SF has been hit with some super windy weather so we definitely needed some comfort food for dinner. I had some boneless chicken thighs thawing in the fridge so I decided to create one of our favorite Italian dishes, Parmesan Chicken. It's the ultimate comfort food topped with warm Marinara Sauce and LOTS of ooey gooey Mozzarella! YUMMY!
Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c dried bread crumbs
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
1 c Marinara Sauce
1/2 c shredded Mozzarella
Hot cooked pasta
Prep:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels.
2. In a bowl, combine the minced garlic with the melted butter. In another bowl mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, salt, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into garlic butter, then into crumb mixture to coat.
3. Pour garlic butter into a skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and brown 5 minutes on each side.
4. Spread half of the Marinara Sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Place browned chicken pieces on top. Drizzle with garlic butter from the pan and top with remaining Marinara Sauce.
5. Sprinkle with Mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is bubbly. Serve with pasta.
Did you LOVE Tater Tots as a kid? I know I did and tonight, my Potato-Crusted Fish tasted just like it! I dredged some cod fillets in a mixture of Instant Mashed Potato Flakes, flour and Parmesan and then pan-fried them. It was quick and oh SO yummy! I served them with Mashed Potatoes (from REAL potatoes!) and it was the perfect fishy dinner!
If you have a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup, you can make this Beef Stroganoff in minutes. It's not only easy but also REALLY tasty! The meat stays really tender and moist thanks to the creamy sauce. Perfect weeknight comfort food!
We had some left-over Mashed Sweet Potatoes so I decided to make these Sweet Potato Muffins minus the Cranberries, since I didn't have any. I had my hubby taste-test them and he determined they were yummy before I took them to work. They were a HUGE HIT and VERY appropriate for an After-Thanksgiving Treat!
After an entire week of turkey and other Thanksgiving goodies, I decided to make something different for dinner, Crabmeat Enchiladas. The crabmeat was actually Imitation Crab, which we both absolutely LOVE. It was definitely what we needed to get out of that turkey coma, (not that we don't love Thanksgiving)!
Pretty much from mid November to the end of the year, I tend to drink LOTS of Bubbly cuz hey, it's the HOLIDAYS! I saw this recipe from Emeril for Champagne-Poached Salmon and was inspired to cook with it. I made a few adjustments and came up with my own. It was REALLY yummy and a good change from all the holidays meals we have coming up that will definitely involve lots of turkey and ham!
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 c Brut Champagne
1 Tbsp shallots or onions
1/2 c sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp minced fresh dill or 1 tsp dried
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (6-oz) salmon fillets, skin removed
1/2 c heavy cream
1/4 tsp Champagne vinegar
Prep:
1. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add the Champagne, shallots, mushrooms, dill, salt and pepper; and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Gently simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add the fish and spoon the poaching liquid over it. Cook uncovered until the salmon is firm and cooked through, about 10 minutes. (If the poaching liquid does not cover the fish, spoon the liquid over the fillets as they cook.)
3. Using a slotted spatula, remove the fish from the pan and blot excess liquid with a paper towel.
4. Bring to poaching liquid to a boil and cook until almost all liquid evaporates, about 6 minutes. Add the heavy cream, bring to a boil and simmer until cream thickens and coats the back of a spoon, and is reduced by nearly half, about 3 minutes.
5. Whisk in the butter until smooth and serve over fish.
My hubby always told me he never had Nutella before and now I know why. I was asking my mother-in-law if she liked Nutella and she told me she'd never had it before. OMG! Ok, so I knew I DEFINITELY had to let her taste how yummy this spread is. I decided to make add it to some Pumpkin Muffins to bring down for Thanksgiving and they turned out amazing! Chocolate, Hazelnut AND Pumpkin, how can you go wrong?
Ingredients: (12 muffins)
1-1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix!)
1 c Nutella
Prep:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, spice and salt.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture, pumpkin puree and Nutella
5. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake 18-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
