Orecchiette

    w/ Sausage & Broccoli Rabe a la Joy of Cooking

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy

Months back, my friend Layth gave me a most thoughtful gift.  After speaking at length about the love of cooking and recipes and such, he gave me a copy of "Joy of Cooking", which is like the Bible of cooking.  I say this without the slightest hint at hyperbole, it is one the top 5 most thoughtful gifts I've received to date. 

To call this book a "cook book" would be an insult. And not just because it is probably the first book I've ever read the introductory pages to (including notes from Julia Child, co-author Ethan Becker and Acknowledgments).  The book opens with some history of the authors, the book and how the recipes have been updated (for today's standards) and re-tested and goes much further to speak about things like nutrition (and it's slanted importance over time), safety, table setting and parties, just to name a few.  In short, it has everything...including my fleeting attention.  I have trouble putting this sucker down sometimes.

I struggled picking the first recipe out of here that I wanted to try for the blog and would end up reading and flagging, reading and flagging.  Over and over I would do this on multiple dates where I ended up not deciding and doing one of my stand-by recipes.  What am I an idiot? 

So here it was, Sunday and I didn't want to just make my sauce, so I cracked open the book and picked a pasta.  One of my favorites: Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 lb orecchiette
1 lb Italian sausage hot/spicy turkey sausage removed from casings
3 4 or 5 large cloves garlic diced
1/4 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 large bunch broccoli rabe trimmed and chopped
salt
pepper
romano for sprinkling

Boil water and cook pasta as directed.  While your pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet and add sausage.  Brown your sausage and carefully salt and pepper to taste* and add your garlic and red pepper.  Mix in your broccoli rabe and cover.  Allow to cook for 10 minutes or so.

Add your cooked pasted to your pan and mix it up some.  Plate and top with some romano cheese.

Notes:

I have to admit, mine came out a little salty this first time.  I had never used the brand of turkey sausage I bought today and it was saltier to begin with then I had expected).  It wasn't the end of the world. 
I LOVE this dish and eat it all the time and am unsure why I have never made it as it is SO easy.

Tweaks:
I added more garlic and more crushed red pepper.  I like it hot!

Healthy Tweak:
I used turkey sausage instead of "regular" sausage or, as it is wonderfully used at one of our fav places, Bottino, boar sausage.  It's a little less fattening and a little lower in cholesterol.

Any suggestions?  e-mail me: theManicCheater@gmail.com

Croque Monsieur w/ Healthy Tweaking

Verdict: (Read to see*)

Neighbor-worthy?*

Have you ever made a meal based on a recipe you found online?  Probably.  Ever try to repeat it only to fail locating it again?  I was there today.  The internet can be a bitch.  All the information in the world at your fingertips and the thing you want to find eludes you.

A while back I found a recipe that I followed for Croque Monsieur that was incredible.  Truth be told, it may not have been the recipe nor my skill (this was before I really dedicated myself to my kitchen, mind you) that made it so good.  It's engulfed in cheese.  You could cover a shoe in cheese and it'll still be tasty. 

I could not find that exact recipe so I tried this one and voilà (see what I did there?  French)....

BUT-here's the challenge and risk....can I tweak this to make it a little less fattening and more heart healthy without ruining the joy of this indulgent eat.....?

Ingredients(for a bunch):

2 tablespoons butter fake butter

3 4 tablespoons flour

2 cups hot milk (I used 1%)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

pinch nutmeg

3 cups gruyere grated (dear god do I want to use it, but in the name of the blog...) low-fat swiss chopped

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

16 8 slices of white bread with crusts cut off

dijon mustard

8 oz baked Virginia low sodium ham

Pre-heat oven to 400°

Melt fake butter in a saucepan over Low heat and add all of your flour.  Stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.  Pour in your milk slowly and continue to stir while it cooks until it is thick.  Take the mixture off the heat and mix in the salt, pepper, nutmeg and 1/2 cup of the swiss and all of the parmesan and leave on side.

Lay out your bread on a baking sheet and throw in oven for 5 minutes.  Turn slices over and cook for another 2 minutes.  Brush the toast with some mustard, add a slice or 2 of the ham and sprinkle with 1/2 of the remaining swiss.  Top with another piece of toast.  Douse the sandwich with the cheese

mixture and sprinkle with the rest of the swiss.  Bake the cheese-covered sandwiches for 5 more minutes.  Finish it up by turning the broiler on for 3-5 minutes--Keep an eye on it--DON'T BURN IT. 

Eat it.

