Baked Quinoa And Chicken Parmesan and New Etsy Items

It was a crazy week last week. I am so ready for the tides to turn. We got up one morning and the pond was empty of water, about an inch left. Fortunately, we caught it in time and was able to save all the fish. We still have no idea where the water went??? We couldn't find where it ran out, no sign of it leaking out anywhere. We took the liner out of the ground washed it and set it on the concrete patio and filled it with water, waited about an hour, not a drop of water leaked out. 

After putting it back in the ground and filling it and treating the water, we put the fish back in. Around 10:30 that night I went out to check and our biggest Koi had jumped out and was laying almost on the patio. No movement whatsoever! I picked him up and put him in the water, he started sinking immediately. I picked him back up and held him in the water, talking to him and massaging him for 2 1/2 hours, and finally, his tail moved a tiny bit. I just kept massaging him and talking to him, probably another 30 min. later he moved a fin just slightly. After another two hours on my knees of talking and massaging him, he started moving around a little. He still could not swim without going on his side. But with more work, he started swimming. It was 5:30 a.m. in the morning when I came in the house. Good news, he made it. He is doing great! I couldn't walk after spending the entire night bent over and on my knees, but I sure felt great knowing he made it. 

I'm a firm believer that touch and words can heal! 

I found a new recipe that we just love. Click on the link below to get the recipe.

 BAKED QUINOA AND CHICKEN PARMESAN

Leftovers were great the next night with Spaghetti Squash.

Sweet Shabby Chic Vintage "Father" Mug / Cup. For sale here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/463421692/beautiful-vintage-shabby-chic-father?ref=shop_home_active_1

Decorative Ceramic Pepper. Click on the link to purchase: https://www.etsy.com/listing/278799852/decorative-vintage-ceramic-red-and-green?ref=shop_home_active_2

Fantastic Mid Century Table. It's here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/463397686/vintage-mid-century-metal-table-base?ref=listing-shop-header-3

King Bake Checkered Cake Pans: https://www.etsy.com/listing/476579477/vintage-king-bake-checkerboard-cake-pans?ref=shop_home_active_5

Vintage Orville Redenbacher Popcorn Bowl: https://www.etsy.com/listing/463066830/awesome-vintage-orville-redenbacher?ref=shop_home_active_9

Vintage Handcarved Rio Jesus Wood Statue: https://www.etsy.com/listing/476549559/vintage-rio-jesus-statuereligious?ref=shop_home_active_12

Haeger Gold and Brown Pottery Vase: https://www.etsy.com/listing/463061548/vintage-gold-and-brown-tone-california?ref=shop_home_active_11

Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa Chili

I made Chicken, Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Quinoa Chili on Sunday. It turned out delicious.

Here's a list of ingredients, but I did my own thing.

I chopped a medium onion, a couple of minced garlic cloves. I chopped two sweet potatoes, 1 can of black bean, any kind of bean would work. 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 box of chicken broth, 1 tbls. of chicken bouillon, 2 cups water, 1 cup of washed, organic quinoa, 2 uncooked chicken breast, 1 tbls. dried parsley, a splash of worcestershire sauce, and 1 packet of chili seasoning. I put all this in a soup pot, covered and cooked on medium until thicken and everything was cooked. I took the chicken out, shredded it, added back to chili, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

Topped with our favorite toppings, chopped avocado, chopped green onion, chopped cilantro, fresh lime, and shredded cheese. Toasted corn chips with garlic salt.

Good Eats

Over this past week I cooked a chicken recipe I had eyed on What's Cookin' Chicago? Blog. The Apple-Maple Glazed Chicken is delicious and I have made this twice in the past week. I used chicken tenders because it is what I had and it turned out fantastic. This is easy and doesn't take many ingredients, and is so tasty. Last night, I made a sandwich on fresh homemade wheat bread, some fresh spinach, sliced red onion, with some sweet and spicy dressing that I made with a little of the glaze from the chicken and mayo and a pinch of grainy mustard - it was delicious!

Homemade wheat bread, my own recipe.

Homemade minestrone soup, my own recipe.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

I must do better at remembering where I get these recipes, if I am going to post them. More than likely it came from http://www.recipe.com/? I like their receipes a lot, they are rated by people who have actually made them.

I made this for dinner tonight and it was DELICIOUS! It's a good thing I made enough for only one serving, or I would still be eating. I made whole wheat angel hair pasta and roasted asparagus, which was a delicious combination with the sauce.

Since I have to count every mg of sodium, cholesterol and carbs, I made a few substitutions - and it was still... mouth-watering DELICIOUS!!!

*I used smart balance instead of butter, 2% milk instead of cream, and red onion, chopped, in place of shallots. Using a little corn starch mixed with the chicken broth and whisked in when almost ready to serve was a great substitution for the the cream. I used the red onion cause I had some that needed to be used. I also used organic chicken breast, which is so much better.

2 whole chicken breasts boneless and skinless
2 egg whites2 Tbls. cornstarch Juice of 1/2 lemon1 seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tbls. fresh parsley, chopped1 teaspoon kosher salt ( I never add salt to anything )
1/4 teaspoon pepper (Fresh Ground is so much better)
Zest of 1 lemon, minced
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
3 Tbls olive oilSage butter sauce
3 Tbls shallots, minced
1/2 cup Dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
4 Tbls. Unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt, white pepper, cayenne to taste (I omitted this completely)
1 teaspoon fresh sage, minced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare the chicken by halving and then halving again lengthwise. (Whole chicken breast are a bit too big. Making smaller pieces ensures that the coating will not burn before the chicken is cooked through.) Pound to about 1/2 inch thick. Blend the egg whites, cornstarch, and lemon juice with a fork in a wide, shallow dish; set aside. Combine the bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, and zest in a second wide, shallow dish.

To crust the chicken breasts, dip each in the egg white mixture and then roll in the bread crumbs. Then transfer the chicken to a rack set over a baking sheet. Air-dry the chicken for 20-30 minutes to help set the crumbs.

To cook, first saute the chicken on the stove in an ovenproof skillet.

As you put the chicken in the pan, lay it towards you. This way each piece will rest on top of any crumbs that fall off. Saute until the chicken is golden and crisp on one side, then carefully flip the pieces over. Cook until golden. Finally, transfer the whole pan to a 450 degree oven to finish. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes in the oven. If you are serving this with Sage-Butter Sauce and Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary, begin roasting the potatoes while the chicken is air drying on the rack, then prepare the sauce and keep it warm in a warm water bath. It will hold just fine for at least an hour.

For the Sauce - saute the shallots in butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until soft, 2 - 3 minutes. Add the wine, cream, broth and lemon juice. Simmer until reduced by half, 8 - 10 minutes. Whisk in butter, 1 Tblsl at a time, stirring constantly. Do not add more butter until previous addition has melted completely. Finish sauce with sage and seasonings. Keep warm in a warm water bath until ready to serve. The Roasted Potato recipe is listed separately.

Chicken breast cut in half and breaded.

Sauce cooking

Chicken cooking to a golden brown