Chicken Parmesan

Chicken parm is one of our favorite om-noms. This recipe hails from my beloved Allrecipes.com.

On my last trip to the grocery store, I found some Italian bread crumbs that were SERIOUSLY good. If they're available where you are, check out Vigo brand.

INGREDIENTS
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to uniform thickness
2 eggs, beaten
Heap of Italian bread crumbs
Jar of pasta sauce
Shredded parmesan cheese
2 slices of mozzarella

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Bread chicken by dipping in egg, then breadcrumbs. Make a trip around a skillet with olive oil. Heat oil over medium high until shimmering. Add chicken and cook until mostly done, about 3 minutes per side.
3. Place chicken in a glass baking dish. Cover with as much (or as little!) pasta sauce as you wish. Pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. Take it out, then top with parmesan and mozzarella. Pop it back in for another 5 minutes.

The Perfect Boiled Egg/Egg Salad

For the perfect boiled egg, stick your egg in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Then just cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let it sit for 12 minutes. It's good eatin' there.

For a quick lunch, I like to boil up 3 eggs, discard two of the yolks, chop them up finely, then add a little mayo, mustard, seasoned salt, and dill. Then I make a sandwich out of it.

Poached Chicken

This is a good recipe when you have a recipe that calls for cooked chicken and you need it quickly. I've made the mistake many times before of boiling the hell out of chicken just because a recipe calls for it. That just leads to a tough, stringy mess. Here's my new method.

First, you need either 2 cubes of chicken bouillon or a can of chicken broth. Put either in a pot big enough to hold your chicken. Add your boneless, skinless chicken and add water until the chicken is just covered. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer. Check the temperature after 12 minues. (Seriously, I have boiled chicken for 45 minutes before and decided to check the temp after 15 yesterday and it was already at 190.)

The chicken was tender and juicy- great for chicken salad sandwiches!

Cheesy Poofs! I mean sauce!

What good's steamed broccoli without a heapin' helpin' of ooey gooey melty cheese?! This is based on the Cheese Sauce and Cauliflower recipe on Allrecipes. In my typical fashion, I've altered the recipe to pare down on calories.

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Seasoned salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Melt butter over medium-high heat. Add flour and quickly mix.
2. Add milk a little at a time. Bring to boiling.
3. Reduce heat. Add cheese and stir until melted. Season to taste.

Steamed Broccoli

I don't know why I've never given steaming a shot before. Whilst perusing the wares at our local Big Lots, I found a steamer basket. Now, I'm not going to admit to you whether I bought the thing because I was interested in steaming vegetables or because I was enchanted with the nifty way the thing folds out. *Averts eyes* Whatever the reason, I'll tell you- the thing cooks some DAMN good broccoli.

INGREDIENTS
Bunch of broccoli, cut into florets
1 tbsp sugar
1 inch of water in a pot

DIRECTIONS
1. Expand nifty thingamajigger. Fill with broccoli. Put inside pot w/ water. Bring water to boiling. Cover. Steam broccoli 6-8 minutes.