Did you hear about the fire at the circus?

It was in tents.

Oh beautiful, delicious dinner…when will we meet again?

Crunchy, nutty, sweet, tender chicken alongside the most visually appealing vegetable side dish going. The thin sliced veggies are stacked upright for a very fun presentation. The cheese melts over and down the vegetables. Just WOW.

Maple Pecan Chicken

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness throughout
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup plain or seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Put pecans and bread crumbs into a food processor. Pulse until all of the pecans are chopped into the same consistency as the bread crumbs. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Place syrup in a shallow bowl.

5. Dip one chicken breast into syrup, coating both sides completely.

6. Roll the chicken into the pecan and breadcrumb mixture; completely coating each side.

7. Lay the breaded chicken on prepared baking sheet.

8. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

9. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serves 4

Recipe slightly adapted from TheAmishCupboard.com

Cheesy Vegetable Tian

Ingredients:

1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium potato
1 medium tomato (I needed about 3 to have enough to keep up the layering)
1 tsp dried thyme
to taste salt & pepper
1 cup shredded Italian 6 cheese mixture

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400℉.

2. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté both in a skillet with olive oil until softened; about five minutes.

3. While the onion and garlic are cooking, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.

4. Grease the inside of an 8 x 8 square or round baking dish.

5. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.

6. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown

Serves 6 to 8

Recipe from JustAPinch.com


I had my music on shuffle today and Josef Llama came on. The mesmerizing Josef Llama; part Dylan, Waits and Cave. Did I mention he is from Glasgow? Oh, the love quotient rises.

‘Just The Way It Goes’ speaks my musical language. Clomping along with nananana punctutation. And lyrics that make you feel like you’re listening in on something maybe not meant for you to hear.

“Bring out coffee to me but you look so naked,
never spill a drop, but I don’t care,
I’m sitting at the table, where the sun shines so low,
bring out the guitar that you won’t share.”

Next up is the first Josef Llama song I ever heard. Stopped me in my tracks. It makes it to almost every one of my running lists. Now that clearly shows how much I love this tune.

Check out Josef Llama on Facebook, where you can link to buy his music on Bandcamp.

Cheers!