"Skinny" Chicken Francese with Summer Squash and Zucchini

So for two weeks in a row, I have received some massive, fragrant, delicious lemons in my Bountiful Basket. I have been using them in all sorts of yummy dishes this week, but was at a bit of a loss as to how I wanted to incorporate the lemons into a main dish. Then, like a piece of blessed inspiration, I remembered how much I adore Chicken Francese. The real stuff is breaded in white flour and pan-fried in a lot of oil and drenched in a buttery-lemony-white-winey sauce. It's so danged good, but so danged bad for you.

So I set out to make a lighter, less offensive version for more frequent consumption, because I honestly eat the straight-up version of Chicken Francese like, once every two years. The skinnyfied recipe uses a small amount of flour cut with Panko, adhered with egg whites instead of the full egg, a smidge of extra-virgin olive oil, a modest amount of butter, no white wine, and fat-free chicken broth. It's paired with whole-wheat pasta, and topped with some fresh veggies. So the sin level is decidedly lower, and you can feel good about eating this baby for dinner like, once a month. Heck yeah. That's how we roll in my house. 

Browned Butter Brussels Sprouts

I am a complete devotee of my weekly produce basket. Bountiful Baskets is an amazing, affordable co-op program that makes it possible to get oodles of fresh, nutritious produce for as low as $16.50/week for a conventional produce purchase (which would easily run $45-60 in the store. Check the site to see if the program is available in your area). We haul in a treasure trove of fruits and veggies every Saturday morning, and I seriously spend all week looking forward to what I joyfully refer to as "basket day." One of the interesting side-effects of lots of fresh produce is the need to make something each day, at every meal, that involves fresh fruits and veggies. Sometimes, it's as simple as making a side salad with dinner and eating some fruit throughout the day as a snack. Other days, it is more challenging.

For two weeks in a row, I have gotten a honkin' bag of brussels sprouts. I have never really liked them before, but I have now been fortunate enough to make two recipes that have changed my opinion of these cute little cabbages. The other week, I made some amazing Balsamic Braised Brussels Sprouts with Maple Bacon (seriously, these are to die for), and last night, I made these delish Browned Butter Brussels. These hearty veggies are brushed with butter, roasted, and then tossed with an ample amount of browned butter (have you had browned butter? It is beyond compare. Nutty, toasty, complex. Oh heck. I am going weak in the knees just thinking about it). They are quick and easy to prepare, and will convert even the pickiest of eaters.

Garlic Parmigiana Butter Breadsticks

I love bread. I don't care who knows. There are few things I love more than warm, soft bread. Bread is sexy. Bread is delicious. The ancient Egyptians used the same word for bread as they used for life-"aish." Yeah, I get that. Dang, those Egyptians were smart. You never know when a career as a history teacher will have some practical application! Normally, I am a whole-grain bread girl. I love the nutty complexities of whole wheat, barley, spelt, rye. But every so often, you just want a tender, white bread. Not Wonder Bread, but homemade, tender, melt-in-your-mouth, make your husband hug you from behind while you are kneading, kind of bread. So today, to go with my Fire Roasted Tomato Kale and Spicy Italian Sausage soup, I made these beautiful, seductive Garlic Parmigiana Butter Breadsticks. I adapted this recipe from Brooke over at Cheeky Kitchen. You can check out her original post, but I have my tweaks incorporated in this post.

This is NOT a healthy post. Turn around if you are looking for one. But I do encourage you to adopt the following philosophy-if you are going to eat something like this, make it yourself. You will know exactly what you are eating, and you won't be consuming nasty preservatives (I have always wondered how something as simple as bread ends up with 15 ingredients in it on the packaging!). Ok, 'nuff said. I love these breadsticks.