My First Panko Chicken

Drool! This is going to be a regular go-to dinner. Low fat and fast. You can't beat that combo! Inspired by being a faithful watcher of The Chew (a daily food show on TV), here's my version:

INGREDIENTS
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1+ cup flour in a gallon ziplock bag (enough to lightly coat each breast)
2 eggs, whisked in a pie plate
2 cups Panko in a gallon ziplock bag (again, enough to coat breasts)
3+ TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
3 large lemons
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Take each breast, coat with flour, dip in eggs, then shake with Panko. Place in large skillet with the heated olive oil and cook until golden on both sides.

Place cooked breasts on serving platter, remove oil residue from skillet and melt butter over low heat. Squeeze in the fresh juice from 3 lemons. Drizzle over all breasts, sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley to taste.

We served this with our favorite rice (see earlier blogs), but Fettucine would be another option. Leftover breasts would also make a terrific chicken sandwich if you use gormet bread.

Spot gives this a solid 4 paws... and loved her tastes!

Homemade Chips N Dip

Thank you Michael Symon! Last weekend I was channel surfing and on a cooking channel found he has a new TV show. After he showed a pork recipe (I am allergic), I froze. He was making homemade poto chips with a blue cheese fondue complete with rosemary. Hold the phone!

To make the CHIPS:
We used a deep fat fryer, and once the oil was hot tossed in three whole garlic cloves, peeled and smashed a bit. Use one and a half large russet potatoes for each eater. Since we made this as our dinner, we made even more. Slice them thin and chip-like. Toss into a large bowl of water to keep fresh til frying. Keep the outer skin on.

Cook chips til medium brown. We have an older deep fat fryer so that meant about 9 minutes.

Layer paper towels over a flattened paper bag. Once the chips come out of the fryer, pat them dry with another paper towel and generously salt with Sea Salt. Move the chips to a larger pasta-style bowl lined with paper towels and toss with 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (pictured). Continue this until all potato pieces are cooked and tossed.

In order to make this recipe, I needed a new kitchen implement! This is the thing I've seen in other people's houses and on the "gadget wall" in cooking sections for years and just wondered about.

Still don't know what it's called, but it worked great tonight and I want to kiss it.

Okay, the recipe Symon mentioned called for a Blue Cheese Fondue dip. My son and I love, love, love the nip of Blue Cheese, so that's what I made. My hubby shudders at the idea, so I bought him some salsa and chilled it. He loved the chips and his version of the dip.

To make the Blue Cheese FONDUE:
In a heavy bottomed pot, cook 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil with 5 minced cloves of garlic, one minced shallot and 2 sprigs of rosemary, removed from the stem. Add a nice fat pince of Kosher salt. Cook til garlic and shallot are softened. Just a couple of minutes. Whisk in 1/4 cup white wine and reduce. About another minute. Then add 3/4 cup heavy cream, stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat. Add a generous dose of ground pepper to taste and stir in 8 oz. crumbled Blue Cheese. Let sit a minute.

If there are any chips left, serve this with them.

Cast Iron Skillet Pizza Casserole

Yesterday I was watching the TV show The Chew and got inspired by a skillet pizza that Iron Chef Michael Symon made. I followed his template, but changed most ingredients. Made it tonight. Drool!

INGREDIENTS
1 12" cast iron skillet
2 Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough tubes
1 lb. extra lean hamburger, browned
1 large white onion, diced and sautéed
1 pkg. fresh mushrooms, sautéed and sliced in thirds
1 jumbo jar of Classico Four Cheese spaghetti sauce
2+ cups shredded parmesan cheese
8-10 slices deli-packaged Gouda cheese

PREPARE
1. Brown meat, sauté veggies and set aside til ready to cook pizza (this will take 30 min.)
2. Preheat oven to 400
3. In cast iron skillet, unfurl pizza dough to cover bottom, press into sides and let drape over edges
4. Layer parmesan, spaghetti sauce, meat, onions, mushrooms, gouda and repeat. End with more parmesan sprinkled on top
5. Twist dough to form a crust
6. Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy

Here is the salad I was planning to serve with the pizza, but never got around to it. Also, due to my excitement about this recipe, I put everything together and forgot the sauce so had to dig tunnels and infuse. Not to worry, this tastes amazing! Our son was sleeping over at a buddy's house and wanted to know "what food" he would miss. And if there would be some left tomorrow.

Spot hid upstairs I'm sure because of the onions, so alas, no paw rating

Mac N Cheese N Meat!

"Mom, this crap -- I mean stuff is really, really good," said our 16 year old son tonight. And it truly was a compliment.

Here's a variation on the traditional Mac N Cheese if you take just 20 more minutes. And dig Blue Cheese...

INGREDIENTS
1 box interesting open tube short pasta, cooked al dente
1 cup+ blue cheese, crumbled
2 TBSP unsalted butter
3 cups heavy cream
Kosher salt
Ground pepper
1 generous TBSP minced or squished garlic
1 petite top sirloin per person, salted, grilled and sliced in strips

COOKING
1. Melt butter and garlic in medium skillet, cook slightly about 2 minutes. Add cream, whisk. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir often.
2. Heat coals.
3. Bring 3 quart pot of water to boil, add pasta, cook al dente.
4. Season meat, go out and grill!
5. Add cheese to skillet, whisk til smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm til everything else is done.
6. Toss cheese mixture with pasta, serve with yummy meat!

The blue cheese gives this an unexpected nip. This recipe can serve 6 with 1-cup pasta servings...although my boys had more! In the past I have added fresh Italian parsley to the pasta, but it was the nasty Daylight Savings day so I rebelled.

Spot? She is so self-serving! She only gives this 4 paws because when we slice the meat, we toss tidbits into her bowl

Daylight Savings Luscious Meatloaf

This recipe is morphed from the Lost Summer, the one where I had two broken feet and had to learn to walk again, and my hub had emergency appendicitis surgery. It's a blur to us but we were well-fed by many church friends. This meatloaf recipe was from the famous "Cooks" recipe. At that time, we gobbled it up. De-lish! Haven't tried to make it since then, and that's back in the day when I thought lots of cooking was complicated.

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs mixture of extra lean ground beef and low fat turkey
1 large red onion, casually diced
8 cloves of garlic, minced (less if you fear garlic breath)
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Ground pepper
2 large eggs
Up to 1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 - 6 TBSP whipped butter
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 cup fresh Cilantro flakes
1/3 cup mayonaise (Hellmanns!)
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups Italian bread crumbs

COOKING:
1. In large skillet (to be be used later when you make your gravy), cook onion and garlic in olive oil with pinch of salt til soft. Cover and stir every once in awhile. Leave some of the onions to flavor your gravy...

2. Preheat oven to 350.

3. While onion mixture is cooking, set up large bowl with the following: Big smatter of Kosher salt, ground pepper to taste (we like lots), eggs, Dijon, Mayo, Worcestershire, Cilantro, 1/3 cup Whipping cream - whisk well

4. When onion mixture is cooked til soft, add contents to big bowl, whisk - then add the meat (This is where I ask my hubby to mash up the ingredients b/c his fingers hold less water than mine = ring comes off easier)

5. Hand-mix all to fit baking dish. Pat firmly. Bake until instant temp reads 160, approx 1 hour and 10 minutes.

6. While meatloaf is cooking, prepare side dishes. We like mashed potos and gravy. Tonite I made the potos with heavy cream and whipped butter. Very smooth!