A pretty tasty, healthy, quick and easy weeknight meal idea.

I had 2 large chicken breasts leftover from earlier this week and I wanted to feed 4 adults and a toddler. This recipe made it possible. It was served with sauteed broccoli (florets, thinly sliced onions, Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic, sauteed in vegetable oil and a pinch of salt) and low sodium chicken rice pilaf (box mix).

Measurements are approximate.

2 large boneless chicken breasts
2 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1 C sliced almonds
1/2 bundle of curly parsley
1 C Italian bread crumbs
1/4 C shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Fiesta Dip Mix (optional - adds some spice)
salt and pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Beat eggs and milk together in a shallow bowl.

Combine almonds, parsley, bread crumbs, and any optional ingredients together in a food processor. Pulse until almonds are roughly chopped and ingredients are well mixed. Pour into a separate shallow bowl.

Butterfly the chicken breasts and cut into manageable-size cutlets. Salt and pepper each cutlet, if desired. Dip each cutlet in egg mixture and then generously coat with almond breading. Place on baking sheet covered with aluminum foil or baking stone.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until breading is golden brown. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

A couple of years ago, my office had a Diversity Day event where several of us brought in various types of beverages for everyone to try - bubble tea, chai, jasmine tea, coffee, etc. I did an online search and found a really easy recipe for Mexican Hot Chocolate, so I tailored it to make it easy for transporting to the office and made a big batch. To my pleasant surprise, it was delicious and was a HUGE hit at the office!

Our friends Kristin, Lisa, and Eric invited us over for Afternoon Tea at their place today and I volunteered to make some low-key food while they supplied the tea. As I've mentioned before, we participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program at a local farm (the Red Wiggler) just a few minutes from our house. Over the last couple of weeks we've been overloaded with tomatoes of every type, so for the Afternoon Tea appetizers, I wanted to make some things featuring tomatoes.

I was very happy with the turn-out of these three recipes I tried. Here are the links and the adjustments I made to each:

- Eggplant and Tomatoes Appetizer - I broiled the eggplants on high for 10 minutes instead of having to pull out a grill and I diced the tomatoes because my tomatoes were twice as large as the eggplant rounds. The presentation did not suffer too badly and this was a real hit! The parmesan garlic sauce was excellent.
- Black Bean and Tomato Salsa with tortilla chips - This turned out really well also. I used about 2 Tbsp of cilantro, added diced red onion in addition to the scallions, and added additional salt and pepper to bring out the taste of the tomatoes.
- Apricot Buttermilk scones with strawberry preserves - This is the best scone recipe I have come across. Still a little dry, but was very tasty with the strawberry preserves. I added chopped, dried apricots instead of the currants and combined steps 2-5 and just mixed everything into the wet ingredients all at once....this may have contributed to the dryness, though. I don't know.

Here's a picture of the beautiful Eggplant and Tomatoes Appetizer, courtesy of the website where I found the recipe. Don't they look delicious?!

I was looking for a quick and easy (i.e., no mixer required and around 5 ingredients) banana bread recipe and my internet search came up with something made with Bisquick. Modifying for ingredients I had on hand and accidentally omitting the sugar, I came up with the following delicious treat, which even Abby enjoys. It was definitely sweet enough because of the ripe, in-season berries. But, if you would prefer, add 2/3 C of sugar (or Splenda equivalent) or just serve with some berry preserves or jam.

2C Bisquick
2 frozen, then thawed and peeled, bananas
1C of roughly mashed blueberries and strawberries
3/4 C oats
2 eggs
1/4 C buttermilk

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom of a loaf pan.

Mix all ingredients together with a fork, pour into loaf pan, and bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn bread onto cooling rack to finish cooling.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp Coleman's Mustard Powder
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp Sriracha hot sauce (or 1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced)
1 Tbsp ginger root, grated
1/2 C dried lentils, rinsed and cleaned
2 C vegetable or chicken stock
1 can diced tomatoes
3 handfuls of kale and/or collard greens, chopped into large pieces with tough stems removed
1 Tbsp fresh lemon/lime juice
salt

In a large skillet, heat the oil and cook the cumin and mustard powder until fragrant (will smell like tacos!). Add onions and saute until transparent. Add the next 4 ingredients, cover and cook until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes.

Add the remaining 3 ingredients and simmer until greens are just softened and dark green, about 5 minutes. (Collard greens take longer than kale.) Taste and add salt, if needed.

Goes well with steak!

I made this recipe for dinner tonight and it turned out really well! I'm writing it down so that I may attempt to replicate it again in the future.

