Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

This was a fun little recipe that I decided to try and since it is a nice simple recipe, there won't be all that much to read for this.

Ingredients:
¼ cup Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic
2 cups Bread Crumbs
1 ⅓ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
¼ tsp ground Black Pepper
6 skinless Chicken Breast Halves


Directions:
1. Mince the garlic and let soak in the olive oil for as long as you can.  Place the bread crumbs, parmesan and pepper in a food processor (for added flavor, add in crushed red pepper flakes, garlic pepper and cayenne powder)

2. Dip the chicken in the oil then dredge in the bread crumbs and place in a well lubricated baking pan before placing in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

This turned out fantastically! The chicken was nice a juicy and the breading was superb.  The addition of the extra spices in the breading added a nice little heat on the back end.

Tuscan Pork

Ahh, Tuscan Pork.  I had absolutely how this concoction would turn out but I was hoping for the best.  Now for this episode of Family Dinner, I was tag teamed this meal with the help of my friend Andy and I must say, I was extremely pleased with the results.  Fair warning though, this post will have a plethora of pictures in it.

Tuscan Pork with Roasted Garlic Potatoes and Green Beans

Ingredients

Tuscan Pork:

2 loaves French Bread

2 Pork Tenderloins (our 2 both came split in half so it appears that we have 4)

4 tsp freshly chopped Sage

4 tsp freshly chopped Rosemary

4 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Roasted Garlic Potatoes and Green Beans:

2 lbs Fingerling Potatoes

1 large Onion

1 lb Green Beans

4 cloves Garlic, minced

¼ cup Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Slice the bread down the middle, but not all the way through, and scoop out the insides.

2. Place the pork in a frying pan and sear all sides to a nice golden brown.

3. Cover the pork in mustard and roll to cover in a mixture of the sage, rosemary, salt and pepper.

4. Place the pork inside the bread and use butchers twine to hold everything together.  At this point, slice up your garlic and place it into a large bowl with the olive oil.  Cut the potatoes in half and cut the onion into 1/16ths and toss with the garlic/olive oil mixture.  Place into a glass baking dish.

5.  Insert the pork and the potatoes into a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees.

6. Before the potatoes are done, toss the green beans in olive oil, minced garlic and pepper and sauté over medium high heat for about 10 minutes before combining with the potatoes.

7. Let the tuscan pork sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Final Verdict:  This was spectacular! Since people didn't eat all of the pork, I have half of the second one waiting for me in my refrigerator right now. I don't know about making it again though because it takes quite a bit of effort to use that butchers twine to hold things together.

Honey Mustard Chicken with Bacon, Cheese and Mushrooms

Yesterday marked the start of Family Dinners and I decided to kick it off with a recipe that I had been wanting to try for a while, a honey mustard chicken topped with bacon, sharp cheddar cheese and mushrooms.  Because this is Family Dinners, I usually make exorbitant amounts of food, mostly double recipes, which is what I will be referencing for ingredients.

Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients:
12 skinless chicken breasts
½ cup dijon mustard
½ cup honey
2 tsp. lemon juice
4 cups sliced mushrooms
24 slices of bacon, partially cooked
3-4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix the honey, mustard and lemon juice together and use to marinate the chicken breasts for about 2 hours.


2. Saute the chicken breasts in a lightly oiled pan till golden brown on both sides but not fully cooked, place in a greased baking pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3.  Cook the bacon and mushrooms in the same pan afterwards and place on top of the chicken then cover in cheese.

4. Place in an oven heated to 350 F for 20-30 min or until the juices run clear

5. After finished, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.

The final verdict on this dish turned out pretty well.  I believe that the next time I make this I will cut the breasts in half and wrap the bacon around the chicken with the mushrooms underneath.

Due to people schedules this semester, I will be updating this twice a week because I am going to be cooking dinner on Fridays as well as Mondays.

Blueberry-Vanilla Vodka

I thought that I would try my hand at something a bit different this time around and make a flavored alcoholic beverage instead of some tasty food.  Since vodka is such a neutral spirit, with no taste to really call its own, I felt like this would be the best type of spirit to infuse.  I chose blueberries and vanilla because I felt like the two flavors would complement each other fairly well.

Blueberry-Vanilla Infused Vodka

Ingredients:






750 mL of plain vodka
1 vanilla bean
1 ½ cups fresh, washed blueberries
1 empty bottle to hold everything







Directions











1. Wash off the blueberries and remove any stems that you might find and add to empty bottle.


2. Cut vanilla bean in half width wise and then length wise to expose the amazing smelling insides and place in the empty bottle.

3. Gently pour in the plain vodka, seal tightly and place in a dark cool place.

4. After 2 days, remove the vanilla bean and then two weeks later remove the blueberries for a fantastic tasting liqueur!

















The final result is a fantastic alcohol with a fine taste of blueberry and an undertone of vanilla.  I will definitely be concocting various different brews in the future, my girlfriend suggested that I try a chocolate vodka which will be quite the experiment and one that I look forward to completing.