Definitely try my homemade Marinara sauce in the previous post but if you just feel like being lazy and really don’t care about giving your guests the absolute BEST, you can use your favorite jar sauce. (Please note the sarcasm, lol)

2 jars of your favorite tomato sauce

12 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (hey, I have a large family and we like to take leftovers the next day)

6 eggs

3 cups parmesan, grated (got it from the refrigerated section across from the deli…not that powdered stuff!)

3 cups bread crumbs (I used the Italian seasoned one’s from Publix)

3/4 cup olive oil (1/4 c per round of cooking….I made 4 breasts at a time)

Salt

Pepper

6 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, coarsely sliced

12 slices fresh mozzarella cheese from the deli (have them slice it kinda thick)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare chicken by laying it between two layers of parchment paper (or saran wrap). Using a meat mallet, wine bottle or rolling pin (my fav), pound out the chicken pieces until they are 1/4 and 1/2″ thick pieces. Don’t underestimate the necessity of pounding them out, this will ensure tenderness.(Some of them may be tooooo thick and you might have to go after it with a knife) Make sure all pieces are even. Nothing worse than some being overcooked and some being undercooked. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Using a bowl large enough to comfortably dredge a piece of the chicken, mix the bread crumbs and 1/2 the parmesan cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.

Heat 1/4 olive oil in a frying pan. Once hot, quickly dredge the chicken breasts in the eggs, coat with the breadcrumb mixture and then add to the pan. (If you believe you will not move quickly enough to prepare the four pieces evenly, by all means, dredge them first, lay them aside and then fry them all at once.)

Once all 4 are in the pan, in their own little space, cook them until golden brown, approximately 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from pan. Add more oil if needed and continue preparing your (uncrowded) batches of chicken breasts. DO NOT OVER COOK!!! They will continue in oven but the biggest complaint is that the chicken becomes rubbery or hard. My way is delicate and soft, I promise!

In a 9×13 casserole dish, spread some sauce down before placing your breasts. (You will need 2 dishes if you do 12 breasts, fyi) Place sauce over the breasts as well.

Top with basil and then mozzarella. Before placing in the preheated oven, add the remaining parmesan cheese.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until mozzarella begins to brown. Serve with noodle of choice (I used spaghetti) and the remaining sauce. FIVE STAR!!!!! (Sorry I couldn’t get a pic of it with after it finished baking but they wouldn’t wait)

So this chick seems to have it all. She’s a food network star, she’s wealthy (I heard her father is rich too), she’s gorgeous and she manages to eat pasta all day and not gain a pound. I put all of those negatives aside and decided to try out her Chicken Piccata recipe.

I don’t know if I violated some italian food rule, but I chose to serve it over my tri-color orzo. Orzo is pasta shaped like pearls of barley and it looks like rice. It was a welcomed surprise at our table but my only regret was not seasoning the pasta. (I didn’t even salt the water, lol) My rationale was that didn’t need it since the chicken piccata was going to top it and it in itself was so flavorful. So ummm yeah….at least salt the water. : )

My guests loved it but it could’ve been better in my opinion. Ok, that was the hate talking. lol It was good. Dig in!

Ingredients:

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

For my first day back, I decided to ABSOLUTELY WOW you with something understated and simple. Kinda like that DKNY black dress I LOVE with my triple stranded pearls. Anyway….Thanks to my good friend and fellow foodie, Stacey P. for pointing me to this ONE-DISH WONDER. IT IS A WINNER!

Pampered Chef Lemon GrΣΣk Chicken

Ingredients:

Zest of 2 lemons (Tip – Zest Lemons before juicing)
1 C. lemon juice (Pretty much 3 lemons)
4 T. Extra Virgin olive oil
1 Head of garlic (roughly chopped)
4 T. dried oregano leaves
3/4 T. salt
1/8 T. ground black pepper
8 Baby Idahoes (small red potatoes, no need to peel)
1 Medium red bell pepper, cut into thin slices

1 Medium orange pepper, cut into thin slices
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
Whole Chicken cut up (cleaned)

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.

