Chicken Parm and Snickerdoodles

So after the chewy cupcake incident I was still in the mood to cook and bake.  I had been wanting to try this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker for quite some time.  I've mentioned in earlier posts that I've been trying to eat a little more healthy, so this recipe for Lighter Chicken Parmesan sounded perfect.  I made it with some whole wheat pasta (healthy, right?) and I substituted Italian bread crumbs for the panko, just because I didn't have panko on hand.  But I bet the recipe would be amazing with panko too.   Oh, and I didn't toast the bread crumbs and it still worked fine.  The oven-frying method used in the recipe makes the chicken SUPER crispy and you don't even notice it's not fried.  I actually think I like this better than fried (gasp!).  I think it's even crispier.  I didn't take a lot of pics, but there's one up there.  So no more babbling.  Here's the recipe. 

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Lighter Chicken Parmesan

from Brown Eyed Baker

1 1/2 cups panko (or Italian bread crumbs)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder (I used real garlic and stirred it in the egg wash)

salt and pepper

3 large egg whites

1 Tbsp water

cooking spray

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced into cutlets (I used chicken tenderloins)

2 cups tomato sauce, warmed

3 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (I had sliced provolone on hand so I used that)

1 Tbsp fresh basil

1.  Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Combine the bread crumbs and oil in a skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow dish and cool slightly; when cool, stir in the Parmesan.

2.  In a second shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together. In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.

3.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, place a wire rack on top, and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg whites, and finally coat with the bread crumbs, Press on the bread crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the chicken on the wire rack.

4.  Spray the tops of the chicken with vegetable oil spray. Bake until the meat is no longer pink in the center and feels firm when pressed with a finger, about 15 minutes.

5.  Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce onto the center of each cutlet and top the sauce with 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella. Return the chicken to the oven and continue to bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and serve, passing the remaining sauce and Parmesan separately.

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Okay, so I made a lot of substitutions but whatever.  It was still really good.  So after this I was craving some kind of dessert (that tasted better than the cupcakes) and I had everything on hand to make Snickerdoodles.  Can you tell I hate going to the store when I'm about to make something?  I try to plan my meals out for the week and go once a week.  Otherwise, I really really try to keep baking ingredients on hand so I don't have to do a last minute run to Publix. 

I really think Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie.  Maybe because my favorite food of all time is a cinnamon roll, and this has a similar flavor?  Who knows.  It's just a simple cookie that brings back memories of my childhood.  My Granny made Snickerdoodles whenever we went to visit her.  Now that I think about it, she made cinnamon rolls whenever we went to visit her too...hmm.  I'm seeing a pattern here.  I wish I had my Granny's recipe, but I don't.  But I've made the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook recipe many many many many times and it's perfect.  (P.S. I have the Breast Cancer edition- and it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Just thought I'd throw that in there).  BTW- if you do not have this cookbook, please go buy it.  Like now.  If you have no other cookbooks in your kitchen, have this one.  It has every basic recipe you could want, and it has intros and basic cooking lessons at the beginning of every tab.  If you can't cook, this book will teach you how.  Plus, you can trust that just about every recipe has been tested and proven to come out perfectly.  (Duh, it's BHG). 

So more about these cookies.  They are soft and chewy with a little teeny bit of crunch around the outside.  Chewy cookies are my favorite.  Chewy cupcakes are not.  All I can really say is yum. 

Whoops- a couple stuck together.  Oh well. 

Normally when I make cookies, if the recipe says "makes 36" it makes about 15 for me.  What can I say?  I like giant cookies.  This time I decided to make them the called-for size and got about 38 little mini cookies, which were quite cute.  Although I could eat about 9 in a sitting.  Probably more if I were being really unhealthy.  Oh well. 

For those of you who don't have the cookbook, BHG has this recipe on their website, so you can make some of these RIGHTNOW.

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Snickerdoodles

from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

makes 36 cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1.  In a medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.  Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.  Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.  Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer.  Stir in any remaining flour.  Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle. 

2.  Preheat oven to 375.  Combined the 2 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll balls in sugar mixture to coat.  Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden.  Transfer to wire rack; cool. 

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That's it!  Easy right?  And I promise these will come out perfectly every time.  As long as you don't burn them. 

Mmmm, can't you just taste them?

I kept some at home and took the rest to work.  They didn't last very long. 

I have a few more recipes that I've tried that I will be sharing soon!  I did my Daring Bakers Challenge the other day and it turned out GREAT!  But I have to keep it a secret until the 27th.  I also have a couple of other main dishes that I've made (one is in the crock pot now!) so I will share those recipes in the next few days. 

For now, it's time to be lazy in my pajamas.  For the second day in a row.  I love days like this.  :) 

Happiness and Tater Bakers

Just had a sweet potato biscuit for breakfast, yum!  I popped it in the toaster oven, split it, and put a little butter on it- delish!  It pairs splendidly with coffee. 

