How mama got her groove back...

This is the first adapted recipe I have ever featured on this blog. I have nothing against adapted recipes, since that's the way most people cook and learn to cook. I personally just never end up cooking from magazines or books. I may thumb through them and get inspired, but most of the time, I'm too stubborn to stick to a recipe and end up coming up with my own concoction. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. I guess thats why I am a recipe developer, right? All that being said, lately work has me cooking A LOT more. And on days where I've developed, styled and shot more recipes than I can count, sometimes, my brain just won't spare me anymore cells to make dinner for my own family. Horrible!!! Me?! The one who preaches to you on this blog about family meals!? The one who truly believes that the family that eats together, stays together?! ME!? If I can't come up with a decent dinner, how can I expect others to? Yes, It's true, but I know I'm not alone in my frustrations and I KNOW that by writing this, at least one person will commiserate.

Don't get me wrong, I manage to cook for our family every day. I haven't resorted to take-out, YET! But I gotta say, the meals have been getting more boring and more basic with each passing day. I've definitely been struggling. Work has been kicking my butt. Between my full-time day job, my freelance work and my home life, I am really burning the candle at both ends. On top of all of this, I am 5 1/2 months pregnant. All things considered, things are great! I have a wonderful family and a job! So what's wrong with me? Why aren't our clean clothes put away? Why hasn't the dishwasher been unloaded? Why don't I feel like cooking a dinner for my family on a day when I've already developed six other recipes for work? Why? Why? Why? Like most parents, I'm falling into a trap. I am pushing myself to the limits and feeling bad for not going past them. I'm learning and guilt is part of the learning process. I know it will take a while, but I will find my balance. We all will. I am dedicated to making it work. I am dedicated to my family and making sure we all eat healthy meals, together! And if on some nights that means take-out, so be it. In my case, it was looking for recipe inspiration in the pages of a magazine. In the midst of my frustration, I was thrilled to see this recipe in Food and Wine this week. It fit the bill because it was simple, inexpensive, healthy and delicious. I knew I had to give it a try! And you know what? It was everything I had hoped for! Even my two year old son (who is going through a picky phase), ate it all up. I swear, I never heard such delightful squeals coming from his little body. "Mama, MMMmmmm this is DELLISEEEOUS" ! I served it alongside some sauteed spinach and we ate a flavorful (not boring) meal, on a weeknight. And just like that, I got my groove back. Enjoy!

Chicken Scarpariello

(adapted from Fran Parisi's recipe in the Oct 2010 issue of Food and Wine magazine)

Serves 4

3 pieces of nitrate free bacon, chopped

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, smashed

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken stock

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup Peppadew peppers (or any picked peppers you like)

1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. Leave whatever bacon drippings that rendered in the pan (to add flavor).

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper and dust with flour. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil oil. Add the chicken and cook over high heat, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for 3 minutes., until garlic is golden in color. Transfer the chicken to a platter, leaving the rosemary and garlic in the skillet.

3. Add the stock to the skillet and cook over high heat, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and butter and stir until emulsified. Return the chicken to the pan along with any accumulated juices. Add the peppers and cook, turning the chicken until coated in the sauce, about 3-5 minutes more. Top chicken with crispy bacon and serve alongside some sauteed spinach and some crusty bread. The juice is to-die-for!!! I didn't have bread, to sop it up, I just used my fingers! LOL

Cheesy Spinach Chicken Roll-ups

Truth be told, I am not so great at making traditional "well rounded" meals. When I say "well rounded", I mean the type of meal you see on Leave It To Beaver. Meals that have a protein, a starch and a vegetable. I don't know what my deal is, but I can't seem to get it together enough to make anything elaborate as a side. I guess I don't really buy into the whole "well rounded" meal concept. Plus, I hate dirtying a ton of pots and pans. Most nights we eat some form of protein and a vegetable. On the nights when I am super tired, our "side dish" is either a green salad topped with chickpeas and avocado or some sort of bean.

