Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Today's dinner: Crispy Cheddar Chicken. Another amazing recipe from Pinterest... Pinterest has really served us well so far! This chicken turned out so so so so delicious. You know you're doing something right when we go for seconds! It was so good. We couldn't get enough. I considered just finishing off the leftovers tonight... I'm still considering it. :)
This chicken is so easy and does not require a ton of ingredients. It's basically chicken covered in crumbled Ritz crackers and cheese, with a gravy on top that is basically cream of chicken soup. I highly recommend making this chicken, seriously. It was SO good.
Here it is!

And with the gravy on top:

(with some Parmesan asparagus on the side)

Ingredients:
Chicken:
4 large chicken breasts
2 sleeves Ritz crackers (I only used one and a half sleeves and had plenty leftover)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 C milk
3 C cheddar cheese, grated (We couldn't decide between mild, medium, or sharp, so I just used a mixture of it all. And I used 2 cups of cheese and barely had enough)
1 tsp dried parsley

Sauce:
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp butter

Directions:
1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.

2. In a small food processor grind up the ritz crackers (I didn't feel like pulling out the food processor letting it take up space in my tiny tiny kitchen, so we just put the crackers in a ziploc bag and crushed them that way - worked great!)

3. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.

4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk and then the cheese. Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Press the cheesy chicken into the cracker crumbs.  (This is pretty messy and not everything sticks, but you can always put a little more cheese and crackers on top before you bake it)

5. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.

6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.

7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy. (I looked at the chicken after about twenty minutes and they looked close to done, so I took the foil off then and cooked for another 5-10)

8. Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. (This looked super thick, so we added a little bit of milk to the gravy... We also added some cheese to melt into the gravy because, well, why not!) Serve over the chicken.

Cookie Dough Filled Cupcakes! Oh ya!

Quite an adventure in baking today! One of my close friends at work is having her last day tomorrow, and we are all very sad to see her go... So how do we self-medicate our sadness? Comfort Food. Always the answer. Every time. And through my way too much time spent on Pinterest (Jason calls me a pinaholic), the first thing that I thought of to make for tomorrow is this: COOKIE DOUGH FILLED CUPCAKES. Yes, they do exist. And my goodness are they good. I am eating one right at this moment. The original posting said it was a very laborious process, but I didn't find it to be too bad. It took me a couple of hours from start to finish.
Here is the finished product:

Yes, there is cookie dough inside.
Here I can prove it:

Hallelujah! The coolest thing is that there are no raw eggs in the cookie dough filling so you can't get sick from binging on these babies.

Ingredients:
Cupcakes
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
1 cup milk
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk (half of a 14 oz can)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I would recommend using a little less almond extract and a little more brown sugar... the filling tasted a little bitter by itself but was good once it was in the cupcakes)
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
3 tablespoons milk
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Tiny chocolate chip cookies (In the original recipe, one would use these to top on the cupcakes, but I didn't because I know everyone is basically going to be swalling the cupcakes whole.)
Mini chocolate chips (store-bought or homemade)


1. Cupcakes
2. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
3. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners, 24 total.
4. Using an electric mixer combine the butter and brown sugar beating on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
6. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
7. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture to the mixer bowl on low speed, then 1/3 of the milk. Continue alternating the flour mixture and milk, ending with the flour. Mix after each addition just until incorporated.
8. Blend in the vanilla and almond extracts.
9. Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
10. Using an ice cream scoop, divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners.
11. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Mine took about 17 minutes though)
12. Cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

13. Filling
14. Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
15. Add in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and almond extract, mixing until smooth.
16. Stir in the chocolate chips.
17. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge, for at least an hour. You can also prepare this ahead of time and store in the fridge for several days.
18. Once chilled, roll the dough into 24 balls, approximately one-inch.
19. After the cupcakes have cooled, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake using a small pairing knife. Fill each cupcake with a cookie dough ball. You may need to form a cone shape with the cookie dough to get it to fit properly.

20. Frosting
21. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar until creamy.
22. Mix in the powdered sugar until smooth.
23. Beat in the flour and salt.
24. Add the milk, vanilla and almond extracts until smooth and well blended.
25. Frost the filled cupcakes, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips. Top with half of mini chocolate chip cookie.
26. The frosting can also be made in advance and stored in the fridge. Before using, bring the frosting to room temperature. Using an electric mixer, beat the frosting on medium speed, adding a tablespoon or two of milk to soften it up.

Post Number One!!

First post! Well... welcome! I finished finals a couple of days ago, and after celebrating with some sushi, I decided to finally get to cooking! For dinner, I cooked one of my favorites: Herb and Panko Crusted Chicken with Feta Sauce. This has been one of my favorite recipes for a while, and it is always a huge hit! Not to mention, it's super easy and doesn't require an insane amount of ingredients. For a side dish, I had some potatoes that needed to be cooked, and tried a new recipe I found on the Food Network website: Rosemary Roasted Potatoes. These turned out delicious! Definitely one of our new favorite go-to recipes.
Here is the finished product:

(It doesn't look like much, but we could not stop eating it...)

Herb and Panko Crusted Chicken with Feta Sauce
Ingredients:
Chicken:
2/3 cup panko
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (I use chicken breasts that are thinly sliced, because they don't take as long to cook)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 tsp olive oil
Feta Sauce:
1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
4 tsp olive oil
1 (3.5 oz) package feta cheese

Directions:
1. Combine panko and Italian seasoning in a shallow bowl or plate. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in the panko mixture (get as much on the chicken as you can)
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook around 5 minutes on each side (you may want to reduce the heat when you flip the chicken, so the panko crust doesn't burn). Spoon some feta sauce on top and serve up!
3. Feta sauce: Squeeze juice from lemon (should be around 2 tbsp of juice). Combine the lemon juice, mint, oil, and pepper in a small bowl and stir. Add the cheese and stir.

Enjoy! This recipe is fab, and is even good leftover!

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds small red or white-skinned potatoes (I actually used russets, because that's what I had on hand, and it tasted great!)
1/8 cup good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon  salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoons minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves (I just used crushed store bought)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Dump the potatoes on a baking sheet and spread out into 1 layer; roast in the oven for at least 1 hour (NOTE it only took mine about 30 minutes), or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, season to taste, and serve.