*Notes:
This was indeed a success and worth sharing with neighbors.  The tweaks I made were in favor of healthy (heart healthy and waist-conscious) choices and to test how far I could push the envelop without completely abandoning taste.  This is (obviously) not as good as the "real" gruyere heavy recipe, but it was damn tasty!

Tweak:
I didn't make a million sandwiches.   (1,000,000=8)

Healthy Tweaks:
I used fake butter
I substituted low-fat swiss cheese slices, diced up, instead of gruyere
I found low-sodium ham...well, lowER sodium than what I typically would've used.

Cheat:
I did not use freshly grated parmesan.  My grater broke and I am too cheap to go buy a new one yet.  Oh, and I woulda been too lazy to do it after work anyhow.

Any cholesterol, fat heavy recipes I can play with?  Send 'em to me.  theManicCheater@gmail.com.

Write-in Recipe
Chicken Broccoli Crepes

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy

My friend Jen gave me this recipe way back when I first started the blog.  I was intimidated by it and put it off.  Why? For some reason, I cannot do simple things in the kitchen.  I screwed up Steak-ems once and I still can't make rice correctly!  (I know.)

Now, I'm not saying this recipe is easy necessarily.  I put it off because I was scared of a step in it that should be easy....getting the crepe up from the pan and flipping it without ruining it.  I'm not joking.  I have no idea why, but I can't get flat things up (yes, yes...obvious penis joke).  Every time I make an omelette I end up making scrambled eggs 'cause I can't fold it over properly.  Even my pancakes come out weird lately.  I'm getting better in the kitchen in some aspects and regressing in others.

This did end up coming out quite good.  I did tweak some spots that resulted in a meal more suited for me and my bf but I think it is safe to say that it would turn out perfectly fine without my tweaks. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter fake butter

1 + 1/4 cup Bisquick (plus more for thickening)

1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons BACON SALT (Yay!)

1/4 1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 + 3/4 cups milk

2 eggs

2 cups seasoned cooked chicken chopped

1 jar (2oz) diced pimento drained

2 tablespoons snipped chives scallion (I have no idea what "snipped" is, so I finely sliced 'em)

1 lb broccoli cooked and drained (or thawed and nuked)

+ 1 jalapeño chopped (remove the seeds if a heat-phobe)

Crepes

Beat 1 cup bisquick, eggs and 3/4 cups milk in a small bowl until smooth.  Spray a small skillet with vegetable spray (like PAM) and heat on Medium-high heat.  Pour the mixture into the skillet until the pan bottom is covered with a thin covering (barely covering it-you're not making pancakes).  Cook until golden.  Loosen edges with spatula and flip to other side and cook.  Stack your crepes with damp paper towels in between each one as they are finished.

Mix & Meal

Heat the fake butter in a small sauce pan over Medium-high heat until melted.  Add the bisquick, salt and pepper.  Stir until bubbly and add the remaining milk long with salt.  Stir until boiling and allow to bubble for a minute or so.  Add chicken, pepper and  most of your scallion (save some) and lower heat to Medium-low and add a small palmful of bisquick to thicken up your sauce.

Lay out 4 crepes and line the centers with a line of broccoli.  Roll up your crepe and plate 2 per plate, seam down.  Cover the crepe with your sauce and top with some scallion pieces for color.

Notes:
I am glad I did some of the tweaks on this one as I like my creams a little thicker than most and ALWAYS like more spice toi things.
This recipe was a messy one but it was worth it.

Tweaks:

(Just like Jen) I didn't use the pimento part of the original recipe.

I added jalapeño which was a great idea!

I think chives and scallions are the same thing, but the word "chives" makes me think of sour cream and bacon covered baked potatoes (which I love but sounds Fridays or Applebees-y to me).

Healthy Tweaks:

I used fake butter

Cheats:

I used frozen broccoli-thawed, drained and nuked.

We're in fall now...send me some comfort foods: theManicCheater@gmail.com



Cran-Apple Goat Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops w/ Sauteed Apples

 

 

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy

While looking for something new, I stumbled upon this recipe for "Apple-Cranberry Stuffed Pork Chops with Sauteed Apples".  I love stuffing foods and I wanted to tweak this to my liking as I wanted to try something new (both cooking and eating) and, 'cause I am not overly sold on sweet entrees, I thought I would curb some the sweetness involved in the original by using goat cheese. 

(Selection of a good side can also be a good way to counter a sweet or savory intensive entree recipe. As this recipe is quite sweet, I chose a salty, bitter brussel sprout side.)

