I love panko...
No... For real... I LOVE it. It is a go-to in my house because of its versatility. So today we were on a quest for something different than our normal panko/Italian bread crumb/Parmesan mixture for our nice and healthy chicken breast. Enter football. What is more classic than pizza and wings to watch football? Not much. SO together Andy and I came up with a way to prepare chicken breast... Instead of using flour and egg for a dredging mixture before rolling in crumbs, we made a hot sauce mixture instead!
Ingredients:
(Proportions are approximate and may be adjusted to accommodate desired level of heat)
- 2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts trimmed so the rib/fat remnants are gone
- Panko
- Butter
- Frank's Hot Sauce
1. Slice chicken into even strips, set aside.
2. Pre-heat a skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil. ***It is important to keep a coating of olive oil in the pan at all times to make the crust crispy.
Melt 2Tbsp of Butter and add 1/2-3/4c of Frank's hot sauce. (I had to prepare this twice as butter cooled during cooking time)
3. Place panko into a wide bowl
4. Dredge chicken strips in the hot sauce mixture and then place into panko. Roll and press until strip is covered and place gently in the hot pan. Repeat until pan is full. By the time the pan is full, it should be time to start flipping unless your strips are very thick.
5. To keep chicken warm after flipping once and making sure chicken is cooked and crispy, I usually place it in the oven on the lowest setting just so it does not get cold as you cannot cook both breasts in the same pan at once.
VOILA
You have Buffalo Panko Crusted Chicken strips...
Make sure not to overcook or they get dry.
We chose to serve it with a salad, steamed broccoli, and some flavored rice. You can easily serve four people with this preparation. On our quest for a healthier lifestyle generally one chicken breast feeds two of us these days.
Yours Truly,
The football obsessed chick that hopes the Patriots don't win the Superbowl this year...
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Part 2: Multi Purpose stuffing for Peppers and Lasagna
Who doesn't like Lasagna?
Well if you don't you are not American... Or Italian rather...
SO I made a little too much of my pepper filling and here it is a Thursday night. I had the great pleasure of leaving work a little bit early. I made myself a nice soup for lunch, then on my early evening fridge raid I discovered that I still had a considerable amount of cheesy goodness left and it was probably only a day away from its expiration.
LASAGNA! As Garfield would resound. That is what my brain said. But with no ground meats of any kind I was left to figure out what to do.
So, I thawed a chicken breast and went from there...
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 crown of broccoli
- Pepper filling (See previous post)
- Lasagna noodles (I use whole wheat)
- Pasta sauce (I used Ragu Chunky Garden Combo, lots of veggies and no High Fructose Corn Syrup!)
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Onion
- Garlic
Preheat the oven to 350
Chop two cloves of garlic and about 1/2 of a small onion. Sweat briefly in a little olive oil in a skillet. Chop chicken into small pieces and sautee with onions and garlic. Add spices as your taste requires. I again add a little basil but not much more as the filling has a fair amount of flavor.
Take the broccoli crown and cut up and steam slightly. I prefer mine al dente, you can steam longer if you like it mushy. Add to cooked chicken on a low heat so the veggies pick up on some of that delicious onion and garlic flavor.
Boil lasagna noodles as described on the package. Make sure you salt the water so the noodles do not stick together. I like to use a "chicken fryer", a deep walled pan so that the noodles lay nice and flat. Drain and let cool for a minute.
This particular recipe works great for an 8x8 pan. Add a small amount of sauce to the bottom of the pan. Place 1 layer of noodles on top of it. Spread some of the cheese mixture (slightly heated so that it easily spreads). Spoon half of the chicken and broccoli mixture. Pour a small amount of sauce to cover the chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Place the next layer of noodles and repeat. Place a final layer of noodles on the top.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake an additional fifteen minutes until cheese begins to brown.
Serve and enjoy!
PS ANY leftover sauce from the peppers or lasagna makes AWESOME dipping sauce for bread!!! It was mu leftover lunch on Tuesday at work... Two peppers and a big pile of sauce...
What can I say? I love to eat!
Well if you don't you are not American... Or Italian rather...
