Basil Chicken Scallopine - Inspired by Giada De Laurentis (picture from foodnetwork.com)

Due to the crazy season, it's been a couple weeks since my last post - sorry! But believe me, this recipe is worth the wait. In spite of it's complex sounding title, it's fairly simple to make and tastes oh SO yummy =)

I originally saw a recipe similar to this one on the food network. One of the things I love most about this recipe is the simplicity and the freshness of the sauce. Served over warm pasta, it is the perfect example of a simple & classic tomato sauce. With chunks of tomato in every bite, and the fresh flavor from the basil, this dish is a great way for a pauper to eat with the palate of a prince ;)

Giada made a Sage & Fontina Chicken Scallopine - which I've also made and it's just as good as this one, but last night, I didn't have those ingredients on hand, not mention, I don't cook with sage very often, so buying it seems to always be somewhat of a waste. If you'd like to check her recipe out, here's is the link for her version:www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-scallopine-with-sage-and-fontina-cheese-recipe/index.html

And here is my version =) I hope you enjoy this rich and rustic Italian dish.

Basil Chicken Scallopine

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, pounded thin (to about 1/4")
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to season chx.)
8 basil leaves
6 Tbsp. finely shredded Italian blend cheese (I like to use a mixture of Romano, Parmesan & Mozzarella)
4 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, halved and smashed
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes (with juice)
8-10 chiffonade basil leaves
1/2 cup diced sweet yellow onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Special Equipment: toothpicks

Directions

Place the chicken breasts on a clean work surface, narrow end facing you. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place 4 basil leaves crosswise on each of the pieces of chicken. Sprinkle each of the pieces of chicken with about 3 tablespoons of shredded cheese. Roll up the chicken tightly carefully making sure to keep cheese and basil tucked in, and seal with one or two toothpicks.(I usually use 2 or 3 just to be sure it's sealed nice and tight)

Warm the olive oil, onions and halved garlic cloves in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until the garlic is fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken. Brown the chicken on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and remove and discard the garlic. Add butter and simmer for about a minute while scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Once butter is melted and onions are evenly coated, add canned tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Return the chicken to the pan. Simmer the chicken in the tomato sauce for about 10 - 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove the chicken from the pan. Spoon the tomato sauce onto serving plates or a serving platter. Remove the toothpicks. Place the chicken over the sauce and serve immediately with your favorite pasta! (There should be plenty of sauce to go around =)

Serves 2 as an entree

Monthly Meal Planning Tips

After so many people asking me what I do to plan meals for the month, I thought it might be worth while to share what my process is in planning out our meals, and if it's helpful to anyone out there, then great =)

So Here Goes =)

1. I try to stay under $250/month. (this includes all of Jace's needs - diapers, wipes, etc)

2. Because of our busy schedule we certainly don't eat every night, but we also try not to eat out more than 2-3 a month (this includes fast food)

3. For each month I try to plan 5 cheap/quick meals, and about 12 normal, but hopefully quick =) meals (I'll give you some examples in a second)

4. I limit myself to trying only 2 new/more extensive recipes a month. I do that because many times, new recipes always require a few ingredients that I don't typically keep on hand = extra cost.

5. Once I have all my favorite cookbooks/recipes in front of me, I sit down and go through them, and based off of what I already have in my pantry, I try to pick recipes that won't require me having to buy ALL of the ingredients needed. Now this obviously takes some time, but I try to mentally get myself geared up on my day off, and then knock it out during one of Jace's naps. Once it's done, it's such a relief because then throughout the month I'm not scrambling to figure out the night before what to make the next day. The one day of planning really pays off=)

6. I list out each of my meals for the month and post it on the fridge for quick reference.

7. As I select meals I'm going to make that month, I have a separate list I'm compiling of all the ingredients I'll need to purchase, hopefully some of them I already have on hand =)

8. Once I've finished my meal list - my separate list is now my grocery list for the month =)

9. I always have a paper on the fridge for ingredients I run out of throughout the month. I take this list and my new grocery list and put them together, just to be sure I don't forget anything.