Since I have no patience for fancy side dishes on weeknights, I love it when I make a meal that feels complete all on it's own. Cheesy Spinach Chicken Roll-ups combine a protein and a veg all in one neat little package (with some yummy cheese as the "glue" that ties it all together). This recipe is another take on one of my husbands favorite meals, my Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Roll-ups . I didn't have any sun-dried tomatoes on-hand that night, but I always have chopped frozen spinach in my freezer. We really enjoyed this combination and hope you will too. Even Griffin loved eating the cheesy spinach filling.

Note: This looks way fancy but is a cinch to make! It only takes 30 minutes from start to finish but can also be prepared ahead of time and kept in the fridge so that it's ready to bake-off when you get home from work.


Spinach and Ricotta Chicken Roll-ups
Serves 4 ( 2 roll-ups per person)

1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
one 10oz package, frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
pepper to taste
8 thinly sliced chicken breast cutlets
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, spinach and the pepper and mix until well blended.

Dip each of the chicken cutlets into the beaten egg and then into the breadcrumbs. Make sure you press the cutlet firmly into the breadcrumbs so that the coating sticks well. Place about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture into the center of each cutlet. Roll up and secure each with a toothpick.

Drizzle remaining olive oil over the roll-ups and bake for 20 minute or until the chicken is golden and the cheese is bubbly.

Remove toothpicks and serve.


Enjoy!

Cereal Crusted Chicken Tenders with Red Pepper Dipping Sauce

Tonight was rough. Although we are technically finished with our kitchen renovations, little dramas keep popping up. Last night, it was the outlets and the circuit breakers and tonight it was the leaking garbage disposal in the middle of dinner preparations. My poor husband is about to lose his mind and believe you me, I am not taking it easy on him. I said "poor guy" didn't I?

Like many working moms, I live a C-AA-RAZY life! I get home at 6:30 (on a good night) and then the real race begins. I try and spend "quality" time with my son while I am making him a quick dinner. After dinner, it's bath-time, story-time (this consists of me reading the title of a book and Griffin opening and closing the cover several times before I say "The End") then bed-time. Somewhere in between bath time and story time, I have a spare 15 minutes to make dinner. Yes, somehow, we manage to eat dinner ourselves before we put or boy to sleep at 8:15pm. Like I said, C-AA-RAZY life! Tonight was extra nuts with the flood and all, but somehow I managed to make AND photograph this recipe.

After reading Chowmama's recipe for a Spanish Tortilla (aka Tortilla Espanola) I was craving the food we had when we went to Spain. Except, all I had defrosted in the fridge was chicken tenders. The pantry was pretty pathetic too, but I did have cereal, a jar of roasted red peppers and what good Italian girl doesn't have some garlic and olive oil on-hand at all times? In the midst of Niagara Falls in my kitchen, I came up with this recipe.

Coating chicken or fish in a cereal crust is a great way to make your food extra crunchy without having to fry it. If you haven't tried it before, you must! And this roasted red pepper sauce was loosely inspired by the delicious Romesco sauce that is a Catalonian staple. Romesco is DELICIOUS! I say my sauce is "loosely" inspired by the traditional Romesco Sauce because, I only had 5 of the 9 ingredients needed to make a proper Romesco Sauce on-hand. Still, my husband said it was "pretty good" ("pretty good" in my husbands world means it was a HIT! more on why this term erks me another time-LOL.).

This sauce is good with almost anything. Pour it over chicken, fish, red meat, you name it. It's even delicious spread on a nice piece of crusty bread and eaten as a snack. If you have more time and the ingredients on-hand, give the real version a try. But I gotta say, my stressed out, empty pantry version was pretty darn good too. Plus, who doesn't LOVE dipping anything into sauce? My Roasted Red Pepper Dipping Sauce is a great way to get your kids or husband out of the ketchup rut and it's WAY more nutritious.

Enjoy!