SO I made a little too much of my pepper filling and here it is a Thursday night. I had the great pleasure of leaving work a little bit early. I made myself a nice soup for lunch, then on my early evening fridge raid I discovered that I still had a considerable amount of cheesy goodness left and it was probably only a day away from its expiration.
LASAGNA! As Garfield would resound. That is what my brain said. But with no ground meats of any kind I was left to figure out what to do.
So, I thawed a chicken breast and went from there...
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 crown of broccoli
- Pepper filling (See previous post)
- Lasagna noodles (I use whole wheat)
- Pasta sauce (I used Ragu Chunky Garden Combo, lots of veggies and no High Fructose Corn Syrup!)
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Onion
- Garlic
Preheat the oven to 350
Chop two cloves of garlic and about 1/2 of a small onion. Sweat briefly in a little olive oil in a skillet. Chop chicken into small pieces and sautee with onions and garlic. Add spices as your taste requires. I again add a little basil but not much more as the filling has a fair amount of flavor.
Take the broccoli crown and cut up and steam slightly. I prefer mine al dente, you can steam longer if you like it mushy. Add to cooked chicken on a low heat so the veggies pick up on some of that delicious onion and garlic flavor.
Boil lasagna noodles as described on the package. Make sure you salt the water so the noodles do not stick together. I like to use a "chicken fryer", a deep walled pan so that the noodles lay nice and flat. Drain and let cool for a minute.
This particular recipe works great for an 8x8 pan. Add a small amount of sauce to the bottom of the pan. Place 1 layer of noodles on top of it. Spread some of the cheese mixture (slightly heated so that it easily spreads). Spoon half of the chicken and broccoli mixture. Pour a small amount of sauce to cover the chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Place the next layer of noodles and repeat. Place a final layer of noodles on the top.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake an additional fifteen minutes until cheese begins to brown.
Serve and enjoy!
PS ANY leftover sauce from the peppers or lasagna makes AWESOME dipping sauce for bread!!! It was mu leftover lunch on Tuesday at work... Two peppers and a big pile of sauce...
What can I say? I love to eat!
Part 1 of 2: Multi Purpose Filling!- Peppers and Lasagna
So on Sunday we had our friends Kenny and Laura over for dinner. My goal was to make a dinner that was slightly healthy and slightly sinful at the same time. The result? A marinated pork loin (pre-marinated) and stuffed hungarian hot peppers. Normally when I cook anything that my Mother has made for me before I call her "Hi mom, whats in the filling again? How long do I bake it? If I stand on my head and twirl in a circle will it cook faster?" But alas my mom was out of town so I had to prep my peppers myself and believe me it was a painful experience! I had pepper burns all over my hands and mouth. Silly me, I DID NOT WEAR GLOVES! They were marked hot and I got them from a store in the hispanic part of town so you would think I would remember that this is yes, surely a hot pepper...
Anyhow I wanted to share my "recipe". One of the problems is I tend to do dashes of random things. So, I will tell you about what I did, and season it a little more to your taste.
Approximate ingredients:
- Hungarian peppers
- 1 container of ricotta cheese (I use part skim) I believe if it about 12 ounces
- 1 container of soft spread cream cheese (I used the little plastic container so that I could use what I had in the fridge, you could surely use a brick too)
- Fresh garlic cloves
- 1 small white sweet onion
- Italian bread crumbs
- Oregano
- Basil
- Any other spice you prefer
- 1 can of pasta sauce (flavor of your choice)
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
The key to the mix is the consistency. You want to make a nice paste with everything. Add the ricotta to softened cream cheese and mix. You want to still be able to see the grains of ricotta but if you taste it, it should not be super predominant. Add Italian bread crumbs (pre seasoned!) I use between 1/2 and 1 cup depending on how wet the cheeses are. Mix it to be a nice paste that does not fall apart. Take the 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic and prepare as desired. I like to smash a large knife to break it and chop it. Alternatively mincing works very well. Mince the onion and add as well. Be careful not to add too much, or you will get mouthfuls. Sprinkle spices, I used cinnamon basil, oregano, a touch of thyme and tarragon. Just enough for light flavors. I prepare this before the peppers are cut so that the spices have a chance to start to give off their flavor.
BE CAREFUL! Wash your peppers. Cut the top off, slice in half, de-vein, and remove ALL of the seeds or you may have more heat. If you like the heat, feel free to leave some of the vein tissue in the peppers.
