Whole30

I haven't been taking photos of the food we cook. I do take lots and lots of photos when we go out to eat, but that's a different story.

I am in the middle of a Whole30 round. It has been an...interesting and enlighting... 10 days so far. The biggest challenge has been cooking a dinner we all can/will eat.

Biggest hits have been:

• Nutpods. I resisted buying them, but I found it harder to give up half and half in my coffee than it was giving up sugar; who saw that coming? After trying my coffee black for something like 2 weeks, I'm glad I caved and now I'm on the hunt for the best price on these little cartons of joy.
• Whole30 BBQ Sauce from Jay's Baking Me Crazy. When I made this, I was confident my family would not like it, but they all gave a big thumbs up to the recipe I made that used this (next bullet).
• Hawaiian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls. I didn't expect them to like this, but we all did. Husband was upset I took the remaining chicken as my lunch.
• Sloppy Joe Bowls We tried this before I was even on a Whole30, and my husband requests it for dinner throughout the year.
• Coconut Shrimp Taco Bowls This was a huge hit for the whole family. I took leftovers for lunch, and even the shrimp was good straight from the fridge. Major keeper!

I've enjoyed:

• Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl has been a great and easy breakfast, so long as I remember to cook the sweet potato the night before.
• Burrito Bowl Stuffed Peppers
• Egg Roll in a Bowl
• 30 Minute No Bean Chili
• Roasted Breakfast Potatoes and Veggies This has been a great make ahead breakfast item. It tastes great, and keeps me satisfied, along with scrambled eggs or a hard boiled egg or two, until lunch time.
• Cottage Pie This was delicious (without peas, of course), and most of my family enjoyed it. It made me several days' worth of leftovers, but it was definitely time consuming to make.

Chicken Enchiladas

Here's how I modified these Chicken Enchiladas from Skinnytaste. Original recipe.

Ingredients:

For the enchilada sauce:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used 1c water with a small can of tomato paste)
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste
For the chicken:
1 tsp vegetable oil
8.5 oz (2 breast halves) cooked shredded chicken breast
1 cup diced onion
2 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro
kosher salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce (1c water mixed with a small can tomato paste)
For the enchilada:
8 (7-inch) low-carb whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Put 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it.

Place on baking dish seam side down, top with sauce... 

Then top with cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Top with low fat sour cream or scallions if you wish. (Extra points) Makes 8 enchiladas.

Fried Chicken

So good. Very time consuming. 

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/skillet-fried-chicken

Clam Boil

http://www.circulon.com/recipes/cuisine/american/clam-shrimp-boil/?utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=social&utm_term=CC%20-%20Clam%20and%20Shrimp%20Boil&utm_campaign=sm-recipe

INGREDIENTS
24 littleneck clams, rinsed
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 quarts water
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 lemon, quartered
1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning
1 pound petite red potatoes, (about 10)
1 onion, quartered
12 ounces kielbasa, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 ears of corn, cut into thirds
30 large shrimp, rinsed
1 loaf French bread
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, add littleneck clams, cornmeal and enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Mix well and let them sit for 30 minutes. This process will help remove the sand and grit from the clams. Rinse clams and set aside in fresh water until ready to add to the pot.
In a Circulon® Innovatum™ 6-quart stockpot, add 3 quarts of water. Add the peeled garlic cloves and squeeze the juice of the lemon into the pot. Place the actual lemons in the pot as well. Stir in the Old Bay seasoning. Bring the pot of seasoning to a boil.
Add the petite red potatoes, onion, and kielbasa. Cook on medium-high with lid on for 15 minutes. Then add in the corn and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Rinse and drain the clams and add them into the pot; boil for 5 minutes. Then add in the shrimp and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Drain water from the pot, and pour the contents of the pot on a newspaper lined table. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy.

Brownies

On a snowy day, it makes sense to get some goodness in your tummy. My son and I decided to bake some brownies. 

I turned here and my brownie stash didn't find him anything he wanted to make, but he was on board with these brownies from Cravings of a Lunatic, which we found on Pinterest.

They came together really easily and are quite delicious. I don't know if they're "The Best Brownies in the World," but they are quite good. They even made me, someone who dislikes the taste of milk, craving a glass of milk to go alongside.

Give them a try; you'll be happy you did!

