Recipe: Chicken, Asparagus, and Rice with a Buttery White Wine Sauce

So, as we sat down to dinner and each took our first bites of the meal, my dad said "Wow! I really like the look of this sauce, and it's really good too! How'd you make it?" Before I could even answer, my mom cut in and said "She pulled it out of her butt." That's her way of saying I came up with it on the spot (how appetizing, mom!). I do like to work off of recipes, just to get an idea of what to do, but I usually glance at the recipe print-out once or twice, then merrily carry on without it, adding things as I see fit until I'm happy with the results (and often ending up with something very different). That's just what I did tonight when making this sauce and, to be honest, I didn't actually write down the ingredients as I was making the sauce (I think I did a good job at guessing the amounts for this post though!). I also took a crap-ass picture right before digging in because I hadn't really thought this meal was going to be that exciting, so I hadn't bothered to bring my camera downstairs and I was too hungry/lazy to go get it before eating. So, considering I just "pulled this out of my butt," this sauce was lovely—light, bright, and buttery—and it was very easy to make.

Please excuse the poor quality iPhone picture. When I make this sauce again, I will be sure to replace this with a proper  photo.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 cup white or brown rice 
• 2 chicken breasts, either flattened to 1/4-to-1/2 inch thickness or cut into short slices 
• 1 bunch asparagus, cleaned, with ends of stalks removed
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Salt and pepper

For the sauce

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small white or yellow onion, quartered and cut into thin slices
• 3/4 cup white wine (cooking wine is fine)
• 3/4 cup chicken broth/stock (I recommend low sodium)
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1-2 tbsp. sour cream
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley
• A pinch of dried sage
• A pinch of dried thyme
• A pinch of dried marjoram
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Water-and-cornstarch mixture to thicken, as needed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450*F. Arrange the asparagus in a shallow baking dish, lightly coat with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set aside. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and set aside. Cook rice according to package instructions (the brand I use requires water, butter, and salt and takes about 20 minutes to cook—the goal is to time it so that the rice finishes around the same time as everything else for the meal). While the rice is cooking, add a little butter and olive oil to a medium pan over medium high heat, then add the chicken. Cook until just cooked through and golden-brown on both sides. Remove from pan and place in a covered dish or place on a plate and cover tightly with foil to keep warm. Put the asparagus in the oven when the rice still has about 15 minutes to go and cook for the asparagus for 15 minutes, or until crisp-tender. While the rice and asparagus are cooking and the chicken is being kept warm, add 1 tbsp. butter to the pan used for the chicken, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat until fragrant and slightly soft. Add the white wine, chicken broth, and lemon juice and continue to cook for about a minute. Whisk in the sour cream, then add the remaining 2 tbsp. butter and add in the herbs and salt and pepper, whisking to blend. Let the sauce gently boil for a minute, adding a little cornstarch-and-water mixture if desired (this will help thicken the sauce slightly). Reduce to medium low heat. When the asparagus and rice are done, plate them alongside the chicken and top with the sauce. 

The sauce is what makes this dish—it's a little sweet and tangy from the wine, a little salty and creamy from the butter and sour cream, and gets a little flavor boost from the herbs and spices. It's easy to make—perfect for a weeknight meal—and it dresses up the simplest of meals. 

Recipe: Mushroom-less Chicken Marsala

I had set out chicken to thaw in the fridge the night before last and had been eyeing the head of broccoli nestled in the veggie drawer—I was going to make something for dinner last night, I just didn't have a plan. Realizing I wouldn't be home from work until 6:00pm, I needed something quick, so it wasn't the best night to be experimenting with a new recipe. I asked my mother about maybe just having her make either her much-loved Chicken Kiev or her Mushroom-less Chicken Marsala, but she's been feeling a bit under the weather, so we picked the latter of the two dishes (because it's easier and faster) and came to a compromise: she would do as much prep. work as she felt she was able to do, and I would swoop in and take over after getting home from work. She managed to trim and flatten the chicken breasts, but the rest was up to me.

