Crispy Chicken with Brussel Sprouts

This recipe comes from my trusty "Serves One" cookbook that I love. This is a simple chicken dish that I paired with some Brussels Sprouts I steamed in the microwave. Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 450 degrees and lets get started.







You need a chicken breast, some butter, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, 1 egg, soy sauce and some flour. You probably have all of this at your house already!



Trim the fat from the breast.



Mix the cheese with the bread crumbs, preferably in a cute Pyrex bowl if you've got one.



Mix the egg with the soy sauce and some water. I used that egg stuff you can get in a carton at the store. I never eat eggs when I buy them so I thought I would give these things a try.



Get some flour down on a plate.



In a baking dish, get the butter measured out. Melt it and prepare to coat the chicken.



Dip the chicken in the flour, then the egg mixture, then finally cover it with the cheese and breadcrumb mixture. Shake off any excess coating.



Lay the chicken in the melted butter and get it in the oven for 20 minutes.



While that cooks whip up a side dish of steamed veggies. The Ziploc steam bags are great for this. Once the veggies are steamed give them a toss with some olive oil and whatever seasoning blend you like. When you are done with your side, flip the chicken over.




Get the chicken out of the oven and you are ready to eat. Talk about easy!




You can whip this dish up in no time on a weeknight. The chicken is moist and the crispy cheesy crust gives it a great flavor. I hope you all are enjoying some Spring weather!

Honey-Roasted Cornish Hen

This recipe is from Taste of Home. I love cooking cornish hens, they are the perfect meal for one.




You need a hen, some fresh oregano (or whatever herb you like), lemon, honey, salt and pepper, and some cooking oil. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and lets get started.




Chop up some fresh herb.



Get it in a bowl with some honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I am using my cute Pyrex dots bowl.



Open up your hen and stuff him full of lemon wedges and fresh herbs.



Tie the legs together with some butchers twine, OR embroidery thread like I used. Put it in a pan (on a rack if you have one) and brush it with oil. Put it in the oven then reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Get it in the oven for 35 minutes.



Take it out and give it a brush with the honey/lemon mixture you made earlier. Pop it back in the oven for 10 minutes. Give it another brush and put it back in for the final 10 minutes.




I served it on a bed of brown rice and only ate half. The other half made a delicious sandwich the next day at lunch. Game hens are cheap and so easy to cook, I really recommend you give them a try if you haven't done so yet! Have a great weekend!!

This post is not about cooking...

So I thought I would share some more 'me' stuff on the blog today. One of the coolest things I have got recently is a Laptop Lunch Box system.




It is a Bento style lunch box that lets you compartmentalize your food. I don't have to pack my lunch often because I am super lucky and get to come home everyday to eat. Recently I have had a lot more meetings, which make me grumpy, so when I have to miss lunch this Bento box makes it much more fun. There is a group on Flickr where people post pictures so I can get lots of ideas.

I continue to thrift and search antique stores for Pyrex. One of the coolest things I have got lately is this mug




I have a thing for owls, so this really made me smile.

Finally a nice pic of my dogs enjoying some sunshine. I hope this warms all of you guys that are sitting around in feet of snow. One thing about the desert, you don't have to shovel heat!!

Creamy Peanut and Bacon Soup

So I know a lot of the country is under snow and ice so I thought I would share a delicious soup that incorporates two things that I know most people love, peanut butter and bacon! YUM








You need some bacon, flour, marsala, lemon juice, peanuts, broth, onion, peanut butter, cream and salt and pepper.




Dice up the onion, you will just be tossing this, so don't worry about making it perfect.




chop up the bacon, measure out the flour and the lemon juice.




Measure the broth into something you can pop in the microwave easily as you want to add it to the soup already warm.




Cook the bacon in a dutch oven until done.




At this point I am dancing around 2 little dogs who can smell bacon cooking 4 miles away. My husband also accuses me of 'wasting good bacon' on a four letter word. Yep, he hates soup.




Once the bacon is cooked, get it out of there and keep it safe from dogs and husbands.




Drain away any excess fat and get the onions in. Let those cook for about 10 minutes. During the last couple of minutes, pop the broth in the microwave or warm it on the stove.




Stir in the flour and stir until it is mixed in.




Add in the broth and the peanuts. Let this go for about 30 minutes. I used this time to wash my prep dishes.




Drain the onions and peanuts out, but save the broth.




Put the broth back in the pan.




Stir in the cream, lemon juice and the peanut butter. You can add salt if you'd like also.




Serve it up in a bowl, drizzle some marsala on the top, and sprinkle with the cooked bacon. Talk about comfort food that will warm you up! This was very good and combined my favorite, savory with sweet.