Crispy Baked Chicken Parmesan

When I think of my favorite comfort foods, there seems to be a few reoccurring themes. Evidently I really like cheese and fried goodness. This recipe for my Crispy Baked Chicken Parmesan skips right over the bad fried part and goes straight to the melty, cheesy goodness. I love this meal because I can get it to the dinner table in about a 1/2 hour and I feel like I'm getting a really indulgent meal with out a lot of effort in the kitchen or miles to run afterward.

Here is what you'll need for chicken:
1/2c Plain or whole wheat bread crumbs
1 tbsp dry parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4c Egg substitute or 1 egg, well beaten
1c pasta sauce. I like Wild Oats Organic Sauces
1c Part-skim Mozzarella cheese
1lb Chicken breast strips or thin sliced chicken breasts

For Salad:
6 c Shredded Iceberg Lettuce
1tsp olive oil
1tsp apple cider vinegar
1tsp stone ground mustard
2tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

For zucchini:
3 medium zucchini
1tbsp olive oil
1 tsp finely minced garlic (I like Spice World Minced "squeeze" garlic)
Salt and pepper to taste

Here's how to make the recipe:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Set up your breading station: Line a pan with parchment paper or foil. Next, place the beaten egg or egg substitute in one bowl and the bread crumbs in another. Add garlic, parsley and 1/4tsp salt and 1/4tsp pepper to the bread crumbs and mix.

2. Dip each piece of chicken or breast strip in to the egg and let excess drip off. Next dip into bread crumbs, lightly pressing to help crumbs stick. Place on baking sheet.

3. Place the baking sheet in the oven. For these strips, the cooking time is approximately 20 minutes. For a larger breast, allow upwards of 30 minutes.

4. While the chicken cooks you'll want to prep your side dishes. For the zucchini:
Rough chop the zucchini while you heat olive oil in a saute pan. Add zucchini, garlic and salt and pepper to the pan and toss to coat with the olive oil. Cook until tender, 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. For the salad: Add lettuce to a large bowl with a tight lid. In a small bowl, mix oil, vinegar, lemon juice and seasonings and mix well. Add salad dressing to the bowl and place lid on the container. Shake to distribute the dressing. Immediately divide into serving bowls and top with black pepper.

6. After your chicken is fully cooked, remove from oven and set oven to broil. For these strips I grouped 3 strips together and topped each serving with about 1/4c of mozzarella.

7. Return the chicken to the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and begins to brown.

8. Heat sauce in a small sauce pan or microwave. Move each portion to a plate and top with 1/4 of the warmed sauce.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family does. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions!

Quick Roasted Potatoes

Even with the very best meal plan in place, real life often intervenes and and that gorgeous but time-consuming meal you had planned gets replaced by a conference call or trip to the pediatrician. That is why it pays to have a few tricks up your sleeve and a few bags of frozen steam-able veggies in your freezer.

My family loves roasted potatoes, but the traditional method takes 45 minutes to an hour. On school nights I need dinner on the table in the shortest amount of time possible and on our busiest nights 45 minutes for a side dish is out of the question. That's where this recipe comes in to play. You can still have the crispy, oven-roasted potatoes you love...in about 20 minutes.

Here is what you'll need:
Fingerling potatoes or new potatoes, about 4oz per person. 4 servings = 1lb of potatoes.
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp dry parsley
1/4tsp garlic powder, or more to taste
1/4tsp salt
1/4tsp black pepper
non-stick spray
Press and Seal plastic wrap

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Clean and rough chop the potatoes into small pieces and place in a large microwave safe bowl. 

2. Toss with olive oil, then add seasonings and mix well until evenly coated with seasonings and oil. I find it easiest to do this with my hands instead of a spoon.

3. Cover bowl with Press and Seal wrap or cling wrap and microwave on high for 7 minutes for 1lb of potatoes. Reduce microwave time for smaller portions.

4. Carefully pour microwaved potatoes into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Arrange potatoes in one layer and bake for 15 minutes, stirring once half way through cooking to brown potatoes on all sides and prevent them from sticking.

5. After 15 minutes, stir once more, and set oven to broil. Continue cooking on broil for 4-5 minutes, keeping a close eye on your potatoes. You want them browned, not burned.

6. Remove from the oven and taste for "doneness" and season if needed. We had these delicious potatoes with steamed green beans and (bunless) Morning Star Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burgers topped with cheddar cheese.

There you have it. Quick roasted potatoes with slow roasted taste. Enjoy! Feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

Creamy Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

If you follow me via Instagram, you've probably witnessed firsthand my current obsession with Creamy Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats. I've been eating them for breakfast for so many days in a row now that I don't even post pictures of it anymore.

Breakfast is absolutely my favorite meal of the day. Sadly, so many of the things that come to mind when we think of amazing breakfast foods are not so good for you. These oats give me that "wow, these are delicious" feeling of eating something warm and satisfying without downing a giant-sized calorie-bomb of a cinnamon roll.

In fact, since I don't want to give these up, I've resorted to eating my other favorites as "breakfast" for lunch and "breakfast" for dinner. I remember as a kid thinking it was such a treat when my mom would come home from work and declare it a Breakfast For Dinner night. It's all just food, right? Eggs for dinner aren't really any different than a chicken breast for breakfast if that's really what sounds good, but those were some magic words in my seven-year-old mind. So that being said...feel free to have some overnight oats for dinner tonight!

Here's the recipe:
1/3c Old Fashioned Oats (not quick or instant oats)
1/2 scoop of Cinnamon or Vanilla Whey protein powder (optional, but recommended. I like About Time Cinnamon Swirl)
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1tbsp Chia seeds
1/4c low fat cottage cheese
1/4c unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
1/4tsp vanilla extract
1/4c pumpkin puree
1-2tbsp Maple sryup or sugar-free maple sryup
(Reserved) 1tbsp natural peanut butter or nut butter of choice (top warm oatmeal with peanut butter just before serving)

Mix all ingredients well in a air-tight container and store in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, remove the lid and microwave for 1 minute. Stir thoroughly and microwave for an additional 30 seconds or until the cottage cheese is melted and oatmeal takes on a creamier texture. Top with peanut butter and chow down.

***Quick disclaimer: If cottage cheese is not your thing, you should still give these a try. Once the oatmeal is warm, you'd never know its in there! It makes these oats creamy and packs a good protein and calcium punch.

I make five servings at a time to last the week. It is just as good the first day as it is the last. Just make sure to choose air-tight containers to keep your oats fresh.

I hope you love this easy, healthy breakfast as much as I do. Its the perfect start to your Fall morning, plus with only 10 minutes of prep involved in making an entire week's worth of healthy breakfasts, you'll have plenty of time left to squeeze in a walk around the block or get a jump start on your meal plan for next week. Enjoy!