Chicken Parmagiana

We had this for supper tonight, and it was so tasty I had to share. It's a pretty easy recipe. Here's what you'll need:

4 Chicken breast halves
3C Italian bread crumbs
1T Thyme
3 Eggs
2T Milk
1C Flour
Olive oil
jar of Spaghetti sauce (I used the Borelli mushroom sauce)
Parmagiana, grated
Mozarella, sliced

I use the chicken breast from the Market (of course) and pound it out flat in the package before I open it - you want the breasts to be ~1/2 inch thick.

First, put you fry pan on the stove to get it hot while youNow this is messy, get out three big bowls. Eggs and milk wisked together in one, in another put the flour, in the third stir together the bread crumbs and thyme and add salt and pepper to taste. First, dredge each chicken breast in flour, then dip it in the egg wash, then coat it in the bread crumbs. Now is a good time to pre-heat your oven to 400F.

Now it's time to cook the chicken. Don't overload your fry pan - in my favorite pan, I could only fit one breast at a time. Add one or two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, and fry the chicken until it is golden brown (about 5 minutes on each side, maximum). Drain the chicken on a paper towel.

Select a baking dish large enough to put all of the chicken in a single layer (or maybe two), coat the dish lightly with olive oil. Add half the tomato sauce to the bottom of the dish and spread it out. Arrange the chicken in a single layer. Sprinkle parmagiana generously over the chicken, then cover it with a layer of mozzarella.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 400F - until the moz is bubbly and lightly browned. I heated the other half of the sauce on the stove top, so those of us who like sauce could add it to our side of pasta (the Kluski noodles make a nice liquine-type side, or if you prefer thinner pasta, the angel hair is a good choice). If you are a sauce lover, you can add the other half of the sauce over the chicken before putting on the cheese, but my family prefers less sauce on the chicken.

Now the recipes I looked at said that this would make 4 servings, but I did the four chicken breasts, and a pound of pasta, and it fed out family, so I'd say this was probably enough for 6 people to have pretty decent sized portions.

Chicken parm that beats a lot of restaurants, I would wager, and it really is quite easy. The kids love to help beat the chicken up, and mix the chicken coating, and sprinkle cheese. It's a very family-friendly recipe, and delicious to boot. Give it a try!!

Hot Tamale Pockets

Our 6-year-old, Ethan, loves to put these tasty little pockets together, and they’re a huge hit with the entire family!

Shopping List: Ground Beef, garlic (crushed garlic*) Monterey Jack Cheese (we use cheddar, or whatever your family favorites are), Taco Seasoning, Corn Meal, 2-3 ears of corn, CCGM Fresh Salsa, Sour Cream, Cilantro, Tortilla Chips (optional).

Directions: Preheat oven to 450F. Brown ground beef in a skillet (if not non-stick, use a little bit of oil so meat doesn’t stick). Finely chop two cloves of garlic (alternatively use crushed garlic*). Add garlic, 1 t salt, ¼ C water, 2 T corn meal, and 4 T of Taco Seasoning to the meat and mix. Allow to cook until mixture is bubbly and thickened. Remove from heat.

While meat is browning, prepare corn bread mix (kids can help with the mixing): Blanch the corn (or you can cook it for a couple minutes, in the husks, in the microwave). Cut corn from the cob. In a bowl, combine corn, 1 ½ cups cornmeal, 2 T flour, 2 T sugar, 1 t salt, and 3 t of baking powder. Add 2 eggs and 2/3 cup milk. Mix quickly just until moistened. Add 1 T vegetable oil and stir in.

Cut sheets of foil into ~12”x12” squares and spray lightly with oil or non-stick cooking spray (kids like this part!). Now you’re ready to begin assembly. In center of each sheet of foil, put ~ ½ C of meat and flatten slightly. Top with ~ ¼ C of corn bread mix. Double fold sides and ends of foil to seal the pocket, leaving head space for heat circulation. Place completed pockets on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

We serve ours in the packet (open carefully!). Serve with sour cream, salsa, and cilantro sprigs. If you want some crunch, serve tortilla chips on the side.

1 lb of beef makes ~6 packets. You may have cornbread mix left over, which you can put in an oven-proof dish and bake with the packets for a yummy side of corn bread. If you’re feeling a bit lazy, like I do on a weeknight after a busy day at work, you can, alternatively, make this as a casserole, rather than individual packets.

ENJOY!

Fast Food Without the Golden Arches

Between work, kid activities, and some precious me time, sometimes meal planning just doesn’t happen. What happens then? You turn to those convenient pre-packaged meals – many of which are loaded with salt and preservatives, and taste more like the package they came in then the ‘food’ they’re meant to be.

Well, here at CCGM we think about food a lot, and we thought maybe we could give folks a break on meal planning, by putting together some meal ideas for you to consider, along with an ingredient shopping list, and complete preparation instructions.

Need a quick, easy meal to throw together after work and flag football? Here’s one your kids can help with. The *’d items are pre-prepared foods that you can substitute.

Easy Marinara Pasta with Cheesy Garlic Bread

Shopping List:
Garlic (fresh or crushed*)
Whole Grain Loaf of bread
Fresh basil
Amish Butter
Fresh or Dried Pasta
2 tomatoes, 1 pepper, 1 onion (Fresh Salsa*)
Fresh Mozzarella (pearls, balls or even Middlefield mozz work, choose your fav)
Stella Parmesan Cheese
Coarse salt (Kosher or Sea), pepper, oregano

Pre-heat oven to 350F and place a large pot of water on to boil. Place ½ cup of Amish butter in a microwave-safe bowl and soften it in the microwave (if it melts, no biggie, you want it very soft). Add a tablespoon (or less to taste) of diced (or crushed*) garlic and crushed pepper – let the kids mix away while you cut the whole grain loaf in half length-wise and place it on a large cookie sheet. Get out the pastry brush and let the kids paint the two halves of the bread with the butter mixture. If using fresh mozz, drain it, reserving the oil. Pearls can be sprinkled over bread as is (watch out, they roll!), balls would be best sliced, and block could be grated (good job for the kids). Sprinkle sparingly with coarse salt (kosher or sea salt work best). Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and just beginning to brown.

Set the kids to grating the parmesan cheese. Dice the tomatoes, peppers and onions (alternatively, buy two containers of CCGM’s Fresh Salsa*) and cut the basil into ribbons. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of reserved oil from the mozzarella (use olive oil, if you don’t have reserved oil), to the skillet. Add the tomatoes, peppers, onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until peppers are soft and onions are translucent. Add the basil (reserve some for garnish) and reduce heat to low.

If cooking fresh pasta, cook small amounts (one package) at a time. Once water is boiling, remove pasta from package, fluff it and add it to the water. It only takes one or two minutes to cook, so don’t walk away. Remove pasta to a colander and rinse with hot water. If cooking dry pasta, place in pot once water is boiling and allow to cook for 5-8 minutes, until done (depending on how ‘toothy’ you like your pasta). TIP: Let the kids pick out the flavor of pasta – there are lots to choose from.

Place pasta on plate, ladle sauce over it, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and garnish with basil. Serve with cheesy garlic bread.

ENJOY!