Ingredients:

2 tart apples

1 cup fresh spinach finely chopped

1/3 cup dried cranberries craisons (I had 'em in my cabinet already) chopped

4 tablespoons apple juice divided

4 boneless pork loin chops (1" thick)

salt

pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter fake butter

+ 2 garlic cloves diced

+ 4 oz goat cheese at room temperature

Peel and chop 1 apple.  Leaving the peel on, thinly slice the second one (like a thick potato chip).  In a bowl, mix apple, spinach, craisons and a 1 tablespoon of the apple juice.  Separate in half and mix half with the goat cheese in another bowl.

Season your pork chops with salt and pepper and butterfly it (slice side-to-side to make a pocket).  Open the chop (like a book) and line the seam with the goat cheese mixture and close it.  Continue to stuff the chop with the non-cheese mixture. 

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on your range at Medium-high heat.  Add your chops and cook until well browned (7 or 8 minutes each side).  Remove chops from pan. Add your (fake) butter to the skillet and add your sliced apples along with the rest of your apple juice.  Cook until the apples are soft and top your chops with it.

Notes:

I think this (original recipe) was a grown-up spin on Pork Chops and Applesauce.  I took it a step or two away from that.

This recipe (the use of apple and spinach) offers a good source of antioxidants that help fighting cancer.

Tweak:

I added the goat cheese to the dish along with garlic to take some of the edge off the sweetness of the recipe I lifted.

I used craisons for the recipe as opposed to cranberries as I had them in my cabinet already and didn't want to waste money unnecessarily.

Healthy Tweak:

I swapped butter for my stand-by 'fake butter".

Got something I can stuff???    Let me know: theManicCheater@gmail.com

Taco Crescent Squares 

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy

Sometimes I fall for ads in corners of pages when I'm on the web...like one that linked me to this recipe from Paula Deen.  There was not anything particularly special or flashy about it except for the word "Taco" which makes my stomach growl.  My bf always says that I could eat Mexican every day...he's right.  This one actually eats like a Mexi-pastry creation or even like a stuffed Mexican pizza.  It has a nice balance of sweet and savory.

The recipe I lifted is simple enough and left room for me to do my stuff....

Ingredients:

1 onion finely chopped

2 lbs ground chuck ground turkey meat

1 package taco seasoning

1 cup enchilada sauce

2 cups 1 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend (use low-fat)

4 cans refrigerated crescent rolls

1 large egg beaten 2 egg whites beaten

sour cream reduced-fat sour cream for garnish

+ salt and pepper

+ olive oil

+ yellow, orange or red bell pepper chopped

+ 1 jalapeño chopped (and seeded if you're a heat wuss)

+ 5 cloves garlic chopped

+ 1 1/4 cup beef stock

+ 14 oz can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

+ 1 handful cilantro chopped

Pre-heat your oven to 375°

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet over Medium+ heat.  Add your turkey meat and break up with a wooden spoon while browning.  After the browning process has gotten a good start, season your meat with the taco mix, salt and pepper.  When completely browned, add your onions, peppers and garlic.  Cook until your veggies are soft.  Throw in the stick and mix  with your spoon.  Cook for a few minutes and add your tomatoes.  Allow to simmer until the liquid has had a chance to reduce and fold in your cilantro.   Continue to let it to reduce for a bit while you prepare the rest of your recipe.  Add your cheese and mix.

Lightly grease a  17"x 12" rimmed baking sheet.  If you want to curb the heat some, use butter.  If you don't, use a vegetable spray like PAM.).  Unroll 2 of your crescent cans.  Press dough into the baking sheet, pressing edges together.  Bake about 8 minutes.

Spoon the meat mixture on top of the baked crust and unroll the other two crescent cans and place over the meat mixture.  Brush the top dough with the egg.  Bake between 25-30 minutes.  KEEP AN EYE ON IT and pull it out when golden brown.  Let cool a few; cut into squares; top it with some  enchilada sauce,  sour cream or maybe some hot sauce and plate it.

Notes:

This is a very easy recipe that virtually anyone can do.  The original recipe was just like making tacos with mix and adding an onion.....boring.

Tweaks:

I pretty much substituted the whole inside of this dish.  I added a bunch of ingredients (listed above) to make a more fresh and natural tasting taco filler with a little more heat to it.

Healthy Tweaks:

I swapped ground chuck with turkey meat.

I used reduced fat sour cream as well as low-fat cheeses for this recipe.

I used egg whites instead of a "regular" egg.

Have recipes for me?  e-mail me: TheManicCheater@gmail.com   And for goodness sake, please get into the comments section.

