Chicken Romano

Here's an easy recipe.....Chicken Romano

Last week hubby and I went with friends to a local Italian restaurant.  One of the reasons we go to this particular restaurant is the food is really good, the place is clean and we feel very comfortable.  

I'm really fussy about what goes into my mouth and how it's prepared.  Call me cautious because I know not all restaurant kitchens are as clean as mine and I do worry about food not properly prepared.

This is where chicken comes into my post.  I know how to clean chicken and how to sanitize my cutting board and tools to clean chicken.  Not all restaurants are created equal and quite honestly there aren't many I go to for that reason.

  Their menu is large and I wanted something light so after looking and looking at the menu I decided on Chicken Romano..

  The chicken was prepared perfectly and it was trimmed beautifully. No unsightly fat.   The owner of this restaurant takes pride in his menu and kitchen.  The staff are efficient and the restaurant is immaculate.  

The meal was so good that I knew I wanted to try to duplicate it and today that's just what I did.

Fresh chicken trimmed and seasoned perfectly.  Hubby and I were pleased with the results.

check out the recipe below.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

3/4 cups finely grated pecorino romano cheese

3/4 chicken broth 

1/2 stick butter

1 whole lemon, squeeze juice and slice

1/2 tablespoon dried parsley

Pinch salt 

In a large skillet place olive oil over medium heat. In one bowl place flour or you can place the flour on a sheet of wax paper to easily dispose of after you are finished.  In another bowl place eggs, pinch of salt and Romano cheese.

Tenderize the chicken if you wish by pounding it and remove all fat and skin and dip in egg mixture and dredge it in the flour.

Place chicken in a large skillet with olive oil and cook until slightly browned.  After browned place in a large baking dish. Set oven to 350 degrees.


In the same pan you fried the chicken place butter, parsley and lemon juice.  Cook over medium heat until it starts to boil while scrapping pan.  Add chicken broth(lemon wedges too) and cook until it slightly reduces.

Pour mixture over chicken , lemon wedges too and bake covered for twenty minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve over pasta or as I did seasoned oven roasted small Yukon potatoes.  Delicious!!’

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

If you didn't catch this post the other day.  Here it is again for your convenience. Great for the holidays!  Add some color to your table while enjoying something light and so delicious.


Doesn't this look interesting?  I think it sure does so I'm  making it for the upcoming holiday.  Looks easy enough.

Well here it is.  First the recipe didn't say frozen strawberries so fortunately after I re-checked it another recipe said to use frozen strawberries.  I had some in my freezer so lucky for me so make sure you have 3 cups of frozen plain berries. **I usually buy strawberries and freeze some for later use.

It also didn't say to let the jello and strawberries set slightly so thankfully I realized that two thin of a mixture might not be a good thing.  I did allow to set in refrigerator to slightly set and used a ladle to slowly add the slightly set jello and strawberries.





Crust:

•  2 cups crushed pretzels. (I used pretzel rods because I had them and processed them in food processor until the texture I desired)but IMO pretzel sticks or small pretzels will work.  Just don't over crush.  You don't want to make it too fine.
•  ¾ cup butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• Mix all and press into a 13x9 inch pan
•  
• Bake 375 degrees for 8 minutes and Cool completely.

• 
  

Add frozen berries

•  Topping:
•  
• 12 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 12 oz. cool whip, thawed to room temperature(I only had 8 oz. container)
•  
• 1 (6 oz) box Strawberry Jello
• 2 cups boiling water
• 3 cups strawberries, sliced frozen strawberries
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  

Instructions

1. Combine melted butter and sugar. Stir in the crushed pretzels. Press evenly on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
2.  
3. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and cool whip. Beat until smooth. Spread over pretzel crust. Make sure to get the cream mixture tight against the edges of the pan to prevent the jello mixture from seeping through.
4.  
5.  
6. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove from stove and add jello. Stir until Jello is dissolved. Add sliced frozen strawberries and allow to set slightly in refrigerator.
7.  
8.  Pour over cream layer and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
9.  
10. ***I actually ladled strawberries over top of cream cheese mixture to assure not to disturb cream cheese mixture.

recipe adapted from Favorite Family Recipes Enjoy!

7/4/2015

7/9/2015 

9/13/15

1/13/16

Baked potato casserole

Hi and Good Day to all my foodies!