Now, this dish is one of my mom's classic dinner dishes—she's been making it for as long as I can remember and I was terrified of messing it up, because her version is just so good. Aside from letting the sauce reduce a bit too much and overloading a bit on the parsley (her recipe had the measurement for fresh parsley, while I was using dry parsley, and you need far less dry than you need fresh), the meal turned out well and I'm happy to share this variation on Chicken Marsala with you.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), flattened to about approx. 1/4-to-1/2 inch thickness (pound them out between two pieces of plastic wrap using a meat mallet)
• 1 large egg, whisked together with 1-2 tbsp. water
• 1/2-to-1 cup panko coating/bread crumbs (use more, as needed)
• 1 head broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets
• Approx. 6-8 oz. egg noodles (we usually use large noodles)
• Salt and pepper
• Butter and olive oil

For the sauce

• 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) salted butter
• 4 tsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup Marsala wine (we use cooking wine, but the real stuff has better flavor)
• 4 tsp. dry parsley (or 1/4 cup fresh)
• 1 tsp. chicken granules or bouillon (you just add it directly to the sauce—no water needed)
• (Salt and) pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 225*F. Spread the panko out on a plate or piece of wax paper and season lightly with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg-and-water mixture (it's best if this is in a shallow bowl), thoroughly coating each piece, then dip each piece into the panko and coat thoroughly. Heat a little butter and olive oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat, then add the chicken. Cook evenly on both sides, letting each side crisp up and turn lightly golden brown. When they've just about cooked through, remove them from the pan, set them in an oven-safe dish and put them in the oven to keep warm. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, then add your noodles and cook according to package instructions (about 7 minutes). After 4 minutes have passed cooking the noodles, add the broccoli to the pot with the noodles and cook until done (this will cook the broccoli gently, but don't add the broccoli too early, or it will get mushy). While the noodles and broccoli are cooking, add the butter for the sauce to the pan used to cook the chicken and heat over medium heat. Once it's melted, add the flour and whisk it in to blend it into the butter. Add the garlic, cook for about a minute, then add the water, Marsala wine, parsley (if using fresh, add it at the end—fresh herbs lose their flavor quickly when cooked), chicken granules/bouillon, and pepper (and salt, if needed) and stir or whisk to blend. Continue to stir and increase the heat until the sauce starts to boil and thicken (about 1 minute), then reduce the heat to low. When the noodles and broccoli are done, drain them and return them to the pot (add a little butter if desired to prevent the noodles from sticking). Pour the sauce into a gravy boat. Serve the chicken alongside the broccoli and noodle mixture and top with sauce.

This is the Chicken Marsala I grew up with—flavorful, simple, and mushroom-less. My mother has never liked mushrooms and, until recently, I didn't either, so it took me a long time to realize that my mother's recipe was a bit different than the usual. Despite it's differences, it's absolutely delicious. Marsala wine adds sweetness to the sauce, while the butter and chicken granules add saltiness. Garlic and parsley add a little pop of flavor, while the flour helps to thicken the sauce. We used to use regular bread crumbs on the chicken, but the panko just crisps up so much nicer and makes the chicken lighter. Tender egg noodles make a nice change from pasta and broccoli adds freshness to the dish. It's a twist on a classic, and it's absolutely delicious. 

Recipe: Home-Style Meatloaf with Roasted Red Potatoes

Meatloaf seems to be one of those love/hate foods for most people: either it's something your mom or grandma made for you when you were a kid and it brings back fond memories of tater tots and macaroni art, or it was a dry, gray, tasteless loaf of awful that the lunch lady slapped onto your plate on "Meatloaf Mondays." It's not a food you'll see on most restaurant menus, likely being deemed too "humble" for out-for-dinner diners, and it's probably not even in your family's regular rotation of meals, but when it's actually prepared and cooked well, it's really quite tasty. The recipe I used for last night's dinner came from my On Cooking textbook from the intro. culinary arts classes I took in the fall of 2011. A bit of tomato juice keeps the meatloaf moist and a few splashes of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce give it a little kick. Cooked in the oven for an hour, this meatloaf comes out perfectly tender, and the light brushing of ketchup over the top and sides give it great flavor without excess (one of the things I used to think of when I thought about meatloaf was the obs-and-gobs of ketchup that often get mixed in—so gross!). Roasted red potatoes are a little classier than creamy mashed potatoes, and pair perfectly with the flavorful meatloaf.