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 yellow squash, quartered, then sliced
1 zucchini, quartered, then sliced
2 Andouille sausages, halved, then sliced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 C Organic sweet peas
1 can of whole kernel corn
1 C Spicy Hot V8 juice
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp Onion Onion Seasoning
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
hot, cooked rice

Mix everything but the shrimp and rice together and cook until vegetables are almost tender. Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes. Take out bay leaf and serve over hot rice.

Since this is a hodgepodge, any veggies and meat combination could be used. I thought about using chicken and bacon instead of the sausages. Bell peppers, onions, celery, artichoke, asparagus, fresh parsley, and collard greens could all be tasty in this recipe.

One of my mom's recipes. Absolutely delicious!!! However, as with all of my mom's recipes, there are almost no exact measurements for the ingredients. So, my advice is to experiment. This recipe is almost impossible to mess up. It will taste great no matter what you do with the ingredients.

Hot Water Dough:
3 C flour
1 C hot water
1/2 C cold water

Mix flour with hot water, then slowly add cold water until a soft dough forms. If too sticky, add more flour and gently mix it in. Place dough in lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.

Scallion Pancakes:
Hot Water Dough
Chopped Scallions, the more the tastier
Salt
Vegetable Oil

Roll a palm size piece of dough into a flat circle. In listed order, evenly spread approx. 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, then sprinkle approx. 1/4 teaspoon of salt, finally a palmful of chopped scallions on dough. Roll tightly into a long tube then create a spiral (like a cinnamon roll) with the tube; this creates the layers in the pancake. Roll spiral into a flat, 1/2-inch pancake.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a flat pan. Fry pancake on each side until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes per side on medium-high heat.

Serve immediately.

1/2 pound egg noodles
3/4 cup cottage cheese
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 sour cream
1/2 cup raisin
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Combine noodles with cottage cheese. Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup melted butter, salt and sugar. Combine egg yolk mixture, sour cream and raisins with noodle mixture. Turn into a greased 2-quart casserole. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over surface. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve as a meat accompaniment or as a meatless main dish.

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

Abigail can't get enough of Miso Soup when we order it at restaurants. I figure I can probably make it myself, as there appears to be very few ingredients. Doing some searching, I found this recipe, which I liked.

8-inch piece of wakame seaweed
8 ounces tofu
4 cups Hon-Dashi
3 Tablespoons red miso

Soak the wakame in water for 15 minutes; rinse and drain; cut into 1-inch pieces. Cut the tofu into small, bite-sized cubes. Bring the dashi to a boil,then reduce to a simmer; add the wakame and tofu and simmer for 1 minute.

Dip out some of the hot dashi to whisk with the miso, then strain it back into the soup...and remove from the heat before it comes to a boil.

"What is miso? It's a fermented bean paste that actually comes in lots of different kinds, each with its own aroma and flavor, color, and texture, but all are made the same way--smashing boiling soybeans and letting them ferment with wheat, barley, rice, or injected yeasty mold. Then the miso "matures" for months--or even up to 3 years. Red miso is made with barley and is savory and good for winter soups. Rice mold misos are yellow, relatively light and sweet. The third type is made with bean koji and is dark and thick. Miso can last up to a year in the fridge."

Note: Recipe and info from http://www.soupsong.com/sjapan.html

An excellent, non-spicy sauce to top pork tenderloins, chicken, grilled steak or mix with pasta for a mild flavor enhancement. Argentina origin. We discovered it as part of a Let's Dish meal and our 8-month old daughter even loves having it mixed into her baby food!

1/2 C fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp onion or shallots, finely chopped
1 Tbsp garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme, dried
1 tsp basil, dried
1 tsp oregano, dried
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 C lime juice
1/3 C olive oil

Mix all together. Save chopping time by putting all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Stir/shake before use. Keep refrigerated. Freezes well.

For Allen -

12 C good strong chicken broth
1 large onion, cut into quarters
6 carrots, peeled and cut in large pieces
4 large or 6 small leeks - whites only
1/2 stick of butter (NOT margarine)
pinch of thyme
3 bay leaves
1 C of flour
2 C of milk
6 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled, skin off, and cut into small dice
2 C half-and-half cream

Melt butter in large pot or dutch oven. Add diced veggies, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook over low heat until soft or about 15-20 minutes. Stir often. Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Blend flour and milk in a bowl with wire whisk until smooth, then slowly pour into boiling chicken stock. Stir with whisk until thickened. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 2 hours, stirring with wire whisk frequently to prevent sticking or scorching. Remove from heat. Slowly and carefully pour through a large colander which is over a large bowl. Return strained liquid to pot and add chicken pieces. Simmer slowly. Remove bay leaves from veggies and puree all veggies in a food processor or blender until smooth, then return them to the soup. Heat thoroughly and stir. Add the half-and-half, check for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot.