Our costume this year: Publishers Clearing House

Harry the squirrel

Trick or treating at my parents' house. The kids loved Harry, and we loved hearing the cheesy jokes. :)

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Last night I tried out a new recipe for Crispy Cheddar Chicken (found here). The prep was a little time consuming, but the results were good! B asked that this one be put into the regular dinner rotation so that's always a good sign.

 Start by cutting 3-4 large chicken breasts into 3 pieces each.

Grind up 2 sleeves of Ritz Crackers in your food processor, then add to the shredded cheddar cheese. The original recipe called for the cheese and crackers to be separated to coat the chicken, but I couldn't get the cheddar cheese to stick easily on its own. 

Here's the assembly line. Dip your chicken into the milk, then coat in the cheddar/cracker mixture.

Ready for the oven! Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes covered with foil, then another 10 minutes uncovered.

Start the sauce once the chicken has 10 minutes left to go. Combine the butter, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup and heat through.

Here's a pic of B's plate. Serve the chicken with the sauce ladled on top. The ginormous side of mashed potatoes is optional. :)

Crispy Cheddar Chicken, adapted from Jamie Cooks it Up!

For the chicken:

3-4 large chicken breasts

2 sleeves Ritz crackers

1/4 t salt

1/8 t pepper

1/2 C milk

3 C shredded cheddar cheese

For the sauce:

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 T sour cream

2 T butter

Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.

In a small food processor, grind up the Ritz crackers.

Pour the milk and cheese/cracker mixture into 2 separate pans. Toss the salt and pepper into the cheese/cracker mixture and stir to combine.

Dip each piece of chicken into the milk, then the cheese/cracker mixture.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken in the pan.

Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an add'l 10 minutes, until the edges of the chicken are golden and crispy.

In a medium sized saucepan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and butter with a whisk. Stir over medium high heat until it is hot. Serve over the chicken.

Some Wedding Stuff

So we've gotten a LOT accomplished since I last wrote about anything wedding related. All of our vendors (event design, cake, DJ, etc, etc) are booked so now it's just a matter of meeting with them all a few more times. I'm really excited to get started with the floral/event design part of things. We are working with Bella Flora and it's going to be so fun! Last weekend we got our first registry hammered out and this weekend we had a tasting of our reception food and got the whole menu planned. And last but not least, my dress arrived WAY earlier than expected! Smooth sailing so far, but I'm sure that will change as we get closer.

Here's a few of my latest faves and inspirations from around the web.

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Orange Leaf

A few weeks back B and I made our first trip out to Orange Leaf in West Des Moines. Two of our good friends from high school started the franchise in Iowa, and we couldn't wait to try it out. Can you say fro-yo?

The West Des Moines location is located off Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines, next to the Casey's.

Here's a peek at the inside. The decor is SO fun. Lots of bright oranges and lime greens. They also have the coolest tables and chairs. What you see in the back there is a WALL of frozen yogurt. At all times, they have something like 16 selections to choose from. You start out filling your bowl up with your choice of flavors, then hit the toppings bar to the left.

Here's a shot of my bowl. I tried the Wedding Cake flavor, with some cookie dough and hot caramel. It was a big decision for me between the Wedding Cake or Red Velvet....guess we'll just have to go back! The toppings bar had everything from cookie dough and fresh fruit to cereal and sprinkles. B had a mix of peanut butter, chocolate, and vanilla fro-yo and all kinds of toppings.

This is where we hung out. These couches are in the back of the shop with a flat screen to watch while enjoying your delish fro-yo.

Definitely check out Orange Leaf! You won't regret it :) We can't wait until their Urbandale location opens!

Find them here on Facebook.

LBT does Gaga

Here's a video I took from the Little Big Town concert a couple weeks back. They covered Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and it was AWESOME.

Love List: Week of 10/1/11

Glittery AND furry Sperry topsiders at Von Maur

My new favorite scent, Marshmallow Fireside from Bath & Body Works

Best cinnamon rolls EVER and a weekend tradition

My green birdcage...made into a lamp for now but will eventually double as wedding decor

Banana Bread Beer from World Market, weird but yummy

Leafy green pillows from Marshall's, still debating on buying these...and whether Harry would eat them.