It's kind of hard to make meatloaf look attractive, but I swear it's delicious

Servings: 2, 9x5 loaves; Approx. 4 servings of potatoes
Prep. time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 large onion or 2-3 shallots, finely chopped
• 2-3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground beef (I usually go for 93% lean)
• 1 lb. ground meat of your choice (I used ground venison that my dad brought back from a hunting trip—very very tasty. Ground pork or ground veal would work too. Mixing meats means more flavor.)
• 3 oz. bread crumbs, fresh or dry
• 1/2 cup tomato juice (I blended up diced tomatoes because we didn't have juice on hand)
• 1 egg, beaten
• Approx. 2-3 tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• Approx. 10-12 red potatoes, washed and cut into halves or quarters
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• Ketchup, as needed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Heat a splash of olive oil and a pat of butter in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion/shallot, celery, and garlic and cook until tender (approx. 5 minutes). In a large bowl, add the two meats, bread crumbs, tomato juice, egg, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce and mix together until fairly evenly mixed. Add the celery, onion/shallot, and garlic to the meat mixture and mix together. Add salt and pepper, as desired (about 1 tsp. each, or more as needed), and mix. Divide the mixture up into two even batches and either form into loaves and place in ungreased loaf pans, or form into loaves and place in a large shallow pan (there needs to be a bit of an edge to it, because the loaves will release fat as they cook and that'll drip right off a flat cookie sheet). When forming the loaves, be sure not to pack them too tightly or too loosely, and make sure there are no cracks in the loaves (cracks will inevitably cause the loaves to fall apart while baking). Brush the tops (and sides, if you're baking in a large pan) of the loaves with ketchup. Place the potato pieces on a greased sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to evenly coat (I added Penzey's Shallot Pepper to mine because I used shallots in the meatloaf—feel free to add some dried shallots or chives, or even a few slices of fresh onion or shallot to the potatoes to add flavor). Fold the foil over to create a sealed packet for the potatoes to cook in and place the packet in the oven. Place the meatloaf in the oven. Bake for approx. 1 hour, until the meatloaf has reached an internal temperature of 165*F and the potatoes are cooked through and tender. Remove them all from the oven and let everything rest for a few minutes. Slice the meatloaf and serve alongside potatoes and any desired condiments (my dad loves mustard with his meatloaf and I like to dip mine in just a little bit of ketchup).

This dish is an easy-to-make comfort meal that kids and adults alike will enjoy. The veggies and seasoning in the meatloaf give it great flavor, while the tomato juice and ketchup "glaze" help keep it moist (and colorful!—no yucky gray meatloaf here!). Tender red potatoes are the perfect accompaniment to the meatloaf and a big ol' glass of Coca-Cola probably wouldn't hurt the overall meal either. As for getting two loaves with this meal, just serve one for dinner later in the week or freeze it for a month or two and enjoy it later. 

Recipe: Food Network's "Cocoa-Rubbed Steak with Bacon-Whiskey Gravy"

This month's Food Network magazine was all about chocolate: how to cook and bake with it, how to temper it, where to buy the best, news about it, and more. All of the recipes in this issue incorporated chocolate in some sort of way, big or small, and a twist on the traditional "steak and potatoes" caught my eye. I don't cook red meat often, nor do I try to juggle too many things at once while I cook (in this case, steak, gravy, baked potatoes, and broccoli), so rather than play around with this recipe and make it my own the first time out, I decided to basically stick with it as is, tweaking just a few ingredients and whatnot, and it came out wonderfully. The rub on the steak has just a touch of heat and a subtle chocolate flavor that is savory rather than sweet. The gravy, a bacon-y, salty, creamy affair, goes well with the steak, and is even better on the baked potato and broccoli sides. So, kudos to you, Food Network, for a delicious, chocolate-themed steak-and-potato dinner!