In 1 qt bowl, combine lemon zest, juice and oil.

Add garlic, oregano, salt and black pepper; set aside.

Cut each potato lengthwise place in 9 X 13 casserole dish.

Add bell pepper, onion, and half of the lemon juice mixture; toss to coat.

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

Place chicken on top of vegetables; brush with the remaining lemon juice mixture.

Bake 60 to 70 mins. or until chicken is no longer pink in center and potatoes are fork tender, basting chicken and vegetables with pan juices after 30 minutes. (At the 30 minute mark, I brushed on a little more EVOO)

Serve over brown rice cooked entirely in chicken broth (no water…bleck) and 1 T. butter.  Plate rice, followed by chicken and veggies and last but definitely not least, spoon some of that great flavored broth and pan juices on top. SUPERB! AND ONE OF THE BEST PARTS…..IT FITS INTO MY NEW BETTER EATING PLAN…SPA FIERCE!! (Without the skin of course. My mom is visiting and she would’ve killed me had I removed it from her pieces as well. It was delish without! I promise.)

Yield: 4 servings

1-12 OZ bottle Hot Wing Sauce
1-16 OZ bottle Blue Cheese
2-8 oz Cream Cheese
2 cups shredded cheese
4 chicken breasts  cooked and shredded (or use 4 large cans of turkey breast meat as I did today)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain canned chicken, break up with fork. In a separate bowl, mix Hot Wing sauce, softened cream cheese and the dressing until creamy. (You’re supposed to use a “mixer” it but I didnt have one at work.) Add Chicken to it. Stir together and then spread into ungreased baking pan. Cover with cheddar cheese. Bake 30 – 40 minutes. Serve with Tortilla chips. I guess you could do veggies too but looking at the recipe…really? What’s the point? lol

The next time I make it will probably be for the fam and I will use real chicken breast but for my co-workers, they can get the canned meat. Not that I don’t love them, it’s just unneccessary. lol Normally I would post a pic but I made it at work and when I finally thought about it, it was too late. I’ll be certain to insert one the next time, though. (If you make anything with cheddar cheese then you know what I’m referring to when I say it was no longer camera ready) BUT IT WAS GOOD!! Three people emailed me requests for the recipe and that is always a good sign. Enjoy! Thanks Again, Kesha.

Dish Ingredients:
8 chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
8 cups chicken broth
1/2 bunch thyme
1 bay leaf

Dumpling Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ tbsp baking powder
1 ½ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons salted butter
1 ½ tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves
1 ½ teaspoon finely chopped thyme leaves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups onions
3 cups carrots, big chunks
3 cups ribs celery, big chunks
3 cloves finely chopped garlic

Directions:
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
In a skillet, pan fry breasts in Olive oil, remove from pan, and set aside.
In a very large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine chicken broth, thyme, and bay leaf to cover. Turn on heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. (Usually, this meal is done with a whole chicken and the chicken is cooked with the stock but since I did boneless white meat, I decided not to risk overcooking or drying out) After it cools, cut into large bite-sized pieces. Add broth from pan to dutch oven.
Discard the thyme and bay leaf.

Homemade Dumplings:
Add flour, salt and pepper, to taste, and baking powder to a large bowl and whisk together. (You should be able to see the pepper. It makes a HUGE difference in the flavor of the dumplings. ) In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream, butter and herbs to a low simmer then add to the dry ingredients. Stir with a rubber spatula until combined. Using your hands, form dough into dumplings.

Reheat skillet used for chicken over medium heat and add oil. Once oil is hot, add onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Season veggies with salt and pepper. Sauté until soft, 7-10 minutes. Add vegetables to dutch oven. Add dumplings 1 at a time into the simmering soup. Cover pan with a lid and cook for 30 – 40 minutes. Add chicken to soup (just to reheat) and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste, if necessary. Garnish with parsley flakes.

Note: I’ve done this once with skinless chicken thighs (at the request of my diners) and I recommend baking it rather than poaching it. It retained that good juiciness that only the pleasure of thick thighs can give you. : )