Crispy Honey Chicken Cutlets

Boring chicken cutlets. What to do,what to do? I happened to come across this old recipe from Cooks.com that I had saved on my computer and decided to give it a try. The result was a delicious, sweet and savory chicken that was great, even as leftovers. Both the baby and my toddler son loved the taste!
Recipe

CRISPY BAKED CHICKEN WITH HONEY  

2 1/2 to 3 lb. chicken
1 c. cracker and bread crumbs
2 beaten eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. melted butter
1/2 c. honey

Directions:

Skin the chicken and dip into eggs and crumbs; coat well and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. The last 15 minutes coat with butter and honey whisked until smooth. Instead of the egg, the chicken can be dipped into Italian dressing or brushed with Miracle Whip. Serves 4.

Garlic Bread Steak Sandwich

Here's a quick bite for you on this happy Tuesday. When I buy London Broil, I usually buy it in bulk, cut it up and freeze it. I needed an idea on what to do with the steak, and since I made a fresh loaf of French bread today, I decided to go with sandwiches. To give it an extra bit of flavor, I turned the French bread into French garlic bread. I seasoned the steak with some McCormick Montreal seasoning and broiled it. Ding,ding,ding....dinner's done - come and get it!

Steak Recipe (serves 1)

London Broil, cut into 6-8 oz
1/4 cup of McCormick's Montreal Seasoning


Rub seasoning into steak. Place in broiler for 10 minutes. Remove and make thin sliced grooves and continue to watch meat for another 5-10 minutes, depending on the desired cooking temperature. Remove when complete and slice through. Make sure the slices are thin.


French Garlic Bread
2 slice of French bread(ends work best)
2 TBSP butter
2 TSP garlic powder 
Slice the ends of a loaf of crusty French bread. Spread with 2 TBSP of butter and top each piece with 1 TSP of garlic powder. Bake in toaster oven on toast mode at 350 for 10 minutes, being cautious not to burn on the edges. When done, top with sliced steak and enjoy!

Baby BLTs

I felt inventive today.  I decided to try a new spin on an old fave, BLTs. I wasn't sure the route I wanted to go, so I decided to try something simple - making them tiny and serving them up on baby sized biscuits.  I thought that these little gems might be a yummy and cute item for an appetizer or quick breakfast.  My savior, Bisquick, came to help.  Bisquick has a handy recipe cheat sheet on the back of the box, which includes, biscuits. I decided to use the drop biscuit method, but after the results, I probably should have kneaded the dough and cut out the biscuits.  They didn't turn out bad and were quite yummy; you just end up with a crumb farm on your plate,table in lap. This isn't a really big problem for us since we have a dog named Hoover(he works better than a vacuum ever could).  All in all, the biscuits kept falling apart and were hard to keep together.  I don't feel as though this was an epic failure and I am certain I can manipulate the biscuit recipe a little more to make it a little less messy. On a side note, my little ones ate the 'biscuit sandwiches' with scrambled eggs and bacon and loved them a lot, especially the extra crumbs they were able to feed to Hoover.

Baby BLTs(makes about 9)
2 1/4 cups of Bisquick mix
2/3 cup of milk
9 slices of bacon (turkey or regular)
2 small tomatoes, sliced thin
Torn lettuce leaves, small enough to garnish each sandwich
1/4 TSP (roughly) of mayonnaise for each BLT(optional)

Heat oven to 450. Prepare dough, mixing milk and Bisquick mix. When fully mix, drop biscuits on to ungreased cookie sheet using a tablespoon. Bake for around 10-12 minutes, until biscuits are turning gold. 
Remove and allow to cool.  When cool, carefully slice in half. Cook your turkey bacon until done, cutting slices in half. Add 2 bacon halves, a thin slice of tomato and lettuce garnish to biscuit bottom. Finish with mayonnaise, if desired. Top with biscuit top.

Penne with Vodka Sauce

Do you know how there is a famous recipe that travels through certain circles? This vodka recipe belongs to Amy K. in our NJ Nestie group and is the most requested recipe to be shared. This is by far and away the best vodka sauce I have ever had, beating out every Italian restaurant I have ever eaten in. In the past, I have made some substitutions to the recipe. For example, when I was too lazy to go out and pick up prosciutto, I have substituted turkey bacon or regular bacon.  I have to admit that even those it was fine to use the bacon, the prosciutto gives the sauce the best flavor. Today I mistakenly picked up shredded Romano cheese instead of the grated, but it worked out just fine. It look a little bit longer to get the consistency of the sauce to be perfect, but I managed. I also made this last year for our family on Christmas and it was huge hit.

