Successful Recipes

Over time, I have taken recipes and perfected them to be just what I wanted them to be. This past week, I found that one of my recipes had gone missing (probably on the computer that crashed). I was so heartbroken!

Today, I thought I'd share with you some of my successful recipes from the past week with two motives in mind 1) To share my recipes with you 2) To keep this blog as an alternate storage method to just my home computer and binder. Enjoy!


Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup dry bread crumbs
2. 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3. 1/2 teaspoon paprika (I actually used smoked paprika)
4. 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6. 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
7. 1 egg well beaten
8. 3-4 pieces skinless boneless chicken breast; filleted in hal

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, paprika, garlic salt, pepper and parsley. In a separate bowl beat the egg. Dip the chicken in the egg, and then roll in the crumb mixture.

Place coated pieces of chicken on a lightly oiled baking sheet (or a baking stone - which is my preference), arranging pieces so they don't touch (use two pans if needed).

Bake 40-45 minutes.

Homemade Breadcrumbs

Use whatever you have in the house for bread. Don't use stale bread though.

If the bread is too fresh or not very dry follow the directions below:

Place bread in oven on an ungreased baking sheet. Make sure they are stacked only one piece high and that there is breathing room between the pieces. Bake at 300 degrees for 10 - 16 minutes; about halfway through turn over so they dry evenly.

Tear dried bread into smaller pieces and place in your food processor (or blender). Process until desired coarseness.

Note: Coarser is better, because you can always make coarser crumbs finer later...

Beef & Bean Chili

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2. 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3. 4 cloves garlic, minced
4. 3 tablespoons chili powder
5. 4 teaspoons ground oregano
6. 2 teaspoons ground cumin
7. 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8. 2 pounds (extra) lean ground beef
9. 2 jars tomato sauce
10. 1 cup water
11. 1 cup cooked kidney beans or one can kidney beans
12. 1 cup cooked black beans or one can black beans
13. Sea salt
14. 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.

Stir in chili powder, oregano, cumin and crushed red pepper and thoroughly mix. Add ground beef and stir until the meat is browned.

Next, add tomato sauce, water and beans. Season with salt to taste, then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 25 - 30 minutes more, stirring often so flavors can meld together.

In the last 10 minutes, stir in cilantro.

Southern Homemade Cornbread

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup sifted flour
2. 1/2 cup sugar
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 4 teaspoon baking soda
5. 1 1/2 cups corn meal
6. 2 eggs
7. 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
8. 1 stick unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sift together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, add eggs and milk. Melt butter in skillet and swish around to grease well. Pour batter into mixture; mix well. Mixture should have bubbles but no dry lumps. Pour mixture back into skillet.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until top springs back.

Cool slightly, slice and serve.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups sifted flour
2. 2 teaspoons baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 1/4 cup butter
6. 1/2 cup sugar
7. 2 eggs
8. 3 medium ripe bananas
9. 1/2 cup butter milk or sour milk (to sour milk - had 1 teaspoon vinegar to milk)
   

Directions:

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Cream butter, sugar, eggs in a separate bowl. Mash the bananas into the mixture.

Alternately add milk and flour to the mixture.

When well blended pour into a greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.