Mommy is in Timeout

One of my favorite family-friendly meals to make is Chicken Parmesan. It’s easy, fairly healthy and a crowd pleaser. It’s also a great meal for that special someone this Valentine’s day – whether you’re celebrating just the two of you or making it a family event.

The other nice thing about making homemade chicken parmesan, is that if you make extra chicken you can use it for homemade chicken tenders. I think we all love being able to get a few meals out of 1 recipe.

Another thing we have done with this meal is make the tenders up for the kids at dinner time and then set a few aside for later. Then, once they’re in asleep, we make chicken parmesan for just the two of us.

When I make chicken parmesan, I always buy the chicken already cut in tender slices. I always find it easier to saute small pieces of chicken rather than large. It alleviates the whole is it truly cooked all the way through questions you ask yourself when dealing with chicken. Because, surprisingly, I’m not really a fan of having to worry about salmonella poisoning.

What You’ll Need

The following is the recipe for chicken tenders which are also used for making my chicken parmesan.

12 chicken breast sliced tenders
3 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder or garlic salt
3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 saute pans (pans that can go into the oven if you are doing chicken parmesan)

The following is additionally needed if you want to make chicken parmesan. Please be sure to read this whole post first so you know the full directions.

8-10 slices of mozzarella
Jar or homemade marinara sauce
1 box of your favorite noodles
Shredded parmesan cheese

For the chicken tenders:

Prepare one shallow dish with your 3 eggs. Scramble together.

Prepare a second shallow dish with your bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, italian seasoning, cinnamon, cumin and garlic salt/powder. Stir together.

Grab a platter or cutting board. Take your chicken tenders. First, dip them individually in the egg. Completely cover them. Second, dip them in the bread crumb mixture. Again, complete cover them by rolling them around. Pick them up out of the mixture, shake off an excess crumbs and put on your cutting board or platter.

Start warming up the 2 saute pans with a medium high heat. Coat both pans with extra virgin olive oil. Let each pan heat up until it is starting to form a low sizzle.

Once they are both warm, add in your chicken breasts one at a time. Don’t move initially so that the hot olive oil will help form a nice crust.

Once you see a nice crust has formed on one side, flip to the other. Continue cooking until a crust has formed on the other side and the chicken is cooked through. The length of time truly just depends on the heat or your stovetop.

When I cook them, it’s around 8-10 minutes total. Be sure to test a few different tenders by slicing through them and seeing that they are white, not pink on the inside.

TIP: What’s great about making these tenders, is that you can also freeze them and use them at a later date. If you do this, heat them up in the oven on a baking sheet.

Serve with your favorite chicken tender dipping sauce.

Now, if you want to use these tenders for chicken parmesan, you’ll want to do the following.

Before you begin the process above, heat your oven to 350. Simultaneously while you are cooking the chicken, you would also want to be cooking your favorite noodles and heating your marinara sauce over a low simmer.

When the chicken is done from the steps above, take your pan(s) of chicken tenders and coat each one with a spoonful of sauce, a slice of mozzarella cheese and another dollop of sauce on top.

Put the pan into the oven. When I start to see the cheese melt, I turn my oven to broil because I like to get a brown crust on my cheese. If you’d rather just stick to melted cheese, this step isn’t necessary.

Remove the pan from the oven and on a plate serve a few pieces of chicken parmesan, noodles and sauce. Top the whole dish with parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

Recently for my book club my friend made this delicious soup.

The group that I started, where I always somehow forget to read the book, but somehow they still relatively like me, yes, that group.

I decided to try and take the recipe she used and combine it with another one of my favorites – egg drop soup. I’m happy to report that this strange combo was a good fit. Let’s just say – I made it on Saturday and I think the whole pot was gone by Monday.

It was the perfect treat for our one and only snowy day so far this winter.

What You’ll Need:

1 Diced Sweet Onion
1 Diced Green Summer Squash
1 Diced Yellow Summer Squash
2 Diced Garlic Cloves
1 Diced Carrot
1 Bunch of Kale – Roughly Chopped
1 Can Cannellini White Kidney Beans (drained & rinsed)
1 Can Diced Tomatoes (do not drain)
1 Cup Noodles (I used Cellentani but any noodle is fine)
8 Cups Water
8 Tsp. Chicken Granules
3 Eggs (uncooked; scrambled)
1 Block Parmesan Cheese

Dice your summer squash, onions and garlic, roughly chop your kale and set aside.

