Chicken Cutlets with Lemon Cream Sauce

My in-laws love the Cheesecake Factory, so we end up eating there quite often. It’s great because of the variety and ability to ‘please’ everyone’s taste buds. The menu offers anything and everything you could think of. I actually tend to think it is a bit overwhelming - the menu is a small (or rather large actually) novel. What like 50 pages or so? Because of that,  we end up getting tired of trying to find something new to eat, and end up with the same decision each time. My father in law usually gets salmon, my mother in law usually a salad, my husband a sandwich of some sort and then my brother in law and I always end up with the same dish - Crispy Chicken Costoletta.  This particular chicken dish is delicious, but is probably three times the amount of food I should eat in one sitting. I am also quite sure health is not taken into consideration when it is cooked. I found on one website the calorie total is 1290 - holy cow! So my mission this week - to create something similar for half the calories.

A lot of things keep bringing me back to this dish - the thin pieces of chicken, the delicious creamy sauce and fresh lemon flavor. So how could I recreate this? First up, the thin pieces of chicken, otherwise known as a cutlet. Some people will just take the chicken, stick it in a plastic bag and beat it to death with a rolling pin or kitchen mallet. No fun for me and quite unsuccessful I might say - the chicken never gets any thinner. I prefer to take my chicken breasts and cut them into two. This works really well because the chicken I get tends to be a little thicker. With chicken cutlets, not only do you end up eating less, it doesn’t take as long to cook. Win, win. I should start cooking this way more often! So onto the lemon flavor. I know a lot of people use bottled lemon juice, but I strongly recommend using fresh lemon. Part of the intense flavor in my recipe is obtained from the zest of the lemon, where all the essential oils live. If you need a refresher on how to zest a citrus fruit, check out my instructions here. If you don’t have a  microplane, you can use a grater, but you may want to consider purchasing one. They are one of my kitchen essentials (more on this later) and really pretty inexpensive. Lastly, the cream sauce. Traditional cream sauce is just that - heavy whipping cream. I decided to attempt to make it a little healthier and did half cream, half plain greek yogurt. One downfall is the risk of curdling when working with heat and any dairy product, especially yogurt. Make sure to stir the yogurt well before you add to the pan and then continue to stir while it heats slowly and mixes.This takes practice and I will admit, I still find it difficult. Feel free to use all cream if you don’t want to risk it.

Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Cutlets with Lemon Cream Sauce
Inspired by Cheesecake Factory Crispy Chicken Costoletta

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Chicken - 2 thick pieces
Flour, ¼ c
Salt
Pepper
Heaving whipping cream, ¼ c
Greek plain yogurt ¼ c
Lemon, 1 large
Oil
Parsley (optional)

Carefully, slice each piece of chicken horizontally into two pieces. 

Better Bonus Tip: If you use frozen chicken, I find it easier to cut the chicken when it is not all the way thawed. If you are using fresh chicken, cut as soon as you take it out of the fridge while it is still cold. 

Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat. 

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour/lemon zest mixture (¼ c flour and zest from half of a lemon) and then add to oiled pan. 

Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, total of 6-8 minutes. Once done cooking, remove from the pan. If your chicken is thicker, it might take longer. It needs to be no longer pink and a minimum temperature of 165 degrees and ideally browned on both sides.

Lower heat to just about off and add cream, yogurt, additional lemon zest (the other half) and juice of half of the lemon to pan. Cook for a minute or two stirring continuously, scraping up the bits on the pan from the chicken. (Sorry, no picture of this - too tedious of a process).

Better Bonus Tip: Make sure to stir the yogurt well before you add to the pan and then continue to stir while it heats and mixes. Don’t let it boil!!

Once sauce is warm and slightly thickened, drizzle over chicken. Garnish with a fresh herb for a pop of color if you have one, an additional squirt of lemon juice and a lemon slice. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes and your favorite green veggie.

Better Bonus Tip:  So I feel like I overdo it with bread crumbs - I use them all the time, but this would be a perfect recipe to utilize breadcrumbs for an extra crispy outside.

~Ashley

'Green' Proof Your Kitchen

In honor of Earth Day this Sunday, April 22, 2012, today’s post is dedicated to green proofing your kitchen.

