Chicken Nuggets

This is a deceptively delicious recipe. I've made it many times. It really makes a great chicken nugget. They're a little soft (from the puree, and not in a bad way) but have a great flavor. The smaller you make the pieces, the better they cook. You're better off having long strands of chicken, versus small, thick chunks. Just a tip. Even if you don't use the puree, the breading is really yummy.

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat, white or panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 cup broccoli or spinach or sweet potato or beet puree (for the first time, I highly recommend sweet potato)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast or chicken tenders, rinsed, dried and cut into small chunks (tenders are easer to keep them from being too thick. That's the key, not too thick!)
1/2 tsp salt
Nonstick cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil

In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, Parmesan, paprika, garlic, and onion powder and mix well . In a shallow bowl, mix the vegetable puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture. Sprinkle the chicken with salt. Dip the chunks into the egg mixture and then toss them in the breadcrumbs until completely coated.

Coat a large nonstick skillet cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan, and cook until crisp and golden on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Then turn and cook until the chicken is cooked through, golden brown and crisp all over, 4 to 5 minutes longer. Check the centers for any pink (of the biggest pieces anyway).

The key really is making them thin. Then they cook fast, and don't get too dark. Mine always end up being a tad dark. And they never fit in the skillet in one shot, so I do them in waves. I don't feel like I've perfected the cooking part, but in the end they always taste great anyhow. I do find that as long as you have a small layer of oil in the pan, you can usually shake the skillet and the chicken will be able to move around on its own. This is good because that means the breading won't come off. I've made the mistake multiple times of thinking I can turn then with tongs or something similar. Don't make this mistake. It only squishes the breading and puree and you end up losing breading. Just keep them loose on the skillet (the oil and shaking mentioned before) and use a spatula to turn them. These are a great recipe we all enjoy. If it takes multiple waves to cook them all, it can be quite time consuming. But in the end I always find it's worth it when there are none left for leftovers.

Rolled Eggs

I was a picky eater as a child (to which I'm sure my mom will agree) and I did not experience anything outside of scrambled eggs or rolled eggs until I was married. That includes omelettes or fried eggs. Rolled eggs were my favorite. Anyway, I don't know where my mom came up with this, but it's still one of my favorite ways to eat eggs. And now my kids like it too.

Ingredients
1 Egg
butter
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese

Scramble egg in a bowl. While scrambling, heat small skillet over medium heat and add about 1 tbsp butter, or enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. When all melted, add the egg. Roll pan to ensure egg coats the bottom. Sprinkle egg with salt and pepper. When the bottom is cooked and the top isn’t too jiggly, flip over. Cook the other side until golden brown. Remove to plate, sprinkle inside with parmesan cheese and then fold. Serve while warm.

It's basically a plain omelette. For me, the butter and parmesan cheese add a lot of the flavor. Most of it, I guess, since there really isn't much else to it. The skillet I use is not the larger size, but a small one. I have one from my parents house. I don't know if most people have small ones. If you only have a large skillet, I'd scramble at least 2 eggs versus one. You don't want it too thick, like an omelette, but not as thin as a crepe.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Don't let the veggie in the name fool you. These are killer good pancakes. Sweet potatoes get a bad rap being veggies, but they are so sweet! They are one of my favorite purees to use in my foods.

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin spice (optional) (You could totally get away with any spice. Ours tasted like a dessert)
1 cup pancake mix
Nonstick cooking spray
1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
Pure maple syrup, for serving

In a large bowl, mix the water, sweet potato puree, and cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (I used cinnamon), if using. Add the pancake mix and stir just to combine-the batter should be lumpy. Coat a griddle or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, and spoon the batter onto the griddle or pan, using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. (I didn't use cooking spray or oil. We have an electric griddle and it doesn't need either.) Cook until bubbles form on top of the pancakes and the batter is set, 2 to 3 minutes. Then use a spatula to flip the pancakes and cook them until golden brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes.

We didn't have real maple syrup, but these were still ultra sweet. (In a good way, not in a gagging way.) I could even nix the cinnamon next time. They're almost like a Thanksgiving morning kinda breakfast. If you do that next year, give me credit! I think I'll definitely do that, now that I think about it. Anyway, this was a great recipe. Joseph devoured these (like he does with any pancake), and so did we!

Deceptively Delicious

This is a wonderful cookbook I got a few years ago that uses vegetable purees in your regular meals. There are tons of different ones out there. This one is authored by Jerry Seinfeld's wife. It has lots of great recipes, of which I've only skimmed the surface. It gives directions and tips on everything vegetable and everything puree. It's great. I've found that you can use home pureed foods in these recipes, as well as baby food. I've got a baby who's not on table food yet, so we have baby food sitting around all the time. Sometimes I've had home pureed sweet potatoes or yams, which work for her recipes. But I've also found that the canned baby food from the store works great too. It even comes in perfect proportions for her recipes. (usually 4 or 8 oz.) So look out for these recipes coming up soon. They can take a few tries to get used to, but I really do think they're great if you do them properly, and don't tell your kids what's in them!  And to be honest, I don't just do this for my kids' benefit, but for me too. I know I don't get nearly enough vegetables in my diet. So this way we are all getting more of what we need and it feels good to be eating healthy.

