What. Autumn. Brings.: From birthday candles to sniffles

Monday mornings, sniffle, are always a little, sniffle…

Okay you get it, I’m getting sick. I did make a target trip today to get the whole nine yards: Kleenex (a box as well as the pocket-sized packs for my purse), Zicam, vitamin C, and Chapstick. Yup, it’s that time of the year.

Thankfully, my cold held off until Sunday so I was able to enjoy Mackenzie’s birthday festivities. We’ll be the same age for the next two months until I turn 21 in January. Friday, I made “Crispy Parmesan Chicken”, a recipe from the November issue of Women’s Health. Liz made brownies, Lei made cookies, and I of course made cupcakes so our apartment looked like a delicious bakery. We had a fun Friday night with our friends, and Saturday Kenzie and I went back to Stratford. I experience this every year—the closer it gets to Thanksgiving the better it feels to be at my parent’s house. Saturday morning, Monti decided to wake me up (guess he didn’t get the memo about the time change), but we fell back to sleep on the couch; besides the cold, I woke up feeling refreshed…which is the only thing keeping me up today, since I was up at six trying to register for Spring classes. Southern's server was crappy once again.

Another brief rant before I say goodbye for today…

Saturday, I went to the mall. Saturday was November 6. EVERYTHING was Chritma-hana-kwanza-fied. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas, and it’s hard not to catch the fever. But come on, can we please hold off until after Thanksgiving?...Oh and hey, snow, you better hold off too.

Stay Merry!

Love,

Annie

Crispy Parmesan Chicken

Ingredients:

· 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 oz each)

· 1 cup bread crumbs

· 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped

· 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

· ½ tbsp dried Italian seasoning

· 2 egg whites

· ½ tbsp olive oil

· 1 ½ tbsp butter

· 2 tbsp capers (I skipped these. Still tasted fine)

· 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

· Juice of 1 lemon

How to make it:

1. Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and use a heavy bottomed pan or meat mallet to pound them into ¼ inch thickness.

2. Combine bread crumbs, cheese, and Italian seasoning in a wide bowl. In a second bowl, beat egg whites slightly. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste (I skipped this too, the Italian seasoning was salty enough). Dip each breast into egg whites and then crumb mixture, pressing to ensure coating on each side.

3. Warm olive oil over medium heat in a large stainless steel sauté pan. Add chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until crust is browned and crunchy. Turn and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter.

4. While pan is still hot, add butter. Cook until lightly browned, then stir in capers, mustard, and lemon juice, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits. Turn off the heat and add parsley.

5. Halve chicken breasts and serve with sauce drizzled on top.

Women’s Health November Issue