The Best Brownies in the World Via Cravings of a Lunatic

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons of butter
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs. beaten
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper. 
• Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together over low heat in a medium saucepan. Stir with a rubber/silicone spatula (I used my spoonula and it worked great!).
• Remove from heat and add the sugar. Stir well.
• Now add your eggs and vanilla, stirring until it’s smooth.
• Add chocolate chips, flour and vanilla salt. Stir until well blended.
• Pour into pan and place in oven. 
• Bake for 35-45 minutes, toothpick inserted should come out clean when done.
• Remove and cool on a rack, about 10 minutes.
• Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Chopped Thai Salad

I hate shredding vegetables. I do an excellent job of shredding my knuckles when I do. I have purchased one of those Kevlar gloves, but in reality, I just use my mini chopper when shredding is required.

I love Thai food, but we never as a family seem to get to Thai restaurants; I think the last time I had Thai food was when I was in labor with my now 7.5 year old. I really need to get on that!  When this popped into my Pinterest feed, it was really a no-brainer. Healthy, fast (weeknights have been insane with my having gone back to school in January), and all the trappings of delicious.

I rushed home after work and threw this together while my husband picked up the kids from school. All told, it probably took me 20 minutes, maybe 30, but only because my cabbage would not cooperate with being cut in half. I was really wishing I had bought coleslaw mix, with the cabbage and carrots already shredded, but it wasn't bad to take care of and certainly less expensive to do it myself.

My husband and I enjoyed this, and he even enthusiastically packed it up for our lunches today. I was concerned (I ate before the rest of the family) that it wasn't enough food, so I took an uber small portion and was quite hungry about 2 hours later, but the others had plenty.

The boys gave it mixed reviews, but my 4 year old has really only been eating tried and true favorites lately, so there's been a lot of skipping for him.

I omitted peanuts simply because I didn't have any. I think they would have jazzed things up a bit, but my husband said they wouldn't have been good in the salad.

Chopped Thai Salad via Pinch of Yum

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 small head green or white cabbage (2 cups chopped)
• 1 large carrot (1½ cups shredded)
• 1 small papaya, chopped
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup green onions, chopped
• ½ cup chopped peanuts

Dressing

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon fish sauce
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• ¼ cup water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook and cube your chicken into bite sized pieces. I love this method.
2.  Toss the chicken and vegetables in a large bowl and keep chilled.
3. Mince the garlic in a small mixing bowl with the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, lime juice, oil, and fish sauce. Whisk until smooth. Add the peanut butter and water and whisk again until smooth and creamy.
4. Toss the salad with the dressing. Add the crushed peanuts. Serve chilled. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to one day. For best results, keep the leftover salad and dressing separate until ready to serve.

Firecracker Chicken

This is a recipe that seems to be floating around the blogosphere these days, and since I'm hardly on blogs these days, it looks like I missed it.  So I'm super glad that Stephanie shared this because we LOVED it.  Most telling, though, was that the boys said they liked it even though it was spicy.  Wow!

This came together really quickly, which was a saver on the crazy day we had when I made it.  I thought it was really great; the flavors were awesome and the broccoli had a nice crunch since I chose not to precook it.  I was really disappointed when these reheated very poorly for lunch the next day.

Firecracker Chicken and Broccoli, Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks via Stephanie Cooks

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1/2 c. cornstarch
2 eggs

For the Sauce: 
1/3 c. buffalo sauce
1/2 c. light brown sugar
2 t. rice wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced 
1/2 t. salt

2 c.  broccoli florets

Directions:

1- Preheat the oven to 350.

2- Dice chicken into 1" pieces.

3- Pour the cornstarch in a shallow dish. Beat the eggs in a separate shallow dish.

4- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip the chicken into the cornstarch and then in the eggs. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes or until just browned. Place in a 9 x 13 greased baking dish along with the broccoli florets.

5- In a bowl combine the buffalo sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, salt. Pour evenly over top of the chicken and broccoli and bake for 30 minutes (until chicken is cooked through), stirring every 15 minutes, until the sauce is completely coating the chicken.
6. Remove from oven and serve over top of rice.

Bbq turkey meatloaf

I made this one a long time ago and haven't made it since.  This was foolish, because this is an amazing meatloaf.  My husband made it this go around.  The BBQ sauce on top is sweet and yummy while there's a real savory flavor in the meat itself.  The onions and pepper add some nice crunch too.  

