In between unpacking and much needed relaxing I've had time to do a bit more cooking. I made the Thai Beef lettuce wraps in this recipe. They were really good but I'd recommend sprucing them up with a bit more sriracha and a little garlic like I did. On the side, I just did a quick eggplant curry. Just cut up an eggplant, saute it in a little oil then add coconut milk and some curry and simmer for a bit. I used a green curry paste I got at Fiesta and wasn't that impressed with it - I plan to invest in some quality curry powder once I have time to go to the spice market.
Last night I made a good ol' standby, some Panko and parmesan crusted chicken breasts and tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest for Spinach and artichoke stuffed mushrooms.
I would recommend the following modifications:
-Swap out a 1/3 cup of the mayo with another 1/3 cup of cream cheese
-Add a little parsley
-Unless you want a ton of leftover filling, consider cutting the recipe in half. I made a dozen medium/large mushrooms and have about half of the filling left over. On the other hand, hey extra spinach artichoke dip, don't mind if I do...
I served the chicken and stuffed mushrooms along with a nice green salad with a homemade red wine vinaigrette and it was a yummy meal as you can see below. My recipe for the chicken is below the photo.
Panko and Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts
Ingredients:
-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs (if you can't find them just use regular but panko is far superior)
-1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
-Dried herbs of your choice (basil, italian seasoning, whatever you have or prefer)
-1 tsp garlic powder
-2 tablespoons lemon zest (optional)
-Flour
-1 egg, beaten
-olive oil
-butter (optional)
-salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
-Preheat oven to 350
-Mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, garlic powder and herbs together in a large bowl. Add whatever amount of herbs you think is appropriate. Keep in mind that all of the breadcrumbs aren't going to end up on the chicken, so think ratio.
-Set aside
-Prepare a dredging station! That means an assembly line of the following:
-a shallow bowl or plate with the flour, salt and pepper mixture
-A bowl with a beaten egg (I like to add a splash of milk or water)
-Large bowl with breadcrumb mixture.
-Place your chicken between plastic wrap or inside a ziplock freezer bag
-Beat the hell out of them until they are about 3/4 of an inch thick. I use a mallet, but in a pinch you can use the edge of a plate
-Trim off any obvious fat or gristle. This is easy with good kitchen shears.
-Go down the assembly line and dredge them in the flour/salt/pepper mix, then egg, then the breadcrumb mixture. Pat the breadcrumbs onto the chicken to help them stick.
-Heat up a large saute pan with a 50/50 mix of olive oil and butter. You can use just olive oil if you like, but the butter lends a nice flavor to the breadcrumbs.
-Add the chicken breasts and cook on medium heat until light golden brown, about two minutes on each side.
-Transfer chicken breasts to a baking pan or casserole dish and bake them at 350 for 20-30 minutes or so. (*bonus secret recipe: If you add some marinara to the dish and top with mozzarella before baking you have chicken parmesan my friend!) The cook time will vary depending on how thin you got the chicken, so always double check before serving. You can use a meat thermometer but I typically eyeball it. Keep in mind that the breading keeps the moisture in quite well, so don't be alarmed if it's really juicy. That's a good thing! As long as they're not pink you're in the clear.
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