Feta Chicken

Looking for a quick weeknight meal?  This Chicken with Feta sauce comes together in no time! Enjoy!  

Herb Crusted Chicken w/ Feta Sauce

From Cooking Light Fresh fast Food - Weeknight Meals

• 2/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 4 teaspoons olive oil 
• 6 tablespoons Feta Sauce
1. 
   
2. Combine panko and Italian seasoning in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in panko mixture.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes or until done. Place 1 chicken breast half on each of 4 plates, and spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons Feta Sauce over each serving.
4. 
   
5. Feta Sauce
6. 1 lemon 
7. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or parsley
8. 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
9. Dash of black pepper
10. 1 (3.5-ounce) package reduced-fat feta cheese
11. 
    
12. Grate rind and squeeze juice from lemon to measure 1/2 teaspoon and 2 tablespoons, respectively. Combine rind, juice, mint, oil, and pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add cheese, stirring with a whisk.

Jalapeno-Jack Grits

The past couple of weeks have been quite a blur.  We lost my beautiful grandma on Feb 20th.  She was the heart of our family and I have a hard time imagining my world with out her smiling face.  As far back as I can remember are memories of grandma and I in her kitchen.  Me sitting on the stool watching her at the stove.  As I grew older, me standing beside her learning some of her signature dishes.  Cooking has always been a huge part of me, and she is one of the reasons why.

I meant to post this recipe right after Valentine's Day, but it seems so fitting to share it now.  Grandma, a true Southern Belle, introduced me to Grits when I was was just a little girl.  We called it "Georgia Ice Cream".  It was often a part of our breakfast routine.  While these grits are a little different from our regular breakfast ones, thay are outstanding.  Don't be afraid of the Jalepeno, they aren't really spicy at all.  But oh so flavorful.  Enjoy!

Jalapeño-Jack Grits

Adapted from Epicurious
1/2 Tbls Butter
1/2 Tbls Olive Oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped (or 1/2 large onion)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño chili
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup quick-cooking grits
1 1/2 cups grated hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese (about 6 ounces)

Heat butter & olive oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, peppers, jalapeño, and garlic; sauté until peppers are tender, about 5 minutes.

Bring stock and cream to boil in heavy large saucepan. Add grits in thin stream, whisking constantly. Whisk until grits are cooked and mixture thickens, about 6 minutes. Add sautéed pepper mixture and cheese; stir until cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper.

Note: Always use care when handling jalepenos (and other hot peppers). The white membrane that the seeds are attached to packs the heat.  I usually cut this part out when I remove the seeds.  I always protect my hands when doing this.  A finger in the eye after touching one of these bad boys is NO fun!

Party Time: Gender Reveal Party

As soon as I heard that a friend of mine was expecting, I said "oh, when the time comes, you should have a gender reveal party!"  What's a gender revel party you ask?  Well I've seen a few different versions across the Web, but typically it seems to go down like this:  Instead of telling you the sex of your bun in the oven, have the sonogram tech write the results in a sealed envelope. Take said results to your baker and they make a cake that reveals the gender after it is cut into. Gather your family and friends to take part of the surprise.  You can theme it up as much as you like.  Have people wear the color of their gender guess, serve pink & blue themed drinks, pink and blue decor, a betting/guessing board, have guest choose a pink or blue ribbon to wear to represent their guess... the list goes on as far as the imagination.

My contribution to this Gender Reveal party was the cake.  It was so exciting to get to be in on the secret!  Mom and dad to be didn't want to wait it out, so they found out the sex of the baby and made the call to fill me in.  I had everything ready to go since I only needed to know what color filling I'd be making.

The next day I presented them with this cake

Once everyone gathered around and the champagne was passed out it was time to cut in and find out...

Drum roll please...

and it's a....

GIRL!!!

Super fun party and so great to play a part in the big surprise!

For more fun Gender Reveal Party Ideas click away:

What's It Gonna Bee...
DIY Gender Reveal Party Ideas
More Cute GR Ideas
Gender Reveal Party
Mustache or Bows - CUTE!

Green Onions in My Window

Yep, It's as easy as it looks!  Cut of the root tip ends of your green onions & instead of tossing them in the trash, stick 'em in a small glass votive.  (you'll want to cut of a little more than you usually would to give it a good start.)  Add water as needed.  They grow, you snip, they grow again... No garden needed!

Valentine's Day Dinner

Crab Cakes & Jalapeno Jack Grits... recipes coming soon :)

Rummy Gummies

Perhaps you've heard of or maybe tried Drunken Gummy Bears.  I had tried them a couple of time before where they were made with vodka.  It was a little like basically chewing on a fun shaped shot of vodka with a little flavoring added.  Not bad if you are looking for a quick buzz, but not exactly TASTY.  I'm a big fan of tasty, so decided to give them a try myself using Malibu Rum.  Definitely, MUCH tastier.  I'd imagine you could use any alcohol or alcohol to get your little bears good and drunk.  The process was oh so simple.  I used the following:

Rummy Gummies

1 large bag of gummy bears (I grabbed the 2.5 lb bag of the walmart generic brand.  It was like half the price of the 3 lb Haribo bears)

1 bottle of Malibu Rum (I got the standard sized bottle.  I think it's 750ml)

a large glass container

at least 3 - 5 days

Combine Gummy Bears and rum in a glass container.  Place in fridge and shake contents a couple of times a day.  Let soak for at least 3 days.  Enjoy**!

**These Rummy Gummies are not intended for consumption by anyone under the age of 21!!!  And please, eat/drink responsibly!  These naughty little bears will sneak up on you quickly!

TJ's Tuesday: Zesty Southwestern Style Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I have a MAJOR fondness of Trader Joe's.  Unfortunately I don't get to go as often as I'd like, Since I live in a town that does not have one.  A 20+ min drive in either direction will bring me to one of two, so I like to go about once a month.  I love how they have so many options for things that require minimum prep time.  Perfect for the busy week night!

Last I decided to try these Zesty Southwestern Style Stuffed Chicken Breasts.  Into the oven they went.  I made some "Squished Black Beans" for a side dish and in just over 50min we had dinner on the table.

This stuffed chicken was GREAT.  The inside was stuffed with a green chili and a delicious cheese mixture.  The top had all sorts of flavor and texture.  This will definitely be on my TJ's list of favorites!

If you are looking for a SIMPLE dinner option that's not loaded with processed ingredients that you can't pronounce, pick this one up and give it a try.  Enjoy!