We all hear over and over again how our planet is in trouble. Concerns of global warming. Concerns of resources running out. Concerns about our landfills. Concerns of excessive pollution.

What can you do to make a difference? Have you heard the phrase, ‘reduce your carbon footprint?’ Basically what that means is reduce the amount of energy needed to complete daily tasks. Energy is used in ways most people don't realize or think about. This is not just referring to the energy it takes to run an appliance. Think more globally - production, transportation, use, disposal, etc. There are so many things you can do in your everyday life to make a difference. There are tons of blogs, websites, magazines and books out there sharing tips and tricks. A book I read a few years back that I found very helpful, The Green Book, is a great guide to small steps you can take in every area of your life.

Today I am going to focus on changes you can make in your kitchen.

I found a website that shared some pretty startling facts about waste and recycling, sourced from various places, one of them being the Environmental Protection Agency. Below are some of the ones that really stuck out to me.

• The average American office worker uses about 500 disposable cups every year.
• Every year, Americans throw away enough paper and plastic cups, forks, and spoons to circle the equator 300 times.
• Every year, Americans use approximately 1 billion shopping bags, creating 300,000 tons of landfill waste.
• Plastic bags do not biodegrade.
• Less than 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled each year.
• Recycling 1 ton of mixed paper saves the energy equivalent of 185 gallons of gasoline.
• Recycling 1 ton of aluminum cans conserves more than 207 million Btus, which is equal to 36 barrels of oil, or 1,665 gallons of gasoline.
• Aluminum can be recycled forever with no loss of quality.
• Every ton of glass containers recycled saves over a ton of natural resources.
• The energy saved by recycling one glass bottle can light a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or run a computer for 30 minutes.
• If we recycled all of our aluminum cans for one year, we could save enough energy to light Washington, D.C. for 3.7 years.
• At least 90 percent of the price of a bottle of water is for things other than the water itself, like bottling, packaging, shipping and marketing.
• 827,000 to 1.3 million tons of plastic PET water bottles were produced in the U.S. in 2006, requiring the energy equivalent of 50 million barrels of oil. 76.5 percent of these bottles ended up in landfills.
• 26 to 41 percent of the 2.4 million tons of PET plastic discarded every year is bottled water bottles.
• Because plastic water bottles are shielded from sunlight in landfills, they will not decompose for thousands of years.
• It takes about 1,100 to 2,000 times as much energy to produce and transport the average bottle of water to Los Angeles as to produce the same amount of tap water.

I am quite sure this is just a snapshot of statistics, with many more similar to this out there. So what better choices can you make to make a difference?

Have an Eco Friendly Lunch and Party.

Make a change to reusable lunch and party supplies - cups, plates, napkins, silverware, bags. There are even companies that offer reusable sandwich and snack bags. I personally like to use bamboo. It is lightweight and perfect for my lunch, but most importantly is a natural resource that is renewable, biodegradable and self sustaining. 

 

Check out some of these websites for ideas:
Crate and Barrel: Lunch Plate

Eco-Gecko: Utensils, Plates, Bowls

Party City: Utensils, Plates, Bowls, Cups  

Reuseit: Lunch bags, Boxes, Containers, Utensils, Napkins, Bottles

Ecobags: Lunch bags, Utensils, Bottles

Lunchskins: Sandwich and Snack Bags

Thirtyone: Bags

Bottles and Cups Oh My!

I bet most of us have a cabinet full of reusable water bottles and coffee mugs - use them! Keep one in your car, one in your office and anywhere else you frequently drink something. I know some people can’t stand the thought of getting rid of their disposable water bottles - I can only ask why? There are many sources out there that say tap water is more regulated than bottled. If you are still nervous, get a filter on your faucet and make sure you frequently change your fridge filter. Sure, occasionally a disposable water bottle makes the most since, but using a couple a month compared to daily will make a drastic difference. 

If you don’t have a drawer full of unused cups or are just looking for a new one, I am a huge fan of Tervis Tumblers. They can be used for hot or cold liquids, are microwave and dishwasher safe and have a lifetime warranty. They have tons of styles and sizes, even one perfect for a little kid.

