F.E.A.S.T.: Indian-style Curry Sauce

Hello again, dear readers!

This week's humble offering is the result of a two-part challenge I recently issued to myself. Well, I say that, but it didn't exactly develop that way. You see, I wanted to create a new F.E.A.S.T., mostly because I haven't done one in a while. I've also been wanting to try making a curry sauce, since I've never actually done that before. Lo and behold, the idea came: why not do both?

Before I jump into the ingredient list, I feel I should also admit something: I'm not very familiar with Indian food. In fact, I can't honestly recall but maybe one or two times in my life where I've actually eaten it. Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against the cuisine. It's just not ever something where I've said to myself, "Self, what d'you say to some Indian food?"

That being said, I can neither confirm nor deny how "authentic" this dish is. I basically looked up a few basic curry recipes and then came up with my own using the common ingredients and what sounded tasty. I have it on the authority of those who tried it that it does in fact taste like Indian-style curry, however. So that's something, right? Regardless, it was quite good, and I highly recommend you give it a try, if only so you can say that you have!

WHAT I USED!!!
1 yellow onion, sliced  ($1.0)
2 tsp minced garlic (or about four cloves)  (stock)
1 inch ginger, peeled and diced  ($0.5)
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped  ($3.0)
1 8oz can tomato sauce  ($1.0)
1 4oz can green chiles  ($1.0)
1 6oz tub plain Greek yogurt ($1.5)
1 cup cilantro ($1.0)
2 tsp turmeric  (stock)
2 tsp cumin  (stock)
2 tsp coriander  (stock)
1 tsp paprika  (stock)
1 tsp cinnamon  (stock)
1 tsp cayenne pepper  (stock)

Final price: $9.0 for the whole thing.

OK, I admit, some of you may not obsessively keep as many spices on hand as I do. But let's say you do have to go out an buy some of them. You're still getting away for pretty cheap, since you only need a little bit out of each jar, right? That means you'll have everything on hand to make the curry again, and that's just a win-win situation in my book.

WHAT I DID!!!
In a large saucepan, heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high to high heat. Toss in your onion and bell pepper, and saute them until the pepper softens and the onion starts to brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drop the heat to low, then add your ginger and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Add all six spices and whisk well to combine. Add in your tomato sauce, green chiles, and cilantro. Once that's all incorporated, slowly whisk in the yogurt.

Now, working carefully, drop the whole mix into a blender or food processor and start pulsing. Add about a cup of water, then blend until smooth.

Put the mix back in the saucepan over low heat, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, covered. Serve over rice, chicken, vegetables, or whatever you like.

And there we have it. Let's compare to our acronym:

Fast: The whole process took me about an hour to concoct. Admittedly, with the rice and chicken, it was closer to an hour and a half, but the sauce itself was relatively quick to make, even with the simmering.

Easy: Yes, I'd say so. I could've been a lot more complicated, toasting the spices, using fresh spices (I wish!), adding more exotic ingredients, but I decided that what I had would suffice. And guess what? I was right!

Affordable: At under $10 to serve four to six people, we're doing just fine financially. Even if you do have to spend a little more to acquire some of the spices, you still come out ahead, since now you have said ingredients on hand and ready to go for the next time.

Super Tasty: Hell yeah. This curry is rich and savory, with a smoky subtle heat to it that you just have to experience to truly understand. Honestly, I am actually quite pleased with how it turned out.

I wish I could better explain the flavor, but beyond calling it "exotic," I'm a bit at a loss for words. So, I challenge each of you reading this to go out and craft this wonderful sauce for yourselves so you can be at a loss for words as well. I promise you won't regret it.

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading. If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Until next time, go forth and eat well!

Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Hello once again, loyal readers!

So. This title. It's a doozy, isn't it? Well, before your question my sanity, let me explain.

In the past few months, I've really started to develop a love for spicy foods. Not super over-the-top why-God-why? spicy, but the the kind of spicy that just gives you a good kick as you eat it. As such, I've also come to love jalapeno poppers.

For those not in the know, a jalapeno popper is simply a hollowed out jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese. Often times the filling will contain chicken. Often times the entire thing will be wrapped in delicious, delicious bacon. Sometimes they're even deep-fried.

Yeah. They're tasty.