10. To stay organized, I like to type up my grocery list in a word document and then separate ingredients by category. For instance: Dairy, Meat, Frozen, Produce, etc. It's an extra step, but again, when I'm getting groceries for the entire month, it really helps me to take the extra 10 minutes & helps make my grocery trip go much faster when I can get everything from one section of the store all at once.

11. Once I have all my groceries and I'm making making meals, I try to be mindful of my most perishable ingredients and incorporate those meals into the beginning of the month. One of the biggest wastes of money, in my opinion, is buying tons of yummy produce and then throwing it away before you can even use it :/

12. Try to go under budget because even though you'll be able to get most of your groceries for the month, there are a few things you'll want to pick up throughout the month as well, i.e. fruit, milk, and anything extra you either forgot or run short on. Its a nice thought to think you can get absolutely everything for the month all at once, but milk just doesn't stay good for that long =) a long with a few other things :P

13. Here are some examples of what I meant when I said, "cheap/quick" meals:
a. Taco's (using the $3 taco kits from the store)
b. Chicken Ceasar Salads (I buy the $3 salad kits then add my own grilled chicken)
c. Sausage Jambalaya (entire meal costs around $7. all you need: Zataran's jambalaya box rice mix and Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage. So easy and Chris loves it!)
d. Breakfast for dinner (i.e. Biscuits and sausage gravy. Usually costs me around $5. or you can do Pancakes and bacon, again only about $5-7 for the meal)
e. We do a lot of grilled chicken with different marinades. I usually serve it with a side of veggies. (Takes 15 - 20 minutes to make and usually only costs about $8 for the chx and veggies put together)
f. Frozen Pizza - definitely low on glam =), but on a Wednesday night after a long day and youth service, who wants to cook?! Spend $6 on a more expensive brand that you really like, and you've got a quick, cheap, and tasty dinner for two =)

14. Here's one last tip, once I've got my grocery list in hand, I shop at Aldi's first. They don't have a huge selection, but what they do have is much cheaper than even Walmart's prices. I get whatever I can from there, and whatever else I can't get, I either get from Sam's or Walmart.

15. Don't be opposed to going to a few stores. Convenience doesn't always = savings. I always do Aldi's first, and then Walmart, but many times I'll also go to Target. I'm not a fan of going to Target for groceries because I feel like they're mostly over priced, but their diapers are my favorite. They're only $13 a box and they fit Jace just as good as Huggies, w/o paying $20 a box.

16. Finally, of coarse, without a doubt, cut coupons. Be mindful of what coupons you have when planning your meals. BE CAREFUL though. A lot of people make the mistake of cutting coupons and buying those items simply because they have a coupon for it. Here's a helpful hint: ONLY CUT IT, IF YOU NEED IT =)

Hope this helps =)

Chicken Paprika

This recipe is straight from one of my Paula Dean cookbooks. I made a few variations, like I use boneless breasts and she uses bone in, and my cook time is much shorter because of using the boneless chicken, but the taste is nothing shy of Paula's rich flavorful style! I hope you enjoy this simply savory recipe!

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. Paprika

1 medium onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup water

3/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saute pan, heat olive oil on medium heat and cook onion until just golden. Add garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes more or until you can begin to smell the aroma cooking off. To the skillet add the chicken breasts, and season generously on each side with salt, pepper and paprika. Cook each side for about 3-4 minutes, or until the skin turns from pink to white, turning only once. Add water to skillet and cook covered for an additional 10 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet, and in a small bowl combine sour cream, flour, and one cup of liquid from the pan. Whisk until completely combined and transfer back into skillet. Heat it through and it should be the consistency of a light gravy. Pour over top of cooked chicken and serve over rice, noodles, or with dumplings! Enjoy!

Serves 2 as an entree

Cheesy Penne Pasta

I got a variation of this recipe from Claire Robinson's show, "5 ingredients or less". For the most part the recipe is very close to her version, with just a little twist of my own. This dish is a combination of cheesy, rich and creamy all rolled into one. The Vermont cheddar makes this dish. It's sharp and pungent, yet it melts to perfect creaminess! This recipe is one I'll definitely make again, and again. I hope you enjoy the simplicity and richness of this dish =)
For another variation of this dish, try it with chicken!