In your soup pan or dutch oven, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil and saute your garlic for a minute or two.

Add to the pan your onions and summer squash. Saute for a few minutes until onions start to become translucent and squash begins to soften.

Add in your carrots and saute for another five minutes, stirring regularly.

Open your beans and tomatoes, measure out 8 cups of water and 1 cup of noodles, gather your granules and teaspoon, drain and rinse your beans and set everything aside.

Once the veggies have sauteed together, dump in the 8 cups of water. Let the water heat up until it is almost to a boil. Then stir in 8 teaspoons of granules.

I highly recommend using granules over bouillon cubes or pre-made chicken broth. I think you get the best flavor for your broth this way.

Tip: At this point, cut off and throw in the rind of a parmesan block. It will flavor the soup as it cooks. Remove before serving as it will sometimes remain a goopy mess. This is a great thing to do when making soups or homemade pasta sauce. Do not throw in the whole block – just the rind.

Once the granules have dissolved, add in your drained beans and diced tomatoes. Stir. Then add in your kale and noodles. Cook the soup for about 6-8 minutes on medium heat until the noodles and kale soften.

You could easily stop at this point and you would have a veggie minestrone soup with kale. I like to add in the next step of adding the whipped eggs.

One of my favorite soups is an egg drop tortellini soup that my husband makes and ever since he introduced me to egg in soup, I can’t get enough of it.

Slowly pour in, stirring constantly as you do it, your 3 whipped eggs.

Let the soup simmer over medium heat for a few more minutes so that the eggs have time to cook. Stir often.

Voila!

Serve with shredded parmesan and your favorite crusty bread.

Enjoy!

Tip: I saw this idea floating around Pinterest the other day and I tried it with this soup. Ladle soup into a muffin tin and freeze overnight. Pop out the ‘soup cubes’ and you will have an instant lunch on a cold winter day.

What’s your favorite winter time soup?

It’s no secret that I love to cook, but as you all found out yesterday, I have no business baking.

Since it is the holiday season and we’re all entertaining, I thought I would organize past appetizer, entree, brunch and drink recipe posts and share them today.

However, if you need dessert ideas, you’ll have to look elsewhere. You, and your guests, will thank me.

Loosen up your belt and dive into my suggestions. Be sure not to miss the bonus recipe at the bottom for a delicious appetizer.

Happy Holiday Eating!

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Appetizer Suggestions

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Easy Cheese Ball

Yummy Chicken Wings

Seared Scallops

Chips & Homemade Guacamole

Stuffed Red Peppers with sausage, cream cheese & parmesan cheese

My Famous Homemade Cocktail Sauce – perfect for shrimp, crab or lobster cocktail

Crab Dip with Ritz Crackers – bonus! this post also features a chicken chili recipe

Pizza Dip with French Bread – one of the easiest appetizers you can make

Mussels & Clams Steam Pot – our favorite New Year’s Eve feast

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Entree Suggestions

Filet Mignon with smashed potatoes, asparagus and bibb bleu cheese salad

Shrimp & Salmon Fajitas – perfect for a New Year’s Eve night in

Beef Stew with Smashed Potatoes

White Chicken Lasagna

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Side Dish Suggestions

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with balsamic, olive oil and parmesan cheese - scroll to the bottom for the video

Rosemary Potatoes – cook on the grill or in the oven

Roasted Asparagus with balsamic dipping sauce

Summer Time Salad – don’t be fooled by the name – it’s a great option year round

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Brunch Suggestions

Daddy Eggs – The Fluffiest Omelette Around - Charlie is the egg connoisseur in our house

Mini Egg Cups

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Bonus Recipe: French Bread with Mushrooms, Onions and Goat Cheese

Last week, I made this and stuffed red peppers (see above for recipe) for my book club holiday gathering. I don’t read the books, and as founder of the club, I’m quite certain they hate me for that fact. To win back their affection, I bribe them with food. I think I came close this time.

