Honey Baked Chicken Thighs with Parmesan Crusted Asparagus

I have been so lazy recently. I just have zero motivation to do anything.  TV bores me, I’ve surfed every online shopping site I can think of (x2), and when I try to take a nap, I can’t sleep. It’s complete agony. Basically, I have the worst case of spring fever, and I have no idea what to do about it. Next weekend I plan on going shopping with some of my friends though at this incredible mall that’s 45 minutes away. It’s probably not that incredible compared to what a lot of people are used to, but considering locations like lakeside or even Alamance Crossing, this place is pretty nice. Not to mention its conveniently far from campus, has an really pretty outdoor component, a Panera, a movie theater and, most importantly, an Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom , Gap, J.Crew, and Banana.  It’s basically a little slice of heaven. Just thinking about it proves this is exactly what I need to get out of this funk.

I have been cooking quite a bit though which is good. It’s the only thing I can actually motivate myself to do. It’s the blogging part where I fall short. In the past few days I’ve made the NY times chocolate chip cookies, a delicious spaghetti squash (but the pictures didn’t look very appetizing so I probably won’t post them), banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, homemade waffles ,quesadillas, and the chicken and asparagus from this post. And now that I see the list, I can actually see how lazy I have been about the blogging. The problem is, the more I let it build up on my camera, the longer it takes to edit the pictures, and thus the more work I have for myself. Oh well! Hopefully over the summer I’ll be a lot better about it because I’ll have a little more free time….

Anyway, this chicken is SO GOOD! It’s so moist and tender and of course super easy to make. The hardest part is waiting 40 minutes for it to bake when you are already starving…Chicken thighs are also a lot cheaper than breasts and they are extremely versatile. I used one less than $5 package of thighs to make the quesadillas, the spaghetti squash and this dinner for both me AND my roommate. Pretty impressive – and surprisingly college friendly (I mean, Fontina, American and fresh parm in one recipe? Not exactly cheap to say the least…) 

Honey Baked Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

3 chicken thighs 

About a tablespoon and a half of honey

2 tablespoons margarine

Teaspoon of olive oil

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

¼ cup Italian bread crumbs

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Pinch of salt 

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 400˚.

In a small bowl, melt the honey, margarine and olive oil in the microwave.

On a plate or in a cake pan, mix together the parmesan, bread crumbs, powder and salt. 

Dip the thigh into the honey mixture, and then dip into the drop, making sure it’s completely covered in seasoning. 

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is crusted brown and the chicken is nice and juicy. 

Parmesan Crusted Asparagus 

Ingredients 

Bushel of Asparagus  

about 2 teaspoons olive oil 

freshly grated Parmesan cheese   

about a tablespoon of bread crumbs 

Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions 

(oven should already be preheated to 400˚.) 

Drizzle olive oil on top of the asparagus and toss around to fully coat 

Sprinkle breadcrumbs to your preference and toss around to fully coat. Sprinkle the freshly grated Parmesan to your preference. 

 

3 Cheese Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

During exam week I was really stressed out and decided that on my one night off, I would cook a decadent meal to reward myself for all of my hard work (aaand also to get rid of all the perishables I had in my fridge before I left for break). I had no idea it would turn out this good. I don’t really trust myself when it comes to experimenting because I don’t have a lot of experience with things like seasoning and flavor pairing. Although I must say, I do tend to have skills when it comes to the creamy goodness we sorority girls are supposed to avoid (if I didn’t go to Elon, this would probably be an issue. Thank Themis it’s not!).    

I honestly cannot wait to make this pasta dish again though. I think it was the balsamic vinaigrette that really tied the dish together. I was so proud of myself for not using a recipe too! Usually when I do this it turns out less than satisfactory, hence why I don’t bother posting them on the blog. My sisters tend to make fun of the fact that I use recipes all the time too, but it’s the only way to learn! One day I’ll be able to make delicious stuff up all the time like they do, but for now, the occasional experiment is fine by me!

3 Cheese Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

I know it looks like a ton of ingredients, but you probably already have most or all of it in your kitchen already! I'm also a super nerd and get salads with my meal plan swipes with very specific ingredients so I can cook with them later. The ladies probably think i'm nuts when all I ask for sometimes is spinach and a bunch of extra tomatoes with no dressing. Oh well!

Ingredients 

About a 1/3 box Angel hair pasta

1 ½ cups whole milk

2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons of olive oil, plus more for chicken

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup low fat shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup freshly shredded white American cheese

¼ freshly shredded parmesan cheese

Mushrooms, sliced

About 1/3 – ½ cup Balsamic vinaigrette (I used trader joe’s brand)

4 cloves garlic, minced

About ¼ chopped red onion (optional)

1 cup fresh spinach

1 large chicken breast

1 teaspoon of Garlic powder, plus more for chicken  

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

**Just a warning – I have no idea if my order of operations is the proper way to prepare a dish like this. However, I thought it would be better to tell you exactly how I made it, even if it is a tad unconventional. 

1. Cook the angel hair pasta in a large pot according to the packaging. (I always cook it longer, but that’s just me) – also just a tip, I was watching the food network and I learned that apparently it takes longer for water to boil if you add the salt and pepper right away. Doing so increases the boiling point of the water which means it will take longer to boil. Who knew! (I mean probably a lot of people) but all this time I thought adding salt right away made it boil faster! 

2. Rub salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic powder on both sides of the chicken breast and bake for about 6-8 minutes on both sides at 400˚.

3. In a separate pan, melt the butter and olive oil together with the garlic. Before the garlic has time to brown, add the mushrooms and balsamic vinaigrette. (I kept thinking about Julie and Julia when she says “Don’t crowd the mushrooms!” when I was making these. It’s actually a pretty good tip). When the mushrooms are dark brown and appear tender, place them in a separate bowl to the side. 

4. In that same pan, pour the milk and whisk in the 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir continuously until the milk becomes thick. (I used the same method I learned from the last mac and cheese recipe I made, which according to my mom is traditionally called a béchamel sauce – which made me feel pretty fancy and sophisticated. I made béchamel without even knowing it!) 

5. Pour the cheeses into the sauce and stir until melted and incorporated. Then pour the sauce and the mushrooms on top of the pasta. 

6. In that same pan, sauté the onions and spinach with a touch of olive oil. 

7. Add the spinach and onions to the pasta, sauce and mushrooms and mix it all together with tongs. Season with salt, pepper and a garlic powder to taste. 

8. Slice the chicken lengthwise and place on top of the pasta (or shred and mix in using the tongs. I sliced it for presentation purposes but later I shredded and tossed it because I thought it tasted better fully incorporated into the dish)