"Guilt-Free" Ribs

"Guilt-Free" Ribs

So, I thought I had invented the holy grail of delicious clean food. BUT I didn't. When I make ribs, I usually use the crockpot and, fit people look away..., use a soda, coke, dr pepper, etc and pour it over the ribs close it and I'm good to go. But since we're trying to be clean, I decided to think outside of the box. I opened my fridge and saw organic apple juice and thought, oh. my. gosh. I'm a genius, but I'm not.. this is a totally documented way to make healthier version of ribs. Oh well, it was still mighty tasty!

2lbs Pork Ribs

2 cups organic apple juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

2Tbsp white vinegar

1Tsp garlic powder

2Tsp Worcestershire Sauce

S&P

1/4 cup BBQ Sauce (you can sub in something organic, or homemade)

The best ribs are cooked low and slow. I didn't really have the time so I did high for 5 hours. An hour before it was finished I put a light coating of bbq sauce on top.

Alana's Review

Taste: 4/5

Ease: 5/5
Comments: This was amazing and I didn't feel guilty for eating it (I rarely do - baha). The only complaint I had was that my ribs were super thick and a little fatty. So, it was extremely moist, and I much prefer it a little drier and some char. I didn't broil it either, which I will do next time!

Almond Crusted Scallops w/ Potatoes and Asparagus

Almond Crusted Scallops w/ Potatoes and Asparagus

Ever since I found the nice-looking seafood section at my local grocer, I keep experimenting with different types of seafood dishes. I saw a picture of almond crusted scallops and thought that sounded delicious, so this is my attempt at creating that.

Ingredients:

8 red or yellow potatoes (I used 4 of each)

20 asparagus spears

Dash of garlic powder

8 oz. package frozen bay scallops

1/4 cup unsalted almonds, chopped finely in a food processor

1/4 whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tbsp italian herbs

1/2 tbsp butter, melted

S&P

Preheat the oven to 375. Scrub the potatoes clean then put them in a pot to boil until fork tender. While that's boiling, clean 20 asparagus spears and toss them in a bit of olive oil with a dash of garlic powder, salt, and pepper (or whatever seasonings you prefer) and put in the oven for about 13-15 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, heat a skillet with a little olive oil in it over medium heat. Once hot, drop in the scallops and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Once they're cooked, put them onto a baking sheet. Be sure to place them close together, they should all be touching. Mix together the almonds, bread crumbs, garlic powder, parsley, herbs, butter, and salt and pepper, and layer over the scallops. Once the asparagus is done, put your oven to broil and broil the scallops for about 2-3 minutes, or until the topping looks brown and crispy. Once the potatoes are done, drain and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and some dried parsley for garnish.

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 3/5

Taste: 3/5

Comments: I think diver scallops (the bigger ones) would work better with a recipe like this because the crust would stay on them. The crust fell apart when I scooped them off the baking sheet and it became more of a scallop crumble. Also, I would add some olive oil to the topping as well to make it more moist. The topping itself had a really good taste though, I liked the almonds a lot with the scallops. All in all not bad for my first attempt, I'll try this recipe again with the changes and let you know how it turns out!

Fresh Tomato Penne

Fresh Tomato Penne

I had planned on making pasta tonight because I found an awesome quinoa pasta and I was excited to try it. And it just so happened that a good friend of mine had gone to the farmers market and pick up some tomatoes and may have gotten too many. She didn't think she would finish them so she gave them to me, SCORE! I included them along with some Vine ripe tomatoes and two handfuls of spinach stirred into Hunt's organic pasta sauce. a couple splashes of organic chicken stock and 1 splash basamic vinegar and a couple pinches of sugar, salt, & pepper. 

Alana's Review 

Ease: 5/5

Taste: by itself 3.5, but with (a lot) Parmesan 5/5

Comments: More Cheese Please! 

Toddler Review: I don't know if he was just enjoying playing with the food and then eating it but he ate almost all of it! 

Summary: Toddler Approved! 

