Month: June 2016

Salsa Chicken and Rice Bake

I love easy to prepare dishes that are full of flavor. In our house, anything Mexican is pretty popular, so this dish was and easy success.

Original recipe from TipHero.
Serves 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients:
– 1 cup uncooked basmati rice, rinsed
– 1 can corn kernels, drained
– 1-15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (Jen’s Note: Omit if your breast feeding and beans don’t work well with baby)
– 1-16-ounce jar salsa
– 1 cup chicken broth
– 1-½ teaspoons ground cayenne pepper (Jen’s Note: Omit for less spice)
– 1 teaspoon oregano
– ½ teaspoon salt
– ¼ teaspoon black pepper
– 2 large chicken breasts (about 1-1/2 pounds), thawed (Jen’s Note: Cut in half length wise)
– 1 cup shredded cheese blend
– 2 green onions, sliced

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. In an 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish, add the rice, black beans, corn, salsa, chicken broth, chili powder and oregano. Stir to combine. (Jen’s Note: Or, use a 8×11″ dish and you can add a third chicken breast)
  3. Cut the chicken breasts into 2 pieces and submerge into the liquid in the baking dish as far as possible.
  4. Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
  5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven and bake just until the cheese has melted.
  6. Top with green onions and serve.

Jen’s Note: We like to have garnishes like sour cream, cilantro, lime, hot sauce, so have those on hand to enhance the dish. Serve with green salad for a great, easy, week day meal!

I’ll see you at the table!

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

Parmesan Crusted Pork ChopI love a good pork chop. I love an easy recipe. Giada provided a great recipe – thank you, you hot Italian mama!

Serves: 4

Ingredients
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs (Jen’s Note: Only need 1/2 cup)
    • 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan (Jen’s Note: Only need 1/2 cup)
    • 4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces) (Jen’s Note: I had some really think pork chops from Costco, so I filleted them and am glad I did because the thinner chop allowed for a juicier and more tender dish)
    • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • 6 tablespoons olive oil
    • Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions
  • Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere. (Jen’s Note: If you
  • Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Jen’s Additional Notes:

1. You HAVE to serve with lemon. The burst of citrus is what really makes this dish. And don’t just supply a tiny little lemon wedge, trust me that you’re going to want to squeeze a healthy size lemon wedge on your pork chop – my husband was dying over how flavorful it was too!

2. Recommend that you serve with mashed potatoes. Rice just doesn’t cut it for this recipe… you really want to serve with mashed potatoes and no gravy needed, just a pad of butter. I’m a salad fanatic too, so I loved this with a big cesar salad with fresh croutons.

I’ll see you at the table!