Chicken Cutlet Perfection - 4 Ingredients

 

Chicken Cutlet 101

A perfectly, golden brown, crispy yet tender and juicy, chicken cutlet is one of the culinary world's greatest offerings. Over the years, I thought I was doing a pretty great job, selecting organic chicken, slicing it into cutlets, pounding it out underneath a layer of plastic wrap, gently heating the oil in a large skillet then dipping the chicken in egg wash before covering it in bread crumbs and frying.

No, that's not a typo. That's how I did it. 

I always thought the flour was an unnecessary, extra step, what-good-does-it do, bit of nonsense. Plus, I thought most of the flour would wash off in the egg mixture. My cutlets were great.

I believed.

Until, one night, my younger son, armed with enthusiasm and a thermometer, took over the cutlet task for me.

He checked the temperature of the oil.

What? 

He dredged the cutlet in flour before the egg wash then finished with panko.

I don't think I have to really tell you - the cutlets were not only beautiful, but that crispness - I can still hear it - ah, perfect.

On a salad. Or next to pasta. Or with vegetables on the side. It doesn't matter. I am not too proud to tell you, he took a good thing and built on it by using the proper technique. THAT does matter.

By the way, he will likely be the cooker of the cutlets from now on because he did such an amazing job. Just like in the workplace, when you show you are good at something, you get to do it more.

Looking forward to the next serving of perfect chicken cutlets and feeling Fed Well!

Sunday Dinner - Burgers and Babies (and a recipe for potato salad)

 

Sunday Dinner.

Does it make you imagine something like this:

I came across this family photo from my husband's family recently and just love it. Three generations. Dressed up for the occasion and knowing it is special enough to have a group photo. I'm assuming Christmas or Christmas Eve based on the tree in the left-hand corner, but just look at them. Joy. Celebration. Family. Together.

I've been missing gathering. And while the current pandemic climate can make gathering tricky, I can feel the change coming and soon I will make it a point to make sure we can all safely enjoy each other's company as well as a wonderful meal in my home again.

A section of my family was able to enjoy Sunday dinner this past week. Burgers from the grill. Yes, on a cold blustery Northeastern March evening, we enjoyed grilled goodness with potato salad, tossed salad, and a selection of simple frozen vegetables. Know what? It was delicious - the Mr. grilled, and I assembled the rest with help from everyone. I was able to hold my new granddaughter and give her a bottle.

AND, she met her great grandmother (my Mommy) for the first time.

Three generations became four just about 18 months ago, but as the family grows, we welcome each new member with celebration. How lucky we are...

Want to know about the potato salad?

• I boiled one pound of small red potatoes with the skins on, cut into chunks, in salted water.
• In a large mixing bowl, I combined some diced onion, two minced stalks of celery, a bit of salt and pepper with a splash of mustard and some mayonnaise. (Sorry, I don't really measure).
• Then, I drained the potatoes really well. Stirred them into the mixing bowl and made sure everything was well coated before sprinkling some paprika on top. Transferred the potato salad to a serving bowl, covered, and chilled in the refrigerator for a few hours.

It was a hit!

So were the burgers.

And the baby.

We are planning a larger gathering for Easter. Nothing too grand. But, I can tell you I am excited and looking forward to sharing food, stories, and create wonderful memories along with feeling Fed Well. 

Crockpot Recipes and Ideas

 

Some folks use their slow cooker all year and for very specific purposes. This small kitchen appliance is a life saver for those who can load it up with ingredients, head off to work, and come home at the end of the day to a ready made meal.

Want to know a secret?

Anyone can use it.

Want to know something else?

You don't have to make stew!

Yes, the whole idea of low and slow cooking means you are able to take otherwise tough cuts of meat and turn them into tender bites you can break apart with ease.

But a slow cooker or crockpot can be used for more modern recipes as well as some of Grandma and Grandpa's favorites. AND, you do not have to put it in storage with your winter coats - it can be a great tool all year.

Looking for an easy way to prep pork before you turn it into crave-able carnitas? 

Want to enjoy a jazzy jambalaya without hanging around in the kitchen?

Wondering how you can work more vegetables in your life? Try sneaking some butternut squash into your mac 'n cheese.

Click here for all the details and full recipes for the dishes above as published on the Zulily The Find blog.

Let me know what else you cook in your crockpot and how you are creating new dishes to leave you and your friends and family feeling Fed Well!

What's for lunch? Kid friendly Airfryer ideas and recipes!

 

What's for lunch?

What time is it when you child first asks this question? I know I start thinking about lunch right after I notice my coffee cup is empty.

Whether you have toddlers or teens, are home-schooling, or home for the day, at some point you are thinking about what to make for lunch. 

Tired of the pb&j, left-overs, mac & cheese? Want to make something warm and satisfying?

How about home-made veggie nuggets? Looks and feels like a chicken nugget but filled with veggie goodness and you are in control of the ingredients as well as the cooking.

Here's what you need:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup each boiled or steamed tender carrots, broccoli,       cauliflower - cooled
• ¼ cup of breadcrumbs for filling, extra for dipping formed nuggets in before cooking
• 1 large egg
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat Air Fryer to 400 F.
2. Combine vegetables, ¼ cup breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper.
3. Use a tablespoon or small cookie scoop to portion out veggie mixture into a ball then flatten into a nugget shape.
4. Coat nugget with additional breadcrumbs.

After lunch, head outside for recess and some fun. Grab some sidewalk chalk, bubbles, old containers for mud pies, or maybe it's kite season. Just get out there! Make some memories and have some laughs to help round out the feeling of being Fed Well!

