Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce and Bowtie Pasta

Easy and delicious!

After one successful attempt from a recipe found on Pinterest - I thought I would try again!

And another winner! This dish was really easy to make and it tasted great! There were a few ingredients - but pretty inexpensive as well.

Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce and Bowtie Pasta 
recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!

3 large chicken breasts

5 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

3/4 cup flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup milk

6 Tbsp olive oil 

1 package (12 oz) bowtie noodles (farfalle)

Sauce:

1 container (10 oz) Philadelphia Cooking Cream (Italian Cheese and Herb Flavor)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

Pour the flour onto a plate - add the 1/2 t salt  and combine. 

Place the milk into a bowl and the Panko onto another plate.  (Loaf pans work well for this)

Place your chicken breasts in a gallon sized Ziploc bag and seal the top. Pound the chicken flat with a meat mallet. 

Take a pair of sharp kitchen scissors and cut each breast in half. 

Dredge the chicken in the flour. Be sure it gets covered on both sides. 

Lay the floured chicken onto a small cookie sheet and slide the sheet into the freezer. Let it hang out there for about 5 minutes. 

Start cooking your pasta while the chicken is in the freezer.

Remove the chicken from the freezer and dredge each piece in the milk and then immediately into the Panko. Again, be sure both sides are covered well. 

Add the olive oil to a hot skillet. 

Carefully lay each chicken piece into the hot oil. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until the underside of each piece is nice and golden brown. Turn the pieces over. If the bottom of the pan is dry add just a bit more olive oil to the side of the pan. Swirl the pan around a bit to let the oil flow to all sides.

Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium.  Let the chicken cook for about 7 more minutes, being careful not to burn the bottoms. 

When your chicken has been cooked through remove it from the pan and place it on a plate. Cover with tin foil.  

Into the same pan pour your broth. Philly Cooking Creme, Cream of Chicken, and milk. Whisk the sauce around and let it get all warm and bubbly. Should only take about 3 minutes. 

Pour the sauce of the noodles and top with the chicken!

World's Best Mac & Cheese

It is pretty darn good.

My current obsession is Pinterest. If you've never been there - go. 

I've been collecting some recipes on there - and I figured it was time to make one. And this one seemed like a great first - I mean it's supposed to be the WORLD'S best. The information shared on the site was that "it's Kurt Beecher Dammeier's recipe from his 'Pure Flavor' cookbook. People line up for it at Beecher's at the Pike Place Market in Seattle."

The link for the recipe took me to Martha Stewart's page - but I figured I would still try it. Some of the ingredients were vague, so I'll note what I used.


World's Best Mac & Cheese
recipe from Martha Stewart

• Butter or vegetable oil, for baking dish
• 6 ounces penne
• 2 cups Beecher's Flagship Cheese Sauce (recipe below)
• 1 ounce cheddar cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
• 1 ounce Gruyere cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or oil and 8-inch baking dish; set aside.
• 
  Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook penne, according to package direction, but for 2 minutes less than recommended on the package. Rinse pasta in cold water; set aside.
• 
  In a medium bowl, mix together cooked pasta and sauce gently but thoroughly. Pour pasta into prepared baking dish; sprinkle with cheeses and chile powder. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Beecher's Flagship Cheese Sauce
recipe from Martha Stewart

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/6 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cups milk
• 7 ounces cheddar cheese, grated 
• 1 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated 
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 
  
• Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat; whisk in flour. Continue whisking and cooking for 2 minutes.
• 
  Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. 
• 
  Remove from heat. Add cheeses, salt, chile powder, and garlic powder.
• 
  Stir until cheese has melted and all ingredients are well incorporated, about 3 minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate up to 3 days.To reheat sauce, place in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through.

Peach Pie

This peach pie is amazing!

With the impending Hurricane Irene back in August - I decided if I was going to be stuck inside, I would at least make something delicious!

I figured a pie was a good option - Googled peach pie and made the first recipe I spotted since it seemed like a good recipe! And it was a winner.

Since I have made crust from scratch before - I decided this time I could skip it - and just used the Pillsbury Pie Crusts. It was less hassle and still delicious.

Peach Pie
recipe from Skip to My Lou

9 peaches – peeled and thinly sliced (my peaches were large, so I  used 6)
1 ½ cups sugar
8 dashes cinnamon
5 dashes nutmeg
1 dash salt
1 tsp. vanilla3 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp butter



Preheat oven to 400. 

Fold all ingredients except butter together. Then pour into 9" pie pan.

Cut 2 Tbsp of butter into small pieces and place on top of the filling.

Place 2nd pie crust on top of the filling and crimp edges firmly (it will ooze out if there are openings). Also add steam slits to the top.

Cut 2 Tbsp of butter into small pieces and place on top of the crust. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Then turn down the oven to 350 and bake for another 30-40 minutes, until golden.

My suggestion is to make sure you have some ice cream to go with this!

Balsamic Steak

Balsamic vinegar is my new favorite thing.

I loved the balsamic vinegar from the Pasta Fresca recipe - and I figured that it would be delicious on steak too.

And boy was I right.

I mixed together a few things - and voila - an amazing dinner.

My roommate and I had gone to a farmer's market a few days before - so I also made some corn on the cob with my steak!

Balsamic Steak
recipe from Wearing Pearls While Baking

Balsamic vinegar
Juice from 1 lemon
Minced garlic
Steak of choice
Olive oil

Add balsamic vinegar to a mixing bowl (I didn't measure - just poured enough for the meat I had).

Add the lemon juice and minced garlic to the vinegar, and stir.

Add the steak to the bowl and mixed until it had all been coated. (I had wanted flank steak but the store didn't have any. I got an angus steak - stir fry sliced).

Warm a saute pan - and add a small amount of olive oil. Once heated, add the steak and vinegar mixture. Cook steak as desired.

Cake Decorating Class - Level 3

After completing Level 2 - I HAD to take Level 3 - Gum Paste and Fondant.

As the name states - we learned a lot about fondant. We also continued to make make flowers.

I went into the class not being a fan of fondant - but it was a lot easier to make flowers with fondant than with icing - so that was definitely a plus.

Here are my projects from Level 3:

Carnation, Rose, and Calla Lily

Mum and Daisy

Fondant base, Final cake, and Fondant Bow

Happy Birthday, America! Final Cake - Fondant

Cake Decorating Class - Level 2

I had such a fun time with Level 1 - that I had to sign up for Level 2.

I took Level 2 in May - the class was Flowers and Cake Design.

In this level - we learned about working with Royal Icing and we made A LOT of flowers!

Here is what I made:

Pansy and Button Flower

Rosebud, Primrose, Apple Blossom, and Roses

Violet, Daffodil, and Lily

Final exam -Daffodils and Piped Swirls

Basketweave!

Cake Decorating Class - Level 1

What fun!

I had told my roommate back in 2010 that I wanted to take a cake decorating class. It was something new and different - and I thought it would be a lot of fun. I learned that AC Moore offered a class, and I planned to take it sometime in 2011.

For christmas - she got me a gift card for AC Moore - which was perfect, since now I had to take the class, and couldn't procrastinate.

So, in April, I signed up for Level 1. My instructor was incredibly nice and talented. In Level 1 - we learned all about icing cakes, buttercream icing, and making flowers!

Here are some of the things we made:

piping gel transfer - fishy!

rosettes on a cupcake

shaggy mum on a cupcake

final cake - iced, lettering, and roses

close-up of the roses