Classic Roast

Classic Roast

This is definitely not the prettiest picture I've taken since the gravy decided to spill all over the plate, but man was it delicious! I had been craving some good ol' roast and mashed potatoes, and my local grocer was having a fantastic sale on London broil so I decided it was time to try my hand at making a roast. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. London broil roast

5 whole carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 of a sweet onion, quartered

1 tbsp rosemary

1 tbsp parsley 

1 tsp garlic powder

S&P

1 Bay leaf

2 russet potatoes

1 tbsp butter

About 1/4 cup milk

3 tbsp corn starch

I put the carrots and onion in the bottom of a mini slow cooker (my meals usually feed just myself or myself and my boyfriend), then I cut the roast in half, sprinkled it with the seasonings, and placed on top of the veggies. I filled the cooker with water until the water just covered everything, threw in the bay leaf, and covered and cooked on high for about 5 hours. About 30 minutes before time was up, I peeled and sliced the potatoes and put them in a pot of boiling water. While those were cooking, i drained the slow cooker liquid into a bowl, scooped off the top layer of fat, and put the liquid in a pot and brought to a boil. I mixed together about 3 tbsp of corn starch and 1 cup of hot water, and added to the liquid to thicken into a gravy. Once the potatoes were tender, I used a hand blender to mash them until smooth, added the butter, milk, and some salt and pepper, and blended until smooth and creamy. Then I plated up!

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: It tasted like the roasts my mom used to make when I lived at home.  I was pleased with how it came out and I loved the flavor of the gravy! 

Mussels in Tomato Broth

Mussels in Tomato Broth

One of my my favorite things to do is mosey on around the grocery store looking for food inspiration.  We have a fabulous local grocer here that carries an array of interesting items that you wouldn't find at Walmart or Target. I was walking around today and came upon some frozen mussels which reminded me of this delicious mussels and broth dish at a local restaurant in Virginia Beach. Mussels are pretty cheap, so I decided to try to recreate that dish with my own ingredients. 

Ingredients:

One 28 Oz can organic crushed fire roasted tomatoes

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp parsley 

S&P

8 Oz frozen pre cooked shell-less mussels, thawed

4 red potatoes

Handful of spinach

I started by cubing the potatoes and boiling until easily pierced with a fork, then I drained them. I then started warming the tomatoes over medium heat. I added the chicken broth, garlic, cayenne, thyme, parsley, and salt and pepper and brought to a simmer. Then I added the mussels, potatoes, and spinach. I tore the spinach before adding. Then I let it simmer for 5 more minutes until the mussels heated through, then served with slices of fresh sourdough.

It didn't taste like the mussels and broth at the restaurant (as I expected), but this did taste good and was a different dish than I usually make.

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Comments: Use fresh mussels if you can, the frozen have a different texture, kinda like chicken and a little grainy. Fresh tastes way better (if you can believe it ;). Also I would up the spices. I was a little shy with them since it was my first time making this dish, but it could definitely use more of the spices. 

Egg White Breakfast Sandwich

Egg White Breakfast Sandwich

My (sappy) Back Story

My husband and I are very much equals when it comes to pretty much everything. There are chores he enjoys, there are other chores that I enjoy. And when it comes to our kids we put in equal amounts of time and effort. We have a great relationship, and one important hinge of that relationship is being appreciative of each other, especially when the other makes our day easier. Whether it's something they always do or something they're going out of their way to do, we take notice with appreciation just the same.

Anyways, our toddler and 2 month old woke up insanely early the other day, and while I was getting ready to start my day (get dressed, etc) he had put the baby back to sleep by the time I went to go get her and then let me go back sleep while he got up with our son. Right now, I'm on maternity leave, and his job can run for 12hrs at a time, sometimes longer, and is physically demanding. Him giving up the precious extra moments of sleep he needed was such a nice gesture. I wanted to make the next morning special for him. I let him "sleep in" (a WHOLE extra 30min) and when he got up and rushed to get ready for work, I had a coffee to go and this sandwich wrapped, both ready and waiting for him. We're not huge breakfast eaters because we're always in a rush, so I thought it would be a nice surprise.

Here's my sandwich. It's pretty basic, and I've done variations of it on here before, but it's extremely delicious.

Eggs:

1 cup finely chopped spinach

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (extra fo' my man)

8 Egg Whites

1/4 cup Lactaid Milk (my son has lactose allergies)

Pinches: salt & pepper

Mix and cook on the stove top with heated extra virgin olive oil. 

I cut a mini loaf of bread in half, and split them in two. Toasted then topped with the egg and tomato.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 5/5

Comment: I'm not a huge fan of breakfast sandwiches, so when I make it again, I'll probably leave off the bread on mine. Otherwise, amazing. 