Cheesy Penne Pasta

Ingredients

3 cups penne pasta cooked to al dente
1 1/2 cups milk (divided)
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. flour
8 ounces grated or finely shredded aged Vermont white cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Directions
While pasta is cooking, in a small saucepan melt butter completely and then add flour and whisk to make a rue. Once the flour mixture is thick, smooth and golden, slowly begin adding milk the rue while constantly whisking out any lumps at the same time. To ensure you get out all the lumps, add just bit's of milk at a time. Continue adding milk until you've added a full cup. Continue to heat and whisk until the mixture become a nice light cream sauce. (If you want to skip this step, in the original recipe, she just uses heavy cream. I didn't have any, so I opted to make the rue and do it that way instead. It's totally your preference. The heavy cream would definitely be a time saver.) Once the sauce is at the appropriate consistency remove it from the heat and set aside.

With remaining 1/2 cup of milk, whisk it and dijon mustard together and set aside as well.

Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and then add it back into the large saucepan. To it add cream sauce, dijon mixture, salt, pepper and shredded cheddar cheese. Place on medium low heat and continually stir until all the cheese is melted and the pasta is thick and creamy. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper and enjoy.

Indulge yourself in this delicious, cheesy dish!

Serves 2-3 as an entree

Homemade Mac & Cheese

This is one of the best side dish recipe's my mom passed down to me. It's great anytime of year, it's a little heartier than traditional mac and cheese, not to mention, once you make this once, it's so easy, you'll definitely want to make it again and again. If you're like me, you might even make it an entree once in a while to save yourself a bit of extra work ;) I hope you enjoy my mom's twist on mac and cheese.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

1 lb. box of medium sized shell pasta
3 cups milk (divided)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp. salt (I don't measure, so this is totally a guess. I may use a little more or less, that's where your taste testing skills come in =)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp corn starch
3 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese (divided)
2 cups shredded milk cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil

Directions

Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water. To it add oil and salt generously. (Some people avoid salt, but when cooking pasta, this is one step you don't want to cheat through. In fact I usually add about 3 Tbsp. Adding salt to your water is your only opportunity to directly flavor the pasta itself. This is one step that adds a lot of flavor in the end and can make all the difference in the world.)
Place on the stove top on high and bring the water to a rolling boil. Add pasta to boiling water and cook for approximately 10 - 12 minutes or until al dente. (It's very important that you don't overcook the pasta because your going to continue cooking it later in the oven. If you over cook it, it won't hold up as well, and may become mushy.)

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter on medium low heat. Once melted, add 2 1/2 cups of milk (reserving 1/2 cup), salt, and pepper. Cook until it comes to a light simmer, stirring constantly. In a seperate measuring cup whisk together remaining 1/2 cup of milk and corn starch. It will be thick but should come together pretty quickly once you begin whisking. Once it's completely dissolved, add cornstarch mixture to warmed milk and continue stirring constantly. (Once you add the cornstarch, the milk should thicken in a matter of minutes. Don't raise the heat unless it doesn't thicken until after 5 minutes or so and don't walk away!!!! I've experienced on a number of occasions, the milk will come to a simmer and then boil over if I don't constantly watch and stir - be patient =) Once it comes to a nice thick cream sauce, remove from heat and set aside. (A good test of whether or not it's thickening properly is by dipping the back of a silver spoon in the cream and then pulling it out. As the cream drips off, it should leave a nice thick coat on the back of the spoon. If it doesn't and simply drips right off, keep cooking and keep stirring=)

Place cooked pasta in a large pyrex dish. Pour hot sauce all over the top and mix it into noodles so that noodles are evenly coated. Next spread 2 cups of both cheeses (reserving one cup of the chedd/jack) over noodles and mix well. Spread out mixture evenly with spoon and then sprinkle remaining cup of cheese over the top.

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and bubbly around the edges. Serve warm and enjoy!

Serves 6 as an entree; 10 as a side

Mango Iced Tea

I received a variation of this recipe from Amy Deas (she makes a yummy Apple Cinnamon Iced Tea) and I decided I had to share it. Chris and I drink this practically every day. It's so crisp and refreshing with a touch of Mango - it's just a great change from everyday Sweet Tea. Hope you enjoy this cool summer beverage!

