Chicken with Eggplant and Fontina Cheese

In our attempt to eat better (my husband and I are both PRE-diabetic.) I have been searching for regular recipes that meet the standards for what we can have. We love Italian food. Heck we love all food. So watching our carbs is a little work. I started watching the daily morning talk show "The Chew". I know I'm very cruel to myself. If you don't know what this is it is a talk show with notable chefs as the hosts. They cook and laugh and cook. Did I tell you they cook? Uh yeah. Anyways.....one of my favorite Italian chefs is Lidia Bastianich. I didn't see the show she was on but they had this recipe of hers listed in their recipe files. It sounded so good. So I decided to give it a try and to serve it with a salad and spaghetti squash. The meal was a smash and this chicken is fantastic. I only changed a few things. I will write the recipe as she specifies and note if I did something different. They weren't huge changes. I just can't tell you how delish this was. Reminiscent of chicken Parmesan but not exactly the same. It is pure love on your plate.          

Chicken with Eggplant and Fontina Cheese: Serves 6 (I made more and doubled the sauce.)

1 med. eggplant  
6 (6oz.) boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut in half  on the bias as below. Then pound lightly to even thickness.

  Salt and Pepper
6 Slices of Prosciutto di Parma. *De Parma is the best. It is from Italy. You can get domestic but it is saltier. Both will work. Cut in half.
6 Tbl. olive oil. (I used much more.)
4 Tbl. butter (I used more.)
flour (this is just to lightly dredge the chicken and the slices of eggplant in. More of a dusting.)
6 peeled garlic cloves ( I used more than double the amount and I minced mine.)
1/2 Cup white wine (we used a Pinot Grigio because that was what we were drinking. Santa Margarita is our fave.)
1 Cup chicken stock
1/2 Cup canned good Italian tomatoes. San Marzano is the best. We just used the crushed all purpose tomato.
12 large fresh basil leaves ( we used more as I put two leaves on each breast piece.) Then I chopped the rest and sprinkled it all over the chicken when it was out of the oven.
6 oz. shredded Fontina cheese
1/2 Cup grated Grana Padano. Without a cheese lesson here. You can just use Parmesan cheese. Parm is a type of Padano. You can research it if your curious.

(I DOUBLED ALL THE INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE. I WAS GLAD I DID)
Trim the ends off the eggplant and peel one inch strips of peel off ever inch all the way around. Slice into about 1inch pieces. Lay out and salt both sides and set aside.
Season pounded chicken breast with salt and pepper on both sides. Lay a piece of prosciutto on the stickiest side of the chicken and kinda mash in with your fingers to get the prosciutto to adhere to the chicken. The prosciutto is so thin it will stick pretty easily.
Heat a large pan with 2-3 Tbl. of olive oil in the fry pan and add 2 TBL. of butter. When this melted and blended take chicken and lightly dredge in flour and tap off loose flour. Fry in prosciutto side down first till light brown and slightly crispy (2-3 minutes) and turn and cook other side till lightly brown. Remove and drain on paper towels and then place prosciutto side up in an oven proof pan. I used glass cake pans. You may need to use more than one so you don't over fill the pans. Continue this step till all the chicken is fried. Sprinkle just a bit of Parmesan cheese on the chicken.
Now take the eggplant and in the same skillet fry it. You want to pat the eggplant dry as the salt will cause it to sweat some. Dredge lightly in flour and fry till golden in pan. Drain and place on piece on each piece of chicken. Then lightly sprinkle with just a bit of parm cheese (this is just to help the layers hold together. After you have completed this place one or two fresh, stemmed basil leaves on top of each piece of eggplant that is now on top of each piece of chicken (we are building a tower.)
Now to the sauce.
In the same skilled you cooked the chicken and eggplant add the minced garlic (if you need more olive oil or butter add a little. You don't need much. My pan had gotten kinda dark from the flour and I had to clean it out a little so not to have burnt flour. I didn't wash it as there was flavor in there but I did wipe out the too dark flour. Ok, so we now have a good pan with 2-3 Tbl. olive oil and 2 Tbl. butter approximately. Add the  minced garlic and cook till light brown (dont BURN the garlic as it will become bitter.) Add the the wine and bring to a boil and cook till the wine is almost evaporated. Add in the chicken stock and drop in 2 Tbl. butter and the chopped or pureed or however you like them tomatoes. Boil till slightly reduced and thickened. Add a little salt and pepper.  When the sauce is done take a spoon and spoon a little over the top of each tower. Then spoon the sauce around the chicken. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and shredded fontina cheese. Bake at 350 till cheese melted and sauce bubbling. I think it cooked about 20-30 minutes.When you remove it from the oven sprinkle with remaining basil leaves that have been chopped or torn into small pieces.
You wont be sorry kids. It is pretty amazing. I served it with spaghetti squash that had olive oil and salt and pepper. I did add a dollop of butter to it when I reheated it in the microwave.
Enjoy!

