Mom?s Easy Baked Chicken Parmesan + Best Home Cleaning Product!

Howdy people!

Ben and I rented The Book of Eli last night. Umm, holy cow!

It’s about a post-apocalyptic world 30 years in the future (freaky) and I did NOT see the ending coming. Neither did Ben which is definitely saying something. That boy has correctly predicted the ending to practically every book, movie and television show he’s ever seen/read, but The Book of Eli? Nada. You should rent this movie!

Afterwards we got hooked on a Lockup marathon on MSNBC. Please tell me I’m not the only one obsessed with that show?!

I don’t know what it is about it – maybe it’s because the people they feature on the show (prisoners) are so radically different then myself – but it’s riveting television I tell you…

Today I’ve done nothing short of drive to Kansas and back. I woke up early and headed to Caribou coffee to get a little freelance writing done, answer emails and just generally have a wonderful little Sunday morning sipping coffee, being productive and jamming to the Christmas tunes they had playing at the store.

Cozy!

A couple girlfriends joined me a little bit later and we caught up on all things babies (theirs, not mine) husbands and everything in between.

With freelance work behind me I faced the housework ahead of me and proceeded to scrub nearly every surface in my home with Oxi Clean!

I’ve always been wary of the stuff since it’s a “infomercial product” but Ben picked up a container a couple months ago and since then I’ve been in total awe of it’s incredible ability to remove dried up spots in the carpet, clean spaghetti splatters off my kitchen walls, and polish our tile floors with total ease. I don’t know how it works, but it does. REALLY well.

It’s pretty inexpensive too and works on tons of different surfaces like carpets, tile, clothes, bathrooms and kitchens. Love this stuff!

I was absolutely famished after my marathon cleaning sesh, so I whipped up an early supper for Ben and I – Baked Chicken Parmesan!

I used to make this recipe alllll the time when I lived in Minneapolis, but somehow it fell off my radar sometime in the past three years. I was reminded of it while watching a cooking show yesterday, already had all the ingredients on hand (love that!) and had it ready to go in 30 minutes for tonight’s dinner!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

6 chicken tenders (or 2-3 chicken breasts)

salt & pepper

1 jar marinara sauce

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 cup Mozzarella cheese

2 servings cooked pasta

Directions:

1. Pour marinara sauce in an oven-safe baking dish.

FYI locals: I ONLY use this locally made Gino’s Marinara Sauce for my marinara sauce needs. It tastes exactly like the stuff we had in Italy!

2. Add the parmesan cheese and basil to the sauce, then stir to combine.

3. Lightly season chicken with salt & pepper, then nestle it into the sauce mixture, covering it completely with sauce.

4. Top with mozzarella cheese and cover loosely with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve on top of cooked pasta.

I wish you could smell this!

I actually got the recipe from my Mom who used to make it for my brothers and I when we were growing up. It’s probably why I made it so often in Minneapolis – it gave me a taste of home whenever I needed it!

I’ve served this dish over egg noodles a lot, but tonight I pulled out the big guns – Cellentani aka Corkscrews!

It’s my favorite pasta shape.

Not only is it just fun, but its nooks & crannys are perfect for trapping that garden-fresh, slightly spicy, cheesy sauce. I eat this with a spoon so I don’t miss a drop!

One pan, 30 minutes. Glad to have this baby back on my radar!

In other news, this is the part of the program where I need to tap you on the shoulder and remind you that the Breakstone Blogger Challenge is nearly halfway over – ahh!!

In case you’re just tuning in, I’m competing against 2 other bloggers for the chance to win $2500 (I get woozy just thinking about it!) We’ve each submitted three Holiday recipes and you all determine the winner by voting everyday until December 19th on who’s dishes sound the best.

My three recipes are Sweet & Spicy Pepper Jelly Dip, Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast with Creamy Wild Rice Stuffing and Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies!

I can’t tell you how thankful I am for your overwhelming support so far. Seriously, seriously, seriously thank you so, so, so much for your votes! Only a couple more weeks ’til we know who’s REALLY going to have a merry Christmas.

So, again, thank you in advance for your vote if you choose to do so!

Alrighty, I’m off to go relax on my last day of Thanksgiving “vacation”. This has been a fabulous little break filled with family, football and, most importantly, pumpkin cinnamon rolls!

Have a great night!

~~~~~

What’s your ideal number of days to be on vacation?

I’m a vacation LOVER so I’m going to go ahead and say…10 days. I know, tehehe!