-- Dinner Done Right: Breaded Chicken, Restaurant Style --

I love trying new restaurants and eating out but sometimes nothing beats a fresh and simple home cooked meal. You can look for inspiration for your own dishes by looking at restaurant menus. This is also a great way of creating healthier versions of your favorite meals.

Most Italian restaurants have some sort of breaded chicken option which is usually deep fried. Here is a simple, easy to make alternative that is loaded with flavor but doesn't have the added fat. Serve it with a simple spinach salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a little goat cheese.

Breaded Chicken Paillard with a Hint of Lemon

4 chicken breasts

1 lemon

1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs

2 tblsp grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

2 tblsp olive oil

Place a chicken breasts inside a large Ziploc; without sealing the bag, use a meat mallet or large rolling pin to pound it until is is 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and squeeze lemon over the thin chicken pieces.

On a large plate, sprinkle bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dredge chicken in the bread crumb mix.

Heat a large skillet with the olive oil. Add the chicken and cook on each side about 3 minutes or until nicely browned. Flip and brown on the other side.

Serve with a simple spinach salad.

-- Simple Solutions, Nursery Art --

I am working on a new project, a VERY fun one...a baby nursery. This is the one space (other than a kid's room) where your imagination should really inspire the design. Push the envelope and create that space that will make your baby go ga-ga. Think whimsical, colorful, warm and cute. You don't have to stick to a 'themed' room full of cartoon characters. You can find style in retro prints, deep hues and modern furniture.

Here is a fun and easy way to decorate the walls in a baby's room. No need to buy costly prints or frames.

DIY Prints

Materials: staple gun, scissors, four 16X16 fabric swatches, and four 14X14 canvases.

Simply find a fabric that you love (large prints always work well or you can also find different textures within the same color family). Cut four 16X16 pieces of fabric. Iron the fabric well and carefully wrap around the canvass, ensuring that the edges are nicely folded in. Using, the staple gun, secure the fabric onto the back of the canvas. Repeat on all other canvas frames.

In no time, you have created a wonderful print that is inexpensive yet stylish. This is a great way creating your own hanging accent pieces!