We're back!

Hello what's this? New blog entry? OMG! Sorry about the hiatus. But things happen. Anyway, I had to make a dessert for a weekly dinner party this week and decided to make good use of the box mixes I have an overstock of. I'm on a diet, they were free and I'm not gonna make them just for us, but I managed to use two mixes. Once chocolate chip cookie, and one chocolate brownie.

Those are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies.  And they are 7 WW points.

Chocolate Chip Cooke Dough Brownies

Ingredients:
-One bag chocolate chip cookie mix plus ingredients on bag
-One box brownie mix of your choice plus ingredients on box

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare cookie dough and brownie batter separately. Put cupcake liners in muffin tins and spray with non stick cooking spray. Spoon brownie batter in to liners only filling 1/3 of the way. Add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough on top. Bake 20-30 minutes until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.
Optional: You can frost them if you like, but really it's unnecessary.


 Mangia!

Chicken Francese

Where I grew up there were TONS of Italian delis. And one thing that was always available to eat was Chicken Francese. Or as I called it "Lemon Chicken". It was this thin, juicy coated piece of chicken, topped with lemon slices and slathered in a wonderful creamy lemon sauce. But it was one of the few foods Nonna never cooked. So I don't even know if we have a family recipe for it or not.

In the past few years, my mother and I have attempted to make it 5 or 6 times. Failing miserably every time. The breading was never right, and the sauce was offensive to our tastebuds. We even stooped so low as to use jarred sauce. I could have vomited it was so bad. And then I moved to western New York. Here, that dish is called "Chicken French". *shudders* But it's every where. And I don't work, so I have all day to fail at cooking something before I have to get it right. So I scoured the internet for recipes for Chicken Francese. I found one by Tyler Florence that seemed the closest to what I wanted. And, like with most of the recipes I found online, I've doctored it a bit to my tastes.

Chicken Francese

Ingredients:
2 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts, sliced into 2 or 3 fillets
All-purpose flour, for dredging
3 large eggs
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, with rind, cut in thin rounds
1 cup white cooking wine, or a dry white wine
2 cup chicken broth
1 lemon, juiced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter


Directions:

Once you cut your chicken into fillets, you're gonna wanna pound them out to about a quarter inch thickness. I normally do this, but skipped it tonight due to lazy. It came out fine, but they were thin fillets to begin with. Set up two shallow and wide bowls, one with flour for dredging, and the other with the eggs. Beat the eggs to make and egg wash and heat your oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

While the oil is heating up I like to measure out my wine, chicken broth, and situate my lemons. Get one all sliced out, and squeeze the other. You can also use about 3/4 cup of lemon juice from a bottle with almost the same result. Now take your pounded out chicken and dredge it in flour (don't get rid of the flour when you're done, we're gonna use that again later.), then dip it into the egg wash, and from there get it straight into your hot oil. They take 2 to 4 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the fillet. Flip them once and when they're done cooking get them on some paper towels to drain.

When all your chicken is cooked, leave the pan on the flame and add the lemon slices. These are gonna sizzle and pop so be careful. Let those fry up about a minute or two and take your butter and slice it into about 4 chunks. Toss it into the leftover flour from dredging and shake to coat. Once you can smell the lemon, add the wine, then chicken broth, then lemon juice. Stir with a whisk, and then toss in floured butter. Add about a tablespoon of flour to the mix and whisk until butter is melted.

I got to this step last night and noticed I had no chicken broth. I had beef stock and veggie stock. Neither was what I wanted. But I had a can of condensed chicken noodle soup. I strained the can into a bowl, added a can of water and mixed to combine. It was perfect. And actually tasted better than when I use broth. I may save myself a few bucks from now on and do this instead.... I'm kidding. It works wonderfully in a pinch, but not something to plan on.

Turn heat to medium low and add chicken back in, trying to position lemon slices on top of chicken. Simmer for anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes depending on your time constraints. Traditionally you serve this with lemon slices on top and garnished with chopped parsley. The real, flat stuff, not the weird curly one. I normally don't bother with the parsley.

 Mangia!

I'm not abandoning you!

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. There was some personal stuff going on in my life that was more pressing than cooking dinner. Things seem to be getting back to order so the next time I cook (which will probably be tonight) I will be posting.

 

 Mangia!

Lasagna Muffins!!!!

Once upon a time I stumbled upon something called "Lasagna Muffins". But I never bookmarked it. All I remembered was that instead of pasta, you use wonton wrappers. And a muffin pan. I figured I could swing this. Besides, no one makes lasagna right in my eyes anyway unless they're family. So I went and got all the stuff as if I was making a real lasagna. And came up with something awesome.

Lasagna Muffins

Ingredients:

• Wonton wrappers
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• Parmesan cheese, grated 
• 1/4 pound Genoa Salami sliced about 1/4 inch thick
• 1/4 pound provolone cheese
• 1/4 pound mozzarella cheese
• about 1/2 cup ricotta cheese 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375° and start by cubing your salami, provolone, and mozzarella so they are all roughly the same size.

Spray your muffin pan with a nonstick spray and gently press one wrapper into each cup.

 In each wrapper add a little of your meat and cheeses you cubed.

Then a small dollop of ricotta.

Top with a drizzle of sauce. And then press another wonton wrapper down on top of it. Repeat those steps for as many layers as your muffin cups/number of wonton wrappers will allow.

And then press another wonton wrapper down on top of it. Repeat those steps for as many layers as your muffin cups/number of wonton wrappers will allow. I was able to do 2 layers.

On the top layer, cover with sauce like you would a pizza dough and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 40 minutes and serve immediately!


 Mangia!

Mmmmmmm Mmmmmmmmm Mmmmmmmmm Meatloaf

I never was fond of meatloaf as a kid. Mostly because ground meat is not a texture I am a fan of. And then when I moved in with my best friend, she made her meatloaf. It was the most fantastical food ever. And what I love about her foods is they don't really have recipes. There's no measuring. And it's never the same twice. I LOVE people who cook that way.

And since this recipe has no measurements, it's a little hard to pass on to all of you, but follow me here. It's also super easy to substitute what you have for what you don't in this meatloaf.



Nikki's Meatloaf
Ingredients:

• Ground beef
• Ground pork (tonight I'm using bacon in it's place)
• Onion Soup Mix, 1 package
• Ketchup
• Breadcrumbs and/or stuffing (Nikki uses both but I'm out of stuffing tonight so I'll just be using breadcrumbs)
• Onions of any variety, chopped (Shallots are preferred but not required)
• Eggs
• Garlic
• Tarragon
• Broccoli
• Cheese

Directions:

So I buy frozen broccoli. We've talked about this. I can steam it in the bag, and it takes no time at all. So once that's steamed, throw it in a pan with some chopped garlic and sauté till brown.

While you're doing that, fry up your bacon (if you're using it, that is) and place on paper towels to dry. Once it's dry, crumble it into moderate sized pieces.

Mix everything but your cheese and broccoli together. I ended up using about half a pound of bacon, a pound and a half of ground beef, 1 package of soup mix, 3 eggs, a teaspoon of tarragon, a handful of breadcrumbs, 1 red onion, a quarter cup of chopped garlic, and maybe a half cup of ketchup.

Split your meat mixture into thirds. Take 2 thirds and form your loaf. I don't like to use a loaf pan, I use a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam so there is a sweet crust on the outside.  And in your loaf, create a kind of a meat bowl. In your meatbowl, put the broccoli and some shredded cheese. I went with Colby Jack cheese.

Take the remaining third and make a lid for your meatbowl, sealing it all the way around. I usually grab small amounts and mash it together piece by piece from one end to the other and seal it as I go.

Sprinkle a little more cheese on top, and cover with ketchup. Bake at 400° for about an hour.

Mangia!

Dim Sum Dinner - Part 3

And last but not least, home made fried crab rangoons. Oh. My. God. I love crab rangoons. Whoever thought of wrapping crab and cream cheese in a pastry dough and frying it invented heaven. I need to run to the corner Chinese restaurant and get a container of sweet and sour sauce for dipping. I do not have the stuff to make it. And you simply can't have crab rangoons without sweet and sour sauce. 

Crab Rangoons
From Everyday Home Cook

Ingredients:

• 1 12 oz package imitation crab meat (leg or flake style), chopped
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 green onions, chopped
• wonton wrappers

Directions:

Get your fryer or dutch oven going to about 350°. In a bowl, combine everything except the wonton wrappers and mix well.

 Place a small amount of the filling (about 1 to 2 tablespoons) in the center of a wonton wrapper.

Fold in half to make a triangle, using water to seal the edges.

 Take your sealed rangoons to your dutch oven or fryer, working in batches to not over crowd the oil.  

 Let drain on paper towels after they have fried to a light golden brown. Serve immediately.

Mangia!

Dim Sum Dinner - Part 2

Part two of the celebration meal was Miso Soup. Miso is what I want to eat when it's cold. It's not heavy, it's decently filling, and good for you. I found a 10 minute recipe I swear by. Every one who has tried it has said it is just as good as any they've had in a restaurant. On top of being super quick they only sell the ingredients in large quanities (aside from the tofu). I bought the ingredients once, I will probably get 10 – 20 pots of Miso Soup out of them depending on the size pot I make. Tonight I made enough for 4. 

10 Minute Miso
Adapted from Steamy Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant dashi granules
• 1/2 cup miso paste
• 1 tablespoon dried seaweed (for miso soup)
• 1/2 cup cubed tofu
• 1 cup dried shitake mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion

Directions:

Start off by re-hydrating your seaweed and mushrooms. I know that a tablespoon of dried seaweed seems like it won't feed four, but it will. They need to soak just like the adame seaweed from yesterday's entry. The only difference is neither of these are salted so there is no need to rinse and drain a second time. 

Bring your water to a boil. Add Dashi granules and whisk to dissolve. Turn heat to medium low and add tofu. Add your re-hydrated mushrooms and seaweed and simmer for about 4 minutes. 

Now measure out your miso paste into a bowl. Add about a ladle of the hot broth into the paste and whisk until smooth. 

Turn off your stove, and mix in miso mixture. You do NOT want to cook the miso paste. It becomes really gritty if you do.Slice your green onions on an angle and use for garnish. Serve immediately. 

Mangia!