As my final semester in nursing school speeds forward and NCLEX gets closer and closer, my time to blog gets smaller and smaller. I may end up "creatively" utilizing some time during a certain time period on Thursdays in order to share some of the recipes that Rick and I have been enjoying on Wednesday nights. If you know me, you know that I'm pretty good (for the most part) at making the most of my free time. With two early morning clinicals this semester, Rick and I have learned which nights we can see each other and which ones we can't. Wednesdays and Thursdays have become our week nights together. Last week (yes, I know, I suck ;) ), we used some chicken that Rick had thawed out to make this recipe. Instead of doing the crostini that is included with the lemon chicken, we did a different version. I made the different version again over the weekend when my dad and stepmom were in town. I don't have pictures of these because, well, the chicken didn't look as yummy as it is in real life. Hopefully, however, my dad and stepmom will send me a picture of the stack of meat that we grilled out this past weekend. We used that awesome, awesome, awesome seasoning that Rick got from his parents and took advantage of the great sale that Food Lion had on t-bones!
Cooking has become somewhat dangerous with the kittens playing in the kitchen floor. As I sit here and compose this post, little Ty is "chasing" the little squares in the kitchen tile...and then in a flash, he and Weezy are off to terrorize some other part of the condo. What amazes me about the pets that I have had in my life is that the smell of sauteing garlic can bring them in the kitchen within seconds. Can someone please explain that to me???
Here are the recipes for your culinary enjoyment....
Katie's Crostini
Ingredients
- One baguette of bread (I like to get my cut at Publix, but if your grocery store baker won't do it, cut to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
- olive oil (extra virgin)]
- Parmesan cheese, shredded/grated
- Italian seasoning grinder
- Garlic powder
- 1/2 onion, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- Balsamic vinegar
- A splash of white wine
- Cooking spray
Preparations
Add drained can of diced tomatoes, minced garlic, diced onion, fresh basil, three-four twists of the Italian seasoning grinder in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray. In a small plate, pour some olive oil. Add two to three twists of the Italian seasoning and garlic powder to taste and stir.
Place pieces of baguette on the sprayed pan (you may have several pieces left over). Brush pieces of bread with olive oil mixture and place back on the pan. Toast bread for 4-5 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from oven.
Change oven setting to broil.
Spoon a little bit of balsamic vinegar on each piece of baguette toast. Next, add a spoonful of the tomato-onion mixture to each piece of baguette toast. Sprinkle each piece with Parmesan cheese. Broil until cheese melts about 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.
Here is the original recipe for Lemon Chicken with Parmesan Crostini
IngredientsFor crostini
- 12 1/4-inch-thick French bread baguette slices, toasted
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 12 thin slices plum tomato
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
For chicken
- 4 4-ounce skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (white and pale green parts only)
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Directions
Make crostini:
Place bread on baking sheet. Spread tomato paste over. Top each with 1 tomato slice. Sprinkle cheese atop.
Make chicken:
Pound each chicken breast between sheets of plastic to 1/4-inch-thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour in bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Lightly coat 2 chicken with flour; shake off excess. Transfer to skillet and cook until brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate and tent with foil. Repeat with 1 teaspoon oil, flour and remaining chicken.
Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in same skillet over low heat. Add green onions and garlic; sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth and wine scraping up any browned bits in skillet. Add lemon juice and 2 tablespoons parsley. Increase heat to high; boil until liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Mix in lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to skillet; simmer until heated through, turning to coat.
Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Broil crostini until cheese melts, watching closely, about 1 minute.
Transfer chicken to plates. Spoon pan juices over chicken. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve with crostini.
The only change that I made was breading the chicken in my favorite mix: Parmesan cheese, panko, and Italian bread crumbs.
Last night when Rick came over (with chicken in hand), he said that he wanted us to do chicken parm again soon. While I do love that dish, I am trying to eat better these days so I decided to try to lighten it up a little bit by not frying it, and instead, I would bake the chicken first. I found this Cooking Light recipe on myrecipes.com and thought that it would be perfect. As you know from my success with cooking steaks inside, I love using my cast iron skillets in the oven, but when I was looking at the nutritional information, I realized that it wasn't all that great for you so I opted to go with my original recipe. I did, however, serve it over whole grain pasta and halved the chicken breasts which meant more meals for us! 
