"Par -MEE- ZEE- in" Chicken

This recipe comes along with a walk down memory lane.

     Once upon a time, long, long ago, a mother (that would be me) and her son went to Publix.  The mother was looking for something to make for dinner.  There was a sample lady there passing out samples of chicken.  The mother asked the lady what kind of chicken it was.  The lady said, "It's parMEEZEEin chicken.  It's made with ParMEEZEEin bread crumbs."  Then she showed the mother the Parmesan bread crumbs she used.  It took everything the  mother and son had not to start laughing at the lady.  The chicken was very good so the mother made note of the recipe and picked up Parmesan bread crumbs (then the mother and son laughed and laughed at the lady's pronunciation of Parmesan) and made it for dinner that night.  Now when the mother makes Parmesan chicken, the mother and son have a laugh at the lady's expense. They no longer make Parmesan bread crumbs so the mother makes her own.

Parmesan Chicken

1 cup Italian Bread crumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Tb. butter

1 egg

5 – 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray your baking sheet with Pam or use no stick foil.

In a bowl, mix bread crumbs, cheese, and butter.  In another bowl, beat an egg with a fork.  Dip the chicken in the egg and then coat in the bread crumb mixture.  Lay on your pan and cook for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear.  Turn your chicken over after 15 minutes.

*You can also exchange the chicken for pork chops if you’d like.

Valentine's Day Dinner

Yesterday was officially Valentine's Day.  I'm not a big "celebrater" of Valentine's Day.  To me, it's a day to shame people into buying expensive chocolate, cards, and flowers.  Then those people who don't receive anything feel bad and depressed.  I do like to use it as an excuse to go out to dinner though.  ;)  Hubby and I went to dinner at Applebee's Saturday night and then I made a nice dinner Sunday night.  We had steak and chicken gnocchi soup.  The chicken gnocchi soup was very much like the one at Olive Garden.  It was the first time I had made it and it was good!  We had the leftovers tonight for dinner.  Leftovers are another plus.  It means a night I didn't have to make dinner (and two lunches)!  WINNING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch of finely chopped scallions
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart half-and-half
2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
Salt, if desired
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 drop of doTERRA Thyme essential oil
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup finely shredded carrots
1 cup  chopped fresh spinach leaves
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 (16-ounce) package ready-to-use gnocchi

Melt the butter into the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion becomes translucent. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the half-and-half. Simmer until thickened. Whisk in the chicken broth. Simmer until thickened again. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, the thyme (if you are using the oil, add it at the end), nutmeg, carrots, spinach, chicken, and gnocchi. Simmer until the soup is heated through. Before serving, season with additional salt, if needed.