Bloody Mary Burgers

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy

I had my first Bloody Mary not all that long ago (like 4 years or so ago).  It was with my cousins Dana and Ignacio and their 2 kids (Nico and Naia) at a Santa Breakfast at my parents' country club.  I love spending time with all of my cousins' kids, but this time was extra special and not 'cause they were at that age where they were so cute you wish there was a shot that would keep 'em that age forever, but because their event brought me to my now favorite brunch drink.

I love trying to incorporate multiple favorites into one recipe (see my Margarita Cheesecake) and when I heard about this recipe, I had to try it.  And tweak it some.

The recipe below is for 4 servings.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion diced

2 ribs of celery diced   (I LOATHE recipes that ask for this--where you need to buy a "bunch for a pinch")

1 tablespoon celery salt   (What the hell is celery salt?)

1 tablespoon hot sauce

black pepper

1 cup tomato sauce   (This is a burger recipe, go ahead and use jarred)

2 lbs ground beef sirloin ground turkey meat

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley chopped dried parsley*

2 tablespoons horseradish

2 palmfuls grill seasoning

4 kaiser or roll of choice

+ low-fat swiss cheese

Preheat Broiler to High.  Preheat a large skillet on Medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Put a small sauce pan on your range on Medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil.  When it ripples, add the onion and celery and season with salt and pepper.  Add hot sauce and cook until the onion is translucent (while stirring).  Add the tomato sauce and bring to a slight boil.  Lower your heat to Medium-low (or a little lower-like a low plus) simmer while doing the burgers.

Combine your meat, worcestershire, parsley, horseradish and seasoning mix in a bowl.  Make it so the ingredients are all evenly distributed.  Portion your mixture out into 4 equal parts.  Pound out (not "pound", just make) the portions into patties that are about an inch thick.  Push the center of the burger in a little so that it is more shallow than the diameter. 

Add the patties to the skillet and cook each side about 6-8 minutes and flip and repeat.  Add your cheese to melt toward the end.  Toast your rolls in your broiler---WATCH THEM, a broiler can burn bread fast.  Pour your sauce on top of your buger and serve with some sides.

Notes:

This is not for everyone but still damn good even if you don't like Bloody Mary's.  Add some hot sauce or Tabasco upon your burger to up the heat factor.

Tweaks:

I used "regular" salt instead of celery salt (I have no idea what celery salt it.  I'm not saying it doesn't exist, just that I'm not going to buy it.)
I added cheese to the burger.

Healthy tweaks:

I changed the sirloin to turkey meat (slightly less fattening and lower in cholesterol).

Cheats:
*I already had to buy a whole bunch of celery and use almost none of the mass of it.  I didn't want to do it again with the parsely, so I used dried.

Gimme some burger or grilled chicken sandwich recipes!  Send 'em to themaniccheater@gmail.com

Three 4-Alarm Italian Chili Mac

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-Worthy

This recipe is one of the staples in my home and comes from a recipe that is a little more tame than the one I make.  I love it hot and I crank it up some in my take on it.  Comfort food is comfort food and we all need it but we can still cut some corners on existing dishes to make them at least a wee bit healthier.

Ingredients:

1 lb penne pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin 1 lb ground turkey meat

2 tablespoons (or handfuls) chili powder

1 onion chopped

1 cubanelle pepper seeded and chopped 3 jalapeño peppers chopped (less 1or seeded if you can't take     the heat)

1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper seeded and chopped (I used yellow this time)

3 to 4 5 cloves garlic chopped

1 cup beef stock low-sodium beef stock

1 (28 oz) can fire roasted crushed tomatoes (I drain out some of the liquid)

handful fresh basil leaves torn

2 cups smoked cheddar or scamorza cheese 2 palmfuls reduced-fat cheddar cheese

salt and black pepper

+ 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

+ 1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper

Cook penne in salted water according to [timing] directions until al dente. While you wait for water to boil, prep your ingredients.  When the pasta is cooking, heat a skillet on Medium-high with the olive oil.  When the oil smokes, add the turkey and brown.  When it is cooked, add the chili powder, poultry seasoning, cayenne, salt and pepper and continue to cook for a few minutes.  Add the garlic, peppers and onion and continue to cook until the onion is translucent.  Add the stock and scrape up the gooey goodness at the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomatoes and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.  (During this time, you hopefully have noticed your timer and drained your pasta.)