So I thought to myself: how could I add to that awesomeness? Well, I thought, they already have cheese inside, so what could go well with that? Simple: pasta! And spicy mac & cheese totally happens all the time down in the Caribbean, so there's all the precedent I needed.

But, the idea of trying to cram noodles into jalapenos (which are not exactly large) seemed questionable. So then I thought, what if I deconstructed the popper, mixed it into the macaroni, and then stuffed all of that into a different pepper? Hence this idea was born! Behold!!

WHAT I USED!!!
6 bell peppers, caps removed (and saved), inner cores and seeds removed
6 jalapenos, seeds similarly removed, and julienned (that's cut into strips)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 package bacon, cooked and diced
4 tbs butter
4 tbs flour
1-2 cups milk
2 blocks cream cheese, cubed
2 cups (8oz) elbow macaroni
shredded cheddar cheese for topping the peppers

WHAT I DID!!!
First, cook your chicken. I did what I always do: a little olive oil, some salt and pepper, medium to medium high heat in my favorite skillet, cooked until all the pink is gone. It only takes a few minutes. Oh, and be sure to drain the chicken well when it cooks.

Next, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapenos and saute until the veggies soften. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and cook for two to three minutes to form a roux. Add enough milk to create a sauce. (I admit, I didn't measure this, but it was somewhere between one cup and two.) Once you have a base sauce, incorporate the two cream cheese blocks one at a time. Once it's all completely melted and formed into a cheesy saucy consistency, stir in the bacon and the chicken.

Meanwhile, boil your pasta to al dente, following the packages instructions. Once the noodles are done, drain them thoroughly and add them to the cheesy-bacony-chicken sauce.

Now, scoop the mixture into the hollowed-out peppers. You're going to have left over filling most likely. Arrange the peppers in an oven-safe dish so they will sit upright. Sprinkle the mixture with your shredded cheese, and replace the caps. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the peppers have softened. Serve with the sides of your choice.

These came out quite well, I am very pleased to say. The mac & cheese filling had the perfect balance of heat from the jalapenos, savory saltiness from the meats, and sweet cheesiness from, well, the cheese. It tasted just like a jalapeno popper spliced with warm comforting mac & cheese, which was, after all, the entire point.

If I were to offer any criticism of the meal, it would be that the bell peppers seemed almost extraneous. The filling was definitely the star, which is good. But since the original idea was to add mac & cheese to a jalapeno popper, the bell peppers didn't seem to contribute much. Not that they weren't tasty, mind. They just didn't really add much to the dish.

I think next time I may go with my original idea of stuffing the mac & cheese inside the jalapeno. I may even deep-fry the suckers just for the hell of it! Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't, but I'm willing to try it and see!

As always, thanks for reading. Comments, suggestions, thoughts, and especially new ideas are always welcome. Until next time, go forth and eat well!

F.E.A.S.T.: Parmedijon Chicken

Hello everyone!

Today I have a new method for you, a F.E.A.S.T. that is guaranteed to jazz up plain old boneless/skinless chicken. It's simple, straightforward, and surprisingly tasty given how little goes into it. I call it Parmedijon Chicken, a name that I totally did not make up for the sake of a snazzier-sounding blog post.

In all honesty though, I highly recommend you try this. My mother has been making it for years and it's always a hit. I think you'll be impressed with how easy it is to make, especially when you compare that fact to the results. But as usual, I'll just let the food speak for itself.

WHAT I USED!!!
3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts  (stock)
3/4cup panko bread crumbs  (from a $2 box)
3tbs melted butter  (stock)
approx. 1/3cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese  (from a $5 block)
approx. 3tbs honey dijon mustard (stock)
salt & pepper to season/taste  (stock)

Check out that list! I told you it was simple. But wait, it gets better!

WHAT I DID!!!
Preheat the oven to 500 degress, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay out the chicken. Smear the top of each breast with the honey dijon, using as much or as little as you like. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Combine the panko, butter, and cheese in a bowl. Using your hands, mound this mixture onto each breast, applying gentle pressure to ensure it all sticks.

 

Bake for 10-15minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is Golden, Brown, and Delicious. Serve with the side or veggies of your choice.

