Vinh's birthday!

This is us exactly 9 years ago on Vinh's 30th birthday. His hair was short and spiky and mine was on its way to being blonde. We weren't dating yet, but I guess we were getting there. We all had dinner at a nice restaurant. We went out to a friend's bar and celebrated into the wee hours of the night. Then without any sleep, I left to catch a 6am flight to Colorado to go on a snowboarding trip! The ride to the airport was pretty painful... but oh my have times changed since then. Just the thought of an all-nighter hurts me!

For my hubby's 39th birthday, we spent a quiet evening at home with our kids and some family. I made an Italian dish, and to be quite honest, I'm not even sure if Vinh really likes that type of food. My inspiration was an episode of The Pioneer Woman that featured her Chicken Parmigiana dish. She made it for her husband on his birthday... so I kind of copied her. 

To continue with the theme of Pioneer Woman inspired recipes, I made her blackberry cobbler, too. I love this recipe because it's more cakey than a true cobbler. I've never been a cobbler fan until I've had this one. It's so easy to bake and very simple. 

To round out the desserts, I made the rest of Ina's chocolate chunk cookies. Tasted even better and baked so beautifully after a few days of refrigeration. 

(Just bought a Silpat and love it!)

(A few snapshots of kids... Harper loves that Cozy Coupe!)

And at the end of the birthday dinner, we gathered around and sang happy birthday to Vinh... and of course, the little guy blew out the candles! Whew. I'm so tired from all the cooking, but so happy that everyone enjoyed the food and had a good time. I'd say this birthday party was a success! Happy birthday, honey!!

Chicken Parmigiana

recipe from The Pioneer Woman

4 whole (up To 6) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, trimmed and pounded flat
½ cups All-purpose Flour
Salt And Pepper, to taste
½ cups Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
¾ cups Wine (white Or Red Is Fine)
3 cans (14.5 Oz.) Crushed Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Sugar
¼ cubes Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 pound Thin Linguine

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate. Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside. At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Blackberry Cobbler

recipe from The Pioneer Woman

1 stick Butter
1-¼ cup Sugar
1 cup Self-Rising Flour
1 cup Milk
2 cups Blackberries (frozen or fresh)

Melt butter in a microwavable dish. Pour 1 cup of sugar and flour into a mixing bowl, whisking in milk. Mix well. Then, pour in melted butter and whisk it all well together. Butter a baking dish.

Now rinse and pat dry the blackberries. Pour the batter into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly. Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden and bubbly. If you desire, sprinkle an additional teaspoon of sugar over the cobbler 10 minutes before it’s done.

Extras

-For the chicken dish, I used chicken broth instead of wine. I'm not opposed to cooking with alcohol, I just didn't have any wine.

-I didn't use any onion because I don't like them... unless it's an onion ring.

-I did freshly grate my parmesan. I actually freshly grate all my cheeses now. I learned it from Ina. 

-I used one big can of crushed tomatoes and a small can of diced since I couldn't find three small cans of crushed. 

-I used frozen berries in the cobbler.