Toddler Note: He LOVED it. He ate a whole huge bowl full (just the eggs) and kept going "Mmmm" with each bite.

Eggs in a Basket

Eggs in a Basket

Today I wanted to share with you my favorite breakfast to make. It's quick, easy, and very filling. I first learned to make eggs in a basket my sophomore year of college. My best friend and I were starving one night while staying up late to study for an exam and she suggested we make eggs in a basket, and that was when I got hooked on them. Seriously, I probably ate them every day for two weeks after she showed me how to make them. So yummy! So here is how to make quick and easy eggs in a basket:

Ingredients: Bread (I used white bread from a local bakery but whole wheat would work well also)

Eggs

Black Pepper

Paprika

First spray a skillet with olive oil spray and set to medium heat. Next cut a whole in the middle of the bread. Back in sophomore year we just used a butter knife and cut around the perimeter, but now I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to make a pretty diamond-esque shape. Whatever you use, just be sure not to cut too close to the edges or they'll break and all of the egg will run out. Butter the edges of the bread on both sides (you can omit this step if you want to cut extra calories, I just like doing it so the bread has a buttery crispness to it). Once the pan is warmed, put the bread in and crack an egg in the middle whole you cut out. Be careful not to break the yolk. Now, the next part is up to what you prefer. For true eggs in a basket (the kind I like), you cook it over easy so the yolk is runny and creates a little sauce for everything, but if you don't like runny yolks then you can cook it through. I've overcooked them before and they are still tasty with fully cooked yolks, so just cook to your preference. For over easy, cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side then flip and cook another 1-2 minutes on the other side. You can tell where the yolks are at in the cooking process if you poke them with the corner of your spatula. If it looks like a waterbed then they're runny. Once they're cooked to your liking on both sides, take them out and sprinkle with black pepper and paprika. Voila!

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: As I said above, you can sub whole wheat for the white bread to make this healthier. Also, this isn't a dish to use farm fresh eggs in if you're wanting to make the eggs runny. I'd recommend using pasteurized eggs (the kind you get at the store) versus fresh eggs straight from the chicken. You're safe using pasteurized and eating runny yolks, but farm fresh eggs would be iffy.

Broccoli Tots

Broccoli Tots 

http://gimmedelicious.com/2015/05/17/healthy-baked-broccoli-tots/

Let me first just say... I LOVE broccoli. And after years of carefully including it into my tastiest dishes, my husband finally likes broccoli too! Our toddler, however, does not... yet! So, in effort to recruit him to the broccoli-loving side I decided to try these broccoli tots. If you ask me I'd say I much prefer plain steamed broccoli, but this post is for my little buddy. 

I altered the above linked recipe a little.

2 cups steamed broccoli, chopped finely 

3/4 cup cheddar cheese

3/4 cup finely "chopped" unsalted saltine crackers

To taste: salt & pepper

3 eggs

Mix 'em, mold 'em, bake 'em.

22-25min @ 450 degrees

Alana's Review 

Ease: 2/5

Taste: 3/5

Comments: It was good, and my son ate it. So, it's a win. BUT like I said I like the broccoli by itself better. One nice thing about this is that I was able to freeze the left overs to heat up for baby boy when I'm short a veggie for him come dinner time.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

http://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2015/09/11/clean-eating-classic-cinnamon-rolls/

This morning I decided to make these whole wheat cinnamon rolls. The picture looked delicious and the blogger said her family thought they tasted better than store bought, so it sounded great to an avid cinnamon roll lover like me. They were easy to make, but they took FOREVER to make. I want to eat ASAP while I'm cooking something, so the time it took to make these made me almost go get donuts at my local donut shop...luckily I persevered and distracted myself with TV so I didn't. Finally they were done and out of the oven. I took a bite and.....ehh. They weren't bad, just not the cinnamon rolls I'm used to. I like my cinnamon rolls fluffy, sweet, and covered with icing. I could live with these not having icing, but it's hard to make whole wheat food "fluffy", so these were just dense little cinnamon rolls. They're not the worst, I'll still eat the rest, but I probably won't make these again. I'm afraid the unhealthy food wins this time.

