Eat Skinny Be Skinny: Parmesan Chicken
PIN IT!Psst..Contest ends on Sunday!!
THANK THE HEAVENS IT’S FRIDAY. Although this was a rather fast week, I’m still beyond happy it’s the weekend. Our office is closing early because Sunday is a holiday, I’m going for a sushi lunch with my fabulous officemate and I’m making Easter brunch for dinner tonight! It’s shaping up to be a wonderful Friday, even if the weather stinks!
Since my Easter brunch recipe spread won’t be up until tomorrow, I wanted to give ya’ll at least something to chew on this Friday (get it, chew on? har har har). I’ve been eating A TON of red meat lately and since I’d rather not die of a heart attack by age 28, I’ve decided to jump back on the chicken bandwagon for a while. This week has been crazy with work and apartment hunting, so I wanted something easy but still really flavorful. I saw this recipe for baked Parmesan chicken and was sold immediately.
As you can see, it’s like a mix between herb-covered and oven friend chicken and must admit, I was really pleasantly surprised with how well it came out! Not to mention, our house smelled AMAZING. Like, I want to eat the air amazing. Luckily, it tasted just as good as it smelled!
Parmesan Chicken
What You’ll Need:
- 5 chicken drumsticks
- 1 cup of Parmesean cheese
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- Dash of salt and pepper
- 1 egg
How to Make it:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a small, shallow bowl, crack egg and whip until a lemony color. In another bowl, mix together Parmesean and spices.
- Dip chicken in the egg until fully covered and then liberally into the spice and cheese. Place in a baking dish.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy with spicy brussel sprouts and Parmesan rice!
This chicken is fabulous because it’s crispy like fried chicken, has a fabulous herby and cheese flavor and also has a great kick from the chili powder. The flavor explosion goes perfectly with the moist, tender chicken.
Oh and Parmesean rice is SO easy. Just cook regular rice in a rice cooker and once it’s ready, mix it with a little bit of butter, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper! So easy and delicious!
Nutritional Information per drumstick: 175.5 calories, 9.5 grams of fat, 15 grams of carbohydrates and 23 grams of protein.
Claire
Tags:40 minute dinner, brunch recipes, brussel sprout recipe, budget chicken, Easter brunch, Easter Recipes, easy brunch, easy chicken dinner, easy chicken recipe, easy parmesan rice, like that try this, low fat chicken, Parmesan, Parmesan chicken
The Special K Challenge
PSST…The cake stand and cookbook giveaway is still going on, so make sure to enter!!
As the title so subtly alludes, I’m going to give the Special K “Diet” a whirl. I honestly can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to complete this challenge, but it’s more than I can count on my hands, feet and hair follicles. The main reason I can’t last more than a day is I get very tired of eating the same thing over and over [leftovers excluded]. Another reason I want to try it is to see, first hand, if it really works. I don’t believe in fad diets (that diatribe will be on a different post), they represent everything I stand against when it comes to healthy eating, dieting and living. However, I’m also a firm believer in a challenge and obviously, this is a challenge. So today kicks off numero uno in this 2 week challenge and I’m already sick of cereal. I fear this will be a long week. Luckily, I don’t have to put my dairy-free Tuesdays and Thursday’s on hiatus because I’ve swapped all of my milk products for soy! And honestly? I’m really starting to feel a difference!
Breakfast: Special K Protein Plus with a Banana
Overall, a very filling and nutritious breakfast. I love Special K cereal, but the protein variety can taste super bland if not paired with fruit. I added a banana for texture and for the added potassium!
Snack: Special K fruit crisp and an apple with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
(Please don’t mind the monitor in the background, I’m at work!)
The fruit crisps taste like tree bark. They are awful. Thankfully, I had the apple and peanut butter to get rid of the awful, crispy grossness in my mouth.
For lunch, I plan on having a small hamburger and for dinner, a bowl of Special K. I’m thinking it’s a chocolatey delights kind of evening. Have any of ya’ll tried this? Completed it? I’d love to hear some reviews!
Eat Skinny Be Skinny: Lemon Muffins
Every so often, I make something that blows my freaking pants off. Where every single bite I take and every morsel I devour is pure and delicious ecstasy. Although most of my cooking endeavors yield edible and tasty fruit, there are some that just blow my mind with their goodness.
This here muffin is one of those culinary masterpieces. And yes, I said muffin and there is frosting. You don’t frost your muffins? No? Well, you are seriously missing out. Because frosting makes everything better. I also know what you’re thinking, you’ve been making/eating a lot of sweets lately. And, I can’t argue. You are RIGHT! But, in my defense, I ate negative sweets before the wedding and my clothes still fit. Sheen calls that winning. But because my husband doesn’t share the same obsession that I do for frosting, I left a few without. And they are still just as yummy.
