Chicken Cutlets turned UP a notch!

Who doesn't love chicken? On Thursday night, a few months back, Scott and I were craving chicken, but we wanted to step out of the box a little bit. I started surfing Pinterest, like I usually do when I need inspiration, and I came across this recipe. Although it is for pork chops, Scott had chicken cutlets in the house, and I knew it would work either way. We decided to give it a try and I am so glad we did!

This recipe was a great way to spruce up your average breaded chicken cutlets. Here is what we used:

• 1 pkg boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 cups Italian bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 bottle of Ranch dressing

(the recipe also called for a package of dry Italian seasoning, but we didn't have it in the house, and didn't feel like purchasing it. I don't think it really made a difference.)

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate plate, pour a layer of Ranch dressing down, and coat the cutlets in the dressing. Now, dunk the cutlets in the bread crumb mixture. (in this case, the Ranch acts as egg wash that would normally be used.) 

The original recipe says that to avoid soggy cutlets, (haha), place them on a wire cooking rack. Turn your oven to 400 degrees and cook the cutlets for 45 minutes. They will come out crispy every time. I know ours did. 

Granted our chicken cutlets did not look like the picture on the website where I got the recipe, they were still delicious and crispy. I'll definitely try them out again, whenever I am feeling sassy. 

Maybe next time I will try the recipe with pork chops. What is your favorite way to prepare chicken? What do you bread your chicken with?

Fend for yourself night

I would just like to start out by saying that I am blogging from my new $800 HP laptop that I purchased all by my damn self! I am so pleased with my purchase, and I can finally blog from the comforts of my own room; more specifically, my bed. Now, my entries will be more frequent, because this is so much more convenient. 

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I still live at home. This is relevant, because I usually do all of my cooking when I am at Scott's house. Tonight, I was at my parent's house, and neither of them were going to be home until late, so it was up to me to make the evening meal. I took out pork chops earlier today, and had been thinking all day about how I was going to cook them...and then it hit me! 

Yesterday, I was watching Rachel Ray on the Food Network, and she was making this delicious    chicken dish. I didn't have all the ingredients in the house, but I figured I could modify the recipe a little bit, and make it my own. Surely pork would work instead of chicken; and surely I could substitute chicken broth for wine. So, here is how I made tonight's dinner (keep in mind, tonight I cooked for a family of four, so the measurements are larger) :

• 2 pkgs of thinly sliced, boneless pork chops
• 1 small can of chicken broth
• 1 cup flour (seasoned with salt, pepper, Italian seasonings...w/e you have in the house, really)
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced

1. In a medium sized bowl, season the flour with the spices, and dredge the pork chops in the flour. Shake off any excess flour. 

Not the most appetizing picture, but it was delicious!

2. In a large sauce pan, heat some vegetable oil to medium high heat. You can cook the pork chops all the way through, or just a little under. When all the chops are done, take them out of the pan, and set them aside.

3. In a deep bottom sauce pan, heat more vegetable oil to medium high heat. Throw the onions in first, and sweat them down a little bit before adding the garlic. (Here's a helpful hint: if you throw the garlic in first, it's more likely to burn. The onions will act as a buffer.) Next, throw all the vegetables in. Season them, and cook them down until they are softened. 

4. Add about 3-4 tablespoons of the seasoned flour to the vegetable mixture, and combine it thoroughly. Add in the chicken broth, and stir.

5. Throw the chops back in to the mixture; cook for a few more minutes and you're all done!

This would be great over mashed potatoes or over white or brown rice, but I just had it as is, and made some sides to go along with it. My entire family loved it, and my dad even called me Betty Crocker! I think all hope has been restored to my family that I will eventually be able to feed my future husband and children some day. Tonight was a proud moment for me. 

This Chicken is all dressed up for Date Night!

I am so proud of this recipe that I am about to share with you, because I came up with it all on my own, from the depths of my memory banks. No help from Pinterest or from the Food Network. I wanted to make some thing real special for Scott, and this is what I came up with:

• 1 pkg of chicken cutlets
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced 
• 2 small yellow summer squash, diced
• 2 cups brown rice
• 1 cucumber diced
• 1/4 of a red onion, minced
• 1/2 bottle Italian dressing
• 1/4 cup of sesame dressing

1. Marinate the chicken cutlets in Italian dressing, at least one hour before you plan to cook them. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. (My go-tos!)

2. Start cooking the rice according to the package.

3. Dice the cucumber and onion, and marinate them in sesame dressing for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

4. In a large sauce pan, on medium-high heat, saute the pepper, zucchini and squash until they are fork tender. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

5. While you are sauteing the vegetables, put some oil in another large saucepan and heat it to medium-high heat. Cook the chicken through until there is no more pink. 

6. When the rice is done, add it to the mixed vegetables.

You can use the rice vegetable medley as a bed for the chicken. Finally, just place the cucumber onion mixture on top. It will act like a cold, refreshing salsa-like salad on top of the chicken. Scott and I were both extremely pleased with the recipe, and I will definitely add it to my date night recipes. If you need a special meal to wow the one you love, or are trying to impress, feel free to steal this one!

Do you have a special date night meal that you make for your significant other?