Robin's Chicks

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Oven Fried Chicken

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Sister Wife made this at one of our Daddyless Dinners (dinner with us and our 6 kids when our husbands are out of town for work.) I’ve been meaning to make it for months, and now that I’m on the straight and narrow as far as eating goes, I’ve been pulling out all the light’n’delish recipes I can find.
This chicken is amazing. Every bit as good as fried chicken. No, really. I swear. I wouldn’t lie to you.
Here’s what you do:
You need boneless skinless chicken breasts OR tenderloins. (If you get breasts cut them in half, so they will be thin and pound them with a meat mallet. Cover the chicken with wax paper or a kitchen towel to keep the raw chicken pieces out of your hair.)
If you use tenderloins, just pound them a little bit so they are all the same thickness.
In three small bowls put the following:
1) 2 eggs, lightly beaten
2) 1 cup of flour
3) 1 cup of Italian style Panko (This is Japanese STYLE breadcrumbs with Italian seasonings mixed in. Don’t be skeered. I’ve never steered you wrong before.) and shake about 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese in there and mix it up with the breadcrumbs.
Get a little olive oil and pour it on a cookie sheet, rub the olive oil on with a paper towel just to get a thin coat on the cookie sheet and preheat your oven to 400.
After you’ve pounded your chicken until you are no longer angry at your mother-in-law, (not MY mother-in-law. My MIL is awesome, she cleans like a wild woman when she comes to my house and keeps my kids at the farm whenever we ask and always sends them sweet little care packages. But I know everyone hasn’t got it like that.) Anywho, after you get all your frustrations out, dredge the chicken in this order: flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. Shake the excess off after each step. Then lay the pieces on the cookie sheet.
Bake for about 12 minutes then take the cookie sheet out and FLIP THEM ALL OVER. Don’t just leave ’em in there. The bottom side will get crispy and brown first. Put them back in the oven for another 10-12 minutes.
Serve these babies with anything. I’m going to make them with some Barilla Protein Plus Pasta and a side of marinara, sort of a Chicken Parm without the grease. (I was not paid to say that, but I’ll be glad to send you my mailing address Barilla. *charming smile*) I love this pasta because it’s not DISGUSTING like whole wheat and spinach pastas and not as bad for you as plain ole pasta.
Y’all lemme know what you think!

Oven Roasted Garlic Infused Olive Oil (Thanks Nana)

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This recipe is so easy you literally will not believe me until you try it yourself. My next-door neighbor in Charleston used to make this and the only thing better than being in her kitchen while she was making it was when she would show up on my doorstep with an entire bottle just for me. My kids call her Nana, so I do too, and she is one of my very favorite people in the entire world. She was always showing up with platefuls of yummy food… *SIGH*
You need:
1 ginormous bottle of extra-virgin olive oil (I don’t really care what brand but I always get a 2 liter bottle.)
2-3 WHOLE HEADS OF GARLIC not cloves, the whole entire head, got it?
Dump the olive oil in a deep roasting pan and preheat your oven to 250 degrees, pull some of the outer layers off of the garlic, then cut the entire head in half. Don’t peel each clove, don’t worry about all the crap floating in the oil. Just cut the whole thing in half and toss it in the oil. Put the pan in the oven for 1-2 hours. If your oven starts smoking, it’s too hot. Leave it in the oven until the cloves of garlic are golden brown and sizzling in the olive oil, then very, VERY carefully take the pan out of the oven and let it all cool.
Use a strainer to pour all of the olive oil back into the bottle. I use this for EVERYTHING. I feel about garlic the way Paula Deen and The Pioneer Woman feel about butter. (I also feel the way they feel about butter, but that’s not my point.)
The oven-roasted garlicky goodness adds a little kick to anything you are cooking, chicken, veggies, and if you would like a little plate of heaven, cook some hashbrowns in this stuff. Add a little salt and pepper and dip some bread in it.
I’m not sure of it’s shelf life because we always use it all before it goes bad.

My Macaroni & Cheese: AKA The Best Macaroni & Cheese in the History of the World

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1 box of noodles. I like either the Barilla Protein Plus elbows, or rotini. Or any brand of LARGE elbows.
Cook until al dente.

Sauce:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Melt butter on medium heat, in sauce pan and sprinkle in flour stirring constantly with a whisk.
As flour begins to thicken the butter add:

1 1/4 cup of scalded milk OR half and half, OR fat-free half and half. Don’t worry. I’m not going to judge you either way.

