Mock Chocolate Macadamia Toffee

I found this recipe on my favorite food blog, melskitchencafe.com.  My sister-in-law told me about Mel's several months ago and I've been cooking my way through it ever since.  Of course, I'm always drawn to the simpler recipes and boy is this one easy!  You're probably familiar with the saltine cracker version of mock toffee...this is the same idea, but better.  :)

½ box of graham crackers
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
2 sticks butter

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 ounces roughly chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a lipped baking sheet with a layer of tin foil (I used an 11X17 baking sheet). Arrange a single layer of graham crackers in the pan without overlapping. In a small saucepan, melt butter and add the sugars. Whisk to dissolve. Let boil and simmer for 5 minutes on low. Very carefully pour mixture onto the graham crackers, working quickly with a spatula to even out the layer. Bake 10 minutes. Remove and evenly spread out the chocolate chips and leave it to melt for 5 minutes. Using spatula, spread the melted chocolate evenly. Top with chopped nuts. Let cool. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Break into pieces.

*you may want to grease the foil first

Crunchy Parmesan Baked Chicken

This recipe is from the Food Nanny cookbook.  I've made it twice and it turned out perfect both times!  It's one of the few chicken dishes that doesn't turn out dry or mushy.  I also like using the buttermilk instead of eggs when coating the chicken.

2 lbs. chicken breast tenders
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1/3 cup butter
salt

Preheat oven to 400.  Grease a baking dish

Pour the buttermilk into a wide, shallow dish.  Mix the panko, parmesan cheese
and garlic salt in another wide dish.  Roll each piece of chicken in the
buttermilk and then dredge in the panko mixture to coat.

Arrange the chicken pieces in the prepared pan.  Melt the butter in a glass
measuring cup in the microwave and drizzle the melted butter over all.  Bake for
about 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender and nolonger pink.  Sprinkle with
salt to taste.



Both times I've made this recipe, I wished that I had more leftovers so that I could repurpose the chicken for chicken parmesan with spaghetti.  Maybe next time I'll remember to make a double batch!

(lemon) butter potatoes

I found this recipe on a bag of small potatoes and decided to try it out.  I don't remember what the potatoes were called but they were like miniature (about 1") yukon gold potatoes - really yellow and buttery with super thin skins (similar to fingerling potatoes).  Anyway, it's my new go-to side dish!

1.5 lbs potatoes, cut in half
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 tsp. garlic, minced (I use the pre-minced stuff in the jar)
1 tsp. salt
juice of 1 lemon (I used 2 Tbsp. of the bottled stuff)
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place potatoes in an 8x8 baking dish.  Combine butter, garlic, salt and lemon juice AND pour it over the potatoes.  Sprinkle the Parmesan over the potatoes.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden and tender.

This goes wonderfully with the Food Nanny's - Crunchy Parmesan Chicken.  Don't forget to drizzle extra (lemon) butter sauce overtop.  The chicken will thank you!