What You’ll Need:

1 package of mushrooms
1 small sweet onion
1 small cipollini onion
1 8 oz. ‘log’ of goat cheese
1 loaf of french bread
2 cloves of garlic
Pinches of salt, pepper and sugar
2 tbsp. of butter & olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350. Slice your french bread on the bias into 1/2-1 inch thick pieces.  Dice both the onions and 2 cloves of garlic. Slice your mushrooms. In a saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter and then add in about 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Add in the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add in the onions. Saute for a while until they start to caramelize. Add in a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Once they are cooked, add in the mushrooms. Continue to saute until everything is cooked. Add in a bit more salt, pepper and sugar for flavor. Lay the bread out on a sheet pan and then spoon the mushroom & onion mixture onto the pieces of bread. Use the goat cheese to top the mixture on the bread in small, bite sized clumps. Put in the oven and bake until the goat cheese melts and the bread begins to brown – about 15 minutes. Using the broiler may be necessary. Pull out of the oven and put on a serving platter.

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Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

*Homepage photo credit: winepostings.com

When I think of fall, two of my favorite things come to mind: Comfort food and Halloween.

Today’s post is going to cover both of those bases with a recipe and a fun Halloween event.

First, for all you Metro Detroit parents, did you know that the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has a FREE Halloween show next weekend? If you’ve never been to the Max M Fisher Music Center, here’s your chance to visit with your kids.

After spending a lot of time this fall at the Max M Fisher, home of TEDxDetroit 2011, I will tell you that it is definitely one of Detroit’s hidden gems.

A venue that you should definitely experience. So, costume-up the kids and head down for what I’m sure will be a great event.

Here is all the information that you will need from the press release:

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is opening its bag of treats with several special FREE Halloween shows and goodies for kids.

It will be a frightfully good time including a costume contest, an instrument petting zoo, and live bats that will take over Orchestra Hall! Grab your costume and come on down for some spooktacular treats for the whole family. These Halloween delights are available thanks to the generous support of MASCO Corporation and the Henry Ford II Fund.

WHEN: Saturday, October 29, 2011

10:00 a.m. – Rock O’Ween featuring the Candy Band

This Tiny Tots presentation is sponsored by the Henry Ford II Fund.

Come and listen as the four metro Detroit moms of Candy Band play children’s songs with a rock twist. Nursery rhymes will never be the same again!

11:00 a.m. – Thrills & Chills Young People’s Concert featuring Frank Oden

This Young People’s Concert is sponsored by MASCO Corporation.

Bring your little ghosts and hobgoblins for some symphonic entertainment, scary tunes and traditional music for the whole family. Poet and actor Frank Olden will accompany the orchestra with poetry readings befitting Halloween as he takes the stage in his finest, scariest costumery.

What Halloween event would be complete without a few vampires? Vampire bats that is! The Organization for Bat Conservation at Cranbrook Institute of Science will be on hand with its award-winning live bat display that is sure to educate and entertain all.

WHERE:            Max M. Fisher Music Center - 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48201

To reserve your FREE ticket, limit four per order, log on to www.dso.org/halloween.

Now, we’ll move on to the comfort food and my recipe for today: Brussel sprouts. Yes, brussel sprouts.

I’m sure when I said comfort food, you were thinking mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, things of that nature.

For some reason I lump this delicious vegetable in with comfort food. Just go with it.

I’m sharing a video today for an easy way to roast brussel sprouts. I also have my sous chef – Cooking Lanagan – helping me today. Things go a bit more smoothly this round. There was no pausing for egg salmonella at least.

Enjoy the brussel sprouts and hope to see you at the DSO next weekend.

Disclosure: I was not compensated to mention the above event.

We’re huge NFL fans. Let me clarify, Detroit Lions fans.

There’s a reason the kids nap time is scheduled from 1-3:30 on Sunday.

Typically, Charlie makes us one of his amazing soups for watching Football, and then we cuddle under a blanket on the couch. However, sometimes we do make other items, one of them being wings.

Wings are easy to make at home and they’re really cheap. The amount of wings that I show you in the video cost $3.50. I know. What a bargain!

You’ll also see that I grabbed a toddler sous chef again. This time though I made sure they stayed away from the raw chicken so we didn’t have to pause for possible salmonella poisoning.

Ingredients used in the video:

1 Cup Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki (if you don’t have this, just use an equal mixture of soy & teriyaki sauce)
1/2 Cup Frank’s Red Hot
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Honey
Sesame Seeds
Seasoning Salt
Wings (I used 16 in the video)

This Sunday’s recipe is also for the VlogTalk linkup, which opens Monday night at 10:30pm EST. Be sure to check out the prompts for this week and join us!