Amy's Vodka Sauce
Makes enough sauce for 1 pound of penne.

1/2 c vodka
1 tbs red pepper flakes
2 tbs oilive oil
1 med onion, chopped
4 slices chopped prosciutto
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
1 c Romano cheese
2 c heavy cream
1/2 stick butter

Directions
Soak vodka and pepper flakes for 10 minutes - the longer the pepper flakes soak, the hotter the sauce will be. Remove flakes; vodka will turn red. Saute olive oil, onion, prosciutto in pot for 8 minutes. Add tomatoes. Add vodka, cook on low for 1/2 hour, then add Romano cheese, heavy cream, and butter.

Lime and Cilantro Steak Marinade

I needed to liven up the steak situation in my house. Granted, grilled steak is usually pretty good, but once in awhile, it could use a swift kick in the pants.  This is what this recipe did for it. I marinated it for around two hours, but the longer you marinate, the more intense the flavor will be. I paired the steak with a baked potato and steamed vegetables.
Cilantro Lime Marinated Steaks
This is from the Aug/Sept. 2005 Cooking Pleasures magazine via Pimp My Dinner Blog
Marinade:
1/2 C. chopped cilantro
1/2 C. lime juice
1/4 C. olive oil
1 Tbs. grated lime peel
1 Tbs. minced garlic
2 tsp. kosher (coarse) salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Directions:
 Place all marinade ingredients in blender; blend until smooth. Place steaks in 1-gallon resealable plastic bag; pour in marinade. Seal bag; turn to coat steaks. Refrigerate at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours, turning occasionally.When ready to grill, place all cilantro spread ingredients in food processor or blender; pulse until paste forms. Place in small bowl.Heat grill. Remove steaks from marinade; discare marinade. Pat steaks dry. Place on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium coals; cover grill. Grill 10 to 14 minutes for medium rare, turning once. Place on platter, cover loosely with foil. Let stand 5 minutes.

Is It Sauce or Gravy? The Great Tomato and Pasta Debate

There's really no debate. Call it whatever you like. I prefer to call it sauce, while some of my relatives and friends call it gravy. Whatever the case, there are a million and one ways to make it and pretty much everyone loves it. I use a recipe that is part my own invention, part my mother/grandmother's recipe and part my Aunt Linda's recipe. God bless my Aunt Linda and cousin Lindy for having the patience to come over one freezing December night and show me how to make 'gravy' and meatballs. That was 4 years ago, and I have been working on my sauce/gravy making skills ever since. There are a couple of tricks that I have learned since making my own meatballs and sauce. For starters, only use 80 -85% fat free ground beef. Any less fat in the meat tends to make the meatballs very dry. Adding grated Parmesan to your meatballs adds great flavor. In my experience, Tuttorosso products(sauce,puree and peeled plum tomatoes with basil) make the best sauce/gravy. Like I previously said, there are a million ways to make sauce/gravy and meatballs. I'm sharing my recipe with you, but feel free to add comments and share your own.

Jaime's Homemade Pasta Sauce/Gravy

1 large can (32 oz) of Tuttorosso Tomato Sauce

1 large can (32oz) of Tuttorosso Tomato Puree

1 can Tuttorosso Italian Style Peeled Plum Tomatoes

1/2 TBSP of Garlic or two diced cloves

1-2 TBSP of salt (adjust to taste)

1/2 TBSP of pepper

1/4 TBSP of oregano

1/4 cup of diced onion (This is all you need - more over powers the taste)

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan

Pinch of hot pepper

Add plum tomatoes to bottom of a large pot. Mash the tomatoes with a potato masher or fork. This adds some bulk. Add sauce, puree and spices, stirring intermittently. Simmer for at least an hour, leaving a wooden spoon in the pot - my mother swore this was the secret to great sauce.

