Parmesan and Yogurt Crusted Chicken

Is anyone else completely hooked on Pinterest? I can't get enough. Unsurprisingly, most of my pins have to do with food. As I scroll through images, I'm always tempted by cupcakes piled high with frosting, gooey brownies, and decadent truffles, but sometimes I manage to find a dinner recipe.

I kept coming across this chicken recipe that people referred to as "OMG Chicken." I was intrigued. With a name like that it promises to be delicious, but it looked ridiculously simple as well. You take your chicken breasts, schmear them with stuff, and pop them in the oven. Boom. Done. Eat dinner.

And you know what? It really is OMG good.

P.S. Want to see the rest of my pins? Find me on Pinterest here.

Parmesan and Yogurt Crusted Chicken
Serves: 4
Adapted from Pinterest

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and Parmesan cheese. In a separate small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Place chicken breasts in a baking dish large enough to fit them in a single layer. Evenly spread Parmesan and yogurt mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle with seasoned breadcrumbs.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Tent with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Carolina Collard Greens

My younger daughter -- and the more adventuresome eater of my two girls -- turns 7 tomorrow. We celebrated on Saturday with a home cooked early birthday dinner. Penny's taste buds were set on having collard greens.

Yes, my child is weird. A child of the South and a weird collard craving, blue cheese nibbling, quinoa salad lunching kid. But finally someone else in my house other than me appreciates collards, so I happily fixed a big mess of greens.

Here are some Southern inspired dishes that would go well with collards: Family Cornbread, Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, Tangy Slow Cooker Pork with Onion Jam, Slow Cooker Chicken & Biscuits, Pecan-Crusted Chicken Breasts and a Deviled Egg Sampler.

However, our birthday dinner was a little more eclectic. We had Parmesan and Yogurt Crusted Chicken, scalloped potatoes and a nearly flourless French chocolate cake.

Penny, by the way, had two helpings of collards.

XOXO,
Amy

PS: I call these Carolina Collard Greens in honor of Cam Newton, QB1 for the Super Bowl 50-bound Carolina Panthers. In an interview following the Panthers' NFC Championship win, Cam compared "instant grits" to "slow cooked collard greens" when asked to talk about what's happened to him since being drafted. Go, Panthers! Keep pounding!

PPS: You might recall that Erin is bringing you grits following the Seattle Seahawks' playoff loss to the Panthers. Grits are coming later this week.

Carolina Collard Greens

2 pounds of collard greens, each leaf cut in half to completely remove center stem/vein and torn into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 pieces bacon
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch or two of crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar

Rinse prepared collard pieces under cold water and  set aside.

In your largest pot -- like a pasta or lobster pot -- heat olive oil over medium heat. (Trust me, the collards cook way down.)

Add bacon and cook for a minute. Add onions and cook until softened, about four minutes. Add garlic and red pepper and cook until fragrant, about one minute.

Remove bacon and cut into pieces and return to pot. (Or you can do what I do, which is use kitchen scissors to cut bacon while it is still in the pot.) Add collards and stir to incorporate with other ingredients the best you can. Add broth and vinegar.

Bring pot to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for at least 45 minutes.

Use slotted spoon to serve.

Best of 2013

Did you have a happy Christmas? Since I'm sure you were wondering, ours was lovely. My little boy played with trains in his jammies, we went sledding, and we ate copious amounts of prime rib and chocolate cake. It was quite festive.

But now it's time to get ready for 2014. What better way to prepare for the future than to reflect on the past? Today I'm sharing my favorite Hot Dinner Happy Home recipes from the past 12 months. Get ready for some good eatin'...

Neiman Marcus Cookies: There's nothing like warm chocolate chip cookies straight out of the oven. And these soft cookies exploding with milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips are my absolute favorite.

Three Cheese Bacon Macaroni & Cheese: Ok. Let me put it like this: THREE CHEESE BACON MACARONI AND CHEESE!

Parmesan and Yogurt Crusted Chicken (a.k.a. OMG Chicken): So simple, but so good! "OMG Chicken" is really the most appropriate name for it. The chicken is flavorful and moist, and—here's the kicker—it comes together in about 5 minutes of prep. Angels are singing.

Slow Cooker Asian Beef & Broccoli: I love this one! It is so good! And so easy! The tender beef and crisp broccoli are coated with a sweet-and-savory sauce. I need to make this again soon.

Tropical Almond Granola with Chia Seeds: I've been on a serious granola kick, and this one might be my fav. Dried mangos and agave add a touch of sweetness to this healthy, almond-studded granola.

Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon: Other brussels sprouts are blase once you've roasted them with bacon.

Double Peanut Butter Cup Brownies: The husband said it best, "This is how every brownie should be made."

Sloppy Joes with Crunchy Coleslaw: I served this to guests. With tater tots on the side. That's how much I like this one. Bonus points because it freezes and reheats well.  

Apple Cinnamon Bread: Studded with apples, scented with cinnamon, and crowned with buttery streusel. Need I say more?

