Tag: basil

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!!! Easy Panko Chicken Parmesan!!

I have almost achieved the impossible, but with temps dropping back down into the 30s tonight, I’m not so sure Bernardo will live much longer. Bernardo is my basil plant, that lived outside all summer and has died and risen on three separate occasions since September. (Even though his branches are black.) Hoping to nurse him back to his happy porch spot in the warm, partial sun, I have given him remnants of pressed garlic, the last drops in my wine glass, and of course,  sprayed his branches with vinegar. I have no “green thumb,” but new shoots have shot and I have been harvesting fresh basil all winter!!

Please keep him in your prayers!! Hoping he makes it back outside!
Please keep him in your prayers!! Hoping he makes it back outside!

 

Panko Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts,split
1-1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tbsp. Rosemary
1/2 tbsp. Basil
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, pressed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees!
Add pressed garlic to olive oil.
If 1-1/2-2 inch thick, butterfly chicken breasts to 3/4 inch thick.
Rub with olive oil and garlic.
Mix Panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and spices.
Lightly coat chicken breasts in bread crumb mixture.

Lightly coat!
Lightly coat!

Place in stoneware baking dish, aluminum foiled jelly roll pan, or non-stick baking pan.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (75 degrees C)

Does your oven have the probe? Not sure how I ever lived without this gadget. I program my temp, 165, and insert I the thickest part of the meat, it beeps when meat had reached the temp!!
Does your oven have a probe? Not sure how I ever lived without this gadget. I program my temp, 165, and insert into the thickest part of the meat, it beeps when meat has reached the set temp!!

Broil for 5 minutes and watch closely to brown the top of the chicken!

I serve this dish over pasta with marinara sauce, a fresh garden salad and Italian sliced or Ciabatta bread!
I serve this dish over pasta with marinara sauce, a fresh garden salad and Italian sliced or Ciabatta bread!

Always top with freshly grated Parmesan and Enjoy!

Ciao!

Happy Friday!! Gotta Love Skinnygirl Bethenny Frankel’s Recipes For A Skinny Life! Have You Tried Her Mexican Chili Or Her Cocktails?? It is 5 O’Clock Somewhere, Right?? Salute!

Skinnygirl Bethenny Frankel created a healthy way of living with her skinny recipes! From low carb, no carb to superfoods, she has paved the way for reinventing mac’n cheese, burgers and even desserts! It is no wonder she has gone from a Real Housewife of NY and “skinny chef” to having her own liquor line and a daytime talk show with her name “Bethenny!”

Photo courtesy of www.theartfulgourmet.com Kristen Hess! I popped on her site and picked up a quick recipe from Mario Lopez! Avocado, mozzarella, tomato salad on a toothpick! Add a basil leaf. Drizzle with olive oil - salt and pepper! What a great app, Slater!!
Photo courtesy of www.theartfulgourmet.com Kristen Hess! I popped on her site and picked up a quick recipe from Mario Lopez! Avocado, mozzarella, tomato salad on a toothpick! Add a basil leaf. Drizzle with olive oil – salt and pepper!

What a healthy and easy app, Slater!! Thanks!
What a healthy and easy app, Slater!! Thanks!

Whether you have tasted her Skinnygirl cocktails or love her balls to the wall attitude, Bethenny is a real mom with a great product! Who says what she thinks! Love that !!

I am a fan of Skinnygirl margarita! But Bethenny's skinny fried chicken recipe is amazing!
I am a fan of Skinnygirl margarita! I earned my shirt a long time ago when Bethenny’s skinny fried chicken recipe won over my family…amazing!

I want to share some of her favorite skinny recipes…from her book “Naturally Thin”
Try this recipe!

Bethenny’s Mexican Chili

According to Bethenny,

“This is a popular recipe on my Web site. It substitutes ground turkey for the typical ground beef; or you can just skip the turkey if you want a vegetarian version. If beans bug you, you can even leave those out. It will still be good. This chili also tastes great the next day!

Ingredients
1/2 medium onion, chopped
Nonstick cooking spray
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 each red and yellow bell pepper (or half a bell pepper of any color), chopped
1 small can of pureed tomatoes or tomato sauce (about 8 ounces)
1/2 cup zucchini, chopped
1/4 pound ground turkey breast
1/4 cup canned red pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Cooking Directions

Over medium-high heat, saute the onion in a nonstick skillet coated in cooking spray until soft. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
Stir in the garlic and bell peppers, and cook until the peppers are soft and the garlic is golden but not burned.
Stir in the tomato sauce and the zucchini.
When all the vegetables are soft, add the turkey breast and beans.
Let the chili simmer for at least 10 or 15 minutes. The longer you simmer, the better the flavor.
Serve.”

This chili is awesome!! Plus it’s Friday!! Serve with Skinnygirl margaritas and tortilla chips for the perfect Friday happy hour! It is Lent…leave out the meat, no problem!

Ciao!!

A Must Have…Great Sauce!

Hello World!! All women need a great handbag, a great pair of pumps, and a phenomenal sauce! A delicious, super easy sauce is the key to happy stress- free entertaining! Start the sauce in the morning, boil some pasta, make a salad, pick up a loaf of fresh ciabatta and Voila! After realizing that my grandma’s sauce is impossible to replicate, I decided to make my own! I stripped it down and learned from countless episodes of “sauces gone wild.”

I realized I was burning my garlic! Pitch it and start over if this happens because it totally ruins the taste! No brown! I always use San Marzano tomatoes. Why? Their taste is absolutely incredible! The low acidity gives you a bold, rich flavor as opposed to a sour tasting sauce.  Red Pack will not cut it, the extra $2 is so worth it!!

image

www.pennmac.com

I love the selection of tomatoes at Pennsylvania Macaroni  (you will find I get all of my fresh ingredients here) located in Pittsburgh’s Strip District! Or online!

So here is the most basic (still totally delicious) recipe:

Ingredients:
2cloves of garlic chopped
2tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
2 cans of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can water
4-5 basil leaves chopped
Salt/pepper
 
Directions:
Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat add onions and sauté
Add garlic and press with a wooden spoon to release flavors
Cover pan with basil, ground pepper and sprinkle with salt.
Add 2 cans of tomatoes, 1 can tomato paste and 1 can of water to a stock pot and stir well
Add contents from frying pan
Cook on low- medium heat covered with the lid slightly propped.
 

Cook a pound of pasta. Add one spoon of sauce to serving bowl and coat to avoid pasta sticking together!

Always top off with freshly grated Parmesan!! Enjoy!