Make this one soon when you're craving some comfort food!

BBQ Turkey Meatloaf, courtesy of The Neely's 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon Neelys' BBQ Seasoning, recipe follows (I used a pinch of paprika, a pinch of sugar)
• 1 teaspoon crab boil seasoning, (recommended: Old Bay)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups BBQ Sauce, reserving 1/2 cup for the top (this was a bottle's worth)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 pounds lean ground turkey (I used ground chicken)
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix BBQ seasoning, crab boil seasoning, soy sauce, beaten egg, 1 cup of the BBQ sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper and garlic. Saute until tender. Remove from heat and add to wet mix.
Pour mixture into bowl with the ground turkey. Add bread crumbs and mix all together with your hands.
Transfer the meat mixture to a cookie sheet or baking pan. Using your hands, shape the meat into an oblong or rectangular shape. *Cook's Note: Alternately, you can pat the meat into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and pour 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce on the top of the loaf.
Bake for 35 minutes. Remove and add the reserved 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce to the top and continue to bake for 20 more minutes.

Smothered Italian Chicken

When I see something on Stephanie's blog, I know I will enjoy it; when she raves about something, I know I will as well.  This is no exception.  I've made this before, but wanted to highlight it again since I found a way to not waste the rest of the Philly Cooking Creme, again thanks to Stephanie...  see my next post to see how I used it up with amazing results.

This dinner also inspired my husband to make this into a sandwich.  I made more than enough chicken cutlets, which he topped with the leftover sauce, tomato, lettuce, and bacon on a whole grain ciabatta roll to rave results.

Yum!

Smothered Italian Chicken Source:  Stephanie Cooks

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, butterflied
1 egg
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Olive oil
2 roma tomatoes, sliced
1.5 cups baby spinach
1/3-1/2 tub Philadelphia Italian Cooking Creme
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350.
2- Slice the tomato and place in a small baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Bake covered for 15 minutes or until soft.
3- Meanwhile, dip the chicken in egg, then bread crumbs, until coated. Heat oil and fry chicken until crisp and cooked through. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
4- Add the spinach and cooking creme to the tomatoes. Cover with foil and bake for another 10 minutes or so, stirring well.
5- Spoon the sauce mixture over the hot chicken. Serve immediately.

Cilantro lime shrimp

I wasn't thinking when I made this shrimp dish, and served it over plain brown rice.  While it was certainly delicious, I should have served it over Cilantro Lime Rice.  Not only would I have made a side dish that better complimented the dinner, but I also would have used up some of the extra ingredients I bought to make the shrimp dish.

And the shrimp dish was lovely.  I brought it in for lunches for a few days after, and while the shrimp definitely get rubbery in the microwave, I still enjoyed this the second time around.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Source:  Skinnytaste, via He and She Eat Clean

Ingredients:

2 lbs shrimp, shelled & deviened

2 tsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime

salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat.

2. Add oil to the pan & once the pan is hot add shrimp.

3. Season with salt & pepper.

4. When the shrimp is cooked on one side (about 2 minutes), turn over & add garlic.

5. Saute another minute or two until shrimp is cooked, careful not to overcook.

6. Remove from heat.

7. Squeeze lime over shrimp & toss with cilantro.

8. Serve & enjoy!

Makes 4 servings (each serving is 6 oz)

Chili mac

Ah the days of school lunches.  According to my son, a lot of my favorite lunches still grace the cafeteria (chicken patty, anyone?), so it was with fond memories that I stumbled across this recipe in the midst of a clean eating challenge.  Of course my beloved chicken patty was not real food, and it's likely even worse now, but I can make chili mac with all real ingredients, and it will be delicious too.

All three boys enjoyed this too, though the two youngest of them have this thing about onions lately, and spent more time picking onions out than enjoying.  I enjoyed it for several days after as lunch, and the boys even asked for it in the lunchboxes one day.