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 2/5

Taste:2/5

Parmesan Greek Yogurt Chicken

Parmesan Greek Yogurt Chicken

As unappetizing as the picture looks is as tasty as it was. Haha. So, here is my recipe. 

Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Pinches: salt, pepper,  garlic powder, Mrs. Dash lemon pepper

Mix everything but the chicken in a bowl. Place the chicken in sprayed or oiled baking dish. Top each breast generously with mixture. I baked @ 375 for 40-45minutes.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Comments: I liked it very much! It was so cheesy and moist. By the end it was a little too lemony, even for me. My husband doesn't like lemon chicken, like at all. I thought it wouldn't be as lemony as it was. So next time I think I'm going to switch it up and instead of a lemon taste I'm going to use chopped spinach. 

Ground Turkey Shell-less Tacos, Take 2!

Ground Turkey Shell-less Tacos,  Take 2!

I finally got around to remaking my Shell-less Tacos described here: Take 1!

I did everything exactly the same, except I made my own salsa! I used the store bought salsa to flavor the ground turkey like before. I just wanted to make sure my salsa tasted good before I mixed it all up in my food. 

Salsa:

Extra virgin olive oil, heated

1 small onion chopped finely, sauteed

1 & 1/2 tsp dried cilantro

Pinches: salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder

2tbsp honey (in many recipes I saw people used sugar, so this was my substitute)

A splash of organic chicken broth

While I cut up 3 large Roma tomatoes I threw the squishy insides in the sauté pan.

I threw the chopped tomatoes in at the end and turned off the heat but left the pan on the warm burner while I mixed it all together and then prepared the other parts of the meal

Alana's Review

(salsa)

Ease: 5/5

Taste:3.5/5

Comments: less onions, more spice! 

Protein Pancakes

Protein Pancakes

I'm a huge fan of pancakes, they're my favorite breakfast bread behind french toast. I used to make my pancakes from a box mix, but it has a lot of additives which aren't very clean. They also aren't usually super filling, I have to stuff myself in order to get full, so I wanted to make a pancake that will be more filling (which in turn means less pancakes I need to eat and most importantly less syrup). Here's how I made them:

1 1/3 cup 100% whole grain oats

3 tbsp whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Grind the oats, flour, and baking powder in a food processor until oats are fine. Remove to a separate bowl, then add all of the wet ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth. Add this to the bowl flour and oats and whisk everything together. Spray a skillet on medium heat with olive oil spray, and drop 1/4 cup batter to make each pancake. Flip when the bottom brown. Serve with pure maple syrup and fruit.

These pancakes were super filling, I struggled on the last few bites. They are denser than normal pancakes, but they have a lovely cinnamon flavor and I love the hearty wheat taste. These are a great way to start off your day without the mid-morning hunger setting in!

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Turkey Meatball Soup

Turkey Meatball Soup

My favorite thing to do is make a big pot of soup at the beginning of the week and take it to work for lunch throughout the week. Unfortunately, I'm super picky when it comes to soup so I usually stick to some variation of chicken noodle soup. Well, I decided I needed to jump out of my soupy comfort zone and try something new, so I decided on a turkey meatball soup (based off of this recipe: http://chefsavvy.com/recipes/turkey-meatball-vegetable-soup/). I'm not a big fan a ground turkey, but it's so much healthier than beef so went ahead and tried this soup anyways. I made the meatballs like the recipe says to but I also added some garlic powder to the meatball mixture to give it a little more flavor. My motto is you can never have too much garlic. After they were done, I added a head of chopped broccoli and 2 chopped carrots and sauteed those until they were tender. About halfway through I also added 4 big baby portabello mushrooms that I had sliced thin. Once the carrots started getting tender, I added the garlic, sauteed for a minute, then added 4 cups of chicken broth with roasted vegetables*, 1 cup water, and about 2 tbsp dried onion flakes. Once this started simmering I added a few dashes of black pepper, about 1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley, 1 tsp chili powder, 2 handfuls of spinach, and the meatballs I cooked earlier and let this cook until the spinach wilted. I then served with some fresh sourdough bread slices. 

This soup was quite tasty after I first cooked it, but it honestly was way better the subsequent days when I took it for lunch. The meatballs had soaked up more broth and all of the flavors had melded together beautifully. This soup is definitely going to overthrow my usual chicken noodle soup.

