Parmesan Chicken, 4-cheese White Sauce, and Garlic-Cheese Bread

I don't want this blog to be primarily a baking blog - I've seen (and follow) a whole slew of those. Instead, I want it to be a food (and crafts) blog, following my adventures in learning to cook and bake.

Tonight I decided I wanted parmesan chicken. From there the meal expanded to include a 4-cheese white sauce on pasta and some garlic bread.

The parmesan chicken recipe I used was one that I found on allrecipes.com.  The only change I made to the recipe was halving it.

The four-cheese sauce was also found on allrecipes.com, and was also halved. I rather liked this recipe, and I'm glad I found it - the last one I tried used cream-cheese as it's base, and didn't have that little bit of a kick that I wanted. I also substituted a sharp cheddar for the provolone cheese on this one, due to not being able to find provolone.

Finally the garlic bread. We bought little demi baguettes from Costco, cut them in half, then layered them with mozarella and parmesan cheese and some garlic powder. Then we toasted them in the oven for a few minutes.

All in all, it was a tasty meal, and one I hope to have again - perhaps this time with some minor changes to the recipes.

Recipes below the break.

Four-Cheese Sauce
Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
  
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

In a saucepan combine the whipping cream and butter. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until butter melts.

Gradually stir in the four cheeses and then reduce heat to low. Continue to stir until all the cheese is melted.

Sauce thickens upon standing, serve quickly.

Parmesan Chicken
Yield: 2 breasts

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and basil. In another bowl, beat the egg.

Dip chicken into egg, then coat with crumb mixture.

In a large skillet, brown chicken in butter and oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.