(Bacon-Whiskey Gravy not pictured)

Yields: 2-4 servings (gravy serves about 6)
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 min.-1 hour
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Special equipment: Broiler pan

Ingredients

• 1 baking potato per person (I bought the "just pop in the microwave for 7-8 minutes" baking/russet potato to save time)
• About 2 heads of fresh broccoli, cut into florets (you can just cook half a bag of frozen broccoli to save time)
• Butter and sour cream for the baked potatoes, if desired

For the steak

• 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. packed brown sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 1 steak, preferably NY strip, per person (I bought two large Delmonico steaks and split one with my mom)

*The rub is enough to cover 3, 1 lb. NY strip steaks, so if you do smaller or fewer steaks, use less of the rub

For the gravy

• 3-4 strips bacon
• 1 leek, finely chopped (clean thoroughly, because they're very dirty; do not use the dark green part at the top of the leek)
• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whiskey
• 3 cups chicken broth/stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. dried parsley
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Mix together the ingredients for the rub and lightly rub the mixture into both sides of each steak. Set the steaks aside on a broiler pan and turn on the broiler setting in your oven in preparation for the steaks. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil in preparation for cooking the broccoli. In a large pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy, then remove the bacon and place on paper towels to soak up excess grease. In the pan with the bacon grease, add the diced leek and cook until tender (about 3-5 minutes). Add the flour, stir to combine, and cook for about 1 minute. Add a little butter if desired. Remove the pan from the heat and add the whiskey. Return the pan to medium high heat and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened (about 3 minutes). Add the bay leaves and chicken stock, bring to a boil over medium high heat, and cook until the mixture is reduced by about one quarter (about 8 minutes). Slowly whisk in the heavy cream, then allow the gravy to simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. While it's cooking, put the steaks in the oven and broil for 8-15 minutes (less time will yield medium rare steak, more time will yield medium to medium well), turning occasionally. Returning to the gravy, crumble the cooked bacon and add it to the gravy, along with the butter and parsley, then stir to combine. The gravy should be just thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon (add a little cornstarch-and-water to make it thicker, if desired) and will be a cream color when it's done. Reduce the heat to keep it warm. Cook the broccoli florets for approx. 5 minutes in boiling water and heat the baking potatoes in the microwave for 7-8 minutes. If you've timed this right, everything should finish up at about the same time. The steak, once removed from the oven, should be allowed to rest for a few minutes on a cutting board before being plated and cut. Serve the meal with a gravy boat full of the gravy.

This is a delicious little twist on a classic and is quite a filling meal. Fresh broccoli and fluffy baked potatoes are the perfect compliment to the steak, coated in this lightly sweet-spicy rub. The gravy, a salty, creamy, buttery mixture, goes perfectly with every part of this dish.

Recipe: Baked Chicken with Blue Cheese, Pears, and Wilted Spinach

I came across this recipe while looking for dinner ideas for earlier this week and loved the flavor palate it featured. Sweet pears and tangy blue cheese are a fantastic combination and perfect for the fall, and combined with lightly seasoned chicken breasts and wilted spinach, they make for a light, filling meal. This meal is very easy to pull together and topped with some lightly toasted walnuts, for added texture and crunch, it's absolutely delicious.

The dish, sans walnuts, because, to be honest, it wasn't until I sat down with the dish in front of me that I realized that walnuts were just what the dish needed to be just right.

Serves: 4-6
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness (I serve each person 1/2 chicken breast and that's more than enough)
• Salt and pepper, for seasoning
• Olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a few pans)
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 4-6 cups (1 large bunch) loosely packed spinach (stems removed) or 3-5 cups baby spinach, washed and dried (I used regular spinach, but baby spinach would also work and it's a lot easier to clean and handle)
• 2 ripe D'Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 - 1 inch thick slices (I just cut the peeled pear in half, then cut slices/wedges out of each half and cut off the bit of core on each piece)
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup blue cheese crumbles (I bought a small container, garnished each plate with a spoonful or two, and put the rest on the table so more could be added if desired)
• 3/4 cup toasted walnuts (spread walnuts out on a baking sheet and bake for just a few minutes at 350*F in the oven, until fragrant and slightly golden-brown)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a medium, oven-safe skillet/pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and add them to the skillet, cooking just enough to brown each side. Remove the skillet from the heat and place it in the oven, then bake the chicken for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. While the chicken is baking, heat a little olive oil in a large pan and add the red onion, cooking until the pieces are slightly tender. Toss the spinach in and cook until it wilts (it should darken in color and "shrink" up)—if you're using regular spinach, make sure to thoroughly wash the leaves before cooking them because they tend to have a lot of sand and dirt on them and that's no fun to bite into. Once the spinach is wilted, plate it on dinner plates and set aside. Wipe out the pan and add in 1 tbsp. olive oil and the apple cider vinegar and heat over medium or medium-low heat. Toss the pears in and cook until they are heated through and slightly browned on both sides. Add the parsley in and toss to coat, then remove from heat. Plate the chicken breasts atop the spinach, place a few pieces of pear over and around the chicken, and sprinkle the dish with blue cheese crumbles and toasted walnuts.