French Fries

Yup, we made homemade french fries. These were baked however, not fried. So I must be honest, I don't remember exactly how we did them. We have a french fry cutter. It's pretty sweet. It's like those apple slicers, but it's a bit square with the blades making lots of little squares. So we used that to cut up the potato. If you cut them by hand, you just want them to be the same size, so they cook evenly. I want to say that we might've brushed them with oil. Maybe. Or tossed them in a bag with oil. Then we sprinkled them with Lawry's. We baked them at a 350 (I think) for maybe 20-30 minutes. We checked on them periodically I'm sure. I wish I remember better! You can find plenty of homemade recipes online that bake versus fry. We washed and scrubbed our tator too, but didn't remove the skins. This can be a preference thing. I heard that the skins have nutrients in them, so it can be good to leave them on. They didn't bother us. Sorry for the horrible recipe! I just had to share it anyway, because I was jazzed we made homemade fries. I'll have to make this a part I of II. Next time I'll remember how I made them and give a better tutorial!

Habichuelas Rojas Guidadas con Arroz

I think the literal translation is Stewed Red Beans with Rice. This is a Dominican dish that Aaron had on his mission. I really like this one. We've had it a few times and we're getting better at making it. I really like it! Aaron was the chef on this one as well.

Ingredients
2 cups red kidney beans, boiled very soft
Water in which you boiled the beans
½ cup chopped celery
1 small red onion cut into 4 quarters
1 cube chicken stock (we use granules, or bouillon)
½ tsp chopped coriander/cilantro
½ tsp thyme leaves
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp oil
½ teaspoon mashed garlic
Pinch oregano
Salt

In a pot heat the oil. Add oregano, onion, garlic, tomato paste, celery and herbs. Stir and add two Tablespoons of water. Add the beans and simmer. When the water has almost evaporated add the chicken stock and two more Tablespoons of water, stir. Add the remaining water mashing beans over heat. Boil at medium heat until it reaches a creamy consistency. Adjust salt to taste.
Serve with white rice, a side dish (or salad) and meat.

We've learned that if you cook your kidney beans too long and let them soak too long, they will turn sweet. This is not yummy for this recipe.  I imagine you could easily used canned beans, using the liquid from them as well. You would just need to be cautious later on and add water if needed.

Pancake Tip

This isn't anything revolutionary, but just something I'm beginning to do regularly that makes pancakes easier.

I believe I'm holding a 1/4 measuring cup here. It makes smaller pancakes, but very nice and consistently sized pancakes. They all cook evenly and it's just nice. If you prefer bigger pancakes, use a 1/3 measuring cup. (My griddle holds 4 pancakes this size, at a time. The picture is only far away enough to show 3. You could probably put up to 6 if you chanced putting them close together. That, however, would take pancake flipping skills that I do not yet aquire.)

Taco salad

Over Aaron's two week break, he helped out with the cooking a bit. A few of the next recipes will be Aaron's. This is one of them. He has always loved taco salad. I didn't like it very much, but since my tastebud revolution over the summer, I now totally enjoy taco salad. It's pretty darn easy and pretty darn yummy.

Ingredients
lettuce
tomato
kidney beans (1 can or pre-soaked/cooked)
olives
1/2 lb. ground beef
grated cheese
salsa
tortilla chips

Ground beef. Combine with other ingredients in a large bowl. Serve over tortilla chips.

So I know it's pretty lame that I didn't include very good specifics on how much of what to use. It's really up to you. If you're not a fan of something, don't use very much or you can exclude it all together. It's really an eyeballing thing. If you do like something, you can have more of it.

Chicken Biscuit Bake

This was originally a cook for 2 recipe. It works great for that. However, the picture down below is a family size. If you cook for 2, use an 8x8. If you cook for a family, use a 2 quart dish. (This is smaller than 9x13. However, if that's all you have, that will work too.) The ingredients are in the original form. But just know that I doubled everything. And know that I hate recipes like this, that say 1/2 cup cooked chicken. I always think, "Well, how much chicken do I thaw out?" So I just round up. For this recipe, I would use 1 chicken breast. (the 2 person version.) One great thing about this recipe is, you can easily put more in and it doesn't hurt the recipe one bit. I will use at least 2 chicken breasts, the whole bag of mixed veggies (otherwise I don't eat the leftovers), and as for the things that say "dash" I use 1/8 tsp. What's a dash, really? The biscuit can easily be made ahead of time and popped in the fridge. That might actually make it easier to roll out. I'll explain some of the challenges with the dough at the end of the post.