For more quick and kid friendly Airfryer ideas, click here for my full blog on Zulily.

Family that Cooks Together: Empanadas

EMPANADAS

Guess what? Until fairly recently, I had never had an empanada. For those who are not familiar, they are a corn dough filled pocket of goodness that is deep fried and a cousin of all the other hand-held pocket pies like pierogi, ravioli, and even dumplings. While some of the specifics may be different, the basic idea is quite similar.

For those who want to recreate the savory, meat and potato filled empanada at home - I am going to list a basic outline of what we did, as a family, but I have zero exact measurements. This is also another example of mixing and adding things until they look right, taste right, or feel right.

What you will need:

Ingredients

• 2-pound chuck or rump roast
• Garlic
• Onion
• Green onion
• Beef bouillon
• Salt
• 4 - 5 potatoes
• 1 fresh, diced tomato
• Goya Sazón
• Corn meal for the dough
• Vegetable oil
• Water

Tools

• Large pot or deep fryer
• Cookie sheet
• Spider or slotted spoon
• Thermometer for the oil
• Cooling rack
• Large mixing bowls
• Sandwich bag cut open or large piece of plastic wrap
• Small skillet

The steps

1. Cook the meat in a large pot on the stove in water with garlic, onion, green onion, beef bouillon, "a lot" of salt.
2. Remove meat and set aside.
3. Boil potatoes in the same water until soft.
4. Shred the beef.
5. Prepare hogao (sort of like sofrito) of diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, and some Goya Sazón in a small skillet. Once translucent and fragrant, transfer to the pot with the drained, soft potatoes, and add the meat back in.
6. Prepare the dough by mixing pre-cooked corn meal with some Goya Sazón, salt, vegetable oil, and water (this is where you need an expert who can look at it and decide if it needs to be wetter).
7. Set up battle stations for assembly line style. Press out dough into small circles, place 2 large tablespoons of filling, fold over and pinch to seal then create pretty scallop edge with the side of your thumb.
8. Fry in oil brought to 350 degrees until the dough feels firm and crisp.
9. Allow empanadas to drain on rack over cookie sheet.
10. Enjoy.

As you might imagine, the process takes time and is not something that can be rushed.

The four of us working together were able to make more than 70 crispy pockets of deliciousness. Some were given as thank you gifts to friends and others were simply gifted to appreciative family.

We created a memory together, created good food together, and in the end, were all Fed Well.

Beef Stew - Oven, Crock Pot, or Other?

 

Beef Stew

One of my earliest food memories and one of very few memories of my paternal grandmother are of beef stew. 

I was sitting at the kitchen table as my grandmother was transferring her beef stew from a large pot into a bowl or other container to store it in the refrigerator. I was coloring and looked up at the wet, suction sound the gravy made as it had become sort of a pudding like consistency. To four/five year old me, the sound was negative and a bit gross.

"Ew," I said.

"Oh, no," said my grandmother, "It's not ew at all. It's delicious."

And the memory fades like a wisp of smoke.

Beef Stew is a classic with as many variations as our grandmothers had for tomato sauce. Not just in ingredients, but in the cooking method as well.

For me, it's all about a ceramic lined cast iron dutch oven placed in the oven with the lid on for hours - slow and low.

I like to coat beef with flour and brown on the stove, then add onions, carrots, potatoes and celery. Season generously with salt and pepper. Then - here is another area of great variability - deglaze the pan and add the cooking liquid. Sometimes beef broth, with and without a generous scoop of tomato sauce, or a bit of red wine in addition to the beef broth. Yesterday, I tried a better than bouillon product with corresponding amount of water. 

Sometimes I leave the potatoes out and serve over mashed potatoes. Sometimes I serve over egg noodles.

Yesterday, I had my 18 month old grandson help me assemble the ingredients to create a beef stew. I thought of my grandmother and how luck I am to be able to see my grandchildren regularly. I felt a surge of memories, thankfulness, and that Fed Well vibe I love. It's not just about the food, is it? That's what I've been trying to say.

What's your beef stew story?

Tik Tok Hacks for the Kitchen

 

Tik Tok. I thought this app was just a world of young 20 somethings dancing their hearts out to music I have never heard.

Nope.

Like all social media platforms before it, Tik Tok is now being overrun with people of all ages and interests (but yes, I do see a lot of dance videos - not that they are bad).

And, the best part?  I am learning Tik Tok hacks, whether they are shortcuts or tricks both passed down through generations or just created by someone with a bit of visualization and ingenuity.

My first? The salami rose in the photo. Perfect for charcuterie boards! You line the salami inside the top of a wine glass or champagne flute, then turn it over to release the rose, and look at that! A pretty way to present salami.

Next up - cookie sheets. Do you have a bit of yuck on the edges of your cookie sheets or underneath that never seems to clean? The answer? Put them in your oven, turn the self-clean feature on and that's it. When you return - sparkling clean cookie sheets.

Another way to peel hard boiled eggs. Place an egg in a glass. Allow the egg to shake back and forth in the glass for a few seconds. Remove egg and when you start to remove the peel, it should come off in a big chunk.

There are a bazillion more but these are the ones I was most excited to share with you right away! This app is perfectly okay for those of us who just want to watch a few videos, a bit of light escape, and then resume our regularly scheduled life. I was/am a bit addicted as a new viewer but for now, I am finding lots of tips for feeling and being Fed Well! Special thanks to Karla for encouraging me to jump into the deep end of the pool.