Oven Fried Rosemary Chicken Nuggets

Finally! It's about time I shared another recipe here. I mean, it IS a food blog after all. Tiny confession: I have one more blogpost for our trip to Italy. I have to share the rest of our trip, some photos of what we saw, and my sweet, sweet nephew (let's be real, the best part is pictures of him!). But in the meantime, I thought I'd share this with you.  

I found this recipe several years ago and tweaked it for my dad who is gluten free. You are more than welcome to use bread crumbs, but I've only ever made it with rice chex, and have loved it every time. I made it for a dinner party once and got rave reviews. 

I've got to be honest for a second. I'm terrible at cooking chicken. I pride myself in being a pretty decent cook, but along with trying to fold fitted sheets, I fall short every time. I've tried multiple "tried and true" methods and even use a meat thermometer, and yet somehow ruin it every time. Poor Isaac. His favorite meat is chicken and I always end up making it tough and dry. How is that possible? 

But wait! Somehow this chicken turns out super tender and juicy! Why? I don't know--and I'm not going to question it. All I know is that this oven fried chicken is super flavorful from the spicy mustard and fresh rosemary and that it doesn't end up tough and dry. And then it's got walnuts and parmigiano reggianno, which happens to be my current obsession right now. 

The original recipe is for whole chicken breasts, but I thought I would turn them into chicken nuggets for this post because anything miniature is super cute. Show me small bowls, spoons, cups, etc and I automatically want them. Dolls houses? They are the CUTEST!!...Depending on the occasion, you can choose which version you would prefer to make/eat. 

I'd love for you to make them and let me know what you think! 

Our Trip to Italy--Part 2

So I'm a little bit late on posting this, but what's new--it's the story of my blogging career. Why can't I get myself together?? After an INCREDIBLE day and a half in Rome (you guys seriously need to go someday, there is so much rich history), we had breakfast in the train station in Rome and then headed out for another day of adventure in Florence.

I got the broccoli, egg and cheese puff pastry and cappuccino and Isaac had the sammie. 

We arrived in Florence, got oriented (I had everything flipped in my mind!), and headed to our air bnb. How cute is this flat?! I felt like we were locals going to and from our flat on the third floor. It's funny, none of the places in Italy have built-in storage, so they all get IKEA storage and decorating items (my sister confirmed this--I'm not making it up!).

After settling in, we headed out to the main square, the Duomo, for another walking tour with good 'ol Rick Steves. Midway through, we found a lunch place nearby called Eataly, which had a super yummy pizza. It was definitely in my top 2 favorites, and I had a LOT of pizza while we were there. Isaac and I split a pizza with olive oil, actual sausage (they lie when they say it has "sausage"), spinach, and cherry tomatoes, and I also got a salad because I was missing my usual veggies.  

Afterwards, we finished the walking tour, which took us by several massive buildings, famous statues, and an iconic bridge that was the only one that wasn't destroyed during WWII. Florence is just so beautiful and quaint! It was way cleaner than Rome and Isaac and I liked the food better, but it was more of a shopping and museum place, so not quite as much to see (at least not for free!!). After we finished tour, we stopped and got gelato and a cappuccino. 

Second gelato stop: mint chocolate chip style

We then walked to our flat and took a nap and recuperated before dinner. For dinner we went to a restaurant that a friend had recommended, called Trattoria 4 Leoni. Nicely done, Hannah!! We really liked our waiter who also spoke great English, which was a really great thing because he had to explain the entire menu to us since it was all in Italian. Ironically, almost all of the couples around us spoke English, which was strange because we rarely heard native English speakers while we were in Italy. We split a pear stuffed fiochette (I'm sorry that I don't have a picture...but trust me, it was deliciousI It was a pasta stuffed with pears and cheese and was in a cream sauce with asparagus), massive steak (we're talking it was cool in the center), and a cheesecake. That cheesecake was oh so delicious and fluffy!

