Homemade chicken strips are so easy to make and so much tastier then frozen pressed chicken.

Panko Crusted Chicken Strips

Boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced into strips
Flour
Panko
Egg
Season Salt
Canola for frying

Coat the strips in flour then dip into your egg mixture. Get a large ziploc bag and fill with Panko bread crumbs that has been seasoned with season salt to your liking. Place the coated chicken strips in the bag and shake them up until they are completely covered. Fry in oil until cooked through. For a healthier version you could bake them instead of frying. I had mine with Franks Red Hot Thick Sauce and blue cheese. Penelope dipped hers in ranch. Yum!

Penelope had her very first club sandwich today, she was very impressed.

Pineapple, pistachio-almond-cashew mix, sour cream & cheddar chips, pickle, baby carrots, club sandwich topped with a green olive.

For the club sandwich crisp up some bacon. I like to make my bacon in the oven in a foil lined baking pan at 400 to desired crispness. I love how the bacon comes out this way, it's mess free and you don't have to worry about grease splatter. Also while the bacon is cooking you can prepare the rest of the meal. Toast 3 slices of buttermilk bread. Spread mayo on once slice and then top with turkey and provolone cheese. Spread mayo on both sides of the second slice of bread and place on top of cheese. Top bread with lettuce, tomato and bacon and then spread mayo on one side of last slice of bread and top sandwich. Slice into four squares and skewer with a toothpick to keep sandwich together. You can put an olive or pickle through the toothpick for a finishing touch. Yum!

Brrr, it's been cold the last few days. I am talking in the negatives and single digits cold. Last year we had such a mild winter and this year we are freezing.

The letter this week at (P)enelope's school is P. They had to wear (P)ajamas today and they made (P)ancakes. I also made her a P bento.

P is also for (P)ink (P)olkadots, cheese letters that spell out (P)en (one of my nicknames for), (P)otato chips, (P)ineapple, (P)istachios and (P)ickles. She also had a turkey sandwich on a roll with tomatoes.

P is also for...

(P)regnant :)

We had a snow day today, sNOw school, sNOw work, sNOw fun!

My first post in 2012! Can you believe it, already?! Did everyone have a fabulous New Years Eve? The three of us stayed home and kept warm, I am still trying to recover from the nasty cold that has been going around. Ugh. Did you have a delicious New Years Eve meal? We had some tasty appetizers and Penelope and dad made cupcakes for dessert.


Spanakopita, Arancini,and Empanadas. The Spanakopita and Arancini were from frozen, boo for me, but the Empanadas are semi homemade. They were yummy!

Empanadas

Filling-
1lb Ground Beef
1 Large potato chopped into small cubes (about half the size of a die)
1/2 can of Rotel (you can chop up some tomatoes, green chili's, and onion instead)
Sliced black olives
Salt & Pepper
Cumin
Garlic salt
Onion powder
Shredded Colby jack cheese
Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust

Cook the ground beef and potatoes with the seasonings. Once the beef is cooked through and the potatoes are soft to the touch add the Rotel and black olives. Set filling aside. Roll out the pie crust with a rolling pin and then using a circle cookie cutter cut out rounds. I used a small round cookie cutter about the size of an English muffin so they didn't hold much filling. You can make them bigger if you like.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven at 400 degrees. Fill the center of each dough round and then fold over to seal. It helps to use a little water to get the dough to stick together and then use a fork to crimp the edges of the dough that you brought together. Before you pop these in the oven brush the top side with a light egg wash for a nice golden crust. Bake for about 15 minutes. These are good served with guacamole and sour cream for dipping.