Cave-people Would Have Been Jealous

All right, today was my second attempt at cooking. My little sister, S, helped today. Together we made primal chicken Parmesan because B is on something called the paleo diet. Granted, we used some stuff that would not have been used by cave-people such as cooking spray and vegetable oil - two things that are not on B's diet.

Everything turned out all right and there were no major injuries. Just some cussing and getting spat at by grease. Turns out glass lids are a great shield for grease popping at you. I held it up in front of me not unlike a shield or how a ring man would hold up a chair between them self and a lion. Just call me the grease tamer.

Anyways, here's the recipe thanks to SparkRecipes. And, a picture!

three large boneless skinless chicken breasts
 

1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup almond flour/meal
about 1/2 c (or 6 tbsp) of spaghetti sauce
1/2 c mozzarella cheese
seasonings to taste (oregano, s/p, italian seasoning)
1 egg, beaten

Cut each chicken breast in half to make 2 servings from each; cover with plastic wrap and flatten.
Mix 1/2 cup Parmesan, almond flour, garlic powder and Italian seasoning in a shallow dish.
Put the beaten egg in a separate shallow dish.
Dip each chicken breast in egg to coat, then lightly coat them with Parmesan-almond mixture.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the chicken in hot oil until browned and the meat is almost done, but still slightly pink in the center.
Place the chicken breasts in a foil-lined and greased rimmed cookie sheet.
Top each with 1 tablespoon of spaghetti sauce, then 1/6 of the mozzarella.
Sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350º about 20 minutes until chicken is done and cheese is melted and bubbly.

S and I alternated between who did what. It was a lot of fun to make and my dad and B both thought it turned out all right, though our steamed veggies were a bit lacking in portion size (I just used frozen, mixed veggies). And, personally I'd add a little more sauce than it calls for. One tablespoon was not enough for Dad, B, or me. 

Now, about this paleo diet shindig. From what I've seen and learned from B, it's a diet that focuses on food that cave-people would have had to have had access to. However, she can't eat legumes. So, no green beans for her. And cheese is okay. But, basically it's meat and veggies. 

I would have fallen off the band wagon a long time ago, but B's still on it and she seems to like it though there's not always a lot of variety for her. Which, is why we made primal chicken Parmesan even though she already eats quite a bit of chicken. 

Once we were done cooking, I took the above picture and sent it to A. I'll admit, I was a bit proud and needed to show off. 

The best part about cooking when I'm at home? The cook doesn't have to do dishes. That lovely job fell on to the shoulder's of my father.

How Much Mayo? That Can't Be Right...

There's more mayonnaise in spinach-artichoke dip than I'd care to think about. For the most part, I'm pretty ignorant about what goes into my food. I'd rather not know about all the calories I'm consuming and instead focus on the healthy qualities. I mean, the dip has spinach and artichoke hearts, what can be bad about that?

This Fourth of July I decided to try and make spinach-artichoke dip instead of a dessert. And, I kinda wanted to prove to my boyfriend that I could actually make something. Baking, I'm okay with that. Cooking? For some reason that just hangs me up. He keeps reminding me that I burnt a bagel and now would prefer to eat anything I make that has been endorsed by people who are not related to me.

Technically, spinach-artichoke dip isn't cooking. But, if you know me it's a step towards cooking. It does involve a oven, after all.

There's several recipes out there for spinach-artichoke dip. Some seem quite time consuming and complicated. For my first go at it, I thought I'd stick with something simple. I went to my step-mom, B, and asked her if she had a recipe. The one thing you should know about B is that she can do no wrong in the kitchen, even if she tried. Her bad is everyone else's good. However, she did not have a recipe. She just makes it up as she goes.

What? I have to make this dip up as I go? That's ridiculous. I'm not ready to just "wing" a recipe. So, I went to the Internet and found more recipes than I needed.

Finally, with some help from B, we figured out a simple recipe that (to my surprise) was actually liked by others. And, yes, I told my boyfriend. I'm going to make him try it when we finally get to see each other.

What you'll need is a jar of mayo (so, so, so much mayo), at least one container of frozen, chopped spinach, at least one bag of cheese, and at least one jar of artichoke hearts. Make sure that the artichoke hearts are not quartered.

For my recipe I used a 16 oz bag of the frozen, chopped spinach, two cans or artichoke hearts, and two bags of cheese. And, of course mayo.

First, thaw the spinach. Then, you'll need drain it in a colander . Who wants watery spinach? After put into a bowl because you're going to be mixing that lovely cold, green food.

Second, drain the artichoke hearts. You can squish the water out with your hand. Once you're down with that chop up that artichoke as best you can. I didn't do so hot on this part. Chopping artichokes is not quite as easy as it sounds...Or, it could just be me. But, as long as their chopped up a bit you're doing good. It doesn't mess up the recipe or anything.

Third, put the artichoke bits in with the with the spinach.

Now, let's get into the cheese. Empty one entire bag into your dip and just keep mixing along with about half the cheese in the other.

Around this time you should preheat the oven to 350 F. Unlike me, who did it first thing only for it go off way too early.

Mayo...mayo is not healthy. However, this recipe requires it. Just go ahead and put in about a cup and a half into your mix. This where you kind of have to judge how much may you'll need. Everything pretty much needs to be covered in the mayo. Other recipes may call for heavy cream and sour cream. I learned, though, that by using mayo I didn't have to grease the pan. One less step is good with me. And, I have a tendency to make food that just won't get off the pan, grease or no grease.


Now that you've mixed everything together put it into an oven friendly pan. Set your timer to about twenty minutes and wait.

The good thing about this recipe is that it's easy to reheat in a microwave and is jut as tasty.

I was quite pleased with the end results - though my step-mom was not quite too pleased with the mess I made. But, I guess that's the hazards of learning to cook.

(sorry the pics are sideways)