In The Kitchen At Last!

Yesterday, I was in the mood to cook! Luckily, my day was cleared out and I could do whatever I wanted. That's what normal college students do with their free time, right? I went through two of my mom's cookbooks, and picked out a few recipes that sounded good. I went to the store, bought my ingredients (with my mom's credit card, of course!), and spent hours in the kitchen cooking. Quick side notes: If you're going to be spending hours in the kitchen, you need floors that aren't going to kill your feet and back. People say that it would help if I wore shoes while cooking, but we all know that's not gonna happen... Also, if you live with your dad, you should get a CD player or speakers in the kitchen. 'Cause if you use the ones in the other room and blast them at loud volumes, it'll really tick him off.

Getting back to the point – here's two of my recipes that I used for dinner last night! I made them for the guys' Bible study that meets at my house on Saturday nights, and they seemed to like it. Well, either that or they were just happy to get free food. They are guys, after all. Either one works for me!

Bruschetta Chicken

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 10 breasts) *Tip – When buying your chicken, be willing to spend a few extra dollars on the more expensive kind. It makes all the difference in taste!
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 6 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 6 tablespoons minced fresh basil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs; place in 2 greased 13” x 9” baking dishes. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and butter; sprinkle over chicken. Loosely cover baking dish with foil.

2. Bake at 375º for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until top is browned.

3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over the chicken. Return to the oven for 5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through.

This should make about 12 servings. Could be more or less depending on how much people eat.

Spinach Parmesan Linguine

• 1 package (16 ounces) linguine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook linguine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring broth to a boil. Add onion and garlic. Reduce heat; cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in spinach; cook for 2 minutes.

2. Add the milk, cream cheese, salt, and pepper; stir until cheese is melted. Drain linguine and place in a serving bowl. Add sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses; toss to coat.

One last note: I didn't measure everything perfectly, so a few of these numbers were guesses of what I did. Happy eating!