Who Says Commercials Are Lying?

Mayonnaise Schnitzel 

The story of this supper is rather roundabout. It started when my wonderful neighbor saw this commercial for mayonnaise. While she knows that the commercial was obviously trying to sell Hellmann's mayonnaise, the chicken in the commercial looked so good she had to try it. So she made her regular schnitzel recipe using mayonnaise instead of eggs. 

Just like in the commercial, the chicken came out crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. As she told me about her experiment, my mouth began to water, so for supper last week, I tried it out. 

The Attempt

1/2 lb chicken cutlets 

1 cup light mayonnaise

2 cups cornflake crumbs

1 Tbs taco seasoning + Salt, pepper, garlic powder and caynne pepper to taste

Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place mayonnaise and cornflake crumbs into two different shallow plates. Mix the spices into the cornflake crumbs and adjust  seasoning to desired spiciness. Dip chicken into mayonnaise and using a knife or a spoon, spread in a think layer over the cutlet. Dip cutlet in crumb mixture until fully coated with crumbs (no mayonnaise should be showing.) Place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining cutlets. 

Bake on 375 for half an hour to 45 minutes or until cutlets are no longer pink inside. 

Notes:

1. I didn't really monitor the cooking time. I just kept on checking until I felt like the cutlets were done. It was somewhere between 30-45 minutes, though, if I estimate correctly. 
2. I used taco seasoning because that was what I had on hand, but feel free to use any spice mixture that strikes your fancy. 
3. I feel like panko or regular breadcrumbs or a mixture of the two would work just as well, but I liked the crunchiness of the cornflakes. 

The Verdict

Um, wow. It was hands-down the best breaded cutlet I have tasted. Ever. There was not one cutlet left over for lunch the next day. I loved it. Charming loved it. Basically, a winner all around. 

We had it in a sandwich with the works (lettuce, ketchup, tomatoes, bbq sauce ext) but it would taste equally great by itself with a side of rice, potatoes, or orzo. 

I don't think I'll ever be making another schnitzel recipe again. 

Who Knew?

New Tuna-Noodle Casserole

I really thought this one wasn't going to work out. Not that I thought the recipe wouldn't be good, but I figured that PC wouldn't like it. I figured that because tuna noodle casserole is really little more than glorified baked ziti- you know, sans the marinara sauce and with the inclusion of vegetables, and tuna, and different shaped noodles.  All right, so I admit tuna noodle casserole isn't really like baked ziti, but I assumed that PC would find it just as filling. (Translation: Not filling enough...) 

On the other hand, I have been eyeing this recipe (salivating over it) since I got Susie Fishbein's Teens and 20-Somethings cookbook and I was really in the mood for it. So I paired it with a soup and prayed for the best. 

As for the result, I'll wait till the Verdict, just to increase your suspense! 

The Attempt:

High heat or professional cooking spray

1 (12 oz) bag extra broad egg noodles (yolk-free if possible)

Kosher salt or coarse sea salt

water as needed

1 (12 oz) can white albacore tuna, packed in water, drained

1 cup frozen peas

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 medium onion, peeled, but into 1/4-inch dice

8 oz button or crimini mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced

2 Tbs unsalted butter

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

1 cup low-fat milk

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup cornflake crumbs or breadcrumbs

1 Tbs butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, rapidly boiling water according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Add the drained tuna, using a fork or your fingers to break it up and distribute through the noodles. Add the peas, set aside. 

In a medium pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and mushrooms. Saute until soft and fragrant, 5-6 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the 2 Tbs butter and stir to melt it and distribute it through the onions. Sprinkle on the four. Stir until mixture becomes sticky. Slowly pour in the milk, stirring to make a smooth sauce. Add the salt. Stirr in the cheese. As it melts, the sauce will thicken. Pour over the noodles and mix well.

In a small bowl, mix the crumbs with the melted butter. Sprinkle over the top of the noodles. Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Serve hot. 

