Chicken Scallopine

I tried this dish awhile back and really enjoyed it but for some reason could never remember the name of it. I like to describe this dish as if Chicken Marsala and Chicken Piccata had a baby and named it Chicken Scallopine. Poor guy is gonna get teased in school with a name like that :) Anyways, it is very easy and quick to fix.

Start by pounding a couple of chicken breast until they are the same thickness. Salt, pepper, and lightly coat them with flour.
Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat.
Cook chicken until golden brown on both sides. Remove and set aside.
Add about 1 cup of white mushrooms thinly sliced to the pan along with 1/2 cup of white wine.
Add the juice of 1 lemon and cook until liquid reduces.
Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 1 large spoonful of capers. Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour over chicken and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

DIY

Since spending all our money on buying a house, Chad and I have decided to tackle several DIY projects. The first being to frost the glass on two cabinets. I was tired of seeing all our mess inside and needed a way to hide it. We watch HGTV 24/7 and have seen them frost glass numerous times. Of course they make it look easy breezy and we were sure it would be a piece of cake for us as well. All I can say is they lied! It was so tedious and time consuming plus Marley's hair keep getting between the glass and frosting. It turned out decent but not perfect. We'll see if it makes it into the new house or not.

Before

After

The Incredible Edible Egg

I think I have mentioned my love of breakfast before but if I haven't....man do I love breakfast. I think its because my grandmother drilled it into me that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Okay moving on, I have a confession. I suck at making omelette's...so instead of omelette's I make breakfast scramblers. To make this particular scrambler just follow these simple directions: 1. Quick steam some broccoli in the microwave until tender
2. Dice up some ham (I just used lunch meat ham)
3. Dice 1/4 cup of onion
4. A sprinkle or two of cheese
5. 2-3 eggs

Heat a pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of butter. Add onions and saute until soft. Add in ham and broccoli. Scramble the eggs then pour into the pan with the meat and veggies. Salt and pepper to taste. Let them cook for about a minute then gently stir to form a "scrambler." Just before it is done sprinkle with cheese (I used cheddar because everything is better with cheddar). Add some slices of tomato from your local farmers market ;) and a piece of toast and you are ready to carpe diem just ask my grandmother.

Vogue

Marley and I had a fun and exciting photo shoot yesterday. Okay well Marley just laid there being lazy while I snapped away. Sundays always seem sooo exhausting for him. He just can't do anything but sleep, eat, poop, yawn, and occasionally stretch. In this first picture you can tell he clearly isn't amused at the game I'm playing

...but then he decides to show off alittle.

Soon he is back to not being amused.

He looks like he has luscious lips in this one but thats just his tongue preparing for a great yawn.

Ahhh the life of a spoiled dog. Makes me jealous.

Pecan Crusted Chicken with Dijon Sauce

I found this recipe in a cookbook that a former patients daughter-in-law gave me. They were a terrific family and we use to always talk about cooking and at the time my new puppy. Of course I have changed a few things here and there in the recipe to suit me.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Pound chicken breast between two pieces of saran wrap or wax paper for a uniform thickness. Melt 1 stick of butter (I never said this was healthy). Combine butter with 3 heaping tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Finely chop 1-2 cups of pecans. Make an assemble line like the picture below. Dip chicken into the butter mixture then coat with pecans and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and canola oil in a pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until browned on each side. Remove chicken from pan and place on a baking sheet (don't worry if some or alot of the pecans fall off). Bake for 20-30 minutes or until done. In the pan that you cooked the chicken in add 2/3 - 1 cup of sour cream, stir in 2-3 tablespoons of Dijon, salt and pepper. Spoon on top of the chicken and enjoy.

Cereal and Cartoons

I love Saturday mornings. The world is quiet, my coffee tastes much better since I can enjoy it instead of inhaling it before I head out the door to work, and I can spend hours on the Internet without feeling guilty. Remember when Saturday mornings consisted of eating a big bowl of lucky charms or cinnamon toast crunch and watching cartoons. Man those were the good old days. Easy breezy and care free just like Marley hanging out the car window.
I'm kinda over summer and my hot box (aka my black car with black interior, its a bi#%^ in the summertime). I'm ready for cool days, football, and the trees to look like this one.

