Chicken Parmesan

 So, I have to start by saying that chicken parmesan is pretty much my favorite food ever. I have been making it for so long I actually had to dig out the really old recipe I used to use that I never even have to look at anymore, and then adapt it to the ways I have changed it over the years. But, I really can't remember the last time I had to read a recipe to make it. I decided that I needed to write down how I make it, though, so that it could be shared and enjoyed by others. So, here it is, the recipe to what I consider my #1 comfort food. Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

¾ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp. pepper

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 8-10 chicken tenders)

Vegetable or Canola oil (enough to cover the bottom of a 10 inch skillet)

1 (16oz.) jar spaghetti sauce (plus more if you are serving spaghetti on the side)

1 (8 oz.) package mozzarella cheese

½ cup parmesan cheese

Desired amount of spaghetti or other pasta to serve as side

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together bread crumbs, garlic powder, and pepper in a bowl, and set aside. In another bowl, add egg and milk, and beat together with a fork.

If you have the tools to pound the chicken breasts next, I like to do this because it makes them extra tender, but it’s not necessary. If not, continue on by pouring enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a 10 inch skillet, and turn on low.  Dip the chicken breasts into the milk/ egg mixture, then roll them in the breadcrumb mixture to coat. Place the chicken breasts in the skillet. Cook on low until just brown on one side, then flip over and cook until brown on the other side.  In the meantime, pour ½ of the jar of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish, and spread out evenly. When chicken is browned on both sides, remove from skillet and set on top of sauce in the baking dish. Bake for 20 min., then remove from oven. Top chicken breasts with remaining sauce, then the parmesan and mozzarella cheese.  Return to the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Serve with hot cooked pasta and additional spaghetti sauce.

Chicken Taco Salad

The great thing about this recipe is, though I am featuring it as a taco salad, the chicken base of the recipe can be used for more than just that. It can be put on tortillas or taco shells to make chicken tacos, or used as a base for chicken chimichangas, burritos, or other Mexican dish. However you use it, I think you will find it to be delicious.

Chicken Taco Salad

(Slow Cooker)

Ingredients

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (16 oz.) jar of salsa

1 (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce

¼ cup taco seasoning

Tortilla chips, lettuce, shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, and/or any  other desired taco salad toppings, i.e. jalapenos, olives, sour cream, etc.

Directions

In a slow cooker, stir together salsa, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Add chicken breasts. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken (it should fall apart very easily) and stir back into the sauce.

Line the bottom of a bowl or plate with tortilla chips*, then top with lettuce. Next, top the lettuce with the shredded chicken. Top with cheese and desired other toppings.

This will make about 4-5 taco salads, give or take depending on the size of chicken breasts used, portion size, etc. 

*You can also serve it in one of those taco salad bowls that's made out of a tortilla instead of using tortilla chips. 

Cheesy Bacon Potato Bites

This recipe was adapted from a combination of my personal potato skin recipe and a recipe from allrecipes.com for something called cheese and bacon potato rounds. I had been making potato skins for awhile, but carving out the centers of potatoes and keeping them in tact made for a long, complicated task. And, although they were good, I didn't make them often due to all the work. These taste nearly exactly the same. They contain all the same ingredients, but are just on potato slices instead of skins. And, since the slices contain skin around the outside, you still get that taste too, but without all the hassle. These were so much easier, but turned out great. I will be making them this way from now on!

Cheesy Bacon Potato Bites

Ingredients

4 medium sized potatoes (more oval shaped than round)

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

6-8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

6 green onions, chopped

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Onion powder

Directions

Slice potatoes into roughly ¼ to ½ inch slices.  Place on a baking sheet. Brush potato slices with melted butter. Bake at 425 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Remove from oven. Sprinkle each potato slice with shredded cheese, then a little dusting of onion powder. Then, sprinkle on crumbled bacon and green onions until evenly distributed over all the potato slices. Return to oven and bake about 10 minutes or until cheese is well melted, and then serve.

Notes:

This will make about 25 potato bites, give or take a little depending on how big the potatoes are that you use. If you use potatoes that are large baking sized, you may need to increase the amounts of the other ingredients a bit so the toppings will cover them.

I like to serve these with a simple sour cream/ salsa dipping sauce. It is very simple. You just mix I cup of sour cream with one cup of salsa. It tastes amazing with these.

Barbecued Meatballs

Barbecued Meatballs

Meatballs

1.5 lbs. ground beef or chuck

1 cup fresh bread crumbs (I grind up bread in the blender)

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp. minced onions

Mix above ingredients in a large bowl with hands. Roll into small balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with foil, and bake at 350 for 25-20 minutes.

Sauce

1 bottle of barbecue sauce

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup soy sauce

½ cup white or cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan, and cook medium to low heat until heated through.

Oven directions

When meatballs are finished cooking, remove from baking sheet and transfer to 9x13 baking dish. Pour sauce over top of meatballs. Return to oven for 20 more minutes. Remove and serve.

Slow Cooker directions

When meatballs are finished cooking, remove from baking sheet and transfer to slow cooker. Pour sauce over meatballs. Cook on low 2-3 hours and serve. 

Notes: This recipe makes only about 20-25 meatballs. If making for a party, it is a good idea to double the recipe or there will probably not be enough. I usually double it for any event I bring them too, and they are still usually completely gone.

You can also use the same recipe for the meatballs and just not make the barbecue sauce and serve them with marinara sauce instead. They are great this way with pasta or on a meatball sub sandwich.  When I do this, though, I usually add 1-2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning into the meatballs when I make them.

Spicy Chicken Taco Chili

I found a recipe similar to this recently, and I decided to tweak it and make it the way I thought it would be best. I tried it today and it turned out great. It looks like it will probably freeze well too, which is good for me because with it being just my husband and me, we can't always finish off a full pot of soup even with both eating leftovers. So, I like to freeze leftovers from something easy to grab for a packed lunch, or a quick dinner when I am not feeling like cooking.

Spicy Chicken Taco Chili

(Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 (16-oz) can black beans, drained

1 (16-oz) can kidney beans, drained

2  (16 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 (10 oz) can corn

2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 packet or 2 Tbsp taco seasoning

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp chili powder

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

Combine beans, onion, pepper, corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Add whole chicken breasts and cover. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in.