Thursday, January 20, 2011

Chicken Florentine

I have a box of recipes that I have accumulated over the past 15 years.  Most of these are recipes from my mom, who is a fabulous cook.  They are usually written in pencil, marker or even crayon on scratches of whatever paper happened to be near the phone.  I have even found out that some of them had missing ingredients, either my mom was giving the recipe to me from memory or I missed part of her dictating.  I have made several recipes and thought it tasted different from my mom's and then realized it was missing something key.   I want to start making a book of my favorites, so I'll start by blogging a few. 



Chicken Florentine is definitely one of our favorites.  It is a comfort food, but there are alterations you could make to make it healthier.

4 Chicken breasts, cut in strips against the grain
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup of Panko(Japanese bread crumbs)
2 TBSP Italian seasoning
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 cups cooked Spinach
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup Flour (I use whole wheat)
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Cooked rice

Put bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and sugar in gallon sized Ziploc bag.  Shake to mix, add raw chicken strips, shake to coat. 
Heat olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep it warm.
In same pan, melt butter and stir in flour to make a paste.  Add chicken broth, stirring constantly until a low boil, stir in milk to boil.  Add mozzarella.   Layer rice, cooked spinach, chicken strips and sauce.  Give it a try!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Yes you CANsolidate!

Every year I make a resolution to organize, organize and then organize.  It's not something that comes naturally to me or anyone in my household, but still always a desire.  My sweet sis-n-law has tried helping me (it comes naturally to her).  She will send me emails with tips and lets me know what new ideas she is implementing at her home.  She has been talking about this Cansolidator thingy for over a year now and knowing me, she knew I would never get around to it, so surprise.  She gave me one for Christmas.  Not only did she gift one to me, but she spent 4 precious hours cleaning and organizing my whole pantry while she installed this magical display of food.  It just gives me chills typing about it.  Service is definitely my love language, thanks for the love Clarissa!  Hopefully this inspiration will burn in me the whole year as I carry out my organization resolution.

Cleaning and organizing, so dedicated!
 So organized!
 Cansolidate!!!