Paper vs. Plastic - how about neither!?!

If you are out just picking up one or two things, don’t use a bag at all. Carry it out, or stick it in your purse. If you are buying quite a bit, use a reusable bag. Also, don’t use the individual plastic bags for produce, just put the produce directly in your cart or in your reusable bag. Reusable bags are becoming easier and easier to find. I would say just about every retailer has a type of reusable bag they sell. There are even a lot of stores that pay you for using them.  If your family has multiple cars, keep bags in each car to increase likelihood of remembering to use them. Check out the below website for a lot of different styles of bags, including one of my favorites - the expandable string bags, which are great for produce.

Ecobags

Successful recycling.

Some cities now require recycling, but that doesn’t mean you are going to do it. It's a hard habit to form, but there are things you can to do make it easier. I have found if you have two containers in the kitchen, one for trash and one for recycling, it improves likelihood of doing it. Unfortunately, most recycling companies won’t take glass and from what I have read it is for safety reasons. Doesn’t really make sense to me, because glass can break just as easily in the trash as it can in the recycle bin, but who knows! Still important to try to recycle those items as well! We have a third container we use for glass and run it up to a local glass recycle bin once it is full. You will find glass recycle stations in a lot of grocery store and school parking lots. In the Kansas City area, you can find the closest glass recycling station here.  

Greener Cleaning.

 
As the ‘green’ movement is becoming more and more popular, more companies are starting to get on the bandwagon. There are a lot of different natural, non toxic, biodegradable cleaning products out there such as Seventh Generation, Method, Simply Green and probably the most accessible and reasonably priced Green Works. I have used all of these products. You could also try making your own cleaning products.There are lots of ‘recipes’ out there that include everyday ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, lemon. My most recent green clean discovery is the Scotch Brite greener clean non scratch scrub sponge. The package reads: the scrubbing fibers are made from 50% agave plant; the sponge outlasts 30 rolls of paper towels; sponges are made from 23% recycled materials; sponges made from 100% plant based fibers. 

Plant a garden (or eat off someone else’s).
 
You may be thinking this isn’t really an eco-friendly kitchen change, but it absolutely is. The food in your garden, ends up in your kitchen. Planting your own or eating locally grown and produced food is a very eco-friendly choice. Think of the amount of gas and energy it takes to deliver food to grocery stores across the nation. With that said, I tend to think this is easier said than done. I planted my first food garden last year. It didn’t go so well. People kept telling me - ‘It was a really hot summer.’ I am not sure if that was the reason or just that I don’t have a green thumb. Either way I am going to give it another try this year. A friend of mine told me about a website that shares instructions on gardening specific to your zip code. I am going to use this and hopefully be more successful this year. Start simple. Plant a few things in pots. If you don’t want to have your own garden, at least buy from farmers markets or local foods from the grocery store. That provides the same benefits and someone else is doing all the work :)  

Be appliance smart.
 
Unplug them when they aren’t in use. If you are running an appliance with batteries - use rechargeable. Purchase energy efficient appliances. Keep your fridge and freezer full - it uses less energy than an empty fridge/freezer. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs - they use 75% less energy and last 8-10 times longer (not only is that good for the environment, but you save money because you don’t have to change them as often). Use your dishwasher instead of hand washing. I found this interesting, but I read you use significantly more water (up to 37% per the California Energy Commission) if you are hand-washing. Lastly, only run the dishwasher when it’s full and don't pre-rinse your dishes - let the dishwasher do the work!

Other changes in the kitchen

• Buy food from bulk bins when possible so you are only paying for the cost of the food (and what you need at the time), not the package.
• Plan your meals to help prevent food waste.
• Use less plastic - most plastics take years to decompose.
• Use wood cutting boards instead of plastic (I still keep one plastic cutting board for my proteins)
• Reuse glass containers (mason jars, pasta sauce, pickle jar) for other purposes - leftover sauces or salad dressings, to hold water and your fresh herbs, as storage for coffee/sugar/flour, etc.