Slow Cooker Chicken & Biscuits: This is a little bit of a cheater recipe—you use biscuits from the refrigerator section—but it's one I want to make over and over. Who cares if it's a cheater recipe; it's good.

Honorable Mention
Bacon Braised Green Beans: Apparently all my vegetables must be served with bacon.

Healthier Fried Rice: I'm always looking for ways to use up leftovers. With this recipe you can clean out your fridge of leftover rice and pork. Oh, and it's delicious. And healthy.

Low Fat Pumpkin Spice Muffins: All of America went bonkers for pumpkin spice this fall. I was no exception.

Crockpot Applesauce: I eat a lot of applesauce, and, in my humble opinion, this is the best way to make it.

Roasted Vegetable & Goat Cheese Panini: Three of my favorite things: roasted veggies, goat cheese, and carbs.

What was your favorite meal of 2013?

Amy's Yummy Year

This time last year, my friend Erin invited my friend Andrea and I join her on this delicious blog she created. Andrea and I bellied right up. Thank you, Erin for the creative culinary outlet. It's been a sweet year blogging with two awesome foodie friends who share the goal of putting food on the table and keeping the tradition of family dinner alive.

Here are some of my happiest Hot Dinner Happy Home moments from the past year as well as some of my favorite dishes by Andrea and Erin.

Enjoy!

XOXO,
Amy

Happiest Moments

• Cooking with my kids, including "baking"  sugar cookies with them on live TV. Check out these posts:
• Good Day Charlotte Features George Girls and Sugar Cookies
• Chocolate Madeleines
• Ginger Cookies
• Smokehouse Spaghetti

• Creating Spring on Toast with Erin while my Lucy and Penny "babysat" her Danny-boy. (Love that Erin shared this memory in her Friday post.)

• Conquering the pressure cooker. See these posts:
• Midwestern Vegetable-Beef Soup
• Pressure Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
• Pressure Cooker Potato Soup
• Shrimp Curry Under Pressure

Favorite dishes by Andrea

• Having an Italian BFF means access to recipes for classic, authentic dishes. It also means I get to know how each member of her family tweaks their own interpretations of the classics. Check  out:
• Traditional Italian Meatballs
• Sunday Gravy (Tortora family tomato sauce)
• Family Lasagna
• My favorite of Andrea's non-Italian dishes and a fantastic lighter dinner paired with a green salad: Buttermilk Spoonbread.

Favorite dishes by Erin

• Erin's Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Pork is the first HDHH dish I ever made and I chatted it up A LOT on my Facebook page. I couldn't even tell you how many friends have made that dish. Suffice to say it's a hit from coast to coast and all points in between.
• Parmesan and Yogurt Crusted Chicken is a George family go-to dinner. My younger daughter Penny requested it for her birthday dinner last month.
• I see Spiced Pecans becoming my go-to holiday party nosh. I didn't make them last year like I intended. But in 2014 my friends walked off with the few remaining nuts after the Thanksgiving feast Chez George. I don't blame them, because, after all, we call these crack nuts.

French Chocolate Cake

Recall from last week's post Penny's birthday dinner -- Parmesan and Yogurt Crusted Chicken, Carolina Collard Greens, scalloped potatoes and this nearly flourless French Chocolate Cake.

I made this cake exactly per the recipe in pastry chef David Lebovitz's memoir, The Sweet Life in Paris. I selected it because it offers something for everyone in the George family -- high quality dark chocolate for maman and a cake that doesn't require icing, which les enfants don't like anyhow. Plus, it is so rich that a teeny piece is perfect -- and perfect for papa who doesn't have a huge sweet tooth.

I highly recommend the cake and the book, which explained a lot about Parisians that I already knew but plenty that I didn't. Sweet Life is also full of recipes that appear easy to do -- and eat. In fact, the chocolate cake was my second dish from the book. When I made the Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Almonds, I swear my house smelled just like Chez Omar, the popular Moroccan restaurant in Paris' Le Marais neighborhood.

XOXO,
Amy

French Chocolate Cake
From The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz

9 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with a strip of parchment paper.

In a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water or likewise in a double boiler, heat the chocolate and butter together until just melted and smooth. A note about the chocolate, for this and for homemade brownies I use Scharffen Berger Baking Bar - 70% Bittersweet Chocolate. Worth the 10 bucks.

Remove chocolate and butter from the heat and stir in half the sugar, then the egg yolks, and flour. (I love this part from the book: "You don't need to measure the half-quantity of sugar exactly. Just pretend you're a French woman cooking in her home kitchen and don't worry about it.)

Whip egg whites with the salt, using an electric hand mixer or whisk. Keep whipping until the whites form soft peaks. Gradually whip in the remaining sugar until the whites are smooth and hold their shape when the whisk or beaters are lifted.

Use a rubber spatula to fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Next fold in the remaining egg whites just until the mixture is smooth and no visible white streaks remain.

Pour batter into pan, scraping sides of the bowl so you bake up all that goodness. Smooth the top of the batter with rubber spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Do not overbake.

Let cake cook in pan before cutting and serving.

The cake can be stored for up to three days. Some French women believe it is better after it sits for a day or two. The cake can also be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to one month.