No baking today, unfortunately.  I ran out of ingredients and have a lot of things I need to get done before going back to work tomorrow (I love my 3-day off stretches, but I tend to relax the first two days and wait until the third day to get anything done).  But in keeping with my resolution that I would write, I'm writing. 

I'm reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin for my upcoming book club.  It's really gotten me thinking about starting my own happiness project.  Not that I'm UNHAPPY, but she makes a lot of good points about doing the little things that will make you just that much happier.  I still have a few chapters left in the book, so my project isn't officially starting yet, but I definitely foresee it happening soon.  Now, Gretchen Rubin does go a little bit overboard for my tastes...she did all sorts of research, makes herself do things to be "happy" that really seem to make her UNHAPPY.  That doesn't make sense to me.  Sometimes there is delayed gratification, where something will make you happy later on, but not now.  I get that, but why do something that you think should make you happy, but actually doesn't?  Oh well, I guess the point of the project is to find out what will and won't make her happier.  That's half the challenge, right?

Although my project hasn't started yet, I've found myself actually practicing some of the things Gretchen Rubin talks about in her book.  Like, first and foremost, "Act the way you want to feel."  It's amazing how happy you can actually make yourself by just acting happy.  Just slapping a smile on my face when I'm not in the best of moods tends to make me feel better.  Half the time I don't even realize it's happening.  All of a sudden, I'm not in such a bad mood. 

Another thing Gretchen talks about is "reframing." Reframing is taking something you HATE doing and telling yourself you love doing it.  For me, exercising.  I am NOT a morning person and I cannot function before my coffee.  But when I got up this morning and took the dog out, I realized that, although cloudy and humid from a recent rain, the weather was surprisingly nice and cool.  So I went inside, put on my coffee, and went for a walk.  I hate exercising with a passion (especially when I'm tired and even more so before I've had coffee), but I always feel better when I do it.  So I told myself "I love exercising!  I love the fresh air!  I love that my body allows me to exercise!  I love that I have two feet and am able to walk!"  A few minutes into my walk, I felt much better about it, and now I'm much more awake.  Let's see how this "reframing" thing works for me when I'm trying to cleaning the bathroom later...

She has a few other tips that have kind of stuck with me, but I will write about those in another post.  If you'd like to check out Gretchen Rubin's book or blog, here's a link to her site.  She does have some useful tips on there, just to help you along should you decide to start a happiness project. 

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On a completely unrelated note, I wanted to tell you guys about Tater Bakers.  This isn't something I'm selling or an infomercial or anything like that!  I fell in love with this thing, so just wanted to share it! 



When I was in Illinois a couple of weeks ago, I stayed with my Aunt S- and she taught me to sew.  This was a project she was working on, and she's made a TON.  So I helped her make a few (I designed and ran the embroidery machine, but I paid attention to how she put them together).

What on EARTH is a Tater Baker, you ask?  It's a fabric bag in which you put a potato (or sweet potato or corn on the cob), and pop it in the microwave for 8 minutes, and TA-DA!  You have the perfect baked potato.  Now, personally, I cannot stand baked potatoes.  But I adore sweet potatoes, so this is perfect.  The potato comes out perfectly soft all the way through, and easily separates from the skin.  I haven't tried corn yet, but I will let you know how it turns out.

So- to make the Tater Baker...

1. Choose any fabric you like.  Cut two equal pieces (approx 12" x 23").  Cut a piece of quilt batting with the same dimensions.

2. On one piece of fabric, use an embroidery machine to embroider "Tater Baker."  (The only person I know who has an embroidery machine is my Aunt S- so if you don't have one, you can skip this step, or use iron-on letters).  Cut out potato shapes from brown fabric, and use iron-on paper to iron onto your piece of fabric.  Applique around the potato and make little "eyes" on the potato with brown thread (this is all totally optional, but makes the Tater Baker cute). 

3. Place the quilt batting between the two pieces of fabric.  Turn in raw edges of your fabric and sew around all 4 sides.  You now have a rectangle.

4.  Lay the rectangle in front of you so the embroidery is facing you, but is upside down.  Fold the top down approx 3" making a flap. Fold the bottom part up to meet the top of your flap.

5.  Sew up the sides, all the way to the top.  Turn inside out, and you have a Tater Baker! 

***Please note, I am NOT  a sewing expert, by any means.  This was me watching my Aunt S- make her Tater Bakers, and me interpreting in my simple way.***

The fun thing about these is you can make them with any print or color fabric and embroider and decorate with anything you like.  I picked the cow-print with red embroidery because it matches my black and red kitchen.  I've tried this thing out and I LOVE it for my sweet potatoes.  In fact, I used it last night when I made my Sweet Potato Biscuits and it made everything simple. 

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Time for me to start cleaning, getting my laundry done, etc. Hopefully telling myself that I LOVE cleaning my house will help.