Cereal Crusted Chicken Tenders with Roasted Red Pepper Dipping Sauce
Serves 2-4 people (depending on how hungry you are)

8 chicken tenders
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups cornflake type cereal, crushed (I used and LOVE with this new Newman's Own Cereal)
1 (6.5 ounce) jar roasted red peppers (I used the Goya kind which yields about 3 medium sized peppers)
1 medium sized clove of garlic
1/4 c, flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon, red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon, red pepper flakes


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray foil with cooking spray or rub with olive oil.

Place the chicken tenders in a bowl with the beaten eggs. Make sure the tenders are completely coated in the beaten egg. Dip each of the tenders one at a time into the crushed cereal. Press the chicken firmly into the cereal crumbs so that the coating sticks well.

Place the tenders on the prepared baking sheet and spray again with cooking spray. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, assemble the sauce.

Place the red peppers, garlic, parsley and the red wine vinegar in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. With the motor running, stream in the olive oil. Add in the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Serve chicken with sauce drizzled on top or put the sauce in a small bowl for your dipping pleasure.

Enjoy!

TIP: Add some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to the cereal crumbs before you coat the chicken for some crunchy, cheesy goodness.

Fiesta Soup!

I know I know it's supposedly Spring but today's weather is crappy and you never know when a Summer cold will strike. A good chicken soup recipe is something that everyone should have in their recipe arsenal. It is very simple to make and freezes beautifully so there is no reason to have to buy it in a can. And everyone has their own little twist on this classic recipe (mine is a 1/2 of a peeled apple-it adds a creaminess to the soup). While this recipe isn't for my classic Chicken Soup, I thought my take on a Mexican Chicken Soup would instantly become one of your family favorites. The garnishes are such a thrill! Kids will love the toppings for this soup. Put out tiny bowls filled with the avocado, popcorn and corn chips and let your kids go to town and build their own soup! Enjoy!


Fiesta Mexican Chicken Soup
Serves 6

2 tbsps olive oil
1 whole chicken, cut up, skin removed
1 small onion, cut in half
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely diced (optional)
1 box chicken stock
4 cups water
salt and pepper, to taste
¼ c chopped cilantro
1 large avocado, diced (for garnish)
popcorn or corn chips or corn nuts for topping soup
2 limes cut into wedges (for finishing soup)


In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add chicken to the pot and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Add in onion, garlic, celery and carrots.
Add chicken stock, water and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Skim any foam or extra fat that rises to the top and discard.

Stir in cilantro at the last minute (this keeps the herb bright and fresh tasting)

Right before serving, top each soup with diced avocado, popcorn or corn chips and a squirt of lime.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

This is my favorite go-to meal. It takes no time to prepare and is always a hit because it has great flavor and it seems fancier than it is. It's also a great meal to feed a lot of people on a tight budget. This recipe is so quick and simple that I managed to make it after work last night and even gave my son a bath while it was baking in the oven. It was ready just as I was putting him to bed. Perfect!

Full Disclosure- The package of Bay Leaves did go flying into the air after I placed my towel wrapped son on the counter. A small price to pay to the dinner gods for such a delicious dinner and Griffin didn't seem to mind getting a butt-full of Bay-LOL! Enjoy!



Mediterranean Lemon Chicken and Potatoes
Serves 4

8 chicken thighs (you could substitute white meat if you prefer)
3 large potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 large lemons, cut into wedges
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
salt and pepper, to taste (not too much salt because the olives and the lemon are salty)
2-3 large bay leaves
1/4 c olive oil
3/4 c olives (I like to mix large green olives and black cured olives)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cover a large baking sheet or roasting pan with aluminum foil (this makes clean-up way easier).

Place the chicken, potatoes, lemon wedges, garlic and onions in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add in bay leaves and pour in olive oil . Toss until everything is well coated.

Dump the contents of the bowl onto your roasting pan/baking sheet. Roast for about 45 minutes then add the olives. Continue roasting for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.