Oven "Fried" Cheddar Chicken Breasts

I came across this recipe years ago and it became an instant go to chicken meal.  I made some changes to original, of course...







Ingredients:

• 3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• 1/2 cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 cup Sharp Cheddar (shredded)
• 1/4 cup Romano Parmesan Cheese
• 4T Butter (use light butter to cut the fat/calories)
• 1/2t Garlic Powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Melt butter in bowl and add garlic powder. 
3. Place bread crumbs, shredded cheese and Parmesan cheese in a bowl and mix together.
4. Dip chicken breasts in butter mix and then coat in bread crumb mix.
5. Place chicken in a baking dish and bake 35-40 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.

I usually serve this with breaded broccoli.

Cheesy Cauliflower

This post should be called "Confessions of a Mac and Cheese Addict".  I have several recipes for macaroni and cheese that I absolutely love.  I could probably eat it every day.  Even the box kind is fine for me, although I do tend to doctor that up a bit.  I love pasta in general, really, but it doesn't always love me back.
So, with all this hype about cauliflower (which I also love), I decided to make a mac and cheese substitute.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2T butter, melted
• 4 oz extra sharp cheddar, shredded or cut into small pieces
• 1T grated Parmesan
• 1t parsley flakes
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
2. Wash, drain, and cut up your cauliflower.  I prefer just the florets, but do as you wish.
3. Place cauliflower in an 8x8 glass dish.  
4. Sprinkle parsley, salt, and pepper over cauliflower.  Add the cheddar and toss with your hands (or a spoon, if you're afraid to get dirty) just enough to let it all mix in.
5. Pour melted butter evenly over cauliflower and then sprinkle with grated Parmesan.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, stir, bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Tips:

• If you want a faster baking time, you can cook your cauliflower first by boiling or steaming until almost done; it will cook more in the oven.  I would then suggest raising the oven temp to 400 degrees and cooking for 15-20 minutes.  This should be long enough to melt the cheddar and start to get crisp on top.
• For extra crispness, mix bread crumbs with the Parmesan.
• Make sure your cauliflower is drained VERY WELL.  Otherwise, you will have a watery mess at the bottom of your dish.  Like this... (still tastes great, though!)