Recipe of the Week for 2/28 - Kay's Parmesan Crusted Chicken

This is another recipe from Kay, guest blogger on The Pioneer Woman Cooks! Though we didn't love her Stuffed Onions, I saw no reason to totally discount her recipes!


Kay's Parmesan Crusted Chicken
from Kay, guest blogger on The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Ingredients
1/2 c. Hellman's mayonnaise
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 sun-dried tomatoes (jarred in oil)
1 t. Italian herbs
1 t. basil
cayenne pepper

for crumb topping:
2 T. breadcrumbs
Lawry's garlic salt
1 T. Parmesan
1/2 t. oregano

Directions
Preheat your oven to 425.

Place 1/2 c. of Hellman's Mayonnaise in a medium sized bowl. Add 1/4 c. of grated Parmesan cheese to the mayonnaise. Next, add a good pinch of cayenne to spice things up a little. You can add regular pepper if you don't care for cayenne. Next, add 1 t. frozen or dried Italian herbs or your favorite Italian seasoning and 1 t. dried or frozen basil. Finely mince two oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes and add it to the mayonnaise mixture. Stir until combined.

Now grab another bowl and measure 2 T. breadcrumbs, combine that with 1 T. Parmesan, 1 t. dried oregano, and a generous amount of Lawry's garlic salt. You can also use a little garlic powder wtih regular salt, of course.

Place 4 chicken breasts in an oven-proof dish and spread the mayonnaise mixture over the top generously. Next, cover them with the breadcrumb mixture. Place in a pre-heated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through. (Longer cook times will be required for thicker pieces of chicken. Flattening thicker pieces of chicken with a tenderizer beforehand will help reduce over-all cook time.)

The Photo
This photo is not from the actual debut of this recipe. We've had it several times since then (see The Verdict) and this one was taken last week. That time, we had it with noddles tossed in garlic olive oil. The first couple of times, we had it with rice.

The Verdict
We really liked this one! In fact, we've had it twice since I originally tried it and it's on the menu for the upcoming week. It comes together very quickly - I usually have the mayo mixture and breadcrumbs ready to go before the oven even gets heated up.

The first time, I made it pretty much as directed. However, I am a Duke's Mayonnaise girl, so I used that. It was great, but the mayonnaise didn't seem that healthy.

The second time, I decided to try it with plain yogurt instead of mayo. It came out okay, but it was not as flavorful as with the mayo.

Last time, I decided to use Greek yogurt, which we've really enjoyed in a similar recipe, Yogurt Parmesan Chicken. When we sat down to eat it, though, it seemed a little sweet. My husband asked me what kind of yogurt I got. I said it was the plain Greek yogurt and I didn't understand why it was so sweet. He solved the mystery when he looked at the empty yogurt container and realized I had actually used honey yogurt! Oops!

Like I said, it's on the list for this week, and I really did buy the plain Greek yogurt so hopefully the 4th time will be the charm!

Recipe of the Week for 2/14 - Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

Look at me, being diligent with the blogging. Does 2 days in a row count as diligence? I'm not sure . . .

Anyway, here's another recipe - this one came from one one my husband's Facebook friends. I think it was someone he knew in junior high & has reconnected with. Anyway, she shared this recipe and so he asked me to make it.

I adapted the ingredient list a little, and then cooked it based on another, similar recipe I make often.

Crock Pot Mexican Chicken
recipe inspired by my husband's friend

Ingredients
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, frozen
1 jar fruity salsa (we used a black bean & pomegranate salsa, I don't remember the name. The friend suggested Newman's Own Pineapple)
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
tortillas
sour cream

Directions
Combine all ingredients in the crock pot. Yes, it's okay that the chicken breasts are frozen! Cook on high 4-5 hours.

Shred the chicken. Serve in tortillas with sour cream.

The Photo
I can't find one. I guess I forgot.

The Verdict
This was a yummy twist on my usual method of making Mexican-style chicken in the crock pot. The salsa I used was quite spicy and thus the chicken was, too. But, we enjoyed it and I'd make it again!

Recipe of the Week for 1/31 - Pioneer Woman's Ranch Style Chicken

Where is this year going? If you know, please tell me! I can't believe I'm once again so far behind on my blogging.

Anyway, on to the recipe. This one comes from Ree, of Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. This is one of my favorite blogs. The reason I used "sorta" in the title, is that as usual I made some changes to the recipe. The ironic thing about that is the very same week I made this, Ree wrote a post about making something exactly like someone else does, except for several modifications. I had to laugh since I had every intention of making her recipe the very next day, except with modifications.

Ranch Style Chicken
adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Turkey bacon (2 slices per chicken breast)
1/2 c. Honey
1/2 c. Mustard
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 t. Paprika
1/2 t. Salt
Smoked Cheddar cheese, shredded
Canola oil

Directions
Mix mustard , honey, lemon juice, paprika & salt and whisk until smooth. This will be the marinade for the chicken.

Rinse the chicken breasts & pat dry. Place each one between two sheets of wax paper and pound to 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick. Put the chicken & marinade in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 1-3 hours. (I know using bags to marinate isn't the most environmentally friendly technique, but I think it works best. Of course you can just put the chicken & marinade in a bowl & cover with plastic wrap.)

Just before the chicken is done marinading, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook the bacon.

Heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add 2-3 pieces of chicken. Cook 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. Remove to a baking pan. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked.

After all the chicken is cooked, bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven & top with bacon and shredded cheese. Return to oven & bake for 5 more minutes until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

The Photo


The Verdict
We really liked this! I used a German-style mustard since it's what we had on hand. We also had some applewood smoked cheddar left over from the Stuffed Onions so I used that as the cheese. Pioneer Woman uses Dijon mustard, real bacon and sharp cheddar cheese. She also cooks the chicken in bacon grease. But other than that, it's exactly the same! ;-)