Notes: 

1. I halved the recipe and baked it in a smaller pan because we don't have a meaty oven. So we bake all our dairy stuff in a toaster oven. I halved it because we didn't need 8-10 servings, which is what this recipe makes... 
2. PC+Mushrooms=NO GO. I substituted with mixed chopped peppers and just followed the recipe. 
3. I added more tuna than the recipe called for, because the tuna is my favorite part. The recipe called for 12 oz. I halved the recipe, but added 10 oz. If you were making the whole recipe that would be the equivalent of 20 oz for the whole recipe (or 4 tuna cans, but who is counting?)

The Verdict

Mikey likes it!! Charming dubbed this one a repeat!! A repeat! He even said that it didn't need the soup to be a filling supper. (Doing happy dance!!) 

Some stray observations. 

1. Charming suggested that replacing the peppers with spinach would be  better fit for the recipe. It's an interesting idea that I'll have to give a go.
2. I think it would be possible to replace the butter in the crumb  topping with olive oil, which is a tiny bit healthier. However, in the sauce, the butter adds flavor so I wouldn't replace it. 

Er, That Didn't Go As Planned

Meatball and Bean Tortilla Soup

So, last week I planned on making a recipe that I found in Family Circle magazine. It was a one pot soup- Sausage and Bean Tortilla Soup. It looked delicious and what's more, it was quick and Kosher. Essentially speaking I wouldn't have to change a thing about the recipe. And then life happened.

I went shopping and forgot to get the main ingredient: Chicken Sausages. After 20 minutes of painful (ok, it wasn't really so painful) deliberation over whether I should make the next night's supper that night, I decided to use the package of chopped meat I had in the freezer to make my own sausages- in a manner of speaking. 

The Attempt

Meatballs

1/2 lb chopped meat

1 egg

1/2 cup panko crumbs

1/4 of a package of taco seasoning 

Mix all ingredients together and roll into small meatballs

Soup

2 tbs canola oil

2 cups chopped onions and peppers

1 (14 1/2  oz) can of reduced sodium stewed tomatoes

1 (8 oz ) can of tomato sauce

1 (32 oz) container of reduced sodium chicken broth

1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

chile powder, to taste

dried oregano, to taste

salt, to taste

Meatballs (see above)

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and peppers, cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Stir in tomatoes, breaking up with a spoon. Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, beans, peas, spices, and meatballs. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered until meatballs are fully cooked. 

Note: There are some major changes from the original recipe:

1.  I used frozen peas instead of frozen corn because prince charming doesn't like corn (may have mentioned this before...
2. I doubled the amount of broth from the original recipe because once I added all the ingredients it seemed like there wasn't enough liquid. 
3. The original recipe doesn't call for a can of tomato sauce, but once I added more broth I had to compensate with more tomato to keep the flavor right. 
4. Also, the original recipe only called for 1 tsp each of the chile powder and dried oregano and 1/8 of a tsp of salt. Because of the added broth I had to keep adjusting the taste so in the end I wasn't sure how much I actually added. 
5. You can serve it with crumbled tortilla chips, sliced scallions and avocado on top like the recipe recommends, but I didn't think it was necessary. 

The Verdict

The soup was great. It had a good subtle flavor. Though I was making it in the summer I would say it is a perfect winter soup. It also makes a lot! A ton more than I thought it would- it's possible that the meatballs made the soup expand? 

I would probably try the original recipe at some point, but I have to say, this one is a keeper. 

Continued Experiments with Chicken Cutlets

All in One Ducksauce Dinner

As mentioned before, Chicken-On-The-Bone (COTB) is not so appreciated 'round these parts (Shout out to Prince Charming) and attempts at replacing it with boneless chicken breasts have not been successful either. For my dear Prince Charming, it's cutlets or bust, so, despite the fact that I find them to be more tasteless and dry than their infinitely more admirable relative, COTB, I find myself making cutlets, rather often. 

It is my general philosophy that any recipe that one has for COTB could probably be adapted for regular cutlets as well. Enter my new neighbors. They moved into our apartment building a few weeks back and due to an oven snafu found themselves oven-less for the first few days. They discovered this the first time my neighbor attempted to make supper in their brand new stove (which the management probably forgot to look up or something.) Once they realized supper (COTB) wasn't cooking they used my other neighbor's oven. 