There. That's it. Simple. Easy. But oh so tasty. The chicken cooks quickly, so as long as you watch it it won;t have time to dry out. Aside from that one issue you're golden. Let's take a look at our acronym:

Fast: The whole process took around a half hour to make, so yeah, I'd say so.

Easy: Did you see that method? Anyone can do it!

Affordable: I keep frozen chicken on hand at all times, so the whole meal came together for under $10. And it fed three people, so not bad.

Super-Tasty: Yes, yes, yes. The mustard and the cheese combine together in a very pleasant way, sweet and salty, savory and spicy. The chicken cooked perfectly, having no time to dry out because it cooks so fast. And the panko provides a nicely contrasting crunch. Overall, delicious!

So, I would have to say this is one of the best weeknight quick-and-easy meals you're ever likely to make.

And it's so easy to adjust too! If you need to feed more people, just add more chicken and up the panko by a 1/4cup and the butter by 1tbsp per breast. You'll need to increase the cheese and mustard correspondingly, of course, but I reckon you figured that out. And if you don't have panko, you can always grind up some plain old sandwich bread in your food processor to make breadcrumbs. Just use about 1 slice per each breast, and you're set. It won't be as crunchy, but it still works in a pinch.

Anyway, I hope that some of you will give this a try and let me know what you think. I always hope to see feedback from my readers.

Until next time, go forth and eat well!

F.E.A.S.T.: Chicken Gyros

The last time I posted a meal like this, I called it a Q.E.C.T., which while technically an acronym, has absolutely no panache whatsoever. So, this time I have a shiny new acronym: F.E.A.S.T.! It stands for Fast, Easy, Affordable, and Super Tasty!

I love it.

It explains exactly what I was going for, and it actually spells out a culinarily-related word. It's also got a touch of irony, which appeals to my literary side. And yes, I know "culinarily" isn't really a word, but if an English Major can't make up words, well, who can? I mean, if Shakespeare could do it, why not me? Right?

But I digress.

So I love gyros. They're great sandwiches, loaded with lots of savory, meaty flavor. They remind me of the week I spent in Greece back in college. Unfortunately, since I don't have a vertical rotisserie (aka the rotating meat rack of goodness) like the kind found in Greek restaurants, it's kind of hard to replicate the experience. AB has a method using a normal rotisserie, but alas, I am lacking in one of those too. So, what did I do? I improvised.

Basically, I substituted chicken for the lamb traditionally used. I also sauteed up the accompaniments, just to help meld the flavors. I think it turned out really well too.

THE INGREDIENTS!!! (and prices, rounded to the nearest $0.25 for convenience)
1 17.6oz tub plain Greek yogurt ($3.25)
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded ($0.75)
4tsp (or cloves) chopped garlic (stock item)
1 good pinch kosher salt (stock item)
4tsp olive oil (stock item)
3tsp red wine vinegar (stock item)
A few good shakes of dried mint (or 5-6 fresh leaves if you have it)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (from a $6.50 frozen package)
3 roma tomatoes, seeded ($0.75)
1 medium white onion ($0.75)
1 6oz can pitted black olives ($1.00)
1 5oz package crumbled feta cheese ($2.00)
lemon juice (from a $0.50 lemon or a bottle)
Pita bread ($2.75)

FINAL PRICE: $17.75 to serve 4 people

THE METHOD!!!
First, make the tzatziki sauce. I'm basing this off the AB method, found here.

Drop your peeled and seeded cucumber into a food processor and pulse a few times to finely chop. Then, drop the cucumber into a tea towel and squeeze the heck out of it to remove any excess liquid.

Combine the Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, salt, olive oil, vinegar and mint together in a bowl. Chill and serve. This whole process took about 15 minutes, so I'd say it qualifies as fast, no?

Next, the chicken. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Saute the chicken with a little olive oil, salt and pepper over medium to med-high heat until done.

Meanwhile, slice your onion to your desired size and shape. I prefer half-moons for this, but whatever works for you is fine. Make like with the chicken, and saute with a little olive oil and salt over medium to med-high heat for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the onions begin to take on a light golden color.

Drop your seeded tomatoes and olives into your food processor and pulse a few times to chop. When the onions are ready, add the tomatoes and olives and heat for a minute or two or until the tomaotes begin to release their juices. Add your lemon juice and the feta cheese, and heat through until the cheese begins to melt. It won't take but another minute.