Here is a great side dish that you can possibly use for Easter this coming year.  Great with ham but can also be enjoyed with your favorite entree.  This side dish can be made earlier in the day for convenience or even the night before.  If you do decide to make it the night before refrigerate it overnight and take it out about 1 hour before baking it.  Taking the chill out of it a bit will allow it to bake through quicker.

Enjoy!

If you love potatoes this would be a great addition to most meals.  It is certainly a favorite of mine.

You can make it earlier in the day and just pop it in the oven or microwave to reheat. Great for family gatherings. Enjoy!





Baked Potato Casserole

8 medium potatoes (about 2 ½ to 3 lbs total weight, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks)

1 cup 2% milk

½ cup light sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided)

6 slices bacon (cooked until crispy and crumbled)

sliced green onions Eliminate bacon if you want a meatless dish.

Place the potato chunks in a large pot. Fill with enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Preheat the oven to 350⁰F. Grease a 2 ½-3 quart casserole dish. Return potatoes to the pot. Add milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Beat with a hand held mixer until smooth. Stir in 1 ½ cups of cheddar cheese and half of the bacon. Spoon the potato mixture into prepared casserole dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining ½ cup of cheddar cheese, remaining bacon, and green onions. Bake for an additional 3 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

No bake lemon Mascarpone pie! Easy Peaszy

A definite holiday or anytime dessert.

A very beautiful day to you.

                                    11/27/17
Just in time for the holidays when you have little time to prepare let alone make dessert this recipe is wonderful. There is no baking involved and when you're at the store grabbing the ingredients make sure you buy extra whipping cream.  It's great to top this dessert with some fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!

• 1/4 cup butter melted
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs or crushed vanilla wafers
• 8 oz container mascarpone cheese (deli/cheese dept of grocery store)
• 1-14.5 oz. sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 

*Optional extra small handful crushed graham crackers for garnish.

1. Line the bottom and the sides of a 7-inch springform pan with parchment paper.(mine was larger so pie was not as deep as you might like it). We thought it was fine though.
2. For the crust, melt the butter in the microwave. Remove,  Add the crumbs and stir to coat them.
3. Press crust into the bottom of the pan. Use a measuring cup to pat down the crumbs. Refrigerate until the filling is ready.(I lined my pan with parchment paper for easy removal)
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat mascarpone cheese at low-medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
5. Add the sweetened condensed milk slowly and beat into mascarpone until smooth and well mixed.
6. Add the heavy cream and mix until combined.
7. Slowly add the lemon juice to the mixture while beating at low-medium speed. The mixture will start to thicken and gets creamy.
8. Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight until firm.

1. Notes:
2.   I used a springform pan.
3. Cut parchment paper to the size of the springform pan if using one for easy removal.
4. You can use a ready made graham cracker or cookie shell for this recipe.
5. Try using freshly squeezed lemon juice for this recipe. Make sure to use 1/2 cup lemon juice. The lemon juice thickens the filling.
6. You can prepare this pie in advance and refrigerate covered overnight. Store leftovers in the fridge. 
7. 
   
8. There is no actual baking involved in this recipe.

adapted from Recipeplatedcravings

Ricotta Meatballs

Worthwhile re-posting.


When my mom made meatballs she always added some milk, so when I came across this recipe I knew that adding some ricotta cheese would definitely work for a new way to moisten as well as flavor meatballs.  You could even add some when making an Italian meatloaf.  I changed the recipe a little but I'll post it also as it was published in Better Homes and Garden's magazine too.  Yummy!

Ricotta meatballs smothered with mozzarella cheese

Here is my recipe:

2 lb. beef and pork ground
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 extra large egg beaten
1 cup regular bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasonings
1/2 cup dried parsley
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated cheese(Pecorino Romano)
1/2 cup grated for freshly sliced mozzarella for topping

Mix all ingredients by hand and roll into medium size meatballs.  Place on cookie sheet bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Serve with marinara sauce or place meatballs in crockpot with your favorite sauce; set on low and allow to cook 4 to 6 hours.  We're having baked meatballs topping with mozzarella for our dinner tonight. Add mozzarella to top of meatballs and broil on top shelf for a few minutes until mozzeralla melts and is browned slightly. Fresh rolls to dip in the sauce for the feel good yummy feeling. Enjoy!

I would definitely do it this way the next time but I was using the ingredients I had handy. Better Homes and Garden Magazine (March)