Clean Eating Chili Mac Source:  The Gracious Pantry

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds lean, ground turkey
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder (or 8 fresh cloves, minced)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, no sugar added, low sodium is best
• 1 cup water
• Whole grain macaroni, cooked to package directions (I used half a box)
• Salt to taste
• Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium to large soup pot, cook the turkey in the oil.
2. When the meat is about half way cooked, stir in all the spices.
3. When the meat is finished cooking, stir in the pasta and remaining ingredients.
4. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Pineapple Glazed Chicken

Sometime last year, I reorganized many of the photos on my Photobucket account, and as a result, many of my older blog posts no longer have photos.  So, even though this is a terrible photo of a yummy meal, I'm posting it to update the older post.  I've made this a few times, and if you have the book in which the recipe can be found ( Best 30 Minute Recipe), I also recommend the cranberry version (which I also don't seem to have shared here).  

Although my husband is not generally a fan of curry flavors, I continue to make this because the curry is subtle and adds some interesting balance to the sweetness of the pineapple.  This is really nice with rice on the side, especially if you use some of the pineapple sauce on top of it.

Pineapple Glazed Chicken Cook's Illustrated's Best 30 Minute Recipe

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice (not syrup)
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• ¼ cup sliced almonds , toasted (see note)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Lightly pound chicken so it's roughly the same thickness.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat 1T olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown the chicken, about 4 minutes per side.
2. Meanwhile, drain pineapple chunks, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Whisk pineapple juice, honey, soy sauce, curry powder, and cayenne together.  Add this mixture, along with the pineapple chunks, to the skillet with the chicken and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer about 8-12 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and an instant read thermometer through the thickest part of the chicken reads 160 degrees F, 
3. Transfer chicken to a plate, cover with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Return glaze to simmer and cook, uncovered, until thickened slightly and glossy, about 8 minutes.
4. Add accumulated chicken juices to glaze. Whisk cornstarch and vinegar together until smooth, then whisk into glaze. Continue to simmer glaze until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour glaze over chicken, sprinkle with toasted almonds, and serve.
5. Note: To toast the 1/4 cup almonds, put them in a dry skillet over medium heat. Shake the skillet occasionally to prevent scorching and toast until they are lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 8 minutes.

Recipe found online at: http://www.food.com/recipe/pineapple-glazed-chicken-284226#ixzz1nLok6TAh

Tropical Chicken Quesadilla

I made these last spring as part of the recipes swap in which I was partaking at the time.  That version used a pineapple-avocado salsa while this time around, I used the originally called for mango.  

I know I liked the pineapple, but this was fantastic.  It was an amazing salsa to go along with your pretty standard chicken and cheese quesadilla, and so bright and fresh for the dismal wintery "Polar Vortex" weather we've had lately.  I made these with some shredded chicken I had in the fridge, but Kelsey gives directions for cooking fresh chicken and spicing it up with some Mexican flavors.

Yummy!

Tropical Chicken Quesadilla with Mango Avocado Salsa  Source:  Kelsey's Apple a Day

Ingredients:

For the salsa:

1 mango, peeled and diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 habañero (Scotch Bonnet) or jalapeño, seeded and diced
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
juice from one fresh lime
1/4 c. chopped red onion
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the quesadillas:

2 t coconut oil, divided

shredded chicken

1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced

8 medium/soft taco size tortillas

1 1/2 c. shredded cheese 

Directions:

1. Make the salsa by combining all ingredients in a medium size bowl.  Adjust seasonings as you like.
2. Make the quesadillas by laying out the tortilla then topping half with cheese, shredded chicken, onion, and pepper.  Fold quesadilla in half over the filling.  
3. Heat 1 t coconut oil in a skillet.  When hot, lay the quesadilla in the pan and cook until crispy, then flip over to cook the other side.  Repeat with remaining quesadillas.  Serve with the salsa and enjoy!

Sweet and sour chicken

I love making Asian inspired dishes at home.   Of course, nothing is as quick and easy as pulling up to your local Chinese restaurant, but I'm so hesitant after watching them pour spoonful after spoonful of sugar into a recent General Tso's chicken order.  But this is really fast, really delicious, and way better for you than pretty much anything at your local Chinese takeout!

So when I saw that Stephanie had an Asian inspired recipe on her blog, my ears (figuratively) perked!  And, Stephanie didn't disappoint.  This was delicious with just the right blend of sweet and tang.  It definitely takes some planning to make this a weeknight meal, though; I'm always hesitant when I see an hour's worth of baking time, but it can be done!  All your prep could be done the night before so all you have to do is pop into the oven when you get home from work.

