Pine Nut Green Beans

String beans are good... but I always felt like they were so lonely!
When trying to figure out how to make string beans more exciting... PINE NUTS popped in my head.
These delicious toasty little nuts are the perfect sidekick to string beans.

Pine Nut Green Beans

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of string beans
- 1/3 cup of pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Blanch your string beans, by throwing them in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes, or until almost tender. Drain.
2. In a dry skillet, toast your pine nuts over medium heat. Be careful, because these can quickly burn!















3. In a separate pan, add olive oil, and minced garlic.

4. Add pine nuts and string beans.















5. Toss with salt and pepper.

6. Serve

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This dish is so fancy, it's guaranteed to impress any dinner date!
Even non-goat-cheese-lovers admit to loving this dish!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:
- 5 chicken breats, de-boned, and de-skinned.
- 4 oz of goat cheese.
- 1 cup of bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- Salt and black pepper

Instructions:
1. Remove all bones and skin/fat from your chicken breasts.















2. Using a thin knife, carefully cut a pocket into the entire chicken breast. Try to do this, while only creating a small hole on the entrance of the chicken breast (where you stick your knife in).

3. Mix your goat cheese with about 2 tsp of black pepper.

4. Divide the goat cheese mixture into 5 equal parts (since you have 5 chicken breasts).















5. Stuff the chicken breasts with the goat cheese, being careful not to tear the meat.















6. Sprinkle the top and bottom of the chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper.















7. Beat your egg in a shallow bowl.

8. Dip the chicken breast in the egg, then coat in the bread crumbs.



















9. Place the breaded chicken breast in the pan.















10. Turn when the bread crumbs turn golden.














11. Place the entire chicken breasts into an oven, at 365F for about 20 minutes, or until chicken breast is fully cooked.

12. Enjoy your meal! The melted goat cheese will ooze out of the moist chicken breasts.

Toasted Butternut Squash Seeds

I just realized that I posted about Butternut Squash mash, but not recipe for toasted butternut squash seeds!!

These sweet crunchy treats make a wonderful snack after dinner.


Toasted Butternut Squash Seeds

Ingredients:
- Seeds of 1 butternut squash
- 2 tsp olive oil
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- 2 tsp of brown sugar

Instructions:
1. Rinse and pat dry the butternut squash seeds














2. Mix the seeds together with the oil, cinnamon, and sugar.

3. Toast at 350F for 8-10 minutes, or until toasted.














4. Yum

Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon

Bacon is delicious! And so is brown sugar!
Put them together, and you get deliciousness^2!

Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon

Ingredients
- 1 lb. bacon
- 1 cup of brown sugar

Directions
1. Lay each strip of bacon on a paper towel, blotting each slice dry.

2. Pour the brown sugar into a wide plate, making an even layer of brown sugar on the plate.















3. Coat both sides of the bacon in the brown sugar. Make sure you press the sugar into the bacon.

4. Preheat your oven to 435.

5. Place the bacon onto a sheet pan.

6. Place the bacon in the oven, until brown and glazed (15 minutes or so). You can also use the broiler, which takes less time.

7. Transfer to onto paper towels to soak up any excess grease.