Pre-heat your oven broiler to High.  Fold in your basil and simmer for a few more minutes.  Put your drained pasta back into the pot you cooked it in and add the Italian chili.  Mix well and pour into a 9" x13" glass baking dish.  Cover with your cheddar and throw in the oven on the top rack.  Lightly char the top of the cheese by cooking it for like 4 minutes---BUT KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT.

Notes:

I love this recipe and others seem to too.  The best thing is that you can tweak it a million ways.  Like for me, I add more heat to it with hotter peppers. A parent may sneak in some more veggies by chopping them up small and mixing them in.  This recipe is also great for leftovers and bringing to work.  Try it.

Healthy Tweaks:

I substituted turkey meat for the sirloin.  It is good to reduce the amount of red meat you eat on a weekly or month basis. 

I used low fat cheese and used less of it than prescribed.

I used low-sodium beef stock.

Tweaks:

I substituted cubanelle peppers with jalapeño peppers and added cayenne.

I added poultry seasoning to give the turkey meat an edge.

I added more garlic.

I reduced the amount of meat.

I removed some liquid from the can of tomatoes.

Leave me comments online--I love the attention.

Do you have any recipes you want me to try?  Shoot me a note: themaniccheater@gmail.com

Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups

(with MASSIVE Healthy Tweaking) 

I've made this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis before successfully and also slayed "regular" lasagnas.  BUT I have always slaughtered the "regular" lasagnas when I have tried to put a healthy spin on them.  I wanted to give her recipe a dose of the tweaks as A) I really wanted to make a healthier lasagna and B) I'm on track with a page hit goal I set and you people come in droves when I screw up!

(By the way, did anyone notice how odd it is that when I said "slayed" it was an obvious positive and when I said "slaughtered" it was clearly a negative....food for thought.)

Ingredients:

Bechamel Sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter "fake" butter (me=Smart Balance Light) plus smearing for dish

4 teaspoons flour

1 1/4 cups whole milk skim milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

pinch ground nutmeg

+ 2 pinches cinnamon*

Lasagna:

1 (15 oz) whole milk ricotta cheese fat-free ricotta cheese

1 (10 oz) package frozen, chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry

1 cup (plus a little for sprinkling) romano cheese

3 oz thinly sliced prosciutto chopped

1 large egg beaten

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

12 uncooked lasagna noodles multi-grain lasagna noodles

2 cups marinara (recipe here or bottled if short on time or just tired or lazy)

1 cup shredded mozzarella part-skim mozzarella 

Pre-heat oven to 450°

Bechamel-Melt the (non)butter in a medium sauce pan over Medium-low heat..  Add the flour and whisk for a couple of minutes. Add  the milk and increase the heat to Medium-high and continue to whisk until it becomes thick. Add in the nutmeg, salt, pepper and cinnamon*.  Set aside.

*My family has always added cinnamon to our ricotta in recipes.  I think it is regional to where our family came from in Italy as I know not all Italians do this.  Try it out or avoid it if you want.

The Rest-Boil a pot of water and add salt. Top the water with the olive oil.  Add your lasagna noodles and cook al dente as directed (time wise, based on brand).  As the noodles cook, mix the ricotta, spinach, romano, prosciutto, egg,salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Lie your cooked noodles out on a workspace side-by-side and allow to cool a little for handling.  While cooling, spread your bechamel sauce evenly on the bottom of a (non)buttered 9x13 glass baking dish. Spoon the cheese/prosciutto mixture evenly down the length of each lasagna noodle.  Roll up each noodle like a sleeping bag and place seam-down in your baking dish on your bechamel.  The exposed roll-side should face the short side of the baking dish and each roll should not touch.

Cover (evenly) with the marinara, mozzarella and romano and cover with foil.  Put in oven for about 20 minutes and remove the foil.  Cook for another 15 minutes and remove.  Allow to cool and serve.

Notes:  I was very excited to try this tweaked version of a recipe I love.  I wasn't planning on cooking tonight but the opportunity arose and I thought I would go pretty big with the healthy changes. As mentioned, changing "regular" lasagna recipes has not gone well for me and I thought "What do I have to lose? I wasn't even supposed to see my kitchen tonight."

Tweaks:

I went multi-grain for my noodles tonight!!  This is a Heart Healthy way to go.  I have done whole wheat before and it was just a disaster and a waste of a meal, so this was a risk.

I used skim milk instead of whole which is also a big risk when one is trying to make a thickening agent like the bechamel.

I used part-skim mozzarella instead of plain mozzarella.

I dared to do fat-free ricotta instead of whole milk ricotta.

*I added my family touch of cinnamon to the dish.

