Chicken Piccata

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Chicken Piccata is such a simple, yet flavorful dish.

The most important component in here is definitely the lemon so if you are not a fan, then this dish is likely not for you.

I really did not follow any recipe here, I just threw the ingredients together and created my own. So this may or may not be a recipe that exists already.

This recipe serves 4 people that have a good appetite or 5-6 people that eat like birds:

- 4 pieces of chicken breast

- 2 lemons (wash them well)

- about 2 Tablespoon of capers (adjust to taste)

- flour to dust the chicken with

- seasonings to taste. I use: lemon pepper, garlic, salt,

- about 2 tablespoons of butter

- about 1 cup of white wine

- chicken broth as needed


Season the chicken and then pound it to about 1 inch thickness. Cut the pieces in half so they are not too huge. Coat each chicken cutlet with flour on both sides.

(Start a pot with pasta of your choice, I used whole wheat spaghetti .. cook according to package instructions)

Melt about 1 teaspoon of butter in a frying pan and add the chicken. Cook on both sides until just cooked, be careful not to overcook. Take the chicken out and set aside.

Add the rest of the butter to the pan and scrape the pan as the butter melts so the scrapings from the chicken mix into the butter. Add the white wine and capers. Let it all cook for a couple of minutes. Now squeeze in the juice of 1 1/2 lemons ... slice the other half lemon and set aside.

Add some chicken broth to create more sauce and flavor. Season to taste. Let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes.

Put the chicken back in, together with the reserved lemon slice and reheat from both sides for about a minute.

Arrange two cutlets on each plate with a slice of lemon on top.


Put the pasta into the pan and mix well with the sauce. Arrange in plate


That's it .... simple, yet so good!

German Apple Cake

My boys went apple picking with daycare ... they had an awesome day and came home with a bunch of apples .. more than a bunch .. let's just say I slipped an "Holy Sh*t" when I saw all the apples.
So now what do I do with them. I love my apple streusel but I need to make something different every now and then. So I decided to try a traditional German apple cake recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (about 4 to 5 apples)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Confectioners' sugar, optional

Directions

• Combine the first three ingredients; set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Combine oil and orange juice and add alternately with dry ingredients to egg mixture. Beat until smooth; add vanilla and beat well.
• Pour half of the batter into a greased and floured tube pan. Arrange half the apples over the batter. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle half over the apples. Top with remaining batter, apples and cinnamon/sugar.
• Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 1 hour before removing from pan. Cool, apple side up, on a wire rack. Sprinkle top with confectioners' sugar if desired. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Enjoy.... soooo yummy!





















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One cake down and if I look at the apples probably only about 20 more to go...

Pasta in Pink Salmon Cream Sauce

I used to make this dish a lot and for some reason hadnt made it in a while.

After making it tonight I remembered why I used to make it so often ;) It's really good and easy.

- 4 pieces of frozen salmon

- lemon pepper (for salmon)

For the sauce:

- garlic powder

- pepper, salt

- pepperflakes

- basil

- terragon

- about 5 tablespoon tomatoe paste (I use the tubes to not waste a can)

- about 2 tablespoon pesto

- a little squirt worshestershire sauce (or however the heck you spell that)

- about 1 1/2 cup white wine

- about 1 cup cream

- Pasta of choice

Season the Salmon with lots of lemon pepper and bake it at 400 degrees until it flakes off a fork (about 20 minutes), pull it apart and put it all in a pot

Add the wine to it and bring to a quick boil, then turn down to medium heat and add the cream as well as all the seasonings for the sauce. (Season to taste. Add or take away as you like).

Boil pasta according to package directions and serve with the Salmon sauce. Easy and yummy!

Egg Free Chicken Cordon Bleu

Having a child with a severe egg allergy forces me to find alternatives for many recipes that call for egg (but then again half the time he refuses to eat it anyway..)

- chicken breast

- ham for each breast (the amount depends on the type of ham you have or your personal taste)

- 1 slice of cheese per breast (I used pepper jack for added flavor)

- panco breadcrumbs

- a few tablespoon of sour cream mixed with a little milk

- balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic powder, basil and terragon (to marinade the chicken)

- 2 cans of diced tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperflakes, terragon and 5 tablespoon sugar for the marinara sauce

Marinade the meat in the marinade listed above for at least 2 hours.

Slice the meat in the middle, creating a pocket.

Fill it with ham and cheese (my chicken was very thin so I put only a little ham and cheese inside and put the rest on top

Dip the chicken in the cream then in the breadcrumbs

Set the chicken on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle more breadcrumbs on it until the whole piece of chicken is covered.

Do this with all the chicken you have.

Bake on 395 for about 35 minutes (cooking time might vary depending on thickness of chicken.. mine was thin)

Mix all the ingredients for the marinara sauce and blend them well (I use one of those handy stick mixers)

About 10 minutes before end of cooking time put some marinara sauce on top of each breast and if you like also a few sprinkles of grated cheese (optional)

Finish baking.

I served this with spaghetti and used the leftover marinara sauce for the pasta.

Bon appetit!

Meat Pie

Another one of those dishes that I made up. I liked it but I think next time I will add some sour cream or something to make it a bit smoother.










- 1 roll of refridgerated pie crust
- 1 lbs (or however much is in your pack) ground beef
- a few handful of broccoli florets
- a few baby carrots, about 8-10 (or 1-2 regular carrots)
- seasoning to taste
- a couple of tablespoon of tomatoe paste, more couldnt hurt
- a squirt of blue cheese dressing
- 5 slices of pre cooked bacon, chooped
- about 1 cup of prepared mashed potatoes (boxed)


Fry meat in a pot, chop carrots and broccoli into tiny pieces, add to the meat. Season the meat (I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, terragon, paprika..) add the bacon to it, the tomatoe paste and the dressing.
Prepare the mashed potatoes in a seperate little pot and add to the meat mixture to help bind it.
Line a small baking dish with the pie crust, fill it with the meat mixture and fold the crust that's overlapping over the meat. Slice the top and bake according to pie crust directions until the crust is golden brown.

I served it with curry ketchup and corn on the cob. Turned out to be a tasty weeknight meal. My husband got seconds and thirds ;)

Oven Baked Jambalaya

I found this recipe online and it is sooooo good. It is wonderful for a potluck event as it feeds about 16 people!


1/2 cup butter
1 large onion, diced
2 large bell peppers (whatever color you like), chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3 bay leaves (I used 6)
3 tablespoons Creole Seasoning Blend
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes (I used one of those and one can petite diced tomatoes)
7 cups chicken stock
3 cups chopped cooked ham
3 cups cooked andouille sausage, sliced
3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 cups frozen cooked shrimp

(I used chicken and sausage only)

4 cups uncooked long-grain white rice



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Melt butter in large stock pot. Saute onion, green pepper, celery and garlic until tender, being careful not to burn the garlic.

Add tomato paste and cook to brown slightly, stirring constantly.

Stir in bay leaves, Creole seasoning blend and Worcestershire sauce.

Pour into a large roasting pan.
Squeeze tomatoes to break up into pieces, and add to mixture in pan. Stir in juice from tomatoes, chicken stock, ham, sausage, chicken, shrimp and rice. Mix well.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once halfway through baking time (I did not stir it to let the rice settle). Remove bay leaves before serving.

Easy but delicious Meatloaf

- 2 lbs ground beef
- salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried minced onions
- Worshestire sauce (or however the heck you spell that)
- ketchup (approximately 1 cup)
- chicken stuffing (croutons type dried bread)
- 1 egg
- 1 envelope of onion soup mix

Season the beef the way you like it, add a couple of handful chicken stuffing. Add a good squirt of the sauce nobody can pronounce as well as a few good squirts of ketchup (I would say I used about 1 cup). Add the egg and onion soup powdered mix.

Mix everything really well by hand and add stuffing if needed until the meat has a comsistency that can be shaped and stays in place.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Line a baking sheet or dish with foil, spray with Pam and shape the meat into a nice loaf, setting it onto the foil. I put some cheese into the middle but I didnt think you could really taste it, so next time I will leave that out.

Bake the loaf for 1 hour and enjoy!!