Continue to whisk sauce and add:
1 cup of shredded SHARP cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of shredded mozzerella
1 cup of scalded milk
pinch of nutmeg, (You must do this. It is not optional and I will judge you if you don’t.)
a couple of shakes of garlic salt and pepper to taste.

Mix your sauce and noodles– you are going to want to eat it all out of the pan. And you CAN, because it’s delicious. But really, you’ll be even happier, if you top it with shredded cheddar cheese and pop it in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbly.

Again, you’re welcome or I’m sorry, depending on your diet needs. And really Aunt LuLu has zero room to talk about this one. I came up with this recipe after watching Bobby Flay throw down over some Mac and Cheese, using what I had in my fridge.

Emeril’s Tweaked Out Pumpkin Cheesecake

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I know, I KNOW! Normally I would agree with you that you shouldn’t mess with Emeril’s recipes, but my version of his pumpkin cheesecake has more spices and a gingersnap crust. You will NOT be sorry you made this. Unless you eat the whole thing– then you will be very, very sorry.

(Click HERE for the original recipe. The asterisks are for my changes to the recipe.)

Crust:

  • *1 3/4 cup ginger snap crumbs, (put ‘em in the food processor)
  • 1/4 cup finely ground pecans (add ‘em to the ginger snaps)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

*1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 14 ounce can pumpkin
  • 1/4 cup caramel sauce (I buy the Smucker’s in the squirt bottle.)

Directions

Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, get started on your crust. In a bowl combine the ginger snap crumbs, nuts, and cinnamon. Then stir in the butter. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. (*Paula Deen has a cool trick for an evenly pressed crust—use a tall straight sided drinking glass to press the crust. Start in the center and use the bottom of the glass to mash the crust flat and work your way to the sides. Then use the side and the bottom of the glass to mash the crust into the edges of your pan and up the sides!! Works so good!!)

Now, make the filling. In a mixer bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, spices and vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Add eggs and yolks all at once, beating until combined. Add cream and pumpkin. It will appear broken but will bake beautifully. Pour into the crust lined pan. Place on a shallow baking pan in oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center appears nearly set when shaken (**Mine usually take A LOT longer to set, sometimes almost twice this long so don’t get worried!) Cool 15 minutes. Loosen sides of the pan, and cool for 30 minutes. Chill for 4 hours before serving. Serve with caramel sauce.

Black Bean Enchiladas

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Got to talking about this recipe with a friend and as long as I was going to type it up, I figured I’d share it with all of you. I ripped this out of a magazine sometime in the last 10 years… it’s origins are unknown.

2 cans of enchilada sauce
1 T olive oil
1 onion diced
1 small red pepper diced (I usually leave this out, I don’t know why.)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 15oz can of black beans rinsed
10-12 corn tortillas, softened according to package directions
1-2 cups of shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pour enough enchilada sauce into an ungreased 12×18 baking dish to cover the bottom.

Saute onions, peppers and garlic in olive oil on stove top until tender. Mix in black beans and 1/2 cup of cheese. Spoon the cheese mixture into softened tortillas and roll, placing enchiladas seam side down in the casserole dish. Top with remaining sauce and shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I serve this with mexican rice, which you can buy at the store already made. You just have to microwave it for about 90 seconds. I won’t say the brand name cuz they ain’t paying me to!

My best friend in Fort Worth, TX is of Mexican descent and she used to tease me about my “white people enchiladas” until she tasted them! Enjoy!

Tomato & Zucchini Soup

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And yes it is the best ever in the history of the whole wide world. Just in case you were wondering. When I was pregnant with Sadie I ate Tomato and Zucchini Soup at Whole Foods like it was my JOB and I needed overtime to survive. I finally experimented with about 4 different recipes and came up with this one. It tastes egg-zactly like Whole Foods and you can make it with or without the zucchini. I used to make it plain all of the time but once I added the zucchini I couldn’t go back.

You need:
3 large cans of whole tomatoes
1/2 c carrots diced, (I cheat and buy them already julienned then just chop them)
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves of garlic diced
2 cups chicken broth
black pepper & garlic salt to taste (at least 1 Tablespoon of each, then to taste)
15 fresh basil leaves chopped
1/2 heaping teaspoon thyme
1 heaping Tablespoon parsley
2 large zucchinis diced
1/2 c fat free half & half, regular half & half or heavy cream

Saute onion, carrots, basil and spices until softened. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Add canned tomatoes and continue to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender if you have one to blend into soup, if not blend in batches in the blender. Return to pot and continue to simmer. Add diced zucchini, and cream, cook until zucchini is tender.

This is about the size I chop the zucchini but before I’ve added the cream…

Lemme know how you like it!