Verdict: Success

This recipe is most definitely Neighbor worthy and one that I am VERY proud of.  I dare say this tasted EVERY BIT as good as the original recipe.

Do you want to be on the mailing list or have recipes you want to share with me?  Contact me at themaniccheater@gmail.com.

Baked 'n Chilled Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwich
Mixed Greens w/ Simple Dressing & Romano Pizzelles
(with Healthy Tweaking)

It is HOT out.  I hate heat.  I needed a chilled meal so I picked a really simple thing to make to start: my stand-by salad dressing for a cool mixed green salad and then a hot chicken salad that I tweak to cut out some fat and chill for my own needs.  I also wanted to try something new in lieu of croutons--tried to make a little cheese cracker.

The recipe used to be fatty fatty fatty with tons of mayo and a bunch of cheese.  Not needed for mine....

 

Ingredients:

3 chicken breast cooked and diced to your chunky preference
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 low-fat cup mayo
1 cup celery chopped 1 large stalk celery chopped
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded 1 handful low-fat shredded cheddar
2/3 cup crushed potato chips 1 handful crushed BAKED potato chips
salt
pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice juice of 1/2 lemon
+ 1/2 cup pesto (recipe follows)  

+ 1 handful bagel chips crushed

rolls, baguettes, pita or bread--your choice for the sandwich

mixed greens (optional: slices of low-fat swiss)

Pesto:

1/4 cup pine nuts

10 cloves garlic

5 cups fresh basil leaves (packed down)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon back pepper

1 1/2 cups olive oil

1 cup pecorino romano

Salad Dressing:

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Pizzelles:

Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 400°

Chicken & Pesto:

Pound and slice your chicken breasts in half and wrap in foil.  Bake for 20 minutes.  While it cooks, put the pine nuts, garlic, basil, salt and pepper into your food processor and "process" on low for about 30 seconds.  While the ingredients break down, stream in the olive oil through that hole thing on the top of the processor.  When the ingredients are pureed, add the romano and puree for another 45 seconds.  Set aside and put the remaining amount,with a layer of olive oil on top, in a tightly sealed container and freeze for later use.

When chicken is done, allow to cool.  Add your celery, cheese, almonds, lemon juice and 2 pinched of salt and pepper to a large bowl and mix.  When the chicken has cooled, chop it up and add to your bowl followed by the mayo and pesto.  Mix and salt and pepper to taste.  Spread out the mixture into a glass baking dish and cover with the bagel chips. Put in the fridge to chill.

Dressing:

Add your ingredients to a dressing mixer and shake (duh) or whisk in a bowl. 

Pizzelles:

Lay parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spoon circles of romano (about a tablespoon each) onto the surface making sure they do not touch.  Cook for about 10 minutes before allowing to cool and peeling them off carefully.

Toast bread, roll, pita (or not) with the swiss and top with some greens and the chicken salad.  Toss the salad with the dressing and serve with the pizzelles.

Notes: I have successfully made this my own by making it a pesto dish.

Tweaks:

I cut most of the mayo (and substituted low-fat for what little I did use) in favor of Pesto.  I think it gives it something and mayo is just oil and egg really.  I don't think we need that in us.  Pesto has oil and cheese but you can control how much you use if you are being health conscious.

I serve this chilled instead of its intended hot state.

I used reduced-fat cheddar cheese.

I used more lemon for flavor .

I used less celery as the almond gives enough crunch and isn't as wet.
I used baked potato chips instead of fried.

Possible Cheat:

If you are a wuss (or just in a hurry), you can use bottled pesto.

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy. 

Do you want to be on the mailing list or have recipes you want to share with me?  Contact me at themaniccheater@gmail.com.

No-Fry Fried Chicken 'n
Cheddar Biscuits
(w/ Built-in Healthy Tweaking)

This recipe is one I've done with great success over time but I am tweaking it just a little to see if I can leave my Mark on it enough to own it.  
This is a really great example of Healthy Tweaking without sacrificing any taste at all.  No frying, no chicken skin, no egg to bind the breading (even the yogurt that you sub the egg for is non-fat) and you still get a great crunch! AND it also has another great home made bread crumb recipe. 

Ingredients:

chicken:
6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs or halved bone in breasts
1 1/3 cups 1 cup Rice Krispies
2 1/4 cups bagel chips or Melba toasts  2 cups plain bagel chips crushed
olive oil
3/4 teaspoons paprika
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt 1/2 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 bunches a few scallions
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
+ 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
+ 1/4 garlic powder

biscuits:
cupcake liners
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 handfuls of reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

(Start with the biscuits)
Preheat oven to 400°

Line a cupcake pan with liners (or lay them out on a cookie sheet).

