Back to Basics and Other Random Things

And I quote Ina Garten.

After the amazing Chicago posts, this one will probably be pretty boring. I apologize.

There hasn't been a whole lot of exciting things on the food front this week. Tonight I decided to go "back to basics" and made chicken parm which I haven't made in a long time.

I used this recipe from Cooking Light as the base.

I only made a couple of changes like using whole wheat spaghetti and I baked the chicken filets in the oven instead of cooking them on the stovetop. I also used Trader Joe's Tomato Basil Marinara sauce instead of making my own. In case you haven't noticed, I rarely fully stick to recipes and tend to use things I have on hand instead of buying extras. Recipes are merely suggestions and after some practice, you can change them as needed. 

Tip for crunchy chicken fingers/breasts: Always dredge the chicken in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. FEB. Also, make sure you season the breadcrumbs and/or the flour to add flavor. Put a cooling rack onto a large cookie sheet and spray it with oil or cooking spray. Pre-heat your over to 425 and put the chicken on top of the cooling rack. The rack allows the air to circulate around the chicken keeping it crunchy!

Although this week was more on the boring side, last week I enjoyed a "Morocturkian" feast put on by my friends Mandy and Robbie. The foods were from the Mediterannean, Turkish, Indian, and Moroccan cuisines. It was seriously amazing.

I'm not going to remember the names of some of the foods but we had naan, tabbouleh, grilled meats, grilled paneer, grilled veggies, a plethora of dips (spicy feta, hummus, and tzatziki), pita chips, and other delicious things. Obviously washed down with wine. Lots of wine.

Grillmaster, Robbie, hard at work. 

My husband and I also went to Night Shift Brewery in Everett last week. They have a newer taproom that was really cool inside. There was a block party for the release of a new beer called Ever Weisse, a sour ale aged with strawberries, kiwis, and hibiscus. We opted to try some flights so we could have a few different beers including the Ever Weisse (it's the one that looks pinkish at the top).

We liked quite a few of them and would go back.

I also made these fig-sicles. I heart my popsicle mold. It's so much fun and you can make healthy, lower calorie treats in the summer (or all year-long). All I did was blend together 2% plain Greek yogurt, a couple of figs, honey, and almond milk. Then, I tried to place some figs on the sides of the molds so you could see them. Wah-lah

Sorry for this all over the place post. This weekend, my cousin is visiting from Oregon so it will be lots of family time. I also have Country Fest on Friday and saying goodbye to my friend Cait before she leaves for Denver to be a traveling nurse for a few months.