Fast forward a week or so, I'm standing around talking to my other neighbor (not the new neighbor) and she mentions that the chicken new neighbor sent over smelled truly heavenly. So like a good neighbor, I asked for the recipe, and lo! it contained duck sauce, a condiment that I knew existed, but recently rediscovered. I had to try it- with cutlets of course! 

The Attempt:

All-in-one Ducksauce Dinner

3 chicken cutlets (about 1/4-1/2 lb)

Flour

5 small potatoes

1 onion

1 1/4 cups of duck sauce

3/4 cup of water

about 1/4+  tsp garlic powder

about 1/4+ tsp onion powder

dash or two of chili powder

a few turns of a pepper grinder

Chop potatoes into small pieces, chop up onion. Place on bottom of pan or a pyrex oven to table dish. Dredge cutlets in flour and place on top of potatoes and onions. Mix all the rest of the ingredients (duck sauce, water, & spices) and pour on top of everything else in the pan. 

Cover and bake on 350 Fahrenheit for 1 1/2-3/4 hours until potatoes are very tender, basting periodically throughout cooking. 

Makes: 2 servings

The Verdict:

Oh. My. Goodness! This might just be the first time I really, truly, and absolutely enjoyed eating a cutlet. The potatoes melted in your mouth. The chicken was bursting with flavor, and was buttery and succulent. The entire dish was awash with subtle spiciness. It was heaven. 

It just took a long time to cook. A VERY long time to cook. By the time it was done, Prince Charming and I were so hungry that all our best laid plans to leave some over, or take pictures of it first were dashed. We ate it all up, and enjoyed every bite. But I'm not too concerned about the lack of pictures. Armed with the knowledge that this dish takes a while, I can plan in advance and make it WAAY  before we plan to eat and take pictures then. Because this dish is making its way into the regular dinner rotation, and not a lot of dishes  get that compliment. 

Meat Lasagna On The Fly

Easy Meat Lasagna

Originally I was planning on making stuffed peppers for supper, but when I realized I didn't really have a pan big enough to bake them in, I decided to amend my original plan and make a meat lasagna. I vaguely remembered my mother making it, but I didn't have a recipe.

How hard could it really be? 

The Attempt:

 1/2 lb chopped meat

1+   cup mixed peppers

1/2  an onion, chopped

Jar of marinara sauce

A couple of shakes of: Onion powder, garlic powder, basil, salt, pepper

2 Tbs oil

uncooked lasagna noodles

Filling:

Heat oil in large skillet. Sauté onions and peppers until soft. Add meat, brown. Add around half a jar of marinara sauce and spices.  Heat through. 

To assemble lasagna: 

Cover bottom of pan with a layer of marinara sauce. Add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. (Because I was using a smaller pan than the typical 9x13 I had to break the lasagna pieces into smaller pieces.) Place a layer of the filling on top.  Add another layer of lasagna noodles, then another layer of filling. Add another layer of lasagna noodles over filling. Top the noodles with more marinara sauce. 

Makes 3 servings.

The Verdict:

A+.  This was really good. Definitely a repeat. A couple of things to note. 

• All my servings are small. I make just enough for me and Prince Charming, plus a little extra. If you are making this for more people, double the recipe.

• Since it was a small recipe, I didn't make it in a 9 x 13 pan, but rather a 1 1/2 qt. pyrex dish. Because of that, I had to break up the lasagna pieces. It didn't look pretty and it wasn't even, but once the dish had cooked you couldn't tell the difference. 

• I felt like it needed more spice, maybe more salt. Prince Charming didn't think it was missing too much but then again he's in middle of finals and wasn't paying much attention. Next time I make it, I'll experiment with adding a few more shakes of the spices. 

• The top was too crunchy to eat, I think it needs to be completely covered with marinara sauce in order for the noodles to cook, so the next time I will add more sauce. 

• I made this dish in the morning, went to a midday vort (engagement party) in Lakewood, NJ, sat in mucho traffic, and when I was an hour away from home asked Prince Charming to pop it into the oven. I'm not sure, but it is possible that the time the lasagna spent chilling out in my refrigerator might have contributed to the lasagna noodles getting softer- because they were sitting in the meat sauce. The next time I make it I'm going to have to put it in the oven right away to see what happens.