Biscuit:
½ cup plus 1 tbsp flour
½ tsp baking powder
dash salt
3 tbsp cold butter
2 tbsp beaten egg
¼ cup buttermilk

Filling:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 tbsp chicken bouillon granules
dash poultry seasoning
dash onion powder
½ cup cubed cooked chicken
½ cup frozen mixed vegetables
½ cup small curd cottage cheese

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembled coarse crumbs. Set aside 1 tsp beaten egg; stir remaining egg into buttermilk. Add to crumb mixture; stir until dough forms a ball. Turn onto a floured board; knead 10 times or until smooth. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion to fit the bottom of a greased 1 qt. baking dish. Place in dish.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add the milk, bouillon, poultry seasoning and onion powder. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in the chicken, vegetables and cottage cheese. Pour into baking dish. Roll out the remaining dough to fit the top of the dish; place over filling. Brush with reserved egg. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

You may wonder why my topping is all gimpy looking. (and it's not pretty looking either because I forgot to brush the top with the leftover egg wash) Well, this biscuit is really soft and stretchy as a dough. It is really hard to roll out a piece to fit a 2 quart pan. For the bottom biscuit, I put half the dough in the pan and stretch it out inside the pan. Then for the top, I do it in to pieces. However, if it were refrigerated, it might be stiff enough to do in one piece. It's kind of a tough dough to work with, but most definitely worth it. It's so yummy! This is a highly recommended Julie recipe. When I first found it I made it like once a week. I love this recipe. And I put it under kid friendly because despite the veggies in it, Joseph has always eaten it without any trouble. It's just a really great flavor. As long as they don't freak out about the vegetables they can see, and just eat it, I'm sure they'll like how it tastes.

Chicken Tip

This is a two-fold tip. First you can use for cooked or raw chicken. Kitchen scissors. Scissors are such an awesome kitchen tool for things other than opening packaging. They work wonders for cutting up raw or cooked chicken and it can be easier than using a knife at times, especially depending on how much snipping you need to do.

The second tip is one I use for the following post (Chicken Biscuit Bake). I do this whenever I have a recipe that requires the chicken cooked before I put it into the dish. The tip is: microwave it. I know for some that may be kinda gross. But to me, it's so much more effort to cook it on the skillet, just to chop it up and throw it into something else that bakes additional time. Microwaving the chicken in my following recipe saves me major time and in the end tastes the same. (I think) When you have a recipe where the chicken is added to the dish already cooked, and without seasoning, I find that doing it on the stove isn't worth the time, where the microwave is a huge time saver. Then you can proceed to cut it with a knife, or with scissors. Whichever you prefer.

Breaded Pork Chops

Another Emeril. This one is pretty easy and I really like it. I really like the technique he uses to bake them. It's handy and I've already used it for other things.

Ingredients
1 5 oz. box plain melba toast (I just use bread crumbs instead)
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp Baby Bam
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
6 thin center-cut pork chops (about 2 1/4 lbs)

Preheat oven to 400. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on top (the kind you cool cookies on.) Place the melba toast in food processor (if using) and pulse to form coarse crumbs. Transfer the crumbs (or bread crumbs) to a large plastic bag and add the italian seasoning, 2 tbsp baby bam, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, and vegetable oil. Close the bag and shake to combine.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs and remaining 2 tbsp of baby bam with a fork. Using your hands, dip the pork chops one at a time into the eggs, then place in the bag, close, and shake to coat on both sides, pressing so that the crumbs adhere. Place the chops on the wire wrack in the baking sheet. Bake until the chops are cooked through and the coating is golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.

Strawberry Lemonade Slush/Lemonade

This is a two part recipe. It came out pretty great. It was a spur of the moment thing. It starts out with a lemonade or limeade base and then you add that to the strawberries.

Ingredients for lime/lemonade base
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp finely shredded lemon or lime peel
1 1/4 cups lemon or lime juice
Ice cubes

For a lemonade or limeade base, in a medium saucepan heat and stir water and sugar over meidum heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; cool 20 minutes. Add citrus peel and juice to sugar mixture. Pour into a jar; cover and chill up to 3 days. (For lemonade, combine equal parts base and water in ice-filled glasses; stir.)

Strawberry Lemonade Slush
For each serving, ina blender container combine 1/2 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries, 1/3 cup lemonade base, and 1 tbsp sugar. Blend until smooth. With a blender running, add 1/2 cup ice cubes, 1 at a time, through opening in lid until beverage is slushy.

Shepherd's Pie

This is another Emeril recipe. I really enjoyed it. I didn't start liking shepherd's pie until the last year or so, so it's a pretty big deal that I like this. My mom might think so anyway. Just don't overdo the cloves. It's a powerful taste.