Serve on pita bread, hot-dog style.

Like I said, it took about 15 minutes to whip up the tzatziki, and then it took another 30-35 minutes for everything else. And as with last time, I started the timer when I first started pulling out ingredients, so that includes chopping and mixing and what-not. So, under an hour for a good hot meal made with fresh ingredients.

The results? Delicious. The cooked onions, tomatoes, and olives worked quite nicely with the chicken, and the salty sweet feta cheese complimented the whole thing perfectly inside the pita bread. Moreover, the fresh tzatziki really brings the whole thing together to make for a great flavor. Is it a real gyro? No, not really. But it still make for a damn good sandwich in my humble opinion.

So. Let's do our acronym check.

Fast: the whole process from start to finish took less than an hour, so I'd say that qualifies. If you want to get any faster, you'd have to turn to your microwave.

Easy: nothing fancy here. All you need are some basic cooking skills and the ability to properly squeeze a cucumber into oblivion.

Affordable: ok, I'm willing to concede a little bit here, since I have so many "stock" items on the list, and some people may not keep those things on hand as a matter of course. But! Once those things have been acquired, it's a simple and wallet-friendly matter to purchase the last few items.

Super Tasty: Yes. Enough said.

But don't take my word for it. Make up a batch to try for yourself!

As always, thanks for reading!

Take Two: Twice-baked Chicken Parmesan Potatoes

Hi again everyone!

I decided to give the Chicken Parm Taters another go on Friday last week. If you will recall, last time I came to the conclusion that while tasty, the potatoes were a bit lacking in the Chicken Parm flavor, which was, after all, half the point of the recipe. So, this time I did a few things differently. The results? Well I am very happy to report that it was a great success!

I'm actually quite proud of how these turned out, so I'm going to share the complete process once again. If anybody out there wants to give it a try, go for it! Just let me know what you think!

THE INGREDIENTS!!
8 medium baking potatoes
4 medium chicken breasts
16 oz ricotta cheese
3 tbs butter, diced
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1 16oz block mozzarella cheese
1 jar marinara sauce
1 c panko
3 more tbs butter, melted
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

THE METHOD!!
Scrub the potatoes clean and set aside to dry. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Rub the dry potatoes with a little canola or vegetable oil and place on a sheet pan (lined with parchment if you have it). Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes to an hour, or until they are fork tender. Set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, cube the chicken and cook over medium to med-high heat in the skillet of your choice. You don't need anything fancy for this: a little olive oil (extra virgin not necessary), a little salt, a little pepper, done. Once cooked through, you can choose to dice the chicken into smaller bits if you like.

Slice sixteen strips of mozzarella off the block and set aside.

Mix the panko with the melted butter and set aside.

When the potatoes are just cool enough to handle (depending on your heat threshold), slice them in half longways. Use a spoon to scoop everything out of the middle and into a large bowel. Set the shells into a pair of 9x13in baking dishes, or a similar vessel of your choice. If you don't have two, either work in batches or just go get another one!

Mash the potatoes with a fork and incorporate the diced butter. Work in the ricotta, the shredded mozza, and the chicken. Get it all evenly combined, switching to a larger stirring implement (or your hands!) when it becomes necessary.

Scoop the potatoes mixture into the shells, mounding it slightly. When they're all full, make a little depression in the top of the mix, just to flatten it out a bit. Spoon two good tablespoons of marinara sauce over top of each potato, or a little more if you like! Top this with a slice of mozzarella. Sprinkle the whole thing with the panko mixture and the Parmesan cheese.

Bake at the same temperature as above for about ten to fifteen minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the panko has browned to that magical golden color.

Consume.


Ok, y'all've got to admit that looks pretty dang good. Like I said up above, I'm really pleased with how it turned out this time. If I were to do anything different on the next go, I'd probably up the chicken a bit, just for the sake of more meat. As I'm writing this, I've just realized that some Italian seasoning mixed in with the potatoes might not be a bad idea either, and I probably could've added some more salt and pepper to help season the taters as well. But honestly, we didn't miss it.

