Succulent Chicken Parm

Sometimes you just have to cave into your cravings. And, wow, have I been craving some cheesy, savory chicken parm. So I treated myself and my roommate to some exploratory homemade Italian goodness. Luckily, it was quite successful. You should try it, your stomach will thank you...and so will your roommate (REALLY)!

Succulent Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients 

(serves 2-4 people depending on level of hunger):

2 large chicken breasts

3 eggs

¾ cup all purpose flour

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

2 tbsp ground black pepper

1.5 tsp salt

1 tbsp (approx.) red pepper flakes

8-10 cherry tomatoes, sliced

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce

1 cup shredded Mozzarella or Italian blend cheese

1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees

2. Whisk eggs in a medium sized bowl until yellow and frothy, set aside

3. Mix salt, ground black pepper and flour and spread onto a large plate

4. On an adjacent plate, place bread crumbs

5. Dredge chicken in wisked eggs

6. Place chicken into flour mixture and cover both sides with a layer of flour

7.  Take chicken and return to egg bowl, again dredging in egg

8. Place dredged chicken onto bread crumbs and coat generously, pressing with fingers

9. When chicken is completely covered with bread crumbs place in baking dish

10. Repeat steps 5-9 for other chicken breast

11. Sprinkle red pepper flakes over chicken and cook in oven for 40 mins 

   

12. Flip and layer chicken with sliced tomatoes and garlic, return to oven for 15 minutes

13.  Spread pasta sauce and return to oven 5-10 minutes

14. Add cheese, cooking until bubbly and hot

15. Serve with your favorite pasta or veggies!

Spicy Chicken Thighs and Rice!

There is nothing worse than coming home from a long, stressful day at work and having to spend hours prepping  (in my case, lots of chopping veggies) to cook a decent, healthy meal (instead of being lazy and buying burritos...which I do...too often). Luckily today I had a defrosted pack of chicken thighs and a lot of random left over ingredients (including a TON of cilantro). After rummaging my cupboards and making some executive side-dish decisions (and a quick pow-wow with Mr. The Abyss Walker)  I frankenstein-ed together a new, SPICY take on chicken thighs and rice! Enjoy!

Chicken Thighs and Rice with Extra Spice

For the Chicken Thighs:

1lb  bone-in chicken thighs

4  tbsp olive oil

2.5 tsp Molé

4 heaping tsp chopped garlic

2 tsp Adobo seasoning

½ red onion, sliced thinly

2 tsp Siracha Chili Sauce

*so...the chicken didn't make the photo-op (for Siracha see below)*

For the Rice:

2 cups cooked brown rice (I used Uncle Ben’s boil-in-a-bag, 1 pack)

8 oz Your favorite chunky salsa (I used Pace HOT)

1 bunch chopped cilantro

1.5 tbsp Siracha

2 tsp chopped garlic

1.5 oz feta cheese, sliced or crumbled

 *...the rice didn't make the photos either*





1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees

2. Place chicken thighs in the center of a baking dish

3. Sprinkle generously with Adobo and Molé

4. Layer raw onion slices and top with garlic

 Ready for the oven!

5. Cook at 360 degrees for 35 mins.

6.  When chicken is almost finished (cooked for 25 mins) drizzle Siracha and return to oven for remaining time

7. Mix cooked brown rice and salsa in a pot on medium heat, stir

8. Add chopped cilantro, feta cheese, garlic and Siracha, stir 

 Delicious!

9. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 8ish mins (until salsa is mostly absorbed)

*Keep covered and warm until ready to eat. Stir before serving!

10. Serve! Yum!

**for additional heat, use more Siracha...if you dare!

Mexi-Greek Taco Magic

My boyfriend (previously called 'The Merman', who now demands to be called 'The Abyss Walker' because he doesn't want to be associated with that silly scene in Zoolander....) and I have been toying with the idea of doing some sort of Greek Taco or Mexi-Greek fusion dish. Luckily The Abyss Walker is a culinary genius and came up with Mexi-Greek Tacos, one of my new favorite recipes. I cannot say enough good things about this fresh, exotic take on tacos. Because this is a VERY new recipe, we are still messing with the amounts of ingredients, especially for the Mexican Tzatziki...so be prepared to have some left over for sandwiches or wraps the next day (you won't regret it!) Enjoy!

The Abyss Walker and The Mermaid’s Mexi-Greek Fusion Tacos

For Mexican Tzatziki (makes quite a lot):

8oz Greek Yogurt Plain

2 tsp Your favorite hot sauce (we used Cholula Chilli Lime)

1 avocado OR 14 tbsp premade/homemade guacamole (we used store bought)

1/2 jalapeno, minced  (whole if you’re brave!)