Mango Iced Tea

Ingredients

4 Liters of water
2 Lipton Iced Tea Brew tea bags
4 Celestial Seasons - Acai Mango tea bags (for single cup brewing)
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
*1 cup lemon juice (optional) - sometimes I like to add it for an extra zing, but I prefer it most of the time without it.
1 4 Liter Iced Tea Pitcher

Directions

In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups and tea bags to a light boil. As soon as it begins to boil, remove the pan from the heat and allow it to steep for 5 to 10 minutes.

Carefully pour the tea into your iced tea pitcher and add sugar. Stir until all of the sugar is completely dissolved (about one minute). Add water to the top of the pitcher and chill. (If you don't want to wait for it to chill - which I never do! - once you dissolve the sugar, add about 4 cups of ice and stir until the ice has dissolved. Continue alternating ice and water, stirring between each time, and once the ice stops dissolving top it off with a bit more water and enjoy it iced cold! =)

Serve Iced cold and enjoy!

Chili's Fajita Marinade

I made this yesterday for dinner and it came out amazing! The trick is to whip it up in the morning and give it all day to marinate. The chicken is loaded with flavor and super tender! I also included the recipe for their sauteed peppers and onions. This recipe is also from one of my favorite cookbooks, "A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes". Hope you enjoy!

Chili's Fajita Marinade

Ingredients

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large garlic clove, pressed
3 tsp vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Dash onion powder
2 large boneless chicken breasts (or 4 small)

Directions

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together all of the above ingredients. Place your chicken in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over the top. Using your hands, rub the outside of the bag, ensuring all of the chicken is evenly coated. Place the bag in a flat shallow dish and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours.

(You can grill as you like, but I like to grill the chicken on medium heat for about 6 minutes on each side. Allow them to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.)

Chili's Sauteed Peppers and Onions

Ingredients

2 medium green bell peppers sliced
1 large Spanish onion sliced
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp. lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat a skillet over medium/high heat. Saute the onion and pepper slices in the oil for 5 minutes. Combine the soy sauce, water and lime juice in a small bowl and pour it over the pepper/onion mixture. Add the salt and black pepper and continue to saute until the peppers are tender and have lightened in color and the onions are translucent and dark on the edges.

When finished, served sliced grilled fajita chicken over the bed of peppers and onions and serve right out of the hot skillet. yum!

Serves 3-4 as an entree

Roasted Italian Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes

I got this recipe from a friend of ours, April Domine. She is definitely a great cook and quite the hostess. We used to make regular trips to her house after church and somehow, even if she'd only been home for a half hour, she would always come up with something absolutely amazing for us to try. Well this recipe is one that she made for us and it was so good I just had to try making it myself. Not only is it easy to make, but we enjoy it time and time again. It's a classic example of how sometimes less is more. The basic ingrediants in this dish merry together to make a rich and hearty meal that's good anytime of year.

Roasted Italian Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes

Ingredients
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, cut into 1" pieces
4 big russet potatoes, skin on, washed and cut into 1" pieces
2 green bell peppers, cute into strips (about 1/2")
1 large, or 2 medium onions, cut into strips (about 1/2")
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine sausage, potatoes, peppers and onions. Drizzle liberally with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Toss together with hands so that each piece is evenly coated with oil and seasoning. Place mixture onto a large cookie sheet and spread out ingredients evenly with hands. (I always line my cookie sheets with AL foil, that way the clean up is much easier!) Top it off by sprinkling oregano evenly over the top and drizzle a little more olive oil over the top to finish. Bake for approximately one hour or until sausage is cooked through and potatoes are tender. (*I always like to stir everything after the first 30 minutes of cooking. That helps prevent the potatoes from sticking to the cookie sheet and then falling apart when you try to serve it.) Serve hot and enjoy =)

Serves 4-5 as an entree

Buttermilk Pecan Chicken - "5 ingredients or less"

So our computer at home is temporarily out of commission so I'm sorry to say that I don't have any pictures just yet, but I just had to share this recipe with you all because it was surprisingly so simple and delicious I just couldn't keep it to myself.

I recently found this recipe off the Food Network (big surprise!) and it's from a show called "5 ingredients or less". That alone was enough to grab my attention. At first I was hesitant to try it, simply because I tend to like complex, rich flavors. Knowing there were only five ingredients didn't really scream flavor to me, but last night when I served this dish to my husband, he and I both loved it. It was simple, moist and shockingly very flavorful.

If you're looking for a quick, easy, yummy meal, here's one for the recipe book:

Buttermilk Pecan Chicken

Ingredients

-2 boneless chicken breasts
-1 cup buttermilk
-1 cup pecans
-1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
-1/3 cup vegetable oil
-salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Between two pieces of saran wrap, pound out your chicken to about 1/3 of an inch thick.

In a large ziploc bag combine your chicken and buttermilk. Allow it to marinate in the refrigerator for one hour (you definitely want to give it the full hour because it allows the buttermilk to better adhere to the chicken, giving you a much better crust!).

In a food processor, pulse the pecans until they are the consistency of a coarse bread crumb. In a shallow dish, combine the pecan crumbs and panko crumbs. Remove chicken breasts from bag and season liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in pecan mixture and then shallow fry in a large pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. (Because the breading has brown pecans in it, the color will be a darker brown. Don't worry, that doesn't mean they're burnt =)

Remove chicken from the oil and place on a paper towel. Allow it to rest for atleast 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Serves 2 as an entree

California Pizza Kitchen's "Thai Chicken Pizza"

I got this recipe out of a cookbook called, "A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes". This cookbook has anything from how to make a "snickers" bar to Cheesecake Factory's "Cajun Chicken Pasta". In fact, I got my Alfredo recipe from this cookbook and I have yet to find a recipe that doesn't taste just like the restaurant's pick.

Now this recipe does have a few Asian ingredients that I may not use that often, but what's great is if you keep them in the fridge, they keep for months, and they're all relatively very inexpensive.

I hope you take a break from traditional dishes and try this spin on Chicken Pizza that will make your taste buds smile!

Thai Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

Peanut Sauce:
-1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
-2 Tablespoons Teriyaki sauce
-2 Tablespoons Hoisin
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
-1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
-1 Tablespoon brown sugar
-2 Tablespoons water
-2 teaspoons sesame oil
-1 teaspoon soy sauce
-1 1/2 teaspoons minced onion
-1 teaspoon minced gingerroot

The Crust:
* I like to buy frozen bread dough from the grocery store and use it instead of making it from scratch; I could go the extra mile, but what's nice is how quick this recipe is without it ;)

Toppings:
-1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
-1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half, cut into bite sized pieces and cooked in peanut sauce (recipe listed below)
-1 cup shredded mozzarella
-2 green onions, julienne
-1/2 cup bean sprouts (I actually left these off just because I know Chris wouldn't like them, and he's totally a visual eater; if it doesn't look good, he probably won't like it =)
-1/4 cup of carrot, julienne
-1/4 cup mozzarella (placed just around the center)
-2 teaspoons minced cilantro (placed just around the center)
-1 Tablespoon chopped peanuts (placed just around the center)

Directions
Mix together the ingredients for the peanut sauce in a small, microwave safe bowl. Pour this mixture into a food processor or blender and blend for about 15 seconds or until all the garlic, onion and ginger are reduced to small particles. Place in the microwave and heat for just about a minute. The sauce should be slightly darker in color now.

In a small ziploc bag, combine chicken and 1/3 of the peanut sauce. Seal and place in the refrigerator and marinate for at least 2 hours.

Roll out and shape pizza dough and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Brush the edges lightly with olive oil or butter.

Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Cook the marinated chicken for about 4 minutes in the pan, or until just cooked through.

Using the remaining 2/3's of the peanut sauce, spread a thin layer on the pizza dough. Next layer your toppings in the same order as listed above starting with cooked chicken breast.

Place in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and center is cooked through.

Let rest for 10 minutes before serving and enjoy!

Serves 2-3 as an entree