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.

Glazed Cranny-Apple Chicken Sandwich

Verdict: Success

Neighbor-worthy

This one is mine.  It is pieced together from many recipes that I have used in the past, so don't get me wrong, it is totally stolen. It is however an amalgamation of enough sources that it has morphed into my own creation (not to mention I don't recall where I got them all from nor whose they are).

It is a sweet and savory sandwich which is a perfect summer bite.

(Intended for 2 sandwiches with some extra spread just in case you want more)

Ingredients:

Multi-grain bread toasted

Rotisserie chicken breast sliced thin

1 granny smith apple sliced thin

Honey

4 oz fat-free cream cheese (room temperature)

1/4 cup craisons

1 teaspoon black pepper

4 slices center cut bacon

Lettuce

In a medium bowl, mix craisons and cream cheese until smooth.  Add the pepper and mix until you have a nice speckled spread.  