and tortilla chips for toppings.

Don't drain any of the cans. Brown the beef and drain most of the fat, return beef to pan. Pour all of the canned foods and seasonings in the pan you used to brown the beef, except for for the sour cream. Heat until boiling. Right before serving mix in the sour cream.

Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips and Enjoy!


**What is even better about this recipe is it is inexpensive to make! Bonus!!**