Keeping the sauce on the outside and spooning it over the top definitely helped to bring out the idea of Chicken Parmesan. Furthermore, I'm glad I left out the bacon and the green onions. Now, before you lynch me for my blasphemy against bacon, keep in mind that Chicken Parm doesn't use bacon, and that was part of the point. Bacon, while delicious, was not necessary in this dish. But... maybe next time I'll try a little bacon, if it'll make y'all happy.

So, that's the dish! I hope that some of you will give it a try. I hope even more that you'll try it and like it as much as we did. As always, I love getting feedback, both on the food and on the blog itself.

Thanks for reading!

Q.E.C.T.: Chicken and Veggies with Egg Noodles

Ok, so the acronym may need some work, I admit.

It stands for Quick and Easy, Cheap and Tasty. That's the point of this recipe. I wanted to show that good food can be made on the cheap in a relatively short amount of time for a relatively small amount of money. So let's just jump right to it, shall we?

THE INGREDIENTS!! (and prices)
3 boneless chicken breasts, cubed (from a $6.99 3lb frozen bag)
1 16oz bag of egg noodles ($1.29)
1 package crimini mushrooms, chopped ($1.49)
1 cup frozen peas (from a $0.99 bag)
2 cups (handfuls) baby spinach, chopped (from a $2.99 bag)
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom and/or chicken soup ($0.79 x2)

I bought everything at Aldi and Wal-mart, because I know I can get it all for fairly cheap. Final price? $15.33, assuming you have to buy all of it, and half of that is the meat. Keep in mind: this leaves you with plenty of frozen chicken, some frozen peas, and a good amount of spinach left over to use in other dishes.

THE METHOD!!
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Saute over medium-high heat in a little vegetable oil (I normally use olive oil, but I was out) until done all the way through.

Once the chicken is done, wipe out the skillet and repeat with the mushrooms. Saute until the 'shrooms are browned all over. Work in two batches; it actually helps the mushrooms to cook faster if you don't crowd the pan.

Warm up the peas as per package instructions, probably in the microwave. For me, it was a cup of peas with two tablespoons water, covered, for six minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the egg noodles to al dente, again as per package instructions. If you don't care for egg noodles, any sort of pasta will do: bowties, penne, you name it.

After you drain the pasta, toss it all back in the pot and add one of the soups. Use a splash of hot water (I just save some boil water) to help thin the soup slightly.

Put the chicken and mushrooms back in your skillet, add the peas and spinach, then add the other soup. Again, a little hot water helps to see everything evenly coated. Mix it all together, and season with more salt and pepper to taste. I also added some crushed red pepper and Italian seasoning, because I happen to be a fan of both.

When this is done, add the meat/veggie mixture to the noodles. Stir thoroughly to combine, serve and enjoy. Add a bit more pepper or another sprinkle of Italian seasoning if you like. I put a little Frank's RedHot Sauce on mine, because apparently you really can put that sh!t on almost everything.

Ok, so let's go over our acronym checklist then.

Quick: from start to finish, the whole thing took me 40 unhurried minutes. And I mean start to finish. From the time I started to pull my thawed chicken breast out of the fridge to the time I sat down to eat was a mere 40 minutes. Not as fast as a sandwich, I admit, but still pretty quick for a hot filling meal.

Easy: well, I'd say it's pretty straightforward. Nothing complicated or fancy. Boiling pasta and chopping some veggies is all fairly easy I'd say. Cooking the chicken shouldn't provide any major difficulties either, unless I miss my guess. Again, not as easy as a sandwich, but we're still talking about a hot meal here.

Cheap: if you don't count the chicken, the whole meal costs around $7 to make. For me, frozen chicken is a staple, so I'm not inclined to include it in the price of the meal, since I almost always have it on hand anyway.

Tasty: yes, quite. Just try making it, see what you think. I bet you'll decide you like it too. The tastes are pretty simple, but that means it's open to all kinds of customization: different veggies, different meat, and different soup flavors are all very real possibilities here. Next time, if I want to up the budget a smidgen, I may throw in some shredded cheese for a little extra indulgence!

In the end, I think this is a very successful first attempt at a Q.E.C.T. (yeah, I really need to work on that acronym...) meal. It's not anything fancy, but then, fancy wasn't the point in the first place. The point was to be able to cook a good, hot meal when you come home from a long day at work without having to worry that it'll take forever or else break your bank. And in that, I believe I have done well.

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from everyone!