1 bunch fresh cilantro, minced

For Taco and Filling:

1lb of Lamb chop

Molé dry rub or powder (we used Oxaca)

Adobo

1 tbsp olive oil

Pitas (we used whole wheat)

Extra oil to brush pitas

To top (optional):

Raw red onions

Sliced or cubed tomato

Feta cheese

(there isn't any garlic in the recipe...but its in the picture...for funsies!)

1. Evenly mix Greek Yogurt, Hot Sauce, Cilantro, Jalapeno and Avocado/Guacamole in a medium sized bowl. Chill until ready to serve. If you want your Tzatziki to be spicier, add more jalapeno. If you want it more mild add more yogurt and avocado/guacamole!

 

When the time comes...(yes, it's as epic as I am making it sound) add AS MUCH of this delicious, magic Tzatziki to your pita as you'd like....I prefer A LOT. I REGRET NOTHING!

2. Season both sides of lamb generously with both adobo and molé dry seasoning

3. Heat large skillet and coat with olive oil

4. Cook lamb for 4 mins each side on medium high until well done (a little pink!)

5. Remove lamb from heat and tent in aluminum foil for 15 mins (optional) or set aside

6. Dice lamb meat

7. Brush one side of each pita, then toast in skillet oil-side-down for 2-3 mins, remove when toasted

8. Place minced lamb into pita

9. Top with Mexican Tzatziki, Feta, tomatoes and onions

10. ENJOY!

Break on Through to the Water Side

At my heart, I am an artist. I remember back in when I could barely hold a pencil, I used to pause whatever (typically Disney) VHS my parents would park me in front of and draw what I saw. I have come a little ways since then.

Mermaids are one of my favorite subjects (SURPRISE). Something about their hair and the curving lines through their fins really speaks to me. I enjoy the flow you can add to them, I find regular humans to be a more rigid subject. As a psychedelic artist, I like to take natural or fantastic ideas and deconstruct them. I pull inspiration from fantasy, mythology, literature...and sometimes just the squiggly lines I doodle when I'm bored. It's a great way to get a piece started! Then it's just a matter of repeating patterns, shapes and lines.

Creating something on a blank sheet of paper is cathartic, I'm definitely having a hard time transitioning to digital media, and tend to resist it entirely. Call me old fashioned.

Thai Panang Peanut Molé Curry Chicken

I thought I would kick things off with a fun little recipe that I make ALL THE TIME!

So my boyfriend, let's call him 'The Merman', and I are always on the hunt for fun, interesting things to eat both at home and out on the town. We have a very functional long (medium) distance relationship and see each other every other weekend. He has definitely brought out the adventurous eater in me. Thanks to him, one of my favorite local haunts is an adorable Thai-Mex fusion restaurant. We go almost every time he is in town (yikes does that add up!). In an effort to spend more fun, lazy afternoons in the kitchen he introduced me to Closet Cooking's Thai Enchiladas and, wow, was I excited (understatement). After making these delicious enchiladas together, I decided to have some fun with the recipe and make it my own, pulling inspiration from our local Thai-Mex place and making it a more functional day-to-day staple. Thus my Thai Panang Peanut Molé Curry Chicken (what a mouthful) was born!  Enjoy!

For the chicken thighs

1 package (about 1lb) chicken thighs (with or without skin/bone)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp molé seasoning

Dash of Salt

Dash of Pepper

1. Arrange chicken thighs in center of a baking pan and drizzle with olive oil and seasonings

2. Cook chicken in oven at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes until cooked and sizzling

3. Pull or dice chicken and and set aside

For the sauce

2 tbsp panang curry paste

1.5 tbsp sesame oil
1/3 cup coconut milk (pref. organic)
1/3 cup chicken stock (pref. Thai Coconut flavor)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1.5 tablespoons Siracha Chili Sauce
1.5 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tsp molé powder
1 diced jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 package of frozen diced onions and peppers
 

 1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the panang curry paste and sauté, the curry should absorb the oil and start to smell great
3. Add everything besides veggies and simmer until evenly mixed

4. Sauté veggies in skillet until slightly browned and add to sauce

5. Add cooked chicken to veggies and sauce, combine

**if too spicy add more coconut milk and stock to taste
**if too mild add more curry or Siracha!

***can top with diced jalapenos 

GREAT on wraps or over rice!