Cooking with Parmesan and Tulle Tutus

Sorry it's been awhile; springtime is super busy in our household.  Since summer is in full swing now, it's time to start sharing some more recipes with all of you. It is super hard to believe but my littlest angel is going to be a year old tomorrow. Every birthday is wonderful but the first one is always special. In thinking about what pictures I want taken to celebrate this event, I decided I wanted a colorful tutu picture with colorful balloons. The next step...a tutu. I've seen lots of tutus around but some of them seem really pricy. I can sometimes be crafty so I decided to look up instructions on the Internet and try my hand at one. I would say I had success. Below are the two I've made so far...one for each of my girls. I'll post pictures of my girls in them once we have pictures taken.

Okay, back to food. Last night we had our second night of steak this week. The first night I made grilled corn on the cob and grilled asparagus; both were delicious but this time I wanted something different so I went straight for my favorite place to hunt for recipes...Pinterest. I was going for potatoes and I found a recipe from My Adventures in the Country that looked positively delicious. I did a few modifications because of ingredients on hand but I thought they were delicious. 

Twice-Cooked Bacon Parmesan Potatoes 

Olive oil cooking spray 6 slices bacon (I used the refrigerated ready-to-eat kind) 
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (I used the itty-bitty ones!) 
4 cloves minced garlic 
1/2 cup grated parmesean (she uses parmigiano-reggiano...would be delish but expensive!) 
Kosher salt 
Fresh ground pepper 
Parsley (I used dried....fresh would be good too) 


First, I washed the potatoes and boiled them for 20 minutes. I left the peel on but you could peel first. Drain potatoes and let cool slightly before cutting them into large bite sized pieces. Spray a baking sheet with the olive oil spray and place potatoes cut side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. While baking, mix together garlic, parmesean cheese, and parsley. After 15 minutes, flip potatoes over, sprinkle with the parmesean mixture and bake once more for 15 minutes. Yum! 


With my love for parmesean cheese, I decided to look for something else using this wonderful ingredient. Once again using my favorite "search engine" (Pinterest) I searched high and low and came up with this recipe for Parmesean Chicken posted by Plain Chicken. 

Garlic Parmesean Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 


Marinade: 
1/2 cup olive oil 
1/2 cup ranch dressing 
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
1 tsp vinegar 
1 tsp lemon juice 
1 Tbsp minced garlic 
1/2 tsp pepper 


 Ranch Spread: 
1/4 cup grated Parmesan 
1/4 cup ranch dressing 


Parmesan Crumb Topping: 
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs 
1 teaspoons garlic salt, 
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan 
2 tablespoons melted butter 
1 cup shredded provolone (I used sliced- 1 slice per breast) 


Combine ingredients for marinade and pour over chicken.  Let marinate in refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight.  Grill 12-15 minutes, until chicken is done. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the ranch spread and parmesan crumb topping. For the ranch spread, mix 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan and 1/4 cup ranch dressing. Set aside. For Parmesan crumb topping, mix bread crumbs, garlic salt, shredded Parmesan and butter.  The crumbs should be evenly moistened. Position rack in center of oven. Preheat broiler. Transfer cooked chicken to oven-safe casserole dish. Spread 2 tablespoons ranch spread on each breast, then top with provolone and Parmesan crumb topping. Place chicken under broiler and cook until cheese melts and crumb topping begins to turn light brown. Enjoy!!