*So let me tell you about this broth. One day in Walmart I saw they had these cans of chicken broth with roasted vegetables on clearance, and since they hadn't expired I figured I'd give them a shot. These definitely lifted up this soup way more than normal chicken broth would have. It had a fantastic flavor and little bits of veggies in it. Now, a disclaimer, it's not really "clean" broth, but I'm not about to sit around making homemade broths so it will have to be a cheat. Feel free to add homemade broth to this soup, but I really think this broth is amazing and gave this soup a great flavor.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5

Taste: 5/5

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frozen Bananas

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frozen Bananas

Remember the homemade chocolate I made? 
Click here for the recipe
Well here's something you can make with it: chocolate peanut butter frozen bananas! And it's super easy, all you do is melt the chocolate in the microwave, dip sliced banana disks in it, place on wax paper and freeze, and then drizzle melted peanut butter over them right before serving! Easy and delicious, and the perfect snack to squash a craving!

Sarah's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Warm Bruschetta

Warm Bruschetta

The inspiration for this dish came from none other than Alana! My boyfriend and I wanted a snack to munch on while we binge-watched the new season of House of Cards, and I checked up on the blog to see Alana's new post and it looked delicious! If you haven't seen it, go to the next post immediately. 

I've never made bruschetta but had the basic ingredients on hand, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm not a fan of raw tomatoes or cold mozzarella, so this is a warmed up version.

I quartered yellow sun burst tomatoes, sprinkled them with salt, and roasted in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes. While that was doing its thing, I sliced a loaf of sourdough bread about half an inch thick and drizzled with olive oil. Once the tomatoes were done, I switched the oven to broil and put the bread in for about 2 minutes. I mixed the tomatoes, mozzarella cheese pearls that I cut in half, garlic powder, dried parsley, and dried Italian seasoning and spooned onto the bread. Then I put it back in the oven at 375 for 3 minutes so the mozzarella could warm through. Once I took them out, I sprinkled with a little pepper and dug in!

These came out wonderfully and were the perfect snack for our night of laziness.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Clean Bruschetta

Clean Bruschetta

We had left over spaghetti from last night, so I threw together a classic at our home. I have made this many times, and it's always been unintentionally clean. So I thought I'd share! I like my bruschetta fresh and simple. I ran out of dried basil and dried oregano (AHHH!). So I had to make due with what I had, but typically I would use both of those items.

3-4 chopped Roma Tomatoes (love these)

Fresh Mozzarella, cubed

3/4 cup chopped spinach

Pinch: Salt, Pepper

(Again - I try to use the left over ingredients from previous meals, I had a couple loaves of delicious bread that my husband picked. I used this as my toasted bread)

Brush Olive Oil over sliced bread. 

Sprinkle: Garlic Powder, Thyme, & Rosemary over them

With the oven still hot from reheating my spaghetti, I turned it off and turned on the broiler. 

They did come out a little more burnt than I would have liked, but honestly it was still amazing. This is one of my favorite things to make. So fresh and easy.

Once plated, we dusted with Parmesan.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: Put Oregano and Basil on my grocery list.

Pistachio Pesto Pizza

Pistachio Pesto Pizza

My favorite pizza is at a small pizzeria in Tulsa. It has tons of cheese and a pistachio pesto on it, and oh man, it is delicious. I love pesto, especially interesting ones that are based on ingredients other than the classic pesto, so I fell in love when I ate this pizza. Tulsa is a bit of a drive from Oklahoma City, so I decided to try a version of this pizza at home, and it turned out pretty tasty.

I made the pizza crust by mixing 1 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt and 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, and kneading until a dough formed. I rolled it out to about 1/4 inch thickness and baked at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until it was cooked through. The toppings were a thin layer of all natural pasta sauce (not homemade, but it was made whole ingredients), small fresh mozzarella pearls, yellow sunburst tomatoes that I had roasted at 425 for about 10 minutes or so, and pistachio pesto (recipe below). I baked this at 375 for about 8 or so minutes, until the cheese melted. I was impressed with how the pesto came out and all of toppings tasted great together. It can't beat my favorite pizza in Tulsa, but it sure will hold me over in the meantime!