Dirty Rice

Yum Yum and double Yum. What more can I say. Give it a try and you wont be sorry.


6 Cups chicken broth
3 cups uncooked long grain rice
1 cup chicken giblets (I don't use these but feel free to. I don't eat animal organs so I just leave this out. )
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 pounds ground pork sausage (a spicy breakfast sausage is good.)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 tsp. black pepper

cook chicken broth and rice in a saucepan over med. heat 30 minutes or till rice has absorbed broth and rice is tender. Set aside.
Combine giblets and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and chop.
Cook sausage in a large skillet over med-high heat, stirring until crumbles and is no longer pink. Remove sauce and drain reserving 2 Tbl. of  sausage drippings in skillet. Set sausage aside.
Saute chopped garlic and next three ingredients in the hot drippings about 7 minutes or till tender.
Stir together rice, giblets, sausage, veggies, salt and remaining ingredients. Spoon into greased 2 quart baking dish and bake 375 for 10-12 minutes. Or mix everything up in skillet and stir and heat everything together in pan over med heat.

Green Beans with Ham and New Potatoes

With the holidays right upon us I thought I would post this. I read this recipe in a Southern Living magazine years and years ago. This makes a wonderful pot of green beans. You can use potatoes or leave them out. It's up to you. We are making a big pot of these for Thanksgiving this year instead of the ole stand by Green Bean Casserole.
Enjoy!


1/2 Cup butter
2 1/2 Cups diced smoked ham
2 large sweet onions, diced
3 (1 pound) packages frozen cut green beans, thawed.
2 Cups chicken broth
1 pound baby new potatoes, halved
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1 small red bell pepper, diced

Melt butter in large pot over med-high heat. Add ham and saute 5 minutes. Add onions and saute 5 minutes. Add the next 4 ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir the bell pepper in during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Banana Nut Muffins

I love banana nut muffins. Here is my tried and true recipe that I use. I will also tell you how to convert it to banana nut bread.

Here's what I do:

Oven 400 degrees. Line twelve muffin cup tin with paper inserts.

1 3/4 Cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt ( I always add a heaping tsp. But this is a personal taste thing.)
1/2 cup heaping of white sugar
1 large egg beaten
1 cup mashed ripe banana (over ripe with all the specs on them. they get sweeter.)
1/2 cup milk
1/3 Cup vegy oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Add the chopped pecans and mix. Combine egg,mashed banana, milk, and oil in another bowl and mix together. Add the banana mixture to the flour and stir to combine. Spoon into muffin cups filling 3/4 full. Bake 400 degrees 18-20 minutes till golden and toothpick comes out clean when tested.

for bread:
set oven to 350 and pour batter into 8x4 bread pan. Bake about 1 hour or till toothpick comes out clean when tested.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Meatballs

My Sasquatches love it when I make Italian meatballs. I don't do it often enough. It is a little work intensive but worth it. We will have pasta one day and then they make the left over meatballs into meatball subs with mozzarella on top. They are happy. I also freeze bags with 4 meatballs and sauce in each. That way they can just take out one freezer bag and they have all they need for a sub.
This recipe is inspired by a recipe by Wolfgang Puck. I have changed it over time to our liking.

Here's what I do: I double this recipe for us.

Meat balls:
1 1/2 pounds lean eye of round roast
1/2 pound pork loin (I buy center cut boneless pork chops as they are just sliced pork loin. Now not tenderloin, just loin roast.)
1 head garlic roasted (I peel all the garlic cloves and lay on foil. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Wrap up in the foil tight and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes till they are very soft. When done place in bowl with any olive oil from the packet and mush with a fork.)
 2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese ( I grind my fresh parmesan up in the food processor and then mix with a good quality container of Kraft parm from the store. It stretches the good parm out and you still get the great flavor and more for the money.)
1 tbl. minced parsley
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/2-1 tsp. salt
 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Clean and remove any fat from the meat. Cut into chunks and grind up in a food processor till meat is completely ground up. 