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the (Veg) oil, egg and milk.  Stir until the batter becomes smooth.  Sticky, but smooth.  Fold in your cheese.  Fill the cups about 2/3 full and put in the oven for about 18 minutes.  Top with a little more cheese for effect if you like.

Increase and Preheat oven to 475°

Grind your bagel chips and Krispies in a food processor along with your salt and pepper(s), paprika and garlic powder.  Throw the crumbs into a large Ziploc bag and add 3 teaspoons of olive oil.
Mix your yogurt and mustard in a small bowl.  Run your chicken pieces through the mixture and them to your crumby Ziploc bag and shake till all pieces are coated with the crumbs.

Spray a cooking rack (preferably a drip tray with slats that comes as a two piece kitchen staple) with vegetable spray (like PAM) and lie your pieces on it and some of the scallions (whole) and spray with more vegetable spray.  *If you don't have a "two piece kitchen staple", I have no idea what it is called, it won't be the worst to put it on a foil lined cookie sheet.  Bake 35 minutes.
 

Notes:

This is the best of healthy tweaking out there....a fried food without frying....I tweak things all the time using the basis of the recipe I took from on this meal.

Tweaks:

Read above for a list of changes I made to ingredients and amounts including the use of fat free yogurt. 

Verdict: Success

Surely Neighbor-worthy-but we rip through this so fast, there is NEVER any to share.

Do you want to be on the mailing list or have recipes you want to share with me?  Contact me at themaniccheater@gmail.com.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Stuffed with Gorgonzola and Jalapeño

with Healthy Tweaking

                                                                           *Pictured with smashed potato and salad

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup crumbled blue cheese 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1/4 cup toasted pecan, chopped

2 scallions sliced on the bias 1 small shallot chopped

several slices center cut bacon turkey bacon

1 tablespoon olive oil

+1 small jalapeño chopped (If you don’t like too much spice, remove the seeds)

salt and pepper

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter “fake” butter (I used Smart Balance Light)

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup 1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup half and half or cream 1/2 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons grainy mustard

salt and pepper

+ 1/4 cup dry white wine

+ 1 tablespoon white vinegar

+ 1 tablespoon dijon mustard

(This recipe is made for two people to have a serving and a half)

Heat your oven to 375°

Cut your chicken across the breast without severing it on one side (aka butterfly).  Spread the butterflied chicken pieces out on a workspace and cover with parchment paper.  Pound the chicken until flat and tender.  Season with salt and pepper on both sides.  Cover each face-up piece with the gorgonzola followed by shallot and jalapeño.

Roll the chicken up from one long side to the other and wrap the bacon around the chicken, securing with the bacon (and keeping the chicken rolled up) with toothpicks.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan on Medium-High heat.  Put the chicken in your pan and brown on all sides.  If you are on the more skilled side, feel free to remove the toothpicks while you go along to get a more even brown.  If not, that’s fine, just turn, turn, turn…

Remove (I recommend using metal tongs) chicken from pan and place in a baking dish and bake in oven for 15 minutes.

While the chicken finishes cooking put the same pan on the range on medium high and melt the “fake” butter and add the flour.  Whisk the flour/butter for about 30 seconds to a minute, making sure it doesn’t burn away.  Add the chicken stock, vinegar, wine and allow to thicken.  Finally, add the milk and mustard(s), mix and reduce heat to low until you are ready to use it.

When the chicken is done, cut it in half (careful for squirting—hot cheese) to show off the center.  Plate it and cover with your sauce.

Notes:

I use an old stand-by recipe by Rachel Ray that I’ve done for years and tweaked it to my liking.  I changed measurements from said recipe and added or swapped items.  I also adjusted timing which is not noted here.

Tweaks:

I cut out some things that are unnecessary (health-wise) or changed ‘em up for something different.

Instead of 1 full cup of blue cheese, I used only 1/2 cup of gorgonzola—a lot of cheese is not necessary when dealing with such powerful flavors.

Instead of regular bacon, I used turkey bacon.  The turkey bacon has fewer calories and less fat than regular bacon but note that it can have higher sodium-hence my choice to not use extra salt.  It's not missed though, thanks to the power of the gorgonzola.
I cut the stock in half for more flavor in the form of substituted white wine and vinegar.
We don't keep "real" butter in rotation at our place-though it's around from time to time when you can't skip the "fake" stuff,like in some baking....so I used Smart Balance(less cholesterol).
I am not a fan of scallions for this recipe as they often are too much a standout.  I prefer the sweeter, mellower shallot which works nicely with my addition of jalapeño which gives the chicken a kick.

