Chicken Parmesan

I didn't use a recipe for this. I just threw it together. I'm going to try to give an outline of what I did but be warned, it is far from exact... Just use the proportions you feel is right, you got this!!

-chicken breasts
-flour (seasoned with salt and pepper)
-beaten egg
-seasoned bread crumbs (Italian seasoning or parsley/basil/thyme/etc)
-oil for frying
-spaghetti noodles
-spaghetti sauce
-some mozzarella for the top

Pound out chunks of chicken breast and put in a plastic bag. Add enough flour to coat them and sprinkle in some salt and pepper.

Dip in beaten egg. Dip in seasoned bread crumbs. Fry 'em up in some preheated oil. I fried it because I like the crispiness. It's bad when it gets soggy and falls apart.

I put them on a bed of spaghetti sauce, put a little chunk of mozzarella on top, and baked it at 375 degrees for about 10 mins or so. I was just paranoid they didn't cook all the way when frying.

Serve with noodles and boom. Dinner :) Not totally traditional but it's how I like it!

BBQ meatloaf

Paula Deen you have done it again!

This is Paula Deen's BBQ meatloaf recipe. My mom really likes it and I know I do! Andrew liked it too! It has a homemade bbq sauce which is unique from store bought bbq sauce. I like it a lot. You could use store bought if you didn't want to make it.

And pictured you can see the lovely pink crocheted pan holders from our Aunt Elaine and the awesome Yankee candle from Andrew's brother and sister in law. We love you guys and we love your gifts! We use them allllllll the time :) 

Chicken and Mac

 Wheeeewww talk about bone stickin. This meal took a lot of butter. A lot. haha This meal is not for the faint of heart....

First we have homemade mac and cheese. It's Fannie Farmer's Mac and Cheese recipe. I liked it. I didn't love it. Do you want to hear something sad? I like KFC's fake mac and cheese. I realized that about myself when I was eating this. It was a depressing realization...

Next the chicken. This is a cool chicken recipe: ranch chicken recipe. It's made with corn flakes and ranch dressing mix and baked in the oven.

I HAD to have a salad with this. Moderation is key. Balance is essential. The salad doesn't exactly balance this out ;) but it helps. The true balance comes in having a lighter meal tomorrow night.

I love fast food. Don't even hate haha! This is probably healthier than a KFC meal since it's without the preservatives and the chicken is baked. It definitely tastes more homemade and people like that of course. I'm just saying I'd be okay with having Colonel Sanders cooked my meal instead, just saying! ;) 

Butter Chicken Curry

So! During my London study abroad a couple years ago, I had some butter chicken curry that blew my mind! It was one of those dishes that shoot fireworks in your eyes from all the chemical reactions going on and the dopamine dump is overwhelming! These foods change your life. You will always search for it again and you may not find it. I haven't.... but I still try!

What I did was I bought a jar of butter chicken sauce...

Then I fixed it up the way it was in London.

I heated up some butter and olive oil in a skilled. Then added the following:

-one clove of garlic, chopped

-1/2 c chopped onion

-1-2 c chicken

-one sweet potato

-1/2 c green beans

-1/2 c heavy whipping cream

-a dash of chili powder and ginger

bam.

delicious.

I simmered it for about 20-30 minutes. It turned out really good!! It's as close to the stuff I had in London as I think I will get (on a student budget, mind you haha). I almost wonder if cream is thicker in London. I don't know. I'm wondering how to get it more creamy. The stuff in London was almost cheesy! Maybe next time I'll throw in a block of cream cheese out of pure desperation haha!

Happy Birthday to me :)

Woosh! I'm just pumpin out posts like a crazy face :)

It was my birthday at the end of September!!! I turned 22 and it was the best birthday ever because Andrew made it fun :) We went to Outback steakhouse and ordered a way-to-huge of a meal. We groggily returned home and literally laid out on our floor because we were SO full. I couldn't even look at my cake for a day haha! 

So! My cake! I love this cake. It's no doubt my favorite so I make it for myself every year :)

What you do:

1. buy a Devil's food cake mix or a German Chocolate cake mix and make as directed

2. mix 15 oz of caramel ice cream topping and a can of sweetened condensed milk (oh by the way, it's not low fat haha)

3. While the cake is still warm, poke a ton of holes in it and pour the caramel topping over it

Wooo! Goopy :)

4. Refrigerate it until cool

5. Spread a tub of Cool-Whip on top

6. Crush a heath bar (or any toffee bar) and sprinkle it on top

BOOM

OH goodness :D

(and ya, those are lines from forks that have snuck in during the night)

Crock pot beef and broccoli

I have to admit, I was really scared about this. I was scared it was going to taste gross because I haven't really made something like this before. But.................. IT WAS GOOD!      And Andrew really liked it which is good because he lived in Japan for two years and knows more about Asian food all the way around than I do lol.

Here's the recipe: take out fake out beef and broccoli

By the way, if you have clicked on the links and compared their nice pictures to my poor pictures you'll notice quite a difference Haha! I think this is kind of nice because my pictures may be a little more realistic, I don't know. It's like the difference between an ad for a McDonald's hamburger and the sight you see when you unwrap the paper. Totally different! Ha!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

I don't know what was wrong with me. Our kitchen was full of goodies and I was like....no. I have to have some coffee cake right now...

I'm really starting to like Martha Stewart's food haha. I think she balances good recipes with time strains and having reasonable ingredients. They require a little more effort than "easy" recipes but they're not excessively ridiculous. Here is the recipe: Cinnamon Coffee Cake

I took about 1/3 of the crumbs and folded them into the cake batter. And I liked it ;)