Today for VlogTalk, I’m going to share with you a quick and easy recipe for itty-bitty mini muffin egg cups.

They’re great for an on-the-go breakfast and also something fun to make in the kitchen with your kids.

Just as long as you don’t follow in my footsteps and your child isn’t playing with raw egg.

What you’ll need for the recipe in the video:

• 12 eggs (only use 8 yolks)
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 package sauteed mushrooms
• 2 heaping handfuls sauteed spinach (I sauteed mushroom & spinach with garlic, red hot & soy)
• 1 bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
• The zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon
• Salt & pepper
• Frank’s Red Hot
• Mini muffin or muffin tin

Enjoy!

For more great videos, be sure to check out the VlogTalk link-up today.

I’m changing things up a little bit. On Sunday’s I typically post a recipe. I still plan on doing that, but I’d also like to start highlighting some of my favorite tips, tools and tricks in the kitchen.

The first thing I’d like to tell you all about is Fit Fruit & Vegetable Wash.

I typically buy organic fruits and veggies whenever possible, but just like traditionally grown produce, they always need a good wash.

And I’m a little hardcore when it comes to that wash. I never used to worry about it, but it’s something that became very important to me in my 30′s for some reason.

Some people hit the gym and start to fear middle age. I started to wash my produce more often.

I’ve tried a few different products and have found Fit to be the best. My sister-in-law recommended it to me about 4 years ago and I’ve been using it ever since.

Honestly, the transformation from the color of the fruit from when you first purchase it to after you rinse it with fit is unreal.

I have spent could spend a Saturday night fit’ing fruit. It’s that much fun. Trust me.

Here is my step-by-step process for Fit’ing produce.

What You’ll Need:

1 Bottle of Fit (it comes with either a soaker or spray top. I prefer the soaker.)
1 Salad Spinner (you can absolutely just use a big bowl and strainer)
Fruit & Veggies

*Fit does sell their own Fit colander, but I think you can just as easily use tools you already have.

Put all the fruit (or veggies) that you want to wash into your salad spinner (or bowl).

Add in water and Fit (directions are on the bottle as to how much to use).

Let it sit for a few minutes, stirring it around with clean hands every now and then.

Remove the colander portion (or pour out into a strainer) and start to rinse. I usually rinse for a while to make sure to get everything off of the produce.

Spin (or towel dry it off) and serve. Your fruit will be bright, shiny and clean. Enjoy!

Do you use anything to wash your produce? What products have worked for you?

Do you think they’ll put the word fit’ing in the dictionary after this post?

Disclosure: I was not compensated or asked by Fit to mention their product. I just happen to love it and wanted to share it with my readers.

Ok, I want to let you all in on a little secret: Grilling pizza is so easy!

In fact, I doubt I’ll ever use the oven to cook it again. Even in the winter months. Well, maybe I won’t go that far. But seriously, I was amazed at how simple it was to do.

What You’ll Need:

Pizza Dough (I buy Trader Joe’s pizza dough)
1 Jar of Pizza Sauce (My favorite is Trader Joe’s pizza sauce)
1 Block of Mozzarella (I see a theme here – I love Trader Joe’s cheese blocks)
Any pizza toppings you like!

Directions:

Lay the dough out on a floured cutting board. With the TJ’s dough, I make four small pizzas so we each get our own. We’re not very good at sharing. I roll them all out in to not-so-perfect circles.

Gather up all your ingredients on a platter – pizza sauce, shred the mozzarella and toppings. You’ll want all of these with you out at your grill. Preheat the grill (I had mine on a medium-high setting).

Once the grill is warm, either spray or brush the grill grates with olive oil. (I also drizzled olive oil on the pizza dough itself and I wouldn’t do that next time.)

Lay the pizza(s) down on the grill without any toppings (you will be flipping them over).

After about 3-4 minutes, check to see if they are ready to flip (basically, when you can see that the dough has grill marks and looks fairly cooked on the bottom). Once they are ready, flip them over.

While the pizza is on the grill, add the sauce, cheese and toppings. I only did cheese pizzas because, well, this was an experiment and the toppings I like aren’t cheap.

I did not remove the pizza from the grill for this process – I did it right there. Continue cooking until the bottom of the pizza and toppings have cooked and your cheese has melted. Once they are done, remove them from the grill and serve.