Pistachio Pesto

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

1/4 parmesan cheese

1/8 cup olive oil

2 tbsp water

1/2 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp orange juice

Pinch of pepper (if pistachios are unsalted, add a pinch of salt)

Mix everything in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5

Taste: 4/5

Suggestions: Everything on the pizza was fairly soft, so adding some fresh chopped pistachios on top would be delicious for a little crunch.

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki Chicken

Ok, so complete disclaimer... this is a healthier and cleaner version of my teriyaki chicken and may not fit your ideal clean eating standards. I am half Filipino and in my household we eat rice, a LOT of rice. Growing up we would eat rice with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's just how it is. So the fact that I haven't had rice since I started clean eating is a miracle. I know that brown rice is an option, but I cannot stand it. I don't know what it is about it, and I know some people love it and prefer it. But I just don't like it. I love and typically use jasmine rice. Brown rice is healthier but in this instance I just used my beloved jasmine rice. In the pre-cleaneating days I would sauté the chicken in butter, soy sauce, etc. And then would do the same for the green beans. So this is much much healthier! 

I salt and peppered two chicken breasts then dusted some garlic powder on top.  I prepared the sauce separately. After the chicken cooked I cut it up and tossed it with the chicken. I steamed the green beans, no butter or any thing else since the chicken with the sauce would be on top of the green beans. I put ginger powder in the water I cooked the rice with. 

Sauce:

1 cup organic chicken broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp light brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

A splash of balsamic vinegar

A splash of Worcestershire sauce

I let this simmer while the rest of the food was cooking. My thought with this was that instead of simmering the chicken in straight soy sauce mixture. I made the majority of the sauce be broth and just gave it teriyaki notes. Then by tossing the chicken at the end in it, it meant less of that sauce and sodium seeped inside. It was actually very delicious! I think I might even prefer this to my old way!

Alana's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Caprese Chicken

Caprese Chicken

I used the balsamic vinegar reduction from the link at the bottom. I accidentally reduced it a TAD too much, haha. But it still worked. I also waited a few minutes to take a photo, so the crisp fine lines of sauce had spread. But it tastes a lot better than it looks. And I think it looks pretty good!

This was amazing. I salt and peppered the chicken then seared each side, then baked it. I did the typical mozzarella and tomato topping and broiled them the last 3-5 minutes.  I kept it pretty simple, the only change I did from the traditional recipe is instead of fresh basil leaves, I used dried. I try to cut up our meals for our toddler and I thought it would be easier for him to eat and still get the taste. Anyways, it was great and will be on our meal rotation! I paired it with a simple tossed salad with Parmesan, no dressing. You're able to use the sauce from the chicken. I also toasted some cut bread with olive oil, dried oregano, dried basil, pepper, and garlic powder to serve sort of like a crouton.

Alana's Review

Ease: 4.5/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: No changes needed! I can't wait to make this again!

http://damndelicious.net/2015/05/02/baked-caprese-chicken/?m

Pasta with Garlic Breadcrumbs

Pasta with Garlic Breadcrumbs

Recipe: https://lasvegasfoodadventures.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/pasta-with-garlic-breadcrumbs-pasta-con-pangrattato/

I'm always looking for new ways to eat pasta, it is my number one food group after all. I stumbled upon the recipe above and though, "Oh how fancy!" and had to give it a try. Pasta with toasted bread crumbs, parmesan, and garlic? Sounds like a match made in heaven! I substituted whole wheat pasta and whole wheat panko breadcrumbs, and also used only about a tablespoon of oil. 

I took the first bite: Mmm, delicious! I could taste the garlic, parmesan, and the toasty breadcrumbs. This recipe is getting a 5/5, for sure! Then I took the next bite: Alright still pretty good! And then I took a few more: Wow my mouth is getting awfully dry, I need some water with this. A couple more: So I'm not tasting much besides bread crumb anymore. And I'm so thirsty! Aaand a few last bites: Well, I had to drink a glass of water to get through it, and the bread crumbs started getting stuck in my throat while also flying everywhere as I ate....maybe 5/5 is a little generous.

So what I thought would be a winner turned out to be a dud. The first few bites are great, but then you should just stop because all of those bread crumbs really dry you out. It's quite messy as well, and I'm not a messy eater. As you twirl your fork, those bread crumbs really fly! I think it would be better to make another type of pasta and then sprinkle some of these bread crumbs on top. The texture was nice, there was just too much of it.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 2/5