Panko Crusted Chicken with Baked Asparagus and Grilled Sweet Potato Fries (Featuring Rich, Phil, and Laura!)

Hello there, fellow foodies! So, I know it's been a while since you've been back to visit. It's ok, I forgive you. The weather is lovely, and I, too, have been avoiding the kitchen (well, actually more of the oven, really) as much as possible lately. I have a special blog today, featuring my good friend, Rich, who lives out in Washington, D.C.  Although this recipe is his baby, we did also have some helpers with the food and photos (thank Tim Gunn, because I only have 2 arms, lol!) Our good friend, Phil, was also a big part, as well as Rich's roommate, Laura, who will also make an appearance in this recipe! (Not like in the ingredients, but in photos, in the prep. This is not one of THOSE kind of recipes!) So a big thank you to all that helped--I think we made a pretty good team, all in all. So, without further ado, enjoy the noms!

Rich hard at work in the kitchen!

Panko Crusted Chicken

Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
-2 cups panko bread crumbs
-6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-2 eggs
-2 tablespoons honey
-spray butter
-salt and pepper to taste
-4 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch strips
-2 roasted red peppers
-crumbled goat cheese
-parsley

1. Preheat oven to 500°F (260°C--yes I know, that is scary high, but we turn it down, so don't fret if your oven does not go that high). Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Rinse the chicken in cold water and cut into strips.

3. Stir together egg, Dijon mustard, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper until smooth (you may add some additional Panko bread crumbs also if you would like--I highly recommend it). Set aside.

4. Place Panko bread crumbs in a separate, shallow bowl. Dip chicken into Dijon mixture to coat.

5. Next, coat with bread crumbs.

6. Place onto prepared baking sheet. You will notice we did spray the tops of the chicken with some butter. You can skip this step if you are watching your calories, or use a light butter.

7. Place into preheated oven and turn the oven down to 375 degrees F. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink and the coating is golden brown, about 10-15 minutes on each side.

8. Top with goat cheese and a sliced roasted red pepper over the top. Garnish with parsley.

We had made one pan with goat cheese and red pepper and one without. Both looked (and tasted) amazing!

Next, let's tackle the sweet potato fries.

Phil is sexily cutting the slices of sweet potatoes. Eat your heart out! ;)

Grilled Sweet Potatoes Fries

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
-2 large sweet potatoes
-rosemary
-cayenne pepper to taste
-salt and pepper to taste
-olive oil

1. Slice the sweet potatoes thinly. You can leave the skin on, if desired.

2. Coat the potatoes with olive oil, and place on a sheet of tin foil. Chop fresh rosemary up and spread them over the potatoes.

3. Add cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to taste.

4. Put potatoes onto the grill. Keep the grill on low and flip the potatoes every 10 minutes until crunchy.

And finally, the asparagus!

Baked Asparagus

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
-1 bunch of asparagus
-1 lemon
-grated parmesan cheese

Laura was a big help with this part!

1. Cut the ends off the asparagus, and lay them in a pan.

2. Squeeze the lemon over the asparagus.

4. Grate parmesan cheese over the asparagus. We put a lot, because the girl from the dairy state had to represent.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until cooked. Make sure you don't overcook it!

Mmmm, delish! We served with white wine, and it was amazing. The biggest piece of advice I can

give you is work on your timing for the different components of this meal, so that it all finishes at around the same time.

Smashed Potatoes

I was looking for a new way to make potatoes, and I found it on The Pioneer Woman blog. Amazing recipes on there! Mine didn't turn out as good looking as hers, but they sure were yummy!

Prep time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
-8 red potatoes
-3 tbsp olive oil
-Kosher salt (to taste)
-Black pepper (to taste)
-Rosemary (or other herbs of choice)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Bring water to a boil. Add in potatoes and cook them until they are fork tender (about 35-40 minutes, depending on the size. Bigger potatoes = longer to cook)

3. Drizzle olive oil on the pan. Don't be shy...the more there is, the less the potatoes will stick!

4. Place potatoes on the cookie sheet, spaced apart well.

5. Take a potato masher and press gently down on each potato. Rotate the masher and press again. (you may need to break up bigger pieces gently with a fork. I definitely had to!)

6. Brush the tops of each potato with olive oil.

7. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and chopped rosemary (or other herbs) over the top of each potato.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

This is a new pumpkin muffin recipe that I found online. I opted to use fresh pumpkin instead of canned pumpkin.

Ingredients:
Filling:
-1 8oz pkg of cream cheese
-1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-3 tbsp brown sugar

Steusel topping:
-4 1/2 tbsp flour
-5 tbsp sugar
-3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
-3 tbsp butter
-3 tbsp chopped pecans

Muffins:
-2 1/2 cups of flour
-2 cups of sugar
-2 tsp baking powder
-2 tsp ground cinnamon
-2 eggs
-1 1/3 cups of olive oil
-2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Filling:

• Beat cream cheese until soft
• Add egg, vanilla, and brown sugar
• Beat until smooth
• Set aside

3. Streusel topping:

• Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and pecans
• Add butter
• Cut with a for until crumbly
• Set aside

4. Muffins:

• Sift together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder
• Make a well in the center of the mixture
• Add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil, and vanilla
• Beat well until smooth

5. Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups

6. Add 1 tbsp of the cream cheese filling

7. Sprinkle on streusel topping

8. Bake at 375 for 20-25 min

I'll add pics when blogger decides to cooperate with uploading pics...

Mama Krohn's World Famous Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

I'm sorry I haven't been here in forever. Starting a new job and getting sick will kill any attempt to do anything. So, to make up for my absence, I am going to share one of my faves, my mom's cheesy ranch potatoes.

And a word of caution, if you double this recipe, you will have tons and tons of potatoes left over. And they are that good that you might be tempted to double it the next time you make it.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
-8 large red potatoes
-1 cup of ranch salad dressing
-1 cup of sour cream
-1 cup of cheddar cheese, divided
-1/4 cup of crumbled, cooked bacon (bacon bits work well here)
-1 tsp of salt (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cut potatoes into quarters. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Cook until tender (about 8-10 min). Drain.

3. Meanwhile, combine salad dressing, sour cream, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and bacon in a large bowl; mix well.

4. Add cooked potatoes to salad dressing mixture; mix well.

5. Spoon mixture into a greased baking dish. Top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake until bubbly- about 20 min.