Pork Piccata

Pork Piccata

A word about this recipe: I have to tell you...this is hands-down, one of the tastiest and quickest meals to make on a weeknight. Larry loves it and I get a kick out of it because it tastes gourmet and is so simple to make.

Enjoy!

Makes: 4 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

8 thin boneless pork cutlets (about 1 ½ to 2 pounds total). Note: You can also use chicken cutlets for chicken piccata.
¼ t salt
¼ t black pepper
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
2 T olive oil
1 cup chicken broth (I use low sodium)
3 T capers
2 T lemon juice
1 T butter



Directions:

1. Season both sides of the pork with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour and shake off excess. Discard remaining flour.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and sauté for 2 minutes per side. Remove pork to a plate and keep warm.

3. Add broth and simmer 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in capers and lemon juice. Return the pork to the skillet and simmer gently for about 1 to 2 minutes, until pork is heated through. Wisk in the butter.

4. Serve with a veggie and mashed potatoes (I add chives, sour cream and milk to the mashed potatoes).

Source: Family Circle, October 1, 2008

Lemon Glazed Chicken

A word about this recipe: This was excellent - very moist and light in taste. Again, after I baked the 2 chicken breasts, I immediately cut each breast in half and saved 2 of the halves for dinner the next night - that way you won't have the whole breast on your plate tempting you to eat it.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 servings:

3 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
½ cup flour
½ t pepper
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup honey
¼ cup lemon juice
1 T soy sauce

9 servings:

9 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1½ cup flour
1½ t pepper
¾ cup butter, melted
¾ cup honey
½ cup lemon juice
3 T soy sauce

18 servings:

18 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3 cup flour
1 T pepper
1½ cup butter, melted
1½ cup honey
1 cup lemon juice
¼ cup + 2 T soy sauce

27 servings:

27 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4½ cup flour
4½ T pepper
2¼ cup butter, melted
2¼ cup honey
1½ cup lemon juice
½ cup + 1 T soy sauce

Directions:

1. Pound chicken breasts to ½-inch thickness.

2. Mix flour and pepper together.

3. Dredge chicken through the flour mix.

4. Lay breasts flat on cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and flash freeze for one hour.

For Freezer Meals: Mix together butter, honey, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Place in quart-size freezerbag (mixture will be watery). Freeze glaze, using freezer bag method. Place frozen chicken breasts in separate freezer bag and freeze. I put two chicken breasts per bag - which would be 1 meal for Larry and I.

Serving Day Instructions: Allow chicken breasts and glaze to thaw. Place chicken in baking dish, pour glaze over chicken breasts, and bake at 350° for 1 hour - check after 45 minutes. Glaze will thicken as it cooks. Use 1 bag of glaze per bag of chicken.

Source: Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer, Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell & Bonnie Garcia

Cranberry Chicken

A word about this recipe: I never have had Catalina dressing before and was pretty skeptical about mixing it with the onion mix. But oh my...this is tasty! I opted to use the Kraft Light version dressing and I think it did not take away from the recipe. Also, since Larry and I are trying to watch our weight, after I baked the 2 chicken breasts, I immediately cut each breast in half and saved 2 of the halves for dinner the next night - that way you won't have the whole breast on your plate tempting you to eat it. This little method has been really helpful for us.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 servings:

8 oz. Kraft Catalina dressing (Light)
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1 - 1 lb. can whole-berry cranberry
4 boned chicken breasts

12 servings:

24 oz. Kraft Catalina dressing (Light)
3 pkgs. dry onion soup mix
3 - 1 lb. can whole-berry cranberry
12 boned chicken breasts

24 servings:

48 oz. Kraft Catalina dressing (Light)
6 pkgs. dry onion soup mix
6 - 1 lb. can whole-berry cranberry
24 boned chicken breasts

36 servings:

72 oz. Kraft Catalina dressing (Light)
9 pkgs. dry onion soup mix
9 - 1 lb. can whole-berry cranberry
36 boned chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in a large bowl.

For Freezer Meals: Place chicken and mixture together in freezer bags. I put two chicken breasts per bag - which would be 1 meal for Larry and I. Freeze.

Serving Day Instructions: Thaw completely. Place chicken with cranberry sauce in greased baking dish, and bake uncovered at 350° for 1 - 1 ½ hours, but check after 45 minutes.

Source: Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer, Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell & Bonnie Garcia

Moroccan Hamburgers

As promised, I wanted to share some of the recipes I discovered for investment cooking, AKA freezer meals. I can't tell you how much I am in love with this concept! As long as you rememberto take the meal out of the freezer the night before you are golden for dunner the following night.

As I mentioned before, you can either assemble and cook the recipes, then freeze or assemble and freeze uncooked. I definitely prefer the latter because you really are cooking the meal fresh and it tastes fresh rather than pulling a cooked meal out of the frezer and maybe having to deal with loss of flavor or freezer burn.

A word about this recipe: Make sure you finely chop up the onions and herbs - the hamburgers hold together better. We served the hambugers sans buns - much healthier because less carbs! I will also say that I'm not sure how "Moroccan" this tasted - it tasted very similar to meatloaf - not a bad thing, but something I wanted to at least note. Honestly I'd have to say that regular meatloaf has a better all-around taste - but it's a personal taste; I'm kind of "iffy" on this particular recipe.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
1 t salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ t ground black pepper
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
¼ t ground red pepper
¼ cup fine dry breadcrumbs1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 large egg
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 t paprika
1 t ground cumin

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients thoroughly; shape into 8 (4-inch) patties. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

For Freezer Meals: Freeze uncooked patties 5 to 6 months. Thaw before grilling.

Serving Day Instructions: Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until beef is no longer pink.

Yield: 8 servings

Source: Southern Living, November 2003