This dish is wonderful for an autumn meal and can easily be served casually or plated formally and served at a dinner party, as the flavors of the blue cheese and pears add a certain degree of elegance to the dish. The various components of the dish all tie into each other wonderfully, creating a well-balanced and well-flavored dish.

Recipe: Chicken Piccata

I haven't really had time to grocery shop this week, and no, I don't really have a legitimate reason why. It's just been one of those lazy weeks (oh, and it's been around or below 58 degrees for a few days, which means I've been snuggling up in blankets and dreaming of my college days in sunny South Carolina instead of being productive). So, that being said, I wanted an easy, delicious recipe for last night's dinner, and a classic chicken piccata from Giada De Laurentiis fit the bill. Bright, lemony chicken served with warm pasta, drizzled with a light sauce straight from the chicken-sauteing pan makes for a light, delicate meal.

My measurement conversions were a little off, so the recipe didn't yield as much sauce as it normally would, but what sauce I did get was delicious and if you follow the measurements I list below, it'll work out just right

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 lb. (1 box) spaghetti or angel hair pasta
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pound them out a bit so they cook more evenly)
• A dash of salt and pepper
• Dried lemon peel
• All-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons; I used bottled juice)
• 1/4 cup drained capers, rinsed
• Dry white wine, if desired
• Dried parsley, to garnish

Directions
Mix the salt, pepper, and dried lemon peel into the flour. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat it lightly. In a large saute pan/skillet, melt 2 tbsp. butter with 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, lightly browning both sides and cooking through slightly, then use tongs to remove them and set them aside on a plate.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box. Drain and return to pot, drizzle with a little olive oil, and cover with lid to keep warm while the chicken continues to be cooked.
Add the broth, lemon juice, capers, and a splash of dry white wine (about 1-2 tbsp.) to the pan that you used to cook the chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (they add extra flavor). Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Using tongs, place the chicken on a clean plate. Whisk 2 tbsp. butter into the sauce left in the saute pan. Serve the chicken atop the pasta, and ladle the sauce over them. Garnish with parsley. Italian cheese may be added if desired.

This dish is quick and easy, but packed with flavor. The lemon juice and dry white wine add bright acidity to the dish, while the butter and chicken stock add a soft, smooth flavor. Dredging the chicken in seasoned flour creates a delicate coating on the chicken that browns beautifully in the pan. This dish is bright, lemony, and perfect for a cool summer night.

Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce, Farfalle, and Asparagus

My latest obsession is the website Pinterest, a virtual collection of pinboards that you can personalize to suit your interests. I've got boards like "My Style," "Dream Kitchen," and "My Wishlist," but my favorite by far is my "Recipes to Try" board, where I can save pictures of amazing dishes that are linked back to the original website where they're featured. This is a fantastic way for me to save all of the delicious-looking recipes that I see online and get to appreciate the visual nature of the pinboard, filled with pictures of these scrumptious meals (way better than saving links in my Bookmarks). One of the recipes I saved to this pinboard (featured here) is the one featured in this post. I needed a recipe to go along with some leftover asparagus we had in the fridge, and this dish looked perfect. The chicken is crispy like fried chicken, but much lighter and less fattening, and the creamy sauce is super easy to make—perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

The creamy sauce was delicious on the pasta and I even mixed it in with my asparagus.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat (about 1/2-inch thick)
• 5 cups corn flakes
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 6 tbsp. olive oil (or enough to cover the bottom of a large skillet)
• 12 oz. farfalle (bowtie pasta)
• About 1/2 of a bunch of asparagus

For the creamy Italian sauce:

• 1, 10 oz. container Philadelphia Cooking Cream (Italian Cheese and Herb Flavor)
• 2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk
• Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400*F. Bring water to a boil and add the farfalle, cooking according to the package instructions (about 11-14 minutes). In the meantime, put the corn flakes in a food processor and pulse to crush the cornflakes into chunky crumbs (don't pulverize them into dust—you want your chicken breading to have some texture and crunch). Get three small pans or low, wide bowls (loaf pans or pie tins work too; I used three small, deep bowls and it was kind of tricky trying to fit the chicken pieces in them). In the first pan, mix the flour and salt. In the second, pour 1/2 cup milk. In the third, pour in the corn flake crumbs. Dredge each of the chicken breasts first in the flour (coating them completely), then dip in the milk (coating both sides) and immediately coat in the corn flakes. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken to the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and let it cook for about 5 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip the chicken over, reduce to medium heat, and cover the skillet, allowing the chicken to cook until the other side is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through, but still tender. Remove the chicken from the skillet, place it in a shallow dish, and cover the dish with aluminum foil to hold in the heat. Over medium-high heat and in the same skillet that the chicken was cooked in, add the chicken broth, Cream of Chicken soup, Philadelphia Cooking Cream, and milk and whisk together to blend. Let it heat up enough to bubble a bit and blend completely. In the meantime, place the asparagus in a shallow, oven-safe dish, drizzle it with olive oil, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Put the asparagus in the preheated oven and cook for 5-8 minutes, until bright green and slightly tender, but still crisp. Serve the pasta with sauce ladled on top, then top it with chicken and serve asparagus alongside.

This is a great meal for a busy weeknight, because the sauce is incredibly easy to make and the meal is both delicious and filling. The cornflakes are a great alternative to breadcrumbs or panko and they add a great crisp as they cook in the olive oil (and hey, any leftover corn flakes in the box can be eaten for breakfast!). The creamy sauce is like a variation on alfredo—cheesy, studded with herbs, and oh-so-creamy. Crispy green asparagus adds a pop of color and can be served with the sauce on top too. So tasty!

Recipe: Italian Chicken Strips

While trying out new recipes is a ton of fun and making complex dishes is exciting, it's always good to have a few easy weeknight recipes in your back pocket, so on those nights (like tonight, in my case) when you don't have the time or the ingredients to make a fancy dish, you can still make something delicious. I love this chicken strip dish because you more than likely have all of the ingredients in your kitchen already, and you can cheat and use jarred tomato sauce or marinara if you don't have the time or supplies to make your own. I plate my version with pasta topped with the chicken strips and a splash of marinara. Another great way to serve the chicken strips is to plate them like chicken fingers, using the marinara in place of ketchup or your usual condiment of choice, and serve potato wedges seasoned with Italian herbs (essentially, a play on french fries) as a side. These chicken strips would even be good between two slices of crusty Italian bread, topped with marinara and melted provolone (like a variation on a meatball sub).

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2-4 chicken breasts, sliced into strips (I used two to serve 3 people and we had some left over)
• 1/2 cup seasoned, dry bread crumbs (Italian seasoning)
• 2 tsp. dry basil
• 1 tsp. dry parsley
• 1 tsp. dry Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• Margarine or butter (at least 2 tbsp.)
• Tomato or marinara sauce of your choice (I use Bertolli brand)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200*F. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, basil, parsley, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and a little bit of salt and pepper. Whisk together with a fork until well blended. Put the beaten egg in a slightly smaller bowl. Dip the chicken strips into the egg, then dip them in the bowl with the crumb mixture, coating them completely. Set the strips aside on a plate to prepare for cooking. Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat and add a little butter. Cook the chicken strips in batches, being sure to flip them over in the pan so they get golden brown on eat side (add more butter to the pan as you go along). Put cooked chicken strips in an oven-safe dish and put them in the oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining strips. In a small microwaveable pot with a lid, add the desired amount of tomato or marinara sauce and heat in the microwave until hot, about 2-4 minutes. Once the last batch of chicken is cooked and added to the dish with the other chicken, remove from the oven and serve the strips with the warm sauce.

This dish is incredibly easy and quick to make, and you probably won't have to go grocery shopping to make it because the ingredients should be readily available in your kitchen. Whether served atop pasta, alongside herb-crusted potato wedges, or in another way, these flavorful Italian-style chicken strips are sure to please.