Stuff the peppers carefully, so that they do not break in the process. Lay them with the stuffed half facing up in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Peppers can be packed next to each other as they are still friends.
Pour the jar of sauce over the top of the peppers. Make sure you fill all of the holes between the peppers.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top.
At this point you can either bake right away or refrigerate so that you can bake it later. I prefer to let it sit so the dairy can break down some of the heat.
There are two settings you can cook at:
350 for 45 min
425 for 30-35 min
Make sure that you let it rest just a little bit so the cheese is not boiling hot.
As long as you have not blinded yourself with pepper you should be able to enjoy this with your guests. The perfect superbowl/tailgate kind of side dish.
Part two to follow in a few!
Anyhow I wanted to share my "recipe". One of the problems is I tend to do dashes of random things. So, I will tell you about what I did, and season it a little more to your taste.
Approximate ingredients:
- Hungarian peppers
- 1 container of ricotta cheese (I use part skim) I believe if it about 12 ounces
- 1 container of soft spread cream cheese (I used the little plastic container so that I could use what I had in the fridge, you could surely use a brick too)
- Fresh garlic cloves
- 1 small white sweet onion
- Italian bread crumbs
- Oregano
- Basil
- Any other spice you prefer
- 1 can of pasta sauce (flavor of your choice)
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
The key to the mix is the consistency. You want to make a nice paste with everything. Add the ricotta to softened cream cheese and mix. You want to still be able to see the grains of ricotta but if you taste it, it should not be super predominant. Add Italian bread crumbs (pre seasoned!) I use between 1/2 and 1 cup depending on how wet the cheeses are. Mix it to be a nice paste that does not fall apart. Take the 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic and prepare as desired. I like to smash a large knife to break it and chop it. Alternatively mincing works very well. Mince the onion and add as well. Be careful not to add too much, or you will get mouthfuls. Sprinkle spices, I used cinnamon basil, oregano, a touch of thyme and tarragon. Just enough for light flavors. I prepare this before the peppers are cut so that the spices have a chance to start to give off their flavor.
BE CAREFUL! Wash your peppers. Cut the top off, slice in half, de-vein, and remove ALL of the seeds or you may have more heat. If you like the heat, feel free to leave some of the vein tissue in the peppers.
Stuff the peppers carefully, so that they do not break in the process. Lay them with the stuffed half facing up in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Peppers can be packed next to each other as they are still friends.
Pour the jar of sauce over the top of the peppers. Make sure you fill all of the holes between the peppers.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top.
At this point you can either bake right away or refrigerate so that you can bake it later. I prefer to let it sit so the dairy can break down some of the heat.
There are two settings you can cook at:
350 for 45 min
425 for 30-35 min
Make sure that you let it rest just a little bit so the cheese is not boiling hot.
As long as you have not blinded yourself with pepper you should be able to enjoy this with your guests. The perfect superbowl/tailgate kind of side dish.
Part two to follow in a few!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
My Gift to You... Brownies!
It is almost 2012. As we are just a few hours away I sit here thankful for the new year. 2011 was wonderful to me as I was lucky to marry an amazing gentleman. (Who even insisted on a date with me today even though he works both of his jobs) We added a third furry creature to our little family, and last but certainly not least we are buying a house! Most importantly that house has an amazing kitchen compared to the two feet of counter space that I have in our apartment. After everything dies down I will be sure to post more but I was very compelled to share this recipe with you to start the new year.
Monday after Christmas I was put to the task of making brownies for my husbands family Christmas party. It was a day off for me so I rolled out of bed at 11am after my food coma from the night before. I did not want to leave the comfort of my home so I decided to try to make them from scratch which I had never done. Fortunately the result was AMAZING! I will never buy boxed brownie mix again as most of the ingredients are cheap and I always have in my kitchen. I swear I have never had such moist rich brownies. For an added touch just before placing the pan in the oven I doctored mine up by sprinkling peanut butter chips on the top. Some sink and some stay afloat for a nice even distribution.
Also, this recipe would be GREAT for making the ever popular brownie pops dipped in chocolate!
ENJOY!
And may you all have a peaceful and prosperous new year!
