Herbed Chicken Parmesan

This was unexpectedly delicious.  Something about the balsamic vinegar in the sauce did wonders.  I served this over spaghetti noodles.

Herbed Chicken Parmesan

1/3 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt, divided
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp butter
1 jar tomato-basil pasta sauce
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded provolone cheese

Combine 2 tablespoons of Parmesan, breadcrumbs, parsley, basil, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Pound the chicken breasts thin under a piece of wax or parchment papper; cut into tenders.  Dredge each tender in the breadcrumb mixture. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan.

Combine 1/8 teaspoon salt, pasta sauce, vinegar, and pepper in medium bowl. Add sauce to pan; bring to a simmer.  Place chicken back in pan and simmer until chicken is cooked thru. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining Parmesan and provolone cheese; heat until cheese melts.  Serve immediately.

Creamy Polenta

2 tbsp butter
1 large shallot, minced
3 cups water
1 cup corn meal
1 cup water
salt
2 tbsp mozzarella cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add in butter and swirl pan until melted. Add shallot and sautee until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil.

Combine 1 cup water and corn meal. Gradually add to boiling water; reduce heat to low. Stir constantly for 20-25 minutes until thickened and meal pulls away from the side of the pan when stirred. Add in salt to taste. Stir in mozzarella cheese; remove from heat. Plate.

Chicken Scaloppine over Broccoli Rabe

I had originally spotted this recipe and thought the concept sounded tasty.

Then I read the recipe. Not the best way to prepare a veggie as bitter as rabe. Plus, really, how hard is it to make your own "italian" breadcrumbs?

So below is a highly modified version. No, it's not a "1-pot" dish but it tastes pretty darn good.

Chicken Scaloppine over Broccoli Rabe

1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
black pepper
salt
salt-free italian seasoning
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast cutlets
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp butter
1 lb broccoli rabe (rapini), cut into 3-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained

Combine breadcrumbs, pepper, salt and seasoning in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and warm thru. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add wine, broth, juice, and butter to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Let simmer until slightly reduced. Stir in parsley and capers.

While chicken is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in rabe and blanch 1-2 minutes or until just tender. Drain. Add garlic to pot and sautee briefly with rabe, season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Plate rabe, top with chicken and drizzle with the wine sauce.

Wine Pairing: For highly acidic dishes like this one you should go with a acidic wine. In this case, a good Italian white wine is ideal. We had a chardonnay/pinot grigio blend from Orvieto that was very good.

Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo

We're watching my nephews this week while my brother and sister-in-law are out of town. On Wednesday I asked what they'd like for dinner the next night. The response was "Something with Carbs." Which I find odd because that night we'd had braised ribs with gravy bread and the night before there was cornbread, so it's not like we're All Protein, All The Time. The other nephew suggested alfredo.

So I spent the day trolling about for a reduced-fat version of Alfredo sauce and found this one by Cooking Light. Unfortunately, while chopping up my fresh frozen broccoli, I discovered that the batch had been corrupted by cabbage worms, so broccoli was out. Also, not having ricotta on hand, I subbed in low-fat cottage cheese.

Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo

olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
salt & pepper

2 tbsp butter (I use earth balance)
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups fat-free milk
2/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) low-fat cottage cheese, pureed until smooth (I used the Fiber One brand)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

8 ounces uncooked pasta

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting any fat or salt.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and warm thru. Add minced garlic and sautee until fragarant, about 1 minute. Add chicken to skillet, season lightly with salt and pepper. Sautee until chicken is done, about 8 minutes. Remove from skillet and keep warm.

Deglace skillet with water.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook 15 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, salt, and pepper, and cook 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Reduce heat to low. Stir in chicken and heat 5 minutes until chicken is warmed thru.

Place cooked pasta in a bowl, pour sauce and chicken over. Toss the pasta until well coated. Serve immediately.

Wine Pairing: A crisp italian pinot grigio.

Roasted Tomato and Pepper Sauce

Yet another use for the myriad of tomatoes and peppers from our garden. It could easily be used for a pizza or pasta sauce.

Roasted Tomato and Pepper Sauce

4 tomatoes, cored
1 pepper, cored, seeded and quartered
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp dry white wine
kosher salt
sugar
2 cups tomato sauce

Heat oven to 450F and place rack on top position. Line a baking sheet with tin foil, spray with cooking spray. Place tomatoes and pepper on sheet, lightly season with kosher salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a small pot over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and heat until shimmery. Add onions and sautee for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in vinegar, wine and a pinch of both the salt and sugar. Continue sauteeing until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.

Add roasted tomatoes and pepper, plus sauce. Stir to combine and heat thru. Puree in pot or in blender. Taste and season as needed.

Eggplant Lasagna

The Spouse has been waiting for this meal all summer. Our eggplants were a little slow to get going but now they're ready for harvest. We planted "Hansel" eggplants, which are smaller than your average globe eggplant. The downside is it takes more of them to make a meal, the upside is the seeds are negligible to the point of being non-existent.

I used the convection setting on our oven to speed the baking time a bit.

Eggplant Lasagna

6 'Hansel' Eggplant, peeled and cut on the bias (you could also substitute 2 Japanese eggplant or 1 globe eggplant)
1 cup bread or corn crumbs
2 tsp Italian Seasoning (or use a mixture of oregano and basil)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

9 lasagna noodles (either no-boil or cook to package directions)
20 oz marinara sauce (I used my homemade red-wine marinara)
1 container cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (or mix oregano and basil)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat convection oven to 450ºF. Combine bread crumbs, seasoning, salt and pepper. Spray the eggplant slices with cooking spray and coat in the crumbs (set aside leftover crumbs). Layer on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 375ºF. Set eggplant aside to cool slightly.

Combine cottage cheese (or ricotta) with egg, seasoning, 1 cup mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

In a 9x13 dish, add 1 cup of sauce to bottom of the dish. Layer 3 noodles along the bottom. Add half of the cottage cheese mixture on top of the noodles. Layer the eggplant on top. Add a 1/3 cup of the remaining mozzarella in a think layer. Top with 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers - noodles, cottage cheese, eggplant, cheese, sauce. Top with the last 3 noodles, remaining sauce, and remaining 1/3 cup of cheese. Sprinkle top with the leftover breadcrumbs, if desired. Bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes or until cheese golden brown and lasagna is bubbly. Let set 10 minutes. Serve immediately.