Funny little tidbit, on our way to dinner a man offered us weed 😂

The next day Isaac got some eggs at the grocery store next door and we made breakfast. That day we   walked to a fortress, hung out at a little park, and then hit up the central market. Talk about such a fun place! The first floor of the central market had various vendors selling fresh seafood, meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables, pastas, etc and the second floor was a food court. We loved trying samples of all the fresh foods on the first floor and then ate lunch up top. We circled round and round and settled on focaccia pizza, a pastry, and a cappuccino. :-)

Afterwards, we hit the San Lorenzo market where I got talked into buying a scarf and purse and Isaac got a nice leather belt. I'm such a sucker for a good deal!! (or so I think, when they reduce the price by like 50%!!). We walked around the town some more, went into the Duomo cathedral, then hung out at a library cafe. That afternoon we took the train back to Vicenza and celebrated Kate's bday by going to dinner and opening gifts. 

The next morning (Friday), we packed up their car and drove to Austria for Christmas markets and skiing. Want to know something funny/sad? The Christmas markets were closed and there wasn't any snow. Wah wah. 😂 When we got there, we just walked around Innsbruck and had lunch. 

Apparently I chose a really common dish there because I saw it at several other restaurants. Fried potatoes, pork and a fried egg. 

After walking around, we needed to warm up and to get our daily dose of espresso.  

That afternoon we went to our airbnb cabin, which was the cutest thing ever. It was basically a tiny home, which I thought was super fun. That night we just got stuff for dinner at the store and made it at the airbnb--appetizers were various cheeses and proscuittos, and dinner was roasted Brussels, rotisserie chicken, and two differed ravioli's. I've never been a big pasta person before, but after experiencing real Italian pasta, I hope to make it fairly regular. I'm gonna start perfecting my pasta making skills. :-D

Saturday we woke up and had a slow morning, complete with breakfast. 

We then headed to a castle in Innsbruck that had a bunch of museum artifacts. It didn't look like your typical castle, but it was cool to look at everything and see things from the 1300s! For lunch we headed to the city and tried various sausages, apple strudels, and fried dough balls. I ended up getting fresh berries and yogurt at a convenience store, which was just what my body needed. We walked around the only Christmas market left and then headed back to the cabin for the evening.

That night was New Year's Eve and since we didn't plan well, we realized we wouldn't be able to get into a restaurant anywhere. Sooooo, we drove a few miles over into Germany, to get pizza to-go, to eat in Austria 😂. We just ate pizza, played cards, and went to bed early. Partay animals!!

Sunday we drove 30 minutes to Garmisch, Germany and the boys skied while the girls hung out around the town. Monday morning we packed up, got lunch at the largest lake in Italy (talk about gorgeous) on the way home, and then just chilled at their apartment when we got back. 

Phew! Sorry for NOT making that short. One last recap is on its way, along with some pictures of actual Italian buildings and such. Hope you all are enjoying these recap posts and your week!

Our Trip to Italy--Part 1

Caio from Italia!! 
I am literally typing this post in Italy. My sister and brother-in-law are stationed in northern Italy, so Isaac and I came to visit them during Christmas/New Years. I thought I would give a little recap of our first few days here. 

In the Tulsa airport waiting to board.

Let me just say, we have seen so much, experienced a ton, and eaten a lot of good food--there is no way to condense this trip and do it justice. But for your sake, I'll try to just hit the highlights and not go into too much detail. 

Before leaving my mom warned me that there would be frustrating moments traveling in a foreign country. Boy was she right!! But we have been able to just laugh off our mishaps and newbie mistakes. Our trip isn't perfect, but those little incidents have added color to our story :-). 

My first cappuccino of the trip in the airport in Frankfort, Germany (I have MAAAANNNNY since).

We flew out of Tulsa at 1:30 pm Friday afternoon and arrived in Italy at 1:50 pm Saturday. Wowzers, that trip. We were absolutely exhausted when we landed in Frankfort, Germany, but thankfully we had a four hour layover, so we got to sprawl out on some benches and take a nap. When we arrived in Italy, the sweetest little boy welcomed us out of the terminal (my nephew)!