The following recipe is found on the Food Network website and is from the Alton Brown show Good Eats.
COCOA BROWNIES RECIPE
Ingredients
Soft butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, sifted
8 ounces melted butter
11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.
In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it's done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it's mostly cool.
Monday after Christmas I was put to the task of making brownies for my husbands family Christmas party. It was a day off for me so I rolled out of bed at 11am after my food coma from the night before. I did not want to leave the comfort of my home so I decided to try to make them from scratch which I had never done. Fortunately the result was AMAZING! I will never buy boxed brownie mix again as most of the ingredients are cheap and I always have in my kitchen. I swear I have never had such moist rich brownies. For an added touch just before placing the pan in the oven I doctored mine up by sprinkling peanut butter chips on the top. Some sink and some stay afloat for a nice even distribution.
Also, this recipe would be GREAT for making the ever popular brownie pops dipped in chocolate!
ENJOY!
And may you all have a peaceful and prosperous new year!
The following recipe is found on the Food Network website and is from the Alton Brown show Good Eats.
COCOA BROWNIES RECIPE
Ingredients
Soft butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 cup brown sugar, sifted
8 ounces melted butter
11/4 cups cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.
In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars. Add remaining ingredients, and mix to combine.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8-inch square pan and bake for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with the tried-and-true toothpick method: a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean. When it's done, remove to a rack to cool. Resist the temptation to cut into it until it's mostly cool.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
I love food...
So unlike many, my stress relief is cooking.
*insert silence,crickets,etc*
I don't know how that all started. Maybe because when I was younger cooking dinner was my "daily chore". Now after working anywhere from 8-12 hours in a day I love to come home and open a bottle of wine or a local seasonal beer and figure out what I can make for fun to take up my time until the husband comes home. Usually I try to have it ready for when Andy gets home, but with his unpredictable schedule it proves to be pretty difficult. Thus, I pick something, cook it, and post what it is along with a picture to Facebook. Unbeknownst to me, more people read of my culinary endeavors than I thought and comment or tell Andy that he is "lucky".
Tonight I decided to start a "food blog". I will post what I cook, and tricks/tips I have for cooking anything.
Above all, the cardinal rule of my cooking is TIMING IS EVERYTHING! It is possible to put together a multi part meal and have everything finish around the same time.
Tonight we will discuss:
Breaded Adobo Pork Chops
The beauty of prepackaged rice and beans
Apple Galette
BREADED ADOBO PORK CHOPS
There really is not much of a recipe here, as the thickness will affect the cooking time. Generally I use boneless thin chops.
Ingredients:
Boneless(Bone in) chops
Goya Adobo Seasoning
Italian (or plain) Bread Crumbs
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking disk with nonstick cooking oil. Pour out a small amount of bread crumbs, just enough to cover your chops, onto a plate. Roll chops in bread crumbs and place into baking dish. Sprinkle with Adobo and bake until the internal temperature is appropriate for pork. (With thin boneless I usually cook for 20-30 min depending on how my oven is acting)
I know it is "unusual" but I DO NOT baste in egg and flour before the bread crumbs. They get crispy without it, and it just adds extra calories with minimal flavor.
Rice: Tonight I used Goya Red Beans and Rice. I started the rice according to the package just before preparing the chops so that the within the 30 minutes that it takes the rice to cook, the chops can cook and rest. There is a ton of flavor and good proteins in prepackaged rice and beans. It is also much faster than soaking your own beans so it saves a lot of time for the full time worker.
Side dish: Tonight I cheated and washed and cleaned some snow peas. Sometimes the best veggie side is just fresh unaltered vegetables (even better if they are local!)
Dessert:
Apple Galette (From The Joy of Cooking)
One of my favorite things to do is look through The Joy of Cooking. It is a wealth of knowledge and gives tips/tricks so that you can prepare AWESOME and beautiful food. The recipe I used today can be found below.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/9123847/ns/today-food/t/joy-cooking-apple-galette/#.Tqdn5N7iGU8
But there is a secret...
I CHEATED!!!
With work today and a lack of ingredients I was unable to prepare fresh homemade pie dough. So, I used a mix. Jiffy makes a great boxed pie crust mix. I used Krusteaz, but it is made for a commercial bakery and I don't know if it is available in stores.
