Chicken Parmigiana

A quick and easy, warm and comfy dish!  Serve with angel hair pasta, spaghetti squash (shown above) or a slice of garlic bread. 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 large chicken cutlets
Store bought marinara (or ingredients and recipe below)
3/4 Cup Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup Olive oil
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 Cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 Box whole wheat angel hair pasta

For marinara:

1 28oz can tomato sauce
1 28oz can diced or stewed tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small onion, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 Cup dry red wine
2 Tsp dried oregano
2 Tsp dried parsley flakes
1 Tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 Bay leaves
Salt & Pepper

To make chicken:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush chicken with olive oil, and coat both sides with breadcrumbs.  In a skillet, cook chicken over med-high heat about 3 minutes on each side, until breadcrumbs are just toasted.

Place chicken in a 9x13" pan.  Top with shredded mozzarella, then pour marinara sauce over, and then top with parmesan.  Place in oven and bake until cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Cook pasta, and serve on the side, topped with marinara.

To make marinara sauce:

Cook olive oil and onions in a medium sized pot over low heat until translucent.  Add garlic.  Simmer for a minute.  Add in sauce, tomatoes, basil, wine, bay leaves and seasonings.  Simmer for at least 30 minutes.  Remove bay leaves before serving.

Haricots Verts and Grape Tomato Salad with Creme Fraiche Dressing

This recipe was absolutely fantastic.  I was practically scraping the bowl of the remaining green beans!  So delicious and simple! 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Lb haricots verts, trimmed (or petite green beans)
1/4 Cup finely chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp minced shallots
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp creme fraiche (they didn't have it at Publix, so I used reduced fat sour cream)
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 Tsp salt
1 Pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Tbsp toasted pine nuts (I didn't have any so I used toasted slivered almonds)

Method:

Cook beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, until crisp-tender.  Soak beans in ice cold water, drain.

Combine basil and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add beans and tomatoes; toss gently to coat.  Top with toasted nuts.  Serve cold/room temp.

Sweet and Chunky Applesauce

This is a sweet recipe, and is delicious served hot or cold.  It is a versatile dish and would pair well with pork, steak, with cheese as a snack, on its own, or even hot on top of vanilla ice cream!  It was easy to prepare, and quite a tasty dish on a cool night.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 Large Honeycrisp, Gala or Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 Tbsp lemon juice

4 Tbsp butter or margarine

1/2 Cup packed brown sugar

1 Tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

1 Tsp Apple Pie Spice

1.  Melt margarine in a pan over low-med heat.  Add chopped apples.  Add remaining ingredients.  Continue to stir on low-med heat until apples are soft, about 10-15 minutes.

2.  For a chunky version, use a potato masher and mash up the apples.  For a smoother consistency, place in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve warm or cold.  To make applesauce without the spices, leave out the vanilla and apple pie spice, and use half the amount of brown sugar and cinnamon.

Skirt Steak Chimichurri Cha Cha Cha!

I'm sure everyone has their own recipe for this, but incase you don't, here is a DELICIOUS, quick and SUPER EASY recipe!  This was seriously soooooo good and soooooo easy.  Enjoy!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1.5 Lb Angus Skirt Steak (or enough for 4 people)
1 Cup packed italian flat leaf parsley
1/2 Cup packed fresh cilantro
1/3 Cup red wine vinegar
1/2 Cup olive oil
2 Garlic cloves, peeled
1 Tsp cumin
1 Tsp crushed red pepper
2 Tsp fresh lime juice
1 Tsp lime zest
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Turn on the grill to medium-high heat.  While grill heats, make the marinade by placing all ingredients (parsley through lime zest) into a blender or food processor.  Grate until it becomes a thick sauce.  Set aside.

Pat steaks dry and season with salt and pepper.  Grill steaks about 3-4 minutes on each side for medium-rare.  (Cook to your desired temp). 

Top steaks with chimichurri sauce and serve hot.