Chicken Parmigiana

I once again made a recipe from the Pioneer Woman! Her stuff is just too good! Scott's favorite chicken dish is Chicken Parmesan, so I decided to make this for him! It turned out really good after we made a few changes to it/learned a few lessons for next time.

The Changes
We added some of our own seasoning to the dish-just some garlic seasoning and other spices.
We also ended up baking the chicken in the sauce in the oven at the end instead of finishing cooking everything on the stove.
We didn't end up cooking the sauce for a whole half hour, just until it was hot. I omitted the parsley...only because I forgot it!

The Lessons
I once again made the mistake of starting to cook the noodles too early. The PW's recipe says you can start the noodles when you start cooking the chicken, but I would highly recommend not doing that until you start the onion/garlic mixture.
Make sure to really flatten the chicken. That helps it get cooked without overcooking the outside crusty-yummyness!
Next time I would probably add some mushrooms to the dish. Just because I really love mushrooms.

The Verdict
3 1/2 stars out of 5. This is definitely the start of something good! We will be tweaking this a tad and reevaluating it! If you make any changes, let me know!

Chicken Parmigiana-adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Serves 4

• 4 whole (up To 6) Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Trimmed And Pounded Flat
• ½ cups All-purpose Flour
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• ½ cups Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ¾ cups Wine (white Or Red Is Fine)
• 3 cans (14.5 Oz.) Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• ¼ cubes Chopped Fresh Parsley
• 1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 pound Thin Linguine

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate.
Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside.

At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Try Again: Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff

I was super excited to try this recipe. I was severely disappointed in it for many reasons. I wasn't going to post this recipe as I started this blog with the intention of only putting items I enjoyed on it. But Scott suggested putting on failures would make it more interesting, so that's what I'm doing. If I don't like a recipe, I'm going to tag it "Try Again." Once we try it again, I'll tag it "Redone" or something along those lines...if anyone has any  thoughts on these recipes and/or the tagging process let me know!

As for this recipe, I learned a few things. Definitely do NOT overcook egg noodles. They get soggy and clump together. Also, one and a half cups of sour cream is waaayy too much (and I usually LOVE sour cream). If something seems like a lot, it probably is so start with a lower amount. The last thing I learned: read the reviews if at all possible on a recipe, and heed their advice. I did not do that this time, and definitely wish I did. As stated before, the recipe had too much sour cream and not enough seasoning to it.  Well, hopefully I'll try it again someday!

Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3/4 pound portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream-you really only need 1/2 cup
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 
• 8 ounces dried egg noodles
• I added two cloves of garlic; any other veggies and/or seasonings are recommended. Meat could be added easily as well

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add egg noodles, and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside

At the same time, melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring until softened. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and add sliced mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are limp and browned. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet, stir in vegetable broth, being sure to stir in any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, and cook until the mixture has reduced by 1/3. Reduce heat to low, and return the mushrooms and onion to the skillet.

Remove pan from the heat, stir together the sour cream and flour; then blend into the mushrooms. Return the skillet to the burner, and continue cooking over low heat, just until the sauce thickens. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over cooked eggs noodles.

Total Time: 30 minutes

Four Servings

Garlic and Soy Pork Chops

This recipe was awesome! I haven't had pork chops in ages, and this is definitely a great one to get back into eating them! The flavors are simple, but delicious. I marinated the chops for close to two hours. I was going to grill them, but got sidetracked until it was too late! I put them in the broiler and they were fantastic! After marinating I would say this recipe only takes about 15 minutes! I got this recipe from a fellow blogger, Recipe Hunter Lisa!

Garlic and Soy Pork Chops-adapted from Recipe Hunter Lisa

Total Time: 35 Minutes

Serves 2

• 2 boneless center-cut pork loin chops, trimmed of all visible fat
• 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Fresh herbs, for garnish

Sprinkle the pork chops all over with soy sauce, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Coat a grill rack or broiler-pan rack with cooking spray. Preheat the grill or broiler.

Cook the pork chops 4" from the heat, turning once halfway through cooking time, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the center of a chop registers 155°F and the juices run clear. Garnish with the herbs

 

Beef with Snow Peas

Once again I have to say that I LOVE the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. Everything I have ever made from her site has been fantastic (and easy)! I was craving some Asian inspired food yesterday and this, made with Beef Fried Rice was fantastic. Both recipes separately take about 15 minutes. Figuring in the time management, it probably took about a half hour to get this all done. The Beef with Snow Peas was a HUGE hit! Everyone loved it, and there were barely any leftovers!

This is super easy to do. I bought stir fry beef instead of flank steak (I definitely like things to be easy), and use sugar snap peas instead of snow peas. I also did not need to add any salt. The flavoring was fantastic on its down (plus I'm not a huge fan of salt anyway)! Definitely make this ASAP!

Beef with Snow Peas--Still steaming hot :)

Beef with Snow Peas

• 1-½ pound Flank Steak, Trimmed Of Fat And Sliced Very Thin Against The Grain
• ½ cups Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 3 Tablespoons Sherry Or Cooking Sherry
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Ginger
• 8 ounces, weight Fresh Snow Peas, Ends Trimmed
• 5 whole Scallions, Cut Into Haf-inch Pieces On The Diagonal
• Salt As Needed (use Sparingly)
• 3 Tablespoons Peanut Or Olive Oil
• Crushed Red Pepper, For Sprinkling

In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Add sliced meat to bowl and toss with hands. Set aside.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet (iron is best) or wok over high heat. Add snow peas and stir for 45 seconds. Remove to a separate plate. Set aside.

Allow pan to get very hot again. With tongs, add half the meat mixture, leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl. Add half the scallions. Spread out meat as you add it to pan, but do not stir for a good minute. (You want the meat to get as brown as possible in as short amount a time as possible.) Turn meat to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to a clean plate.

Repeat with other half of meat, allowing pan to get very hot again first. After turning it, add the first plateful of meat, the rest of the marinade, and the snow peas. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Check seasonings and add salt only if it needs it. Mixture will thicken as it sits.

Serve immediately over rice. Sprinkle crushed red pepper over the top to give it some spice.

Total Time: 20 Minutes

Total Servings: 8