Verdict: Success

This recipe is definitely deemed Neighbor-worthy.

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Contact me at themaniccheater@gmail.com

Chicken Parmesan

with Healthy Tweaking

THE PUPOSE OF HEALTHY TWEAKING IS, I HOPE, OBVIOUS: To take a meal or recipe that is already a favorite and make it a little healthier and less fattening without sacrificing too much of the flavor.

Ingredients

1 1/4 lb boneless chicken breast (3 breasts pounded, split width-wise to make 6 pieces)

3 eggs 2 egg whites beaten

flour (mixed with a pinch or two of salt and black pepper)

1/2 cup whole milk

Italian style bread crumbs homemade whole wheat bread crumbs (recipe to follow)

shredded whole milk mozzarella part-skim mozzarella

3 tablespoons romano cheese

vegetable spray

jar of tomato sauce marinara sauce (recipe to follow)

Whole wheat bread crumbs:

3-4 slices of whole wheat bread

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon 2-3 pinches of salt

1/2 teaspoon 2-3 pinches of black pepper
4 teaspoons paprika

Marinara:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion chopped

4 cloves garlic sliced length-wise

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3/4 tablespoon black pepper

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes

1 dry bay leaf

1/2 a palmful fresh basil torn

Pre-heat oven to 350º

Place your bread in a food processor and, well, process until fine crumbs are achieved.  Lay these out on a foil lined cookie sheet and cook on the top rack of your oven for about 10 minutes. (You can tell when they look just crunchy to be done-and not burnt.)

While the bread crumbs toast, spray a large skillet with a vegetable spray like PAM and heat olive oil on Medium-High.  As it warms, empty your tomatoes into a large bowl and crush them with your hands (**Personal suggestion-make sure to wash your hands before and if people are within viewing distance, I always find it comforting to make it so they see you washing them—otherwise they’ll always wonder…..).  Set aside.

When your bread crumbs are done, allow to cool and add paprika, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper to a bowl.  Add the cooled crumbs to the dry ingredients toss evenly and set aside.  Raise oven temp to 400º

Add your garlic to your heated pan.  The garlic will start to crackle quickly-you will want to make sure not to burn it.  When the browning starts and it becomes aromatic, lower the heat to medium.  Add your onions and cook until translucent. Add your tomatoes and red pepper flakes, stir and lower heat to low.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Allow to simmer.

While the marinara mellows, take your chicken breasts and cover with flour, followed by dipping in your egg whites and finally covering in bread crumbs.  Spray each side with vegetable spray and place in a glass baking dish.  Put the baking dish on the middle rack in your oven for about 15 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf and fold the basil into your simmering marinara.

Take your dish out and cover chicken with your marinara and sprinkle with a handful and a 1/2 of mozzarella and put back into oven for another 15 minutes.

Notes:

I pieced this together from different recipes and tweaked ‘em and made them what I thought would be appropriate.  I changed measurements from said recipes and added or swapped items.

Tweaks:
The  most obvious tweak would be that this recipe does not call for frying the chicken.
Substituted 3 eggs with 2 egg whites.

Removed milk from the recipe.

Substituted store bought Italian style breadcrumbs with home made whole wheat ones and for that recipe, removed some of the salt.

Substituted whole milk mozzarella for part-skim, used A LOT less of it and and removed the romano altogether.

Changed from a canned tomato sauce to a home-made marinara

These changes were made with the intent to take some of the sodium and fat out of the equation as well as some cholesterol.  The romano and salt were easy exclusions as they can always sit on the table and be used at each diner’s discretion.  The biggest choice, or smartest, is the choice not to fry.  Heart healthy, waist healthy.

Verdict: Eh

What would I change? 

I personally would use more salt—my blood runs pretty well and I can take it (knock on wood) at this point.  I have made this recipe with more success in the past with a tad less of a pro-health slant.  It tastes pretty good for a “healthified*” meal. 


That being said, though "pretty good for...", only a semi success- I did not deem this a neighbor-worthy meal to share.  Sorry guys.  Those cupcakes were good though so that should keep you sated for a while longer.

Suggestions: For those really concerned about losing too much flavor in favor of healthy choices, I suggest easing into this recipe.

*I cheat the English language by making up my own words.

RECALL: I realized weeks later that I forgot paprika in the whole wheat bread crumbs.



Want to be on the mailing list or have recipes to share? Contact me at themaniccheater@gmail.com.