Breakfast Grilled Cheese
Serving Size: 2 Adult portions
A classic American dish that was transformed into a breakfast dish. It was a little on the heavy side, but was very delish.
Ingredients:
4 slices of sandwich bread, I used honey wheat
butter melted
1 oz low fat cream cheese, softened
vanilla extract
cinnamon
1/4 cup in season fruit, sliced, I used blackberries
Brush one side of each slice of bread with melted butter. In a mixing bowl, mix together softened cream cheese, vanilla extract and cinnamon. On the un-buttered side of the bread slices, spread cream cheese mixture, add fruit slices. Top with the other slice of bread, butter side out. Brown in a skillet over medium-low heat, until golden brown.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Baked Chicken Cobb Salad
Baked Chicken Cobb Salad
Josh and I (like most of America) love a hearty Cobb salad, but I wanted something a little different. So I decided to top the chicken with all the fixings and bake it. For a little side note, Josh said it was the best salad he has ever had. If you attempt nothing else, try this one.
Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
butter
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package of pancetta, I found a package that was diced already (Pancetta is an Italian bacon, you can get it at any grocery store. I found the diced pancetta in freezer section at Trader Joe's)
1 avocado, cubed
1 bag of organic Colby jack blend shredded cheese
1 tomato, chopped into bite size pieces
1 small onion, finely diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, grated
salt and pepper
Romaine lettuce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet heat olive oil and butter on medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. When butter foams add the chicken breasts, seasoned side down. Season the other side and brown chicken. It should take 10-12 minutes on each side.
Once the chicken is browned on both sides, remove from the pan and place them in a greased baking dish. If you bought already diced pancetta, add it to the pan and fully cook it until golden brown. If you bought whole slices of pancetta, it needs to be finely diced. Once the pancetta is fully cooked, remove and drain on a paper towel, then add your diced onion and grate in your garlic to the pan drippings. Onions need to be cooked low and slow, so turn your burner down to medium until the onions are tender and translucent. Once the onions are cooked through,add tomato and avocado. Cook just until everything is fragrant. About 5 minutes.
Put vegetable mixture and pancetta in a mixing bowl and add 3/4 of the cheese. Pour over top of the chicken and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake until the chicken juices run clear and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Homemade Ranch Dressing:
Condiments can kill a healthy dinner and by DH is all about his condiments. So I made a lighter version of ranch dressing. I didn't measure anything out. I just used what I had, so feel free to add to this recipe or substitute if needed. I used 1/4 cup of low fat sour cream, 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt, ranch seasoning (like Hidden Valley), and dried dill. Just mix all ingredients together.
Josh and I (like most of America) love a hearty Cobb salad, but I wanted something a little different. So I decided to top the chicken with all the fixings and bake it. For a little side note, Josh said it was the best salad he has ever had. If you attempt nothing else, try this one.
Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
butter
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package of pancetta, I found a package that was diced already (Pancetta is an Italian bacon, you can get it at any grocery store. I found the diced pancetta in freezer section at Trader Joe's)
1 avocado, cubed
1 bag of organic Colby jack blend shredded cheese
1 tomato, chopped into bite size pieces
1 small onion, finely diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, grated
salt and pepper
Romaine lettuce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet heat olive oil and butter on medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. When butter foams add the chicken breasts, seasoned side down. Season the other side and brown chicken. It should take 10-12 minutes on each side.
Once the chicken is browned on both sides, remove from the pan and place them in a greased baking dish. If you bought already diced pancetta, add it to the pan and fully cook it until golden brown. If you bought whole slices of pancetta, it needs to be finely diced. Once the pancetta is fully cooked, remove and drain on a paper towel, then add your diced onion and grate in your garlic to the pan drippings. Onions need to be cooked low and slow, so turn your burner down to medium until the onions are tender and translucent. Once the onions are cooked through,add tomato and avocado. Cook just until everything is fragrant. About 5 minutes.