Sweet and Sour Chicken  Source:  Stephanie Cooks

Ingredients:
Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325.
1- Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. 
2- Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. 
3- Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken.
4- Bake for one hour at 325 degrees, uncovered. Turn chicken every 15 minutes.

Chocolate Surprise Cookies

When you look at these cookies, you probably think they're rich and chocolately and delicious.  You'd be correct.  However, what you can't tell is that there's a gooey marshmallow inside AND the cookie base has an infusion of peanut butter.  That's right--chocolate, peanut butter, AND a gooey marshmallow inside.  I won't tell you that they are addictive.

I found this recipe in the December/January 2013 issue of Cook's Country magazine.  If you're an online subscriber, you can see their recipe here.  Their version makes a LOT, about 5 dozen cookies, so it's perfect for a cookie exchange.  But it's long and sort of complicated, and I don't really know if I'm interested in typing it all out!

Which makes it really nice that Martha Stewart has a similar recipe on her website here.  Martha's version makes 2 dozen, which might be more manageable for those who, like us, were having some fun on a random January snowday.  The ingredients are nearly the same, though the version I made adds 1/2c creamy peanut butter during the sugar/butter creaming process (so you'd probably want a bit less for the smaller proportions in Martha's recipe).

Chicken Parmesan

My husband loves chicken parm, as I've said many times before.  He asked for it this week, despite my having made the Pinterest chicken parm casserole.

It's been so hot here, I have NOT been in a cooking mood AT ALL and somehow have managed to stay away from the takeout menu folder.  So I went scouring for a Quick Chicken Parm recipe when I came across this from Simply Recipes.  I made it even faster by using jarred spaghetti sauce, though their marinara sounds great too.

I modified ever so slightly by using crushed panko for the breadcrumbs, and I think that added the perfect amount of crunch to the outside.  It wasn't super fast, but I was happy with the results and it *seemed* faster because I was trying something new maybe?

Chicken Parmesan by Simply Recipes

• 2 chicken breast, butterflied or pounded thin
• Salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, slightly crushed
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 2-4 cups prepared spaghetti sauce (I used a tomato basil version with great success)

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F.  If serving with pasta, cook pasta according to package directions.
2.  In a pie plate, set up your dredging station--mix panko and 1/2c Parmesan cheese in one shallow dish, and slightly beat the eggs in another one.  Dredge by dipping each chicken piece first in the eggs then in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing to adhere.
3.  Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat until shimmering.  Add chicken until golden, about 4 minutes a side (don't crowd them; better to do them in two batches).
4.  Coat a baking dish with a layer of spaghetti sauce, then nestle the chicken pieces in the sauce.  Top each breast piece with sauce, then basil, then some cheese.  Bake 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown.
5.  Serve with bread, pasta, and some delicious veggies!

Tortellini spinach Bake in Lemon Cream Sauce

I'm not sure how I stumbled across this one, but it's likely something I found on Pinterest.  It looks like a mess, but it's delicious.  I was actually talking with a man at the pizza place about it; he asked the checkout girl if people ordered a lemon cream sauce because it sounded strange, and I chimed in that I'd made one and that it was so light and fresh and summery.  A definite must try.

This is the same, but add in the freshness of spinach and you're in for a treat.  Then it also has bacon!  I billed this to my kids as special mac and cheese, and it is in a lot ways.  The preparation is basically the same, though the pasta and other add ins are a little different.

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce Source:  Our Best Bites

12 oz bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini
 4 oz bacon or pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)*
3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¾ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or more if you like spicy)
1 medium lemon, zested and juiced
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.
2. Cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels.  Reserve two tablespoons bacon grease and discard the rest.
3. Add garlic to bacon grease and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Whisk in flour and cook for about a minute.  Add milk, continuing to whisk until smooth.  Add basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and stir.  Bring to a simmer.  Add 2 teaspoons lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.  Continue to stir until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat.
4. Reserve all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon and add the rest to the pasta.  Add spinach, 1/2c mozzarella, and 1/2c Parmesan, then add sauce.  Stir gently.
5. Transfer to an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish.  Top with remaining cheese and bacon.  Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake until cheese is melted and pasta is bubbly, about 5-10 minutes.    Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

*Omit bacon to make a vegetarian meal.