Twice-baked Chicken Parmesan Potatoes

So, a couple of days ago I decided to try something a little different. Originally I had thought to make twice-baked potatoes for dinner one night, and a chicken Parmesan-like meal for another. But then, I had a brainstorm: why not make both on the same night? That is when this idea was born.

Now, it still needs some work. I plan to tinker with it, but for now I'm going to post the recipe as I designed and executed it. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it.

THE INGREDIENTS!!
8 potatoes (these were small to medium sized), scrubbed and allowed to dry
1 pkg bacon (maple smoked if you want to know)
4 chicken breasts
5 tomatoes, cored, seeded, quartered (no, not a lot, I know)
balasamic vinegar
chopped garlic
16oz block of mozzarella cheese
8oz block cream cheese, softened (I found one made with Greek yogurt and wanted to try it)
green onions
1 cup panko (coarse Japanese breadcrumbs in case you're unfamiliar)
3 tbs butter, melted
grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

THE METHOD!!
To begin, I baked the bacon. Its easy: put the bacon on a cooling wrack over a foil-lined baking sheet (one with a good lip all the way around). Put the apparatus in a cold oven and set for 400 degrees. Wait about 20 minutes, or until the bacon reaches the desired crispiness. You could fry it if you prefer, but I like this method.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until they're done all the way through.

Toss the tomato quarters with a splash of balsamic vinegar, a few teaspoons of chopped garlic, and a pinch of salt. Lay them out on a baking sheet (I always line mine with parchment or foil) cut side up. Meanwhile, rub a little oil on the potatoes, pierce them a few times with a fork, and lay them out in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

When the bacon comes out of the oven, up the temp to 450, and put the tomatoes and the potatoes in. The tomatoes need 20-30 minutes, while the potatoes need more like 45 to an hour. You're looking for the tomatoes to be soft and sizzling and for the potatoes to be fork tender.

Once that's all baking, you can assemble everything else. Slice enough mozzarella to have one piece for each potato half (in my case, I sliced 8 pieces off the block and cut each in half) and grate the remainder. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Ditto that with the green onions. I also chopped the chicken into smaller pieces for convenience. Run the tomatoes through a food processor or blender until liquified.

Cooking can be a bit messy... and blurry, apparently.

When the potatoes are done, pull them out of the oven. Without burning yourself, cut each one in half and scoop the insides into a large bowl. Be sure to save the skins. Mix in the cream cheese until it's all incorporated. Then add the chicken, mozzarella, bacon, green onions, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Fill each empty skin with a genrous serving of the potato mixture and return to the 9x13.

Combine the panko with the melted butter. Put a slice of mozzarella cheese on top of each potato, and sprinkle with the panko. Throw some grated Parmesan cheese on for good measure.

Put the whole thing back in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the panko browns and the mozza is nice and bubbly. Cool for a few minutes, then serve immediately. Top with sour cream if you desire.

THE RESULTS!!
Overall, I like the idea. But, while it was indeed quite good, I felt that the whole "chicken Parmesan" thing I was going for got a bit lost in the execution. For one thing, the green onions provided too strong of a flavor. For another, I did not have nearly enough tomato sauce.

On the plus side though, the bacon and chicken worked well together and with everything else. The cream cheese and mozzarella came together nicely, providing a uniform texture throughout the dish. Plus, I really liked the nice crunch from the panko.

I think next time I'm going to try to change things up in one of two ways. The first option is to use larger potatoes (I didn't like the small ones; not enough meat) and more sauce. I might lose the green onion entirely. The goal would be to have the flavor focus on the chicken and the tomato sauce. So, maybe use a little less bacon as well, since it has such a strong presence.

For the second option, imagine that I left the chicken and tomato sauce out of the mix. Maybe ditch the green onion again. Then, after filling the skins, lay a few pieces of chicken on top of the potato mixture. Top that with the sauce and a slice of mozzarella, essentially making a mini chicken Parmesan on top of each twice baked potato. Or, should the chicken stay in the mix with just the sauce on top? Hmmm... I guess call that option 2.5 or something.

If anybody has any suggestions about which method would be better, please let me know!

Well, I hope this all sounded interesting to everyone, because I really enjoyed making it. I'm hoping to try it again sometime in the future, and when I do, I'll be sure to let you all see the results!