Baked Chicken alla Milanese, Poached Pears with Orange Juice, and Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

YUM! this was dinner tonight and when asking mike what he wanted, he replied excitedly, FRIED CHICKEN AND MAC 'N' CHEESE! i was feeling a bit sassy and decided to make "fake bake" fried chicken, it has nearly half the calories! and he seemed to like it (;

INGREDIENTS:
1 clove(s) garlic 
1 cup(s) parsley leaves 
1/2 cup(s) seasoned breadcrumbs
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper
2  boned chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry 
4 tablespoon(s) olive oil 
2  lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS:

 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Chop the garlic together with the parsley and place in a small bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Moisten this mixture with 2 tablespoons of oil.

 

Lay the boned thighs in a heavy baking pan and coat the top of the chicken with the breadcrumb mixture. Drizzle the chicken with the remaining olive oil and bake for 25 minutes, or until browned.

Serve with lemon wedges (: final picture at the end!

POACHED PEARS WITH ORANGE JUICE

INGREDIENTS:

4 firm ripe pears

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup water

1-2 teaspoons orange zest

DIRECTIONS: 

1. peel pears then cut in halves or quarters and cut out cores.

in a saucepan, heat the sugar, orange juice, and water over medium heat. (of course, i added a splash of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon!!)

add the pears and bring to a simmer. reduce heat to low, cover, and continue simmering for 15 minutes, or until the pears are tender. 

remove the pears and add the orange zest. simmer the syrup for 5 minutes longer, then combine the pears and syrup and chill thoroughly. 

  final picture at the end!

homemade mac 'n' cheese

INGREDIENTS:

elbow macaroni or pasta of your choice

a mix of any cheeses you'd like

milk

butter

DIRECTIONS:  

there's not really any directions to this one, just boil the pasta until al dente and the drain. add the cheese, a splash of milk and a tablespoon or so of butter, back into the saucepan with the noodles and heat until it's all melty (:

AND THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR....

**drum roll please**

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 TADA!!! 

VIOLA AND HAPPY EATING!