Ingredients
5 tbsp unsalted butter
3 large Idaho potatoes (about 2 lbs) peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 lbs ground beef or lamb (I used beef, but think lamb would be interesting. I'm not really familiar with it.)
3/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cloves (seriously, just a pinch. I'd say half an 1/8 tsp. This is strong and can really go too far if you're not careful.)
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth (I just use hot water and 1 1/4 tsp beef boullion granules)
3/4 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup green peas, fresh or frozen (if frozen, don't thaw)
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Grease a 2 quart casserole dish with 1 tbsp butter and set aside. (This is smaller than a 9x13, I believe, so check your casserole dish.) Preheat oven to 375. In a medium saucepan, place the potatoes and 1 tsp of the salt. Cover with water by 1 inch and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and cook at a low boil until fork-tender, about 12-15 minutes. (I think I cooked mine longer than that.) Using oven mitts or pot holders, drain potatoes in a colander set in the sink and then return them to the saucepan. Add the remaining 4 tbsp of butter, the milk, heavy cream, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Mash with a potato masher until smooth. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring for 30 seconds, then add the ground meat and cook, stirring to break up chunk, until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and remove as much excess liquid as possible. Return the skllet to medium high heat. Add the italian seasoning, thyme, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, cinnamon, and cloves, and cook until the meat is well browned, stirring frequently, about 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and cook, stirring, for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the beef broth, carrots, peas, and tomato paste, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to the casserole dish and spoon the mashed potatoes evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake for 30 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to broil and cook until golden brown and crisp around the edges, about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Cheese Enchiladas

This is an Emeril recipe. I didn't know how I would like it. I'm not a corn tortilla person. (Unless they're my mom's homemade chips.) But I really did like this recipe.

Ingredients
5 tbsp vegetable oil, split
1 (28 oz) can peeled whole tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp Baby Bam
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
12 corn tortillas
8 ounces white cheddar cheese, grated (I couldn't find this. Didn't even know it existed. I subbed it with another white cheese. You can use Monterrey, Mozzarella, Colby [I think that's a white one]. If any of you find white cheddar, let me know. I didn't look in the deli however. They have more specialty cheeses there.)
8 ounces yellow cheddar cheese, grated
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion (I don't think I used this part. Mine was all in the sauce.)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I use freeze dried if I don't have fresh on hand, although I learned it needs water to rehydrate or you can't really taste it, so you might not use it in this recipe. The sauce might do the trick, but fresh is always best.)

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with 1 tbsp of oil. Set aside. In a blender, puree the tomatoes on high speed. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tbsp of the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, cumin, oregano, and Baby Bam and cook, stirring until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the pureed tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring until slightly thieckened, about 5 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper and stir. Reduce the heat to very low. Simmer to keep warm, stirring occasionally, while you assemble the enchiladas. Heat a second medium skllet over low heat. Place the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a small bowl or dish. With a pastry brush, lightly brush both sides of each tortilla with the oill. Place on tortilla at a time in the skillet until just warm and softened, about 2 to 5 seconds per side. (I thought this would be horribly tedious but did it in the spirit of a first time recipe. It wasn't bad and works well to keep the tortillas from cracking. Although the same effect might come from microwaving them.) Remove tortilla with tongs and palce it on a large palte. Continue with the remaining tortillas and oil. Combine the white and yellow Cheddar cheeses in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the mixed cheese in a line along the middle of each tortilla. If using the finely chopped raw onion, (which I would still recommend) sprinkle a heaping teaspoon into each tortilla. Fold one side toward the middle to enclose the filling, then roll up the tortilla to form a cylinder. Place tortillas seam side down in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. Pour the tomato sauce over the filled enchiladas, spreading with the back of a spoon to distribute evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top of the enchiladas. Bake until bubbly, about 10-12 minutes. Using oven mitts or pot holders, remove the baking dish from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. To serve, divide enchiladas among plates and garnish, if desired, with the cilantro.

If you haven't realized yet, you will, Emeril's recipes are long and wordy. The cookbook is made to be a simple step by step so kids can use it with parents. I cut down when it's easy to make it simpler, but in general I just put it the way it is. So that's why it's so wordy. But make sure you read it all the way through before you start. His recipes are ones that I get in trouble with because I dont't read it all the way through before I start cooking.

Baby Bam

Here's a separate post for Baby Bam. It's used in lots of Emeril Lagasse recipes. It's an all-purpose spice with kick. I just make it up and keep it in an empty spice container.

Ingredients
3 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp celery salt

This obviously makes a bit. It lasts for a while. I'll eventually put up more recipes that use Bam. I've also used it randomly. It's a nice all-purpose seasoner with kick.