Perfect, lemony goodness. Although I prefer mine with sweet cream cheese frosting, they are absolutely delicious either way. Not to mention, these would be a fabulous addition to any Easter brunch table. All you need are cute cupcake toppers and adorable cupcake wrappers! (Yes, I’m fully aware I have a teetering addiction to Etsy.)
Lemon Muffins
What You’ll Need:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons grated lemon zest (plus more if it’s not lemony enough for you!)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
How To Make Them:
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line muffin tin with baking cups. I used these ADORABLE bunny ones that I had leftover from the vanilla cupcakes I made.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt; mix well.
- Add wet ingredients and mix well. (As you can see, I added a LOT of lemon zest. But I love lemon.)
- Pour delicious batter into the lined muffin tin. Bake for about 16 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry.
- Proceed to let them cool and gobble up! If you are like me and would frost your own hand if you had to, pair with this light cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with extra lemon zest!
The added lemon zest on top was a very, very wise decision. With each bite, you get moist lemony cake goodness, sweet cream cheese frosting and an added zest from the additional lemon! It’s like a summer party in your mouth.
I can’t rave enough about these. Although E swears he doesn’t eat lemon flavored things, there are a few missing muffins from the batch. So the verdict is still out on that one 🙂
Nutritional Information per muffin (plain): 170 calories, 6 grams of fat and 20 grams of carbohydrates. Add 50 calories and 5 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons of frosting that you add.
It’s time for a Giveaway!!
It’s sunny, warm and Friday, which means I’m in a fabulous mood. And what do I do when I’m in a fabulous mood? HOST GIVEAWAYS! Weee! I haven’t hosted a giveaway since way before the wedding so it’s definitely well over due! So what is my generous soul giving away today? Well, it has to do this hilarious woman pictured below, Amy Sedaris.
If you haven’t heard of her, do a Google search this instant. This woman is gut-busting hilarious and her cookbook, Hospitality Under the Influence, is chock full of her hilarious anecdotes, jokes and amazingly delicious recipes. On any page, you can expect to find a recipe for grandma’s cherry pie and a diagram of the male anatomy. Talk about fun in the kitchen!
However, a fabulous copy of her cookbook is not all you get. The book is also about how to throw a fabulous party, and one can’t throw a fabulous party without…
…a fabulous cake stand! You can’t showcase your 3-layer double chocolate cake on just any ol’ plate! So how can you win?
1. Leave a comment with your FAVORITE dessert. Don’t need the recipe, just share your favorite indulgence!
2. Like me on Facebook.
3. Follow my tweets!
4. Do a little retweet of this giveaway!
Giveaway ends on April 24th at midnight. Good luck!
Indulgent Thursday: Vanilla Funfetti Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream
Because of my recent honeymoon weight gain, I’ve been extra diligent with my diet. So instead of having a few indulgences a week, I’ve cut my fatty foods intake to only once a week. And this past Saturday was my glorified sweets day because I had an insatiable appetite for vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting. Not just any ol’ vanilla cupcakes either, vanilla funfetti cupcakes. As you know, I’m sort of obsessed with funfetti. This craving came over me this past weekend and I got a serious urge to unleash my inner Martha and whip up a batch. Normally I pair cupcakes with my light cream cheese frosting so they aren’t as decadent. However, this weekend I decided to light up the cake and fatten up the frosting. Which is why it’s definitely an indulgent kind of dessert! Plus, I bought the cutest cupcake wrappers and Easter themed toppers which I was dying to use.
I know, aren’t those just the cutest little things you ever did see? Those cupcake toppers are so adorable, I wish I was crafty enough to make them myself! Not only did these look fabulous, they tasted even better! The cake was so moist and still had all of the flavor of a full-fat cuppie cake. The buttercream, as expected, was heavenly. It was creamy, buttery and sweet, absolutely to die for. PS: We have a FUN giveaway lined up for tomorrow, stay tuned!
Recipe makes 12 cupcakes and is adapted from Hostess with the Mostess and frosting is from Good Housekeeping.
Light Vanilla Funfetti Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
What You’ll Need:
Cupcakes:
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- sprinkles
Frosting
- 16 ounces of confectioners’ sugar
- 1 stick of butter, softened
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons milk, plus up to 2 tablespoons more if you need it
- Food coloring
How to Make Them:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.
- In a small bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients until well combined.
- In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add in the egg and vanilla, and beat until smooth.
- Add half of the flour mixture, stir, pour in buttermilk, stir.
- Mix in sprinkles and stir in, carefully.
- Distribute evenly in muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting. In large bowl, with mixer at medium-low speed, beat sugar, butter, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons milk until blended. Beat until light and fluffy on medium speed, occasionally scraping bowl. Once frosting is mixed, add a few squirts of red food coloring to create the pink color!
- Frost and decorate with toppers! (or just eat, which works too!)
These cupcakes are SO moist and delicious. And the frosting is just the right amount of sweet without causing a cavity. I will definitely be making these again!
Nutritional Information per cupcake: 320 cupcakes, 12 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of protein.