There is always room for improvement. I know eventually I would like to start composting. This is not something I will probably get to this year, but will continue to keep as a goal. I know one smaller change I would like to make is to start using recycled paper products such as paper towels, napkins, kleenex, toilet paper. Seventh Generation does sell some, but I am trying to find somewhere I can buy them in bulk. Anyone know of a place or a different brand that sells in bulk?

What eco-friendly green choices do you currently make in your kitchen? Or home?

Make a difference, one small change at a time!

~Ashley

Roasted Corn and Beef Risotto

Have you ever had risotto out at a restaurant and wondered how to make it? A lot of times I see risotto as the vegetarian dish on the menu, typically mushroom risotto. Well, today you are going to learn how to make it at home, to save a few bucks.

Risotto is a creamy Italian rice dish that is typically made using arborio rice, onion, garlic and broth. It does require more attention while cooking compared to other types of rice, but the end result is so delicious and totally worth it! You can make risotto as a side dish or main entree. 

Last time I made this dinner, I used pancetta, shrimp and grilled corn on the cob as the stars.  I am not sure if you have heard of pancetta before, but it is an Italian bacon that most deli counters sell. This time I chose to use regular pork bacon because I had some in fridge that needed to get used up. Both are great options, but if you decide to use pancetta, you will probably want to decrease the baking time (in the recipe below) because it is typically sliced much thinner than traditional bacon.  So I love corn - all varieties, but my favorite it definitely corn on the cob. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen corn on the cob at the grocery store yet this year. I knew I still wanted to use corn in this dish, so I just decided to use frozen. I would always recommend frozen over canned, because frozen veggies are more nutritious, have less sodium, and usually have better flavor because they are flash frozen in their peak life to maintain freshness.  If you can find corn on the cob, definitely consider grilling it and using that in the recipe because the flavor is like nothing else. The last change I made this time around was to use beef instead of shrimp. I actually like shrimp better than beef, but we have been eating a lot of shrimp lately, so just decided to switch it up for this blog entry. As always, the take home point - use what you want and have around the house. Be flexible. Learn the technique and try many different ways.

Roasted Corn and Beef Risotto

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Steak, 6-8 oz of your favorite cut
Arborio rice, 1 c
Frozen corn, 1 c
Bacon, 4 slices
Onion, 1 small, chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves
Dry wine, ½ c
Chicken stock, 4 c
Parsley, ¼ c chopped
Parmesan Cheese, ¼ c shredded
Oil
Salt and Pepper

 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake bacon and corn for 15 - 17 minutes on a greased pan. Once done cooking, remove bacon and lay on a paper towel to drain. Set corn aside. Once bacon has drained on paper towel for a bit, chop into small pieces. 

While the bacon is cooking. Add oil to a saute pan and heat to medium heat. Add onion and cook until almost translucent, approximately 3 - 4 minutes. Add chopped garlic, cooking for 30 seconds and then add rice, salt and pepper cooking an additional 30 seconds. Next, add wine cooking until wine is absorbed, approximately 30 seconds - 1 minute. Add 1 cup of chicken stock. Continue to stir frequently, adding an additional ½ c stock each time the liquid absorbs. Total cooking time will be approximately 22 minutes. 

 

 

 

While risotto is cooking, cut up beef into bite size pieces and cook to desired level of doneness, 3 - 5 minutes. 

 
Once the rice is a creamy rich consistency, add beef, corn, parsley, cheese and bacon and stir to mix.

Serve immediately. 

Better Bonus Tip: If you aren’t serving immediately, wait to add the bacon until the last minute to maintain some crunch. 
  

As we were eating this meal, my husband commented it might be good with a little heat. Try adding some crushed red pepper flakes if that sounds good to you.

 

Better Bonus Tip: If you have leftover risotto, it can become sticky, so for variety, form into patties, add breadcrumbs to the outside and fry in a little oil to provide a crispy outside and creamy inside. 

**Update: I have made this many times and for some reason, always used chicken stock. Lately though, I have been using beef broth which makes more sense anyway because of the steak. I think I like it better with the beef broth!

