From Our Recipe Box to Yours....

     Browsing through Iowa Girl Eats the other day just made me hungry!!! She changed up her website a bit if you have looked over there in a while and it's great!! The pictures are lovely and just make you want to run home and cook!!
     Recently, I've been craving Mexican and this recipe looked like it would really do the trick!!

http://iowagirleats.com/2016/03/14/tortilla-crusted-taco-chicken/

Tortilla­Crusted Taco Chicken 

Description Tortilla­Crusted Taco Chicken is a family­favorite. Gluten­free, and full of flavor and crunch! Serves 4

Ingredients

6 cups tortilla chips (any kind, I used Beanitos)
salt and pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin
4 chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
2 eggs
1/2 cup gluten­free flour (I used brown rice flour)
extra virgin olive oil
6oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa

Directions

1. Add tortilla chips to a food processor then process until they're fine crumbs (alternatively you could add tortilla chips to a large Ziplock bag then crush with a rolling pin.) Pour crumbs into a shallow dish then stir in salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, and cumin, and then set aside.
2. Break eggs into another shallow dish, season with salt and pepper, then whisk and set aside. Add flour to another shallow dish, season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
3. Season chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper then one at a time dredge in the flour, shaking off any excess. Dip into the eggs, and then into the tortilla crumbs. Place chicken on a platter than refrigerate for a minimum of 15 minutes (this will ensure the coating doesn't fall off during the cooking process.)
4. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of a large skillet then place over heat that's just a touch above medium (6 out of 10 on the heat scale.) Add chicken then cook for 3­4 minutes a side, or until cooked through, turning heat down slightly if crumbs begin to burn (may need to do this in two batches. Place cooked chicken on a cooling rack set atop a baking sheet to stay crisp while cooking the second batch.) When second side has 2 minutes left, divide cheese between tops of chicken breasts then cover skillet and allow cheese to melt. Plate chicken then serve with salsa


Doesn't this sound amazing?! And check out the picture!! MMMMM!! I'm hungry again just looking at it and thinking about it!!

A book Trailer to inspire your reading...

    Here's a book to get you laughing!

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

     I know I haven't posted in a while...I was trying out just putting things on our Facebook page to see if that was a better way to reach people. I haven't come to any good conclusions, so I'm here to post a recipe that looks like a real treat!

CINNAMON FRENCH TOAST BITES

 

PRINT

PREP TIME

8 mins

COOK TIME

7 mins

TOTAL TIME

15 mins

 

French toast in bite size form! These are really fun to make - you "sauté" them as though they are cubes of tofu or chicken, then toss in cinnamon sugar. And it goes without saying they are also fun to eat! They taste like mini cinnamon sugar doughnuts. :)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch, Sweet

Serves: 3

INGREDIENTS

• 4 thick slices of slightly stale white bread (1"/2.5cm thick) (Note 1)
• 2 large eggs (or 3 small eggs)
• ¼ cup milk
• Pinch of salt
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• 3 tbsp butter, separated
• Maple syrup to serve (not optional!)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the crust off the bread, then cut each piece into 9 equal cubes.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
4. Melt 1½ tbsp of butter in a fry pan over medium high heat. Don't let the butter brown.
5. Quickly toss half the bread cubes in the egg mixture and use your hands to shake off excess egg mixture. Place the bread cubes in the fry pan and use a wooden spoon to "sauté" them until browned on all sides - about 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Remove the bread cubes from the fry pan straight into the sugar mixture. Toss to coat, then remove onto a plate.
7. Repeat with remaining bread cubes.
8. Serve immediately, with maple syrup for dipping.

NOTES

1. I really recommend using slightly stale bread for this so the bread doesn't soak up too much egg mixture (which results in the inside of the french toast being soggy raw egg) AND they will hold their cube shape better when "sautéing" them. The best bread to use is a block loaf which you can cut into the desired thickness. This can be made with pre sliced bread but because the slices won't be 1"/2.5cm thick, the french toast won't be "cubes" (or they will be very small cubes!).

But if you don't mind what shape they come out as, you can use any bread you want for this (though personally breads with grains in it isn't to my taste for this dish). I've made this with sourdough, leftover baguettes and even mixing up scraps of different types of leftover bread.

2. The thickness of each slice of bread is about the equivalent of 2 slices of sandwich bread. But you cut the crusts off so you lose a bit of bread. So this recipe serves around 3 people, or 4 people watching their calorie intake, or 2 extremely hungry people / people who lack self control around doughnuts. :)

The art of letting go....of things...

     Have you heard of the new phenomena, "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying up" by Marie Kondo? Millions of people are reading it and millions of people are getting their clutter under control. It works for nearly everything, from clothes, to dishes, to, yes, even books. I recently read this article on "Kondo'ing" a bookshelf...http://bookriot.com/2016/02/03/kondod-heck-bookshelves/?utm_source=Book+Riot+Subscriptions&utm_campaign=5b0cf29337-RIOTRUNDOWN_SUNDAY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ffcca77bbb-5b0cf29337-320520325&mc_cid=5b0cf29337&mc_eid=82a79bc9b8

Here is a short youtube video that gets right to the heart of the matter and might inspire you to start in your own life.




From here, you can check out the book @ the library and officially get started. Started tidying and started letting go of all of those things in your life that are dragging you down and no longer bring you joy.

Libraries that deserve a shout out!

     Of course, I think all libraries deserve a shout out for everything they are and all they do, but these libraries deserve an extra shout out for being chosen and runner's up for the Best Small Library ,in America 2016. Congratulations!!

 Let's all dream more and be more!!

Read all about it here...
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2016/01/awards/culture-convener-best-small-library-in-america-2016/

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

The ultimate comfort food....homemade macaroni and cheese!

Book Trailer Monday...

     Here is chat with an up and coming fantasy author, Joe Abercrombie. He's written adult and some some young adult. Fast paced and full of fantasy his novels are must reads!



Check them out, here @ your library!