Longhorn Steakhouse Parmesan Chicken and Brussels Sprouts Sweet Potato Hash

When I saw this recipe for Parmesan Chicken from Longhorn Steakhouse on the “Then And Now” blog, it called my name so on the cook soon list it went.  The blog describes it as “A delicious and crispy chicken dish inspired by Longhorn Steakhouse, featuring tender chicken breasts coated in a Parmesan crust and topped with a melted blend of mozzarella and garlic. Perfect for a comforting and flavorful dinner.”  I followed the recipe except I used shredded cheddar & buttermilk and I increased it by 50% to get the one below.

A Little Roundabout Trip To Nebraska, Day 9 - 12, Hartington - Visiting Kathy

 Day nine broke to a pretty day in the upper mid-west farm country with a brisk breeze and a little chill in the air.  By the afternoon, it was a little hazy due to the wind blowing up dust, the vehicles traveling gravel roads, and the web pic of harvesters bringing in the dried corn and soy beans (they just say beans around here).

Homemade Basil Pesto And Leftover Meatloaf

We had a good crop of basil in our herb garden and with frost predicted, we decided to turn some of it into pesto to freeze.  We used Ina Garten’s recipe for the pesto and I amended it for the amount of basil we had to get the recipe below.

Basil Pesto – Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

3/8 cup English walnuts

3/8 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

5 tablespoons chopped garlic

7½ cups fresh basil leaves, packed tight

1½ teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2¼ cups good olive oil

1½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds.

Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed.

Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Serve, or freeze in half cup containers.  

A Little Roundabout Trip To Nebraska, Day 7 Con't & Day 8, Sioux Falls

Continuing with day 7, for dinner, the Ethiopian restaurant that I had picked out from home didn't work out so Bev picked Crawford’s Bar & Grille in downtown Sioux Falls for an early supper and we were the first customers at 4:15 – we had skipped lunch. It turned out to be a pretty upscale place that included outdoor seating.

A Little Roundabout Trip To Nebraska, Day 6 & 7, Sioux Falls

This day started the trip toward home and took us from Rugby, ND to Sioux Falls, SD to spend two nights.  It was a 464 mile day so we got an early start and just ate leftovers and cheese & crackers for a quick lunch on the road.  The drive took us back east on US-2 and south on I-29 which we had driven going to Rugby (I-29 only from Fargo).  US-2 is a good, four-lane road with 70 mph speed limit and few vehicles.  I think you would consider it as heavy traffic if you can look out your windshield and in your rear-view mirror and see more than two other vehicles.

There was a big difference in land from rolling terrain around Rugby to table top flat near Grand Forks and we saw some soybean harvesting happening and the wheat was done but there are lots of crops still standing ready.

Random Food And More Bionic Me

We interrupt our trip to the Midwest for some other stuff.

We made some old-fashioned salmon cakes recently for supper using canned salmon and we had a leftover that I turned into a breakfast omelet.  I chopped it up and reheated it in butter and when it was hot, I moved it to one side of the pan and poured two beaten eggs over it and the rest of the pan.  I added shredded cheddar to the non-salmon side of the pan, covered, and cooked until the eggs were set.  I slid it out of the pan folding it into omelet shape as I did and topped with a dollop of dill aioli to get this delicious breakfast.

A Little Roundabout Trip To Nebraska, Day 5, Rugby

The next day was spent in the Rugby area where we accomplished the reason for coming here, which was to see our little 68 acre piece of land that we bought several years ago (it's a long story) but have never seen.  It turned out to be about 45 miles south of town and in the middle of nowhere.  We had pretty good directions but still got lost and happened to stop at a home to ask for directions and it turned out this guy had sold the land to the person we bought it from (what are the chances) so he knew exactly how to get there.  Here are pics of the land and the road it’s on starting from the top of the road and shooting east.  In the distance you can see the pond (called sloughs here) and they are everywhere and at some point they are big enough to be called a lake and they are often dry.