Lasagna Chicken

Parmesan chicken has became a delicious staple in our house. There is just something so tasty about cheesy chicken baked in marinara sauce with a heaping fork full of noodles. When I saw this recipe, I knew we would really enjoy it.

I have to say, if you have not tried Hy-Vee aisles online to order your groceries, you are really missing out! Our usual grocery shopping day used to be Sunday afternoons, which was usually about the time everyone else in town was shopping. I can sit in bed, sip on some coffee and order my groceries. Then the magical part. You pull right up in front of the store and they bring your groceries right out and load them into your car. You are there 2 minutes tops. ONLY 2 MINUTES! It blew my mind.

What you will need for this recipe:

2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup ricotta cheese
3 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups marinara sauce
1 ounce parmesan cheese, shredded

Last Sunday while I was doing my normal online grocery shopping, I stumbled across these marinated tomato basil chicken breasts. I thought they would be perfect for this recipe.

The only down side to these chicken breasts were their shape. When I unwrapped them, I noticed they were more long then round shaped.

Preheat oven to 400°

You start by cutting the chicken breasts from one end to the other, almost all the way through. Note that the chicken breasts I got were a little weird shaped, so I couldn't cut down the middle of the whole chicken breast.  Open the chicken breasts up.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then spread the tomato paste on one of the chicken breast halves.

 Spread the ricotta on top of the tomato paste, then a layer of mozzarella cheese. The recipe called for fresh mozzarella, but I decided to just use up the shredded mozzarella I had in the fridge. When I make this recipe again, I will probably use fresh mozzarella, as it will make it more cheesier, and you can't go wrong with more cheese!

Close the chicken breast and insert toothpicks through the chicken breasts to seal the top and bottom together.

Place the stuffed chicken breasts on the baking sheet or in a casserole dish. If you place them in a casserole dish, put a small layer of marinara on the bottom of your dish before you place your chicken breasts in. Then pour more marinara over the breasts and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes.


While chicken is baking, boil some spaghetti noodles or make some yummy garlic bread.

Once chicken is done, Enjoy! :)

Husband Rating: A-


Recipe credit to Buzz Feed - For original recipe see link below

https://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/4-very-easy-ways-to-cook-boneless-skinless-chicken-breast?bffbfood&utm_term=.orL98kG42#.jspdKOBQ5


Until next time! :)

PS- Don't forget to follow my page if you enjoyed it! It is very easy if you already have a Gmail account.

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My first recipe post! Garlic Butter Steak

Do you ever have one of those days that you just don't feel like putting a whole lot of effort into making dinner? Tonight was that kind of night for me. I had some rib eye steaks in the fridge and quick looked for a recipe on one of my many apps and came across a Garlic Butter Steak recipe by the website Tasty. I call it Lazy Girl Steak. I think it has a good ring to it! A steak recipe that doesn't have a grill involved? I was a little skeptical but I figured I would give it a try..plus my husband wouldn't have to drag the grill out..it sounded like a win win.

I started out by salt and peppering both sides. You will learn that neither my husband or I use a lot of salt..so there will be times when I won't use the whole amount of salt that recipes call for.

I then put the steaks on a wire rack and baked at 250° for 35 minutes.

Once the steaks were done in the oven, I heated 4 tablespoons of canola oil in a frying pan. Make sure you get the oil very hot- the recipe says to wait for the oil to start smoking, but I just waiting until I saw the oil start to bubble.

I placed the steaks in the hot oil *BE VERY CAREFUL! THE OIL WILL SPLATTER AND POP* and seared for 30 seconds. I then flipped the steaks and seared the other side for 30 seconds.

I then immediately added the butter and garlic. I chose to use 4 tablespoons for butter and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. I didn't use the thyme or rosemary that the recipe called for.

Using a spoon, continuously scoop the butter and garlic over the top of the steak for about 45 seconds on each side. 

I am a HUGE fan of using my meat thermometer. I use it on almost every kind of meat I cook. Below is a good diagram on steak temperatures.

Steak Doneness	Remove from Grill at this Temperature	Final Cooked Temperature
Rare	130 to 135°F	130 to 140°F
Medium Rare	140°F	145°F
Medium	155°F	160°F
Well Done	165°F	170°F

Or you can use the finger test:

 To test the doneness of your steak, lightly press the tip of your left index finger to the tip of your left thumb. The fleshy area below the thumb should feel how rare steak feels pressing the surface of the steak. For medium-rare steak, touch your middle finger to your thumb and press the area below your thumb. For medium, touch your fourth finger to your thumb. For well done, touch your pinky to your thumb.

Once your steak is the doneness you like, remove from oil and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. We were hungry so we chose to only wait 5 minutes. The steak turned out petty good for not being grilled and it required very little effort.

Husband Rating: B-



Recipe credit to Tasty - For original recipe see link below
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alvinzhou/this-step-by-step-guide-will-teach-you-how-to-make-the-best?utm_term=.ruWwGYAZ7


Until next time..stay hungry my friends! :)

Here goes nothin'! :)

I will admit- I am the guilty party who is always posting what they cooked for dinner on my social media. I can't help it. I LOVE food and I LOVE sharing my awesome recipe finds with my friends and family. A friend messaged me the other day and told me that every time I post a picture of the delicious meal I just cooked for my husband, that they always ask me for the recipe. Then it dawned on me- this person is one of the many who ask me for recipes. After going back through my Facebook messages and seeing all the requests, a little light bulb came on in my head. I should start a food blog...and now here I am!

A little bit about myself-

I am a 27 year old girl from Iowa (no, not the potato state). I have been married to my terrific husband John since April 2015. He is my taste testing guinea pig, and most of the time he loves it. He is my life, my rock and my best friend. We are big Iowa State fans- GO CYCLONES! We have 2 fur babies: Martini and Callie. I have been at my car dealership job going on 3 years now. Its not too bad- I work with a ton of great people! My husband is working his way up the work ladder fast! He is an Underwriter for Nationwide (they are on your side). He is so compassionate about what he does. He succeeds at so much. He is truly an inspiration!

MARTINI

CALLIE

You will probably learn a lot more about me through my posts- so I just gave you a quick fun breakdown. I hope you stick around to see what is to come...you won't regret it! :)