Last but not least in this random post...a work in progress. This little construction site/mess could soon be mine! I'm pretty sure the workers are getting concerned about Chad and I driving by so much and snapping pictures. They might call the cops on us any day now. So keep your fingers and toes crossed that all goes well and I can call this place home.

Enjoy the weekend and maybe a big bowl of lucky charms ;)

Fried Zucchini

While watching the food network one day I saw them make fried zucchini. It looked delicious yet easy so Chad and I decided to try out our own version and it was a hit.

Fried Zucchini
- 2 thinly sliced zucchini
- Flour
- 2 eggs
- Panko bread crumbs
- Seasonings of your choice (salt, pepper, parsley, red pepper flakes, etc...) You can season the flour or the bread crumbs. Whatever floats your boat.
- Coat zucchini in flour, dip in eggs, then coat with bread crumbs.
- Heat skillet with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Add zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes on each sided until they turn slightly brown and
crispy.
I made a dipping sauce that went great the zucchini...but I didn't measure so bear with me.

- 2-4 dollops of sour cream
- 1 good squirt of prepared horseradish
- A few shakes of a Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packet


We couldn't stop eating them and actually fought over the last one :)

Easy as Apple Pie Appetizer

I love my boyfriend for several reasons but one is because he is so creative. We have really been trying hard to save money and not waste groceries. Chad is doing much better with this than me. I really just want to go get a mani and pedi and I buy way more fruit than humanly possible to eat and end up throwing out moldy peaches, blackberries, raspberries, etc.. Oops. Anyways, we have some left over french bread and basil so Chad created a super tasty and cute appetizer. I was very impressed! He brushed some garlic and olive oil on the bread and topped it with cherry tomatoes, basil, and Parmesan cheese. He popped it under the broiler until the cheese melted and then popped one in his mouth. So if you need a quick/cheap appetizer to impress some guest try this out. Well I'm off to paint my own nails :( maybe I can talk Chad into doing it for me and I can pretend like I am at the spa.

You asked for it...

I have had several people ask for the recipe to my Chicken Piccata. I wrote about it here but for some reason I didn't include the recipe. I've been making this dish for several years now thanks to a magazine my mom received called Cuisine at home. I have added and changed a few things to suit my taste.

-Start with chicken cutlets or chicken breasts pounded thin
-Season the chicken with salt and pepper (both sides) and coat with flour
-In a saute pan heat 1 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high
-Saute chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side then transfer chicken to a plate
-Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup of white wine and add 1-2 teaspoons of garlic (depends on how much you like the taste of garlic)
-Cook until wine is almost evaporated and garlic is slightly browned
-Add 1/3 cup of chicken broth, 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice, and 1-2 tablespoons of capers, drained. I really like the taste of capers so I add 2 tablespoons. If you're not sure about the flavor you can just add 1 tablespoon
-Return chicken to saute pan and add 1/4 - 1/3 cup of heavy cream
-Cook for about 1 minute.
-Remove chicken to serving platter
-Finish sauce in the pan with thinly sliced lemons and 2 tablespoons of butter.
-Pour sauce over chicken and enjoy

You could easily substitute turkey cutlets or shrimp in this dish. I make this all the time and serve it with steamed asparagus. I think my favorite part of the dish is the warm thinly sliced lemons covered in the cream sauce. Hope you try it tonight!

Tip-A-Canoe

My friend Grace organized (wait a minute....Grace and organized in the same sentence, thats amazing) a canoe trip last weekend. I'll admit I wasn't thrilled about it. Muddy water, slimy fish, snakes, bugs, etc... are not my favorite. I prefer a clean pool where I can see the bottom and have no chance of anything nibbling on my toes. Of the six of us I think only 2 had ever been in a canoe before. I had no clue what to do and the company we rented from wasn't about to help us. So we loaded up and I was sure we were going to tip the canoe as soon as we got in the water. I insisted on taking Marley but didn't think it through. He was spastic at first, rocking the boat from side to side, trying to jump out, and jumping into another canoe at one time. Luckily he calmed down about 2 hours into the trip and was content to man the front of the canoe. I even let him jump out and swim for a bit. We saw cows in the river, a bunch of frogs, a baby deer taking a swim, and several drunk ladies. It was a great day and guess what... we didn't tip the canoe!