Parmesan Meatballs

2 Lbs 80-85% fat ground beef

2 eggs

1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs

2 TBSP of salt

1 TBSP of pepper

1 TBSP of garlic

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

3 TBSP olive oil

Heat oil in frying pan - you can also chop up a clove of garlic and a tiny bit of onion and add to oil. Brown them and remove; they give the olive oil a nice flavor.

Combine all ingredients to ground beef and make sure they are mixed well. When complete, shape meatballs and add to heated pan. Using a slotted spoon or large spoon, keep turning the meatballs so they brown evenly. Once completely cooked and firm, add to sauce.

Serve meatballs and sauce/gravy over your choice of pasta(Here I have a mix of Cappellini and a few errant Wagon Wheels(Piccolini) that escaped the kid's pasta). Garnish with grated Parmesan and serve.

Hawaiian Style

I went bat sh*t crazy at the supermarket the other day deciding I need to uber-stock my pantry with marinades. I was lucky enough to stumble across McCormick's Grill Mates Hawaiian Luau Marinade. I built tonight's dinner theme around that idea. I marinated two chicken cutlets for around 4 hours in the marinade and it was quite tasty. I paired the chicken with an old favorite, Teriyaki Fried Rice and a new favorite, Pineapple Kabobs. I didn't have any Meyer's Dark Rum to make a favorite low cal, Mai Tai style cocktail, so I sipped white wine instead. My husband topped his with a Pina Colada, while the kids threw back some milk. Yup, we're hard core! My husband told me dinner was perfect, but he could have done without the sound effects - AKA "A whiney, molar-teething, one year old." Now, on with the recipes.

Hawaiian Luau Chicken
1 package of McCormick's Grill Mates Hawaiian Luau Marinade
2 pounds chicken, salmon on pork
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of white vinegar

Prepare marinade according to directions on package and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Cook on grill for 20-25 minutes between 35o - 400 degrees.

Pineapple Kabobs
3/4 cup of pineapple chunks (fresh)
3/4 cup white onion chunks
3/4 cup red onion chunks
PAM Grill Spray

Slice pineapple, white onion and red pepper into cubes. Arrange on Kabob Skewer. Spray with PAM for Grilling, front and back. Arrange on grill pan and cook on grill for 30 minutes, turning kabobs every 5-7 minutes. Remove when grilled to a warm, golden color.

Teriyaki Fried Rice
1 Bag of Boil in Bag White or Brown Rice
1 Egg
2 TBSP of Olive oil
1/4 cup of chopped white onion
1/4 cup of Teriyaki Sauce
1 TBSP of Soy Sauce

Heat oil in pan, then add the onion. Brown lightly. Boil rice until done. When rice is complete, drain and add to pan. Add Teriyaki and Soy sauces. Stir until rice is coated. Crack egg and add to rice. Stir quickly until egg is fully cooked in the rice. Serve and Enjoy!

Attack of the Killer Calzones

My husband is a cheese fanatic. Me, not so much. Aside from pizza and Doritos, I don't touch it. But, far be it from me to deny my husband and kids the pleasure if they love it. Tonight was my first attempt at making calzones, which are my husband's favorite cheese dish(well, one of them anyway). I chose to use Mario Batali's Ricotta & Ham Calzone with some changes.
Here's my version of the recipe:

Ricotta Mozzarella ALL Cheese All the Time Calzone

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Creations dough

1/2 cup of Ricotta cheese

1/2 pound of shredded mozzarella

2 eggs

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper for seasoning

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Extra virgin olive oil for the crust

Preheat oven to 400

Roll out the dough and divide into two even pieces

Mix together 1 egg and cheeses

Lightly flour the two pieces of dough

Spread a small bit of sea salt and pepper on both pieces of dough

Spoon the cheese and egg mixture in the middle of each piece of dough

Using your fingers, dab olive oil on the edges of the dough

Fold into half moon shape; Crimp the edges to seal ( I used a fork to make the 'lines')

Beat the remaining egg and brush on the outside of the calzone - this will help it turn a nice golden brown in the oven

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and serve with tomato sauce for dipping.

The verdict: My husband gave it a 9 out of 10. His only issue was the dough. It was flakier than the normal, handmade dough, so it didn't quite have the same effect as a regular calzone. I plan on making it again for him - next time with home made dough.

Just a side note - check out my Mom's vintage Corel dish. Don't ya just love it?