Weeknight Dinner: Corn Flake Crusted Chicken with Spinach and Roast Cabbage

Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum...and Yum!

This recipe is a keeper.  Had it last night for dinner and I couldn't wait to post about it!  Honestly, as a meal, this is one of the best things I've cooked in a while (Bana was involuntarily "Mmmm!"ing).

Check it out!



The Concept: A great-tasting, hearty weeknight dinner that's easy, serves 4, and comes in under $20 total.

The Ingredients: 
For the Corn Flake Crusted Chicken (originally from Six Sisters' Stuff):
4-5 cups corn flakes, crushed
1/2 cup flour
Salt
Pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2-3 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
2 tbsp. olive oil

For the Spinach: (Sorry! I forgot to snap a picture...I was hungry! Geez.)
1 bag fresh baby spinach or 1 box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 medium shallot
1 tbsp butter
Salt
Pepper

For the Roast Cabbage (originally from Martha Stewart):
1 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tbsp
1 large head cabbage, rinsed, outer-layers removed
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp. caraway seeds (See WIdTOT #2)

The Process:
Roasted Cabbage:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the root off the bottom of the cabbage (don't worry about de-coring it, see WIdTOT #1).
3. Cut the cabbage into 1 inch slices, starting parallel to the root and working forward to the crest.
4. Brush 1 tbsp olive oil over the bottom of a sheet pan.
5. Arrange the cabbage slices in the sheet pan.
6. Brush with remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Bake for 40 minutes or until tender and golden.  Don't worry, the outside edges will burn a little bit, but the center will be cooked perfectly. Enjoy!

Corn Flake Crusted Chicken:

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Set up three cake pans/bowls/plates/etc.  Put cornflakes in one, flour in another, and milk and egg in the third (beaten together).
3. Dredge the chicken breasts first in flour, then the milk mixture, and finally the corn flakes.
4. Arrange carefully in the skillet and cook about 5 minutes per side or until outside is golden and crispy.
5. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and rest 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Spinach:

1. Cut the shallot lengthwise into rings.
2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
3. Saute shallots in the skillet until wilted, but NOT browned, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the baby spinach and saute until wilted. Enjoy!

Wish-I'd-Thought-Of-Thats (WIdTOTs):

1. No need to core the cabbage - unlike boiling, roasting the cabbage tenderizes the core and makes it completely edible.  It's actually one of the tastiest parts!
2. No caraway seeds - the best thing about this meal is that it only needs two seasonings: salt and pepper.  I wasn't a fan of the caraway seeds on the cabbage.  KISS; just use salt and pepper.
3. The Kicker: this whole meal feeds 4 and comes in under $20 - If You're looking for a low budget meal that tastes like it was catered, this recipe is for You! It's hearty, filling, and if I may be so bold, &@%! tasty.

The Finished Product:
Cheap. Tasty. Easy. Hearty. Filling.  What else could you want in a week night meal?

Enjoy!
-Cade 

Bacon-Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Cookies

How was My first post not about cookies? How was it not about bacon?

Ahhh bacon. :-) Mmmmm.

Ahhh cookies. :-) Mmmmm.

So is it "Ahhh bacon cookies. :-) Mmmmm." or "Ahh!! Bacon cookies. >:O Bleeeaahhh."?

Let's find out.

This recipe is from Food Network Magazine. (I warned you!) It's available here.

The Concept:

Cookies are good. I eat cookies. Bacon is good. I eat bacon. Bacon and cookies are good. I eat bacon and cookies. "Lightbulb" yet?

The Ingredients:

Bacon (Duh!), Chocolate chips, and the makings of peanut butter cookie dough.

WIdTOTs:

1. Leave out the chili powder - Let's face it. Bacon's salty and savory, so what's the chili powder supposed to do? That's rhetorical. You can't taste it anyway.
   
2. Mush the chocolate chips into the peanut butter dough BEFORE you ball it out - This is not as easy as it sounds. There's a reason You don't see chocolate-chip peanut butter cookies at your local chippery. Peanut butter cookie dough is not meant to hold chocolate chips. But in this recipe, You're putting the bacon on top and there's just not room for the chips too. You'll make it work. I have faith in You. :-*
3. Cut the bacon BEFORE you cook it - It's much easier to get a consistent chunk and it looks better on your cookie. (Better looking food tastes better.)
4. The Kicker: Don't tell your SigO that You put bacon on their cookie - ...unless of course you were particularly mischievous the last time you said "Close your eyes, sweetheart. Trust me."

The Finished Product:

Sweet. Salty. Satisfying. While I won't put this up there with nacho-cheese-chocolate-chips, it's definitely on par for a savory sweet kick to your taste buds. I'll definitely be making these again. Come on. You know You're thinking it. "Sure. Why not?"

Bacon cookies for breakfast? Yes, please!

-Cade