 Place all the meat (beef and pork) in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix with your hands till completely mixed together. Using a 2inch stainless steel scoop scoop out some meat and roll into a ball in your hands and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. You will then place them in the pasta sauce that should be cooking on the stove while these are baking.

Red Sauce:

1/4 Cup olive oil
1 med. chopped onion
1 head of garlic (whole head not just one clove) minced
1 can tomato paste
1/2 can of msg. free beef broth
2 (28oz.) cans of good quality canned tomatoes. I like to use Hunts fire roasted or Cento Sam Marzano Italian tomatoes. Chopped if you can find them.
1/2 Cup red wine
1/4 cup chopped pepperoni
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
salt and pepper to taste
Put olive oil in large pot and heat over med-high heat. Saute onion in oil till onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Then add the can of tomato paste and stir constantly till the paste turns a darker shade of red. Pour the beef broth in and the wine. Stir to dissolve the tomato paste. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and using an emmersion blender blend the sauce till most the tomato chunks are gone (this is optional. My Sasquatches don't like chunks of tomato so I blend them up.)
Time it so that after the sauce has cooked for 30 minutes the meatballs are coming out of the oven. Place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer lightly for another hour or so. Serve with pasta and Parmesan cheese.

Steak bites seared in brown butter

This is a simple dish. This is a divine dish. Easy and beyond good. About a month ago I purchased a whole Filet of beef to cut into filet Mignon for my family. I had a good hunk of meat left at the end and just cut it into bite size pieces and put it in the freezer. Last week I purchased three filet mignons from the store to add the the frozen ones I had cut up earlier. So it made plenty for my large family of Sasquatches.

Here's what I did:

good quality steak(filet is what I would recommend) cut into large chunks (about two bites worth.)
salt and pepper
butter
 cast iron skillet

dry the steak bites and salt and pepper. Place cast iron skillet over med-high heat and let it get good and hot. Add 4 Tbl. of butter and stir it around till melted and butter has turned brown. This is a delicate time. You want the butter browned but not burnt. Then add half the steak bites and spread out in pan. Don't touch them for 30-45 seconds to let them sear. Then stir and cook another 45 seconds or so. After this I just stirred the steak bites around till they were good and brown but still nice and rare on the inside. Pour the cooked steak bites along with the butter in the pan into a serving dish. Place pan back on the burner and add another 4 Tbl. butter and repeat the directions above.
This is wonderful.
Enjoy!

Carrot Cake

My husband Sasquatch loves Carrot Cake. So I decided to make him one today. My frosting was a little soft but it was pretty humid out. I just popped it in the fridge to help firm it up. I could have added more powdered sugar but opted not to. This cake is very old fashioned in its consistency and tastes wonderful. It is actually better the second day.  Enjoy!







Here's what I did: Oven 350 degrees. Prep 3 (9") round pans including lining the bottom with wax paper.

2 Cups all purpose flour
2 Cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 Cups vegy oil
2-3 cups grated, then chopped carrots till they are closer to a large mince ( use the amount you like in your cake. I used 3 cups in this cake but think I will try two cups next time.)
1-1 1/2 Cups chopped pecans

In large bowl combine flour, sugar,soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix. Add eggs and vegy oil and mix with a hand mixer till well blended, about two minutes. Then fold in carrots and pecans. Pour in equal amounts into the three prepped pans. Bake 30-40 minutes. I found it didn't need the 40 minutes. I would suggest checking the cake at 30 minutes and then testing it every 2 minutes after till it is done.  Do the toothpick test. When done cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and then turn out and finish cooling completely. Of course remove the wax paper that is on the bottom of the cakes. Then when cool frost.

Cream Cheese frosting
1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, room temp
1 stick butter, room temp
2 tsp. vanilla
16 oz. Plus more powdered sugar (how much powdered sugar you use will depend on how stiff you want your frosting. If layering you want it a little stiffer so that it can hold the weight of the layers. So after adding your initial 16 oz. of powdered sugar continue to add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time till you get the right consistency.) Frost.