I also used crispin apples as they are nice and in season today.
On top of that I only had salted butter to use instead of unsalted. I love sweet and savory and actually loved the way the butter tasted against the flaky crust. It was especially flaky and crisp because I used a pizza stone instead of a cookie sheet. Yum!
There is something beautiful about butter brushed on a pie crust with sugar and fruit covering the top.
I made sure when sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar that it got on the crust too. The tart was excellent served about 20 min out of the oven. It was served just after we finished our dinner. The apples were al dente and not too sweet.
I hope this helps! I will gladly take suggestions, additional tips, and any feedback. I probably talked a little too much today, but hey what can I say. I love food!
Good Eats!
Jen
*insert silence,crickets,etc*
I don't know how that all started. Maybe because when I was younger cooking dinner was my "daily chore". Now after working anywhere from 8-12 hours in a day I love to come home and open a bottle of wine or a local seasonal beer and figure out what I can make for fun to take up my time until the husband comes home. Usually I try to have it ready for when Andy gets home, but with his unpredictable schedule it proves to be pretty difficult. Thus, I pick something, cook it, and post what it is along with a picture to Facebook. Unbeknownst to me, more people read of my culinary endeavors than I thought and comment or tell Andy that he is "lucky".
Tonight I decided to start a "food blog". I will post what I cook, and tricks/tips I have for cooking anything.
Above all, the cardinal rule of my cooking is TIMING IS EVERYTHING! It is possible to put together a multi part meal and have everything finish around the same time.
Tonight we will discuss:
Breaded Adobo Pork Chops
The beauty of prepackaged rice and beans
Apple Galette
BREADED ADOBO PORK CHOPS
There really is not much of a recipe here, as the thickness will affect the cooking time. Generally I use boneless thin chops.
Ingredients:
Boneless(Bone in) chops
Goya Adobo Seasoning
Italian (or plain) Bread Crumbs
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking disk with nonstick cooking oil. Pour out a small amount of bread crumbs, just enough to cover your chops, onto a plate. Roll chops in bread crumbs and place into baking dish. Sprinkle with Adobo and bake until the internal temperature is appropriate for pork. (With thin boneless I usually cook for 20-30 min depending on how my oven is acting)
I know it is "unusual" but I DO NOT baste in egg and flour before the bread crumbs. They get crispy without it, and it just adds extra calories with minimal flavor.
Rice: Tonight I used Goya Red Beans and Rice. I started the rice according to the package just before preparing the chops so that the within the 30 minutes that it takes the rice to cook, the chops can cook and rest. There is a ton of flavor and good proteins in prepackaged rice and beans. It is also much faster than soaking your own beans so it saves a lot of time for the full time worker.
Side dish: Tonight I cheated and washed and cleaned some snow peas. Sometimes the best veggie side is just fresh unaltered vegetables (even better if they are local!)
Dessert:
Apple Galette (From The Joy of Cooking)
One of my favorite things to do is look through The Joy of Cooking. It is a wealth of knowledge and gives tips/tricks so that you can prepare AWESOME and beautiful food. The recipe I used today can be found below.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/9123847/ns/today-food/t/joy-cooking-apple-galette/#.Tqdn5N7iGU8
But there is a secret...
I CHEATED!!!
With work today and a lack of ingredients I was unable to prepare fresh homemade pie dough. So, I used a mix. Jiffy makes a great boxed pie crust mix. I used Krusteaz, but it is made for a commercial bakery and I don't know if it is available in stores.
I also used crispin apples as they are nice and in season today.
On top of that I only had salted butter to use instead of unsalted. I love sweet and savory and actually loved the way the butter tasted against the flaky crust. It was especially flaky and crisp because I used a pizza stone instead of a cookie sheet. Yum!
There is something beautiful about butter brushed on a pie crust with sugar and fruit covering the top.
I made sure when sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar that it got on the crust too. The tart was excellent served about 20 min out of the oven. It was served just after we finished our dinner. The apples were al dente and not too sweet.
I hope this helps! I will gladly take suggestions, additional tips, and any feedback. I probably talked a little too much today, but hey what can I say. I love food!
Good Eats!
Jen
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