A little bit of everything

So I have been feeling really guilty that I keep using all of your wonderful, delicious recipes but I haven't contributed anything yet. Here's a few recipes that we had at our house this past week:

Balsamic Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1/2 inch thick)
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 T. flour
3 T. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
2 t. fresh thyme (or 1/2 t. dried)
2 bay leaves
2 T. butter
3 T. heavy cream

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the flour with salt and pepper and dredge the chicken in the flour mixture. Saute the chicken until it is nicely browned on both sides.
2. Add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook for about three minutes. Then add the vinegar, stock, bay leaves and thyme and stir. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally.
3. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and keep warm. Continue simmering the sauce, over medium high heat for about 7 minutes. Add the cream and butter- stir until melted. Discard the bay leaves. Pour the mushroom sauce over the chicken and serve. I usually serve with a lemon herb pasta, but you can do what your family likes best.


Ultimate Caesar Salad dressing

The measurements may not be quite exact. This is my mom's recipe and she always cooks according to look and taste (sadly, that gift skipped my generation). This is the best I can do, but you may need to play around with it- it also depends on how much lemon juice you start with.

The juice of one large lemon

1/2 t. minced garlic

1 t. Worchester sauce

3 T Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

3 egg yolks

1/2- 3/4 cup olive oil (to taste)

1/2 t. red wine vinegar

Squeeze the juice into a small mixing bowl, add the garlic and Worchester sauce and stir (use a wooden spoon- metal tends to make the lemon juice go rancid). Stir in the Dijon mustard and salt and pepper. Taste it- the lemon juice or the Dijon mustard should not overpower each other- if there is too much of one- add a little more of the other. Add the egg yolks. Then slowly drizzle the olive oil while stiring and finish with the red wine vinegar. Toss this dressing with some crisp romaine lettuce, lots of parmesan cheese, and croutons to serve. You will not use all of the dressing in one sitting. Just refrigerate any leftover dressing for up to a week.


Last-minute pasta bake

This is one of my go-to meals when I can't think of anything else to make because I usually have everything on hand. It's also a good way to sneak some zucchini into my boys' diet. If you have a husband that insists on meat, you can probably add some browned ground beef or italian sausage to the sauce mixture before layering the dish. This can also be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated overnight. Bake as directed except increase the baking time to 45 minutes.

12 oz rotini pasta (or whatever small pasta you have on hand)
1 cup zucchini, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 28 oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or Amie's marinara- yum!)
1/4 cup fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
2 cups shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cook pasta until al dente; drain.
2. Combine zucchini, spaghetti sauce and basil in a medium bowl.
3. In a 9" square baker, layer one-third of the sauce mixture, half of the pasta, one-third of the sauce mixture and half of the cheeses. Add remaining pasta, then sauce, then cheeses. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Serve with garlic bread and salad, if desired.


Not-your-typical Chicken Fingers

2 cups seasoned croutons, crushed until fine crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 T. fresh parsley or 1 t. dried
1/4 t. garlic salt
2 egg whites
1 T. water
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into small, thin strips

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
2. In a small bowl, combine crouton crumbs, cheese, parsley and garlic salt. In another bowl, whisk together egg whites and water.

3. Dip chicken pieces into egg mixture, then into crumb mixture to coat evenly. Arrange on a bakng sheet lined with foil that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray to avoid sticking. Bake 15 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink. Serve with ranch dressing to dip.