Cooking tips and easy Italian Chicken recipe

Hi my lovelies! Wow it seems like I've been posting almost every day, I know I'm writing constantly! This is not intentional I'm just posting as I have posts written. I am truly passionate about writing again and I have the time to do it so I'm just letting the inspiration take me.

I hope everyone is preparing for the blizzard heading towards the East coast today/tomorrow. Sadly, I am in the direct  line of it and will get the heaviest brunt of snow (15 to 30 inches of snow...how fun >.< ). Stupid New England winters ;___; . I should be preparing, charging my electronics and gathering supplies in case we lose power but instead I'm spending way too much time dancing in my computer chair to Heart. Any Heart fans? Ann Wilson is fabulous. I'm really hoping I don't lose power! Anyway, if you will be getting this store please stay warm and safe! Don't do anything stupid, stay inside!! 

 One of my friends requested that I share some of my recipes on here and talk about cooking. I have no shame in admitting that I'm a very good cook. I have a recipe box of my collection of recipes, some from relatives, friends, and the internet. Some I have tweaked to make my own. 

Sadly, cooking is a lost art. Many people choose prepared foods or just order take out all the time. You will find that by making your own food, it is SO much cheaper! You will also have the satisfaction of having a useful skill. To those of you that may be kitchen challenged, cooking is actually very easy! The key is to follow the directions to a recipe precisely and to watch what you are cooking. One major problem people have is not paying close attention when they cook and having the heat too high. That is how things burn, my friends.

Unless instructed to do otherwise, when cooking on a stove top, keep the heat at medium low and watch it until it looks done or the recipe says it is. If you are cooking via oven, check your meal often to ensure it doesn't burn and cooks all the way through.

The first recipe I want to share with you all is one of my favorite dinner recipes and it is super easy! I'm sure those of you who think they can't cook can make this. This is an Italian chicken recipe that one of my best friends shared with me over the summer. I added a bit of my twist to it. What's great about this recipe is you don't need any precise measurements and you don't need a lot of ingredients. Plus it goes great with just about anything! 

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 lb package of bonless chicken breast

• Italian salad dressing (I normally use robust or zesty)

• Italian bread crumbs

• Ziplock bag

• Foil

• Cooking oil

• Optional: you may want some sort of rubber gloves. You will see why.

The night before you want to make this, defrost the chicken and take it out of the package. I normally will take whatever cut of chicken we have - tenders, cutlets, big cuts and chop it into small pieces about 1 inch or smaller. I find that it cooks better in the smaller form, but you could probably use any cut you want.

Take your cut up (or not cut up) chicken and put it into a ziplock bag, pour italian dressing into the bag and ensure the chicken is totally covered. Seal the bag, give it a little shake and store in the fridge over night. You will every once in a while take it out and shake it up.

When you go to cook the chicken, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Get the bag of chicken out of the fridge, one by one take them out of the bag and coat in the bread crumbs. This is where you will want rubber gloves, putting your hands into the bag will get the dressing all over your hands - it can be really messy. Not to mention it may make your hands smell a little afterwards.

For those of you that don't know how to bread chicken, you normally would use eggs as a binding agent but you don't need it for this recipe. Just pour some breadcrumbs into a bowl, put your chicken pieces one by onw into the bowl and toss/roll around in the breadcrumbs until totally coated. 

This is a tip from yours truly: any time you bread chicken no matter what recipe, transfer the breaded chicken to a plate and press down onto it, pressing the breadcrumbs into the chicken more and regrigerate for about 20-30 minutes. I have found that this helps the coating stay on better. Nothing sucks more than spending all of that time breading only for it to fall off. 

So you have your chicken breaded and ready to go. Pour a little oil into a pan on medium heat. If you use too much oil, the chicken will get greasy. I normally use high heat, but I wouldn't reccomend that unless you are an experienced cook. Wait until the oil in the pan is heated up and lightly brown the chicken. Browning the chicken is simply cooking the chicken enough to give the coating a nice brown color. You will want to keep flipping the chicken very carefully to make sure it is completely browned. I like to use tongs to avoid splashing oil when I turn them over and you can flip more gently with tongs. You want to be gentle to avoid ripping off the coating.

For those of you who have no idea how to tell if your oil is heated, here is a simple trick my dad taught me. Get a drop of water. Seriously, just one drop and flick it into the oil in your pan. When the water in the oil begins to sizzle, your oil is heated and ready.

After you brown the chicken, transfer it to a foil lined baking sheet and then bake for 7-10 minutes. I usually let it bake for 8 minutes but baking time depends on your oven and the size of the chicken you used.

After the 7-10 minutes are up, take your pan out of the oven and your chicken should be done! If you aren't sure if it is cooked all the way or not, cut a piece in half. If there is any pink, you need to cook is longer. 

 Serve with whatever you please, I normally pair this recipe with cheesy rice or mac and cheese. 

I tried to explain the recipe as simply and as detailed as possible for the cooking challenged. If you try this recipe let me know what you think! You can comment anonymously and without an account. I hope you all enjoyed this post! Good luck and happy cooking!

If you would like to see more recipes, tweet me (@lipstickxzombie) or comment below with which of the following you would like me to explain how to make. You can also email me now at KawaiiZombieblog@gmail.com.

The options:

• Cheesecake mousse

• Coconut chicken

• Teriyaki chicken with home made marinade (happens to be a copycat from Red Robin's chicken teriyaki and pineapple burger)

• Chocolate truffles

Xoxo
Moon prism power makeup!

P.S Stay safe in the blizzard everyone!!!