That night we got settled in at my sister's apartment and walked around their town a little. It was so pretty, decorated with Christmas lights and little street vendors. We all shared two fritellas, a fried bread topped with sugar or Nutella that reminded me of sopapillas. Sssooo good. 

The next morning was Christmas, so we woke up late, ate breakfast, and then opened stockings. We then went for a long walk to the top of a hill nearby. It was gorgeous and an incredibly good workout!! Ha.

We got back and headed to their neighbor's house for appertivos, appetizers, and a legit Italian Christmas experience. The family below Kate invited us over and I am SO glad we went. They spoke very little English and we spoke essentially no Italian, but they were so friendly and hospitable (my hand was never free of food or drink!). It was so neat to experience their culture in this way. That night my sister made us the most incredible stuffed gnocchi. Think ravioli stuffing but in gnocchi instead of pasta.

Monday, Isaac and I headed to Rome via the train. 

We got there a little after noon and headed to our air bnb. First hiccup. It took us quite a while to find our place and then once we got there we had to wait an hour for our room to be cleaned. It was further away than we expected, and not in a very nice part of town. Isaac and I headed out to find some lunch but there was very little open around our place. We ended up just getting food at a place called yes! Food. SO sketch. They had vegetarian meals, burgers, and fried chicken. Oh my word, what were we thinking?? Isaac got a burger he said tasted like a high school cafeteria burger and I got a spinach burger. When our food came out I cracked up. 

Mine actually wasn't too bad!! But it's definitely not what you expect when you go to Italy. Since we got a late start to our day, we really didn't end up getting to see much, so we walked around and just explored. And we did a LOT of walking. That night we found dinner in the Jewish ghetto and split an appetizer of falafel and hummus, fried mozzarella, and fried veggie sticks (those were my favorite!!). We then split a salmon and pesto gnocchi and then a pizza. So. Much. Food. I thought they ate small portions? We learned for our next meal. After dinner we just walked home (about an hour walk away) and stopped by various shops on our way. 

Tuesday we woke up and headed to the train station to get breakfast and hit the tram. We struggled to find a place to eat (and actually didn't get anything) and to get on the tram. We eventually figured out where to go and headed to the Vatican City (about 2 miles from the train station, which was a mile from our airbnb). We then looked for breakfast and eventually found a neat little cafe where we sat down and I ordered a large cappuccino. You guys, always look at prices before you order. My cappuccino was 8 Euros!! I'm not kidding. When we saw the menus prices, we got a pastry to go (because it was 5 euros cheaper if we got it to go) and headed out to St. Peter's basilica. 

My EIGHT euro cappuccino.

Sorry the picture is blurry! :-/

Saint Peter's basilica was absolutely stunning. The square itself was incredible. Pictures We did Rick Steve's walking tour and absolutely loved it. Afterwards, we headed to the train station to get lunch at a spot where they had all kinds of little restaurants. 

I got a veggie burger with zucchini basil pesto, sun dried tomatoes, and stracciatella-spun cheese curd. Isaac got two different pizza flatbreads/focaccias. 

We hit the tram again (there was so much to see and so little time) and headed to the colosseum to do a walking tour. Italy has such rich history!!

After the colosseum, we did a walking tour throughout the "heart of Rome." This was one of my favorite things. We got to see small markets, less well-known spots, and experience a few of the iconic spots as well--the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, and Spanish steps. Yes, we walked up all the steps (and I counted) :-). We also stopped and got gelato on the way, which was absolutely delicious!! I got Oreo and Isaac got Nutella. 

The Pantheon

Trevi fountain

I have no clue what this building is, but I thought it was beautiful!

After the tour, we walked around and found a place for dinner. We learned from the night before and just ordered a cheese plate and some pasta with carbonara <3. We headed back to the train station for another cappuccino. I'm telling you, I'm drinking a lot of espresso (and eating a lot of carbs)!! It's just so cheap to get a cappuccino ($2 or less) and it's basically expected--I like the way Italians think. ;-)

So there's a recap of our first few days. I'll catch you up to speed on Florence and Austria later on this week!! 

Tell me, what have you been up to over the holidays?