~Ashley 

 

Easter Brunch: Sausage and Egg Frittata

A few months ago we were at our friend's house making dinner and we ended the night with some wine and a brain teaser game, Battle of the Sexes. One question my husband got on the playing card was ‘Are brown eggs better for you than white eggs?’ His answer was yes. What do you think the answer is? Well the truth is they are not better for you - that statement is false. I think this is a big misconception amongst people. In fact what makes the eggs looks different is simply the type of chicken that laid the egg. The Kitchen Daily Huffington Post just did an article a few weeks ago on this exact topic.  

If you are interested in eating a better egg, you will need to think about similar things that we did when we talked about beef - the environment the chickens are raised in and their diet. Unfortunately, just like with other proteins, the labels can be misleading, so be cautious of terms like 'cage free' and 'natural'. The goal is the chicken that produced the eggs was raised in a pasture/green space, not in a cage and fed a vegetarian diet with no antibiotics and hormones. There are a few worth reading articles I found as I learned about this topic; you might find them helpful:

Pastured Eggs
Egg Carton Labels
Cage Free vs. Battery Cage

Better Bonus Tips:

• Do your research
• Ask questions
• Utilize farmers markets and local farms, when possible

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Eggs are great because they can be served for breakfast, lunch, dinner or anything in between and are quick to make. Today’s recipe is a Sausage and Egg Frittata.  I think of a frittata as a baked omelet - similar to a quiche except it is started on the stovetop and then finished off in the oven.  I have talked a lot about learning the technique instead of just the recipe - this is another perfect example. You can really substitute whatever you want in this recipe and make it your own. Try adding whatever veggies, grains, protein, cheese you have around the house.

Sausage and Egg Frittata

Inspired by Food Network’s Potato and Zucchini Frittata


Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Eggs, 6
Ground sausage, ½ lb
Bell Pepper, ½ chopped
Zucchini, 1 shredded
Green Onion, 1 bunch, chopped
Cilantro, 2 T
Cheese, any variety, 1 c
Garlic Powder, 1 tsp

Preheat oven to broil high. Chop bell pepper and white and light green parts of the green onion. Grate zucchini. Set all aside. 

 

Brown sausage over medium heat in an oven safe pan. Add pepper, zucchini and green onion after sausage has been cooking for 4-5 minutes. Continue to cook until veggies are tender, another 3-4 minutes

 
Crack 4 eggs and 2 egg whites into a bowl and mix with a fork. Add garlic powder, chopped cilantro and ½ c of shredded cheese. 

 

Make sure sausage and veggie mixture is spread out evenly in pan and pour egg mixture over sausage and veggies.

 

 









Continue to cook over medium heat until eggs start to form. Occasionally tilt the pan and use your spatula to loosen up the edges, so that the uncooked egg can flow underneath. After about 3-4 minutes, sprinkle with another ½ c of shredded cheese. At this point, the eggs will not look completely cooked. Stick the pan in the oven and broil for 5-7 minutes, until the top is browned and the eggs are puffy. 

Once brown and puffy, remove from the oven. 

 

Slice and serve directly from pan or place on serving platter.

Better Bonus Tip: Serve with a simple fruit salad consisting of your favorite chopped fruit, a drizzle of yogurt sauce (plain or vanilla yogurt mixed with honey or agave nectar) and topped with nuts or browned crispy coconut.

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More Egg Better Bonus Tips:

• I started following a blog that my friend told me about 100 Days of Real Food and a post awhile back was what she called Random Food & Cooking Tips. One of the tips she shared was ‘If an egg is spoiled, it will float in a bowl of water rather than sink.’ I have tried this and haven’t been able to get one to float, which I guess is a good thing because it means I have good eggs. I am unsure if it truly works, but still wanted to share.
• When preparing a recipe that includes eggs, crack each egg into a separate bowl and then add individually to the main bowl with the other ingredients. This way, if you get a bad egg, you won’t have cracked it directly into the main bowl and end up having to waste everything because the other ingredients are ruined.
• Just like with the shells of the egg, you might find different colors in the yolk. The color of the yolk is dependent on the diet the chicken consumes. The more color in the diet, the darker the yolk.

Hope everyone has a great Easter!

~Ashley