Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Pesto Sauce

I know, this looks kinda nasty. My husband even told me he didn't want the green stuff on his chicken the first time I made this. (He didn't get a choice the second time.)
I found this recipe in my Rachael Ray: 30 minute Get Real Meals cookbook. She did some other things, but I'll tell you what I did. If you want her recipe I guess you gotta go buy the book!

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Pesto Sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I always use tenderloins, 7-8)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (the plain old sprinkle kind for spaghetti is best)
Pesto (you can get this next to the spaghetti sauces at the grocery store) -I don't like to waste my pesto so I didn't pre-measure this. I just used a teaspoon to scoop some out when it came time.
Salt and pepper

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat with 2 Tbsp of evoo. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dump the cheese onto a plate and press the chicken into the cheese, covering all the pieces in cheese on both sides. Add the chicken to the hot skillet, allowing it to cook for 6-7 minutes before moving it. Don't move the chicken around or lift it up to check it; the cheese is forming a crust and you don't want to mess that up. After 6-7 minutes, turn the chicken and cook for another 5-6 minutes. (I decreased my times by a minute or two since I was using tenderloins.) Top each chicken breast with a strip of pesto.

I served this with my favorite green beans. (I added a little butter this time too.)

Also, I fixed a little pasta. I filled a medium pot with half water and half chicken stock and boiled the pasta to the box directions. After draining the pasta, I added 1-2 Tbsp of butter, 1 Tbsp of pesto, and a half cup of Parmesan cheese. I mixed it all together and thought it needed some color so I chopped a few leaves of fresh basil and mixed that in too.

Mac and Cheese with Potatoes and Chicken

I'm back now. The other night I decided it was time to get back into trying new recipes for my blog. I had some left over Gruyere cheese from a fondue night and I wanted to use it before it went bad. I found a recipe for Mac and Cheese and I really like it. It's super quick and easy. (It's from Aida Mollenkamp on Food Network.) I also found a recipe for potatoes on The Pioneer Woman's website. And I used my favorite stove top chicken cooking style.
For the chicken, I just salt and pepper each side and sprinkle with a little fresh herbs. I use something different every time and sometimes a mixture. Pick your faves from Rosemary, Thyme, and Parsley. Heat a few tablespoons of EVOO over medium heat. When the chicken is just about done on both sides (about 5 minutes each side) I mix about a half cup each of white wine and chicken stock and pour that in the pan. I flip the chicken every so often until almost all the liquid is cooked out.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Here's a link to the Pioneer Woman's recipe. Crash Hot Potatoes I didn't have all the stuff and time for her recipe so I just used the idea and put it into what I had. Here's what I did:

2 cans new potatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Rosemary

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drain the potatoes and spread out in an oven safe dish. Take a fork and mash the potatoes a little just to open them up. Drizzle a little EVOO over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes.

Sage Butter Macaroni and Four Cheese

3 tbsp unsalted butter, plus extra for baking dish
4 oz. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1 pound macaroni
3 tbsp thinly sliced sage (didn't have any so used thyme and parsley)
6 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese
4 ounces shredded aged cheddar
4 ounces mascarpone cheese (didn't have so used cream cheese)
3/4 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to broil and arrange rack in top. Butter a 9 by 9-inch baking dish and set aside. Melt 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter and mix in a medium bowl with 1 cup of the Parmigiano and all the bread crumbs until thoroughly moistened; set aside.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for half the time indicated on package.

Meanwhile, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. When it starts to foam, add sage and cook until crisp and butter begins to turn golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside until pasta is ready. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain pasta.

Return pasta to pot and place over low heat. Stir in sage butter, reserved pasta water, remaining 3 cups Parmigiano, Gruyere, Cheddar, mascarpone, and salt, and season with freshly ground black pepper. Stir constantly until cheeses are evenly melted and the pasta looks well coated. Turn pasta into baking dish and evenly top with bread crumb mixture. Place under broiler until mixture bubbles and top is browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Steak Marinade with Green Beans and Mashed Potatoes

(Sorry about the bad picture; I forgot to take one and we were sitting down to eat. And it was a paper plate night...)

The meal sure was tasty though! I had some leftover steak from the other night so I went searching for a marinade. I found one that looked worth trying at Cooks.com. And normally I pour a can of green beans into a sauce pan and cook them until they're done with just salt and pepper. But I decided to be different tonight. The asparagus from last week gave me an idea.

Green Beans

1 can of Green beans
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Vegetable Seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain the can of green beans and put green beans in a small pan. (I used a bread pan.) Lightly drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little bit of vegetable seasoning. (I used McCormick - great!) Put in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Mashed Potatoes

Packet of fast fixing mashed potatoes
Water
Heavy cream
Butter
Salt
Pepper

Use whatever brand or size of fast mashed potatoes that you like. (I used Idahoan brand.) As for the measurements, just substitute a fourth of the packet instructions for water with twice that much heavy cream. (If the packet says 1 cup water, use 3/4 cup water and 1/2 cup heavy cream.) Boil the water without the heavy cream. When the water is boiling add the cream slowly. Let it sit for just a minute (don't let it boil again) and then remove from heat to add potatoes. After potatoes have been sitting for the called for time, add as much butter as you like (I like a lot!) and salt and pepper. If you like your potatoes really creamy you can add more heavy cream.

Steak Marinade

1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup Red wine
1 Tbsp. chopped Parsley
3 Tbsps. Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. each Salt and Pepper

Combine all ingredients. Reserve about a 1/4 cup for basting during cooking. In a ziploc bag, marinate steak for at least 4 hours. (The longer the better - up to overnight.)