Put vegetable mixture and pancetta in a mixing bowl and add 3/4 of the cheese. Pour over top of the chicken and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake until the chicken juices run clear and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Condiments can kill a healthy dinner and by DH is all about his condiments. So I made a lighter version of ranch dressing. I didn't measure anything out. I just used what I had, so feel free to add to this recipe or substitute if needed. I used 1/4 cup of low fat sour cream, 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt, ranch seasoning (like Hidden Valley), and dried dill. Just mix all ingredients together.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
December 31st-January 6th Menu
OK so I have decided that I am going to try to do this weekly instead of monthly. We will see how it goes. So, here is the first week!
Monday December 31st: Creamy Pasta with Truffle Butter
Pan Seared Fillet Mignon
Sautéed Vegetables (California Blend)
Sparkling Champagne and Strawberries
Tuesday January 1st:
Breakfast:
Panettone French Toast
Dinner:
Lazy Kebabs
Steamed Rice
Wednesday January 2nd:
Breaded Swordfish Cutlets
Smashed Red Potatoes
Clean Zucchini on the Barbecue
Thursday January 3rd: Chili
Friday January 4th:
Chili Dogs
Saturday January 5th:
Breakfast:
Cris's Cappuccino
Lunch:
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Baked French Fries
Dinner:
Date Night
Sunday January 6th:
Chicken and Dumplings
Grocery List:
Monday December 31st: Creamy Pasta with Truffle Butter
Pan Seared Fillet Mignon
Sautéed Vegetables (California Blend)
Sparkling Champagne and Strawberries
Tuesday January 1st:
Breakfast:
Panettone French Toast
Dinner:
Lazy Kebabs
Steamed Rice
Wednesday January 2nd:
Breaded Swordfish Cutlets
Smashed Red Potatoes
Clean Zucchini on the Barbecue
Thursday January 3rd: Chili
Friday January 4th:
Chili Dogs
Saturday January 5th:
Breakfast:
Cris's Cappuccino
Lunch:
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Baked French Fries
Dinner:
Date Night
Sunday January 6th:
Chicken and Dumplings
Grocery List:
Chicken and Dumplings
This recipe is so simple but so delicious. It is literally one of my husbands favorites!
Chicken and Dumplings:
Ingredients:
1 pound of boneless/skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
2 cans of chicken broth
bisquick
Directions:
Poach chicken breasts in chicken broth until chicken is cooked through. Once chicken is cooked, add soup. The recipe for dumplings is on the side of the Bisquick box. Mix those ingredients together and drop spoonfuls of the dough into the pot of chicken and soup. Don't cover completely. You will know when the dumplings are done when they look dry on the top and rise.
Chicken and Dumplings:
Ingredients:
1 pound of boneless/skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
2 cans of chicken broth
bisquick
Directions:
Poach chicken breasts in chicken broth until chicken is cooked through. Once chicken is cooked, add soup. The recipe for dumplings is on the side of the Bisquick box. Mix those ingredients together and drop spoonfuls of the dough into the pot of chicken and soup. Don't cover completely. You will know when the dumplings are done when they look dry on the top and rise.
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
I love chicken nuggets, what I don't love is what is in chicken nuggets. So to feed my craving I will make a large batch and freeze what I don't eat, so I always have some on hand.
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients:
1 pound chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup of all purpose flour
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
garlic powder
Onion powder
1 egg and 1/4 cup of grape seed oil
hot sauce
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup of grape seed oil for frying
Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Place and combine flour, salt and pepper, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl whisk eggs, hot sauce (not for spice just for flavor) and 1/4 cup of oil together. In a third shallow bowl place bread crumbs.
Dredge the chicken through the flour. Then cover them with the egg mixture and then cover them throughly with bread crumbs. I split the chicken up in thirds and coated in batches. Heat the oil over medium-high heat and fry first batch until golden brown on both sides. Each side will take about 5 minutes. When you see the edges become brown they are ready to be flipped. Finish all three batches and enjoy!
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients:
1 pound chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup of all purpose flour
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
garlic powder
Onion powder
1 egg and 1/4 cup of grape seed oil
hot sauce
2 cups of panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup of grape seed oil for frying
Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Place and combine flour, salt and pepper, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl whisk eggs, hot sauce (not for spice just for flavor) and 1/4 cup of oil together. In a third shallow bowl place bread crumbs.
Dredge the chicken through the flour. Then cover them with the egg mixture and then cover them throughly with bread crumbs. I split the chicken up in thirds and coated in batches. Heat the oil over medium-high heat and fry first batch until golden brown on both sides. Each side will take about 5 minutes. When you see the edges become brown they are ready to be flipped. Finish all three batches and enjoy!
Cris's Cappuccino
This morning drink is my ULTIMATE favorite. When Joshua and I were in NYC this winter, we stayed with my cousin and his wife. She by the way is a wonderful cook and hostess. During our stay she made is cappuccino. I immediately fell in love and just had to have the recipe. So, now I will share it with you! You will need a plastic freezer container to keep the mix in.
Cris's Cappuccino
Ingredients:
1 cup of boiling water
2 oz of instant coffee, I use Nestcafe
1 cup of sugar
Directions:
Those whom own a stand mixer will be very happy, those whom don't well you can still make this mix you just must do everything by hand. Bring two cups of water to a rolling boil. Add coffee and sugar into the bowl of your mixer. Mix on stir speed just to get coffee and sugar combine. Once the water has began to boil. add it to the coffee mixture in very small increments. You should probably drape a kitchen towel over you mixer because the water will splatter and make a mess everywhere. Once you see that the mixture is fluffy like a moose then you can add more water. Speed the mixer up as you go. Start out on stir just to get everything combined and then start moving up gradually. This whole process takes about ten minutes. Once you have a bowl of coffee fluff you are done. Put this mix into a freezer safe container and store in the freezer.
To enjoy the mix, boil 1 1/2 cups of milk on the stove. The milk will be warm enough when the edges boil. You don't need to bring the milk to a rolling boil or you will have a film on the top of the milk. Once the milk is hot and ready pour it into a coffee mug and add a couple of tablespoons of the cappuccino mixture. Stir well and sprinkle cinnamon on the top. ENJOY this morning treat!
Cris's Cappuccino
Ingredients:
1 cup of boiling water
2 oz of instant coffee, I use Nestcafe
1 cup of sugar
Directions:
Those whom own a stand mixer will be very happy, those whom don't well you can still make this mix you just must do everything by hand. Bring two cups of water to a rolling boil. Add coffee and sugar into the bowl of your mixer. Mix on stir speed just to get coffee and sugar combine. Once the water has began to boil. add it to the coffee mixture in very small increments. You should probably drape a kitchen towel over you mixer because the water will splatter and make a mess everywhere. Once you see that the mixture is fluffy like a moose then you can add more water. Speed the mixer up as you go. Start out on stir just to get everything combined and then start moving up gradually. This whole process takes about ten minutes. Once you have a bowl of coffee fluff you are done. Put this mix into a freezer safe container and store in the freezer.
To enjoy the mix, boil 1 1/2 cups of milk on the stove. The milk will be warm enough when the edges boil. You don't need to bring the milk to a rolling boil or you will have a film on the top of the milk. Once the milk is hot and ready pour it into a coffee mug and add a couple of tablespoons of the cappuccino mixture. Stir well and sprinkle cinnamon on the top. ENJOY this morning treat!
Clean Zucchini on the Barbecue
This year one of resolutions has been to make a clean meal or side dish at least once a week, if not more. So this was the one for this week. It was so simple and we will continue to eat it like this from now on.
Clean Zucchini on the Barbecue
Ingredients:
4-6 Zucchini, quartered
olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
Halve the zucchini long ways and halve again. Toss the wedges with olive oil salt and pepper. place on the barbecue, turning once. They should cook at medium-high heat for about 10-12 minutes.
Clean Zucchini on the Barbecue
Ingredients:
4-6 Zucchini, quartered
olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
Halve the zucchini long ways and halve again. Toss the wedges with olive oil salt and pepper. place on the barbecue, turning once. They should cook at medium-high heat for about 10-12 minutes.
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