The grilling process took under 10 minutes but again this will change due to heat and size of the pizza. Enjoy!

I love Mexican food, so I typically make my family eat it at least once a week. Previously I shared my recipe for super-easy chicken enchiladas. Today I want to share my recipe for carnitas enchiladas.

A lot of the same techniques, just different meat basically. In my chicken enchiladas recipe, I add a can of cream of mushroom soup (as you’ll see if you click on the link). I didn’t do that in this recipe, but by all means you still could.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

1 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons frank’s red hot
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon all purpose seasoning salt (I prefer Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning)
1 teaspoon garlic powder or salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cans of red enchilada sauce (I prefer Old El Paso – mild)
2 blocks of your favorite mexican cheese or 2 packages of pre-shredded mexican cheese
1 boneless pork tenderloin (I buy it at Trader Joe’s. Around 2 lbs.)
1 package of soft tortillas (larger size shell. For this recipe, I use 6 tortillas.)
1 crock pot (if you don’t have one, just cook in a covered oven-safe dish at around 125 degrees)
1 pan (8×11 preferably)

*good additions not mentioned: 1 can of black olive slices or 2 jalapeno peppers. Dice either or both and use for a topping on enchiladas before or after cooking them.

In the morning, prepare your marinade which consists of the soy sauce, red hot and brown sugar. Lay your pork tenderloin in the marinade. Sprinkle the meat with the cinnamon, seasoning salt and garlic. Rub it on the meat and then let it sit in there for about 30 minutes.

In a slow cooker, pour in 1 can of enchilada sauce and then, after marinating, set the meat in there. Turn on low or high. (Depends on how long you have. I slow cooked on low for 7 hours. If you have less, do high.)

Once the meat is cooked through, take it out and let it rest on a cutting board. Grab two forks (or a fork and knife) and start shredding the meat. It should come apart very easily after slow cooking all day.

Set up your assembly line. Preheat the oven to 350 (if you are cooking them at that time). Shred your cheese if you purchased blocks. You’ll need the meat, cheese and tortillas.

Take your pan and open your other can of enchilada sauce. Pour a little bit in the bottom just to coat the pan.

Start putting the enchiladas together. Handful of meat. Handful of cheese. Wrap up like a burrito. Simple.

Once you put them together, lay into the pan. I like to spread all 6 of them out because I find that if they touch, they tend to melt together in the cooking process and the tortilla rips open when you scoop them out. You could easily fit 8 in the pan if you want more.

Once you have assembled all of them, pour the remainder of the sauce on all of the tortillas. Use a spoon to move the mixture around to make sure that all parts of the tortilla are covered.

Find a cute little helper and sprinkle them with cheese. Not the helper. The tortillas. Obviously, we’re a cheese-loving family.

Bake covered for 10 minutes and then uncovered for 5-10. If you prefer the cheese a bit more crispy, uncover earlier. Pull out of the oven and let the rest a few minutes.

Scoop them out and serve. I typically have rice and beans for a side as well as chips, salsa & guacamole. Enjoy.

What is your favorite mexican dish?

If you need a good guacamole recipe to go along with this dish, click here.

I have a new obsession. Creating new salad recipes. This cool, crisp dish is always refreshing on a hot summer day.

I came up with a combination that I can’t get enough of and I wanted to share it with you.

What You’ll Need:

1 Head of Romaine Lettuce
1 Jalapeno Pepper, Diced (remove the seeds)
6 Large Strawberries, Diced
2 Large Eggs, Sunny Side Up or Over Hard (depends if you like runny yolks)
1/4 Cup Crumbled Goat Cheese
1 Breast of Chicken, Diced (or any protein)
1 Corn on the Cob, Cooked and Cut off the Cob
2 TBSP of Garlic Expressions Classic Vinaigrette

Grab a large bowl to mix the salad together. Wash and chop the romaine lettuce.  Dump in the diced jalapeno pepper, diced strawberries, goat cheese, diced chicken (or protein), corn and the dressing. Toss it together. Set aside.

Heat a pan with a little bit of butter in the bottom. I make a sunny side up egg. I break both eggs into the pan and cover with a lid. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, depending on how you like your egg whites.

Pour the salad onto a platter, top with the eggs and serve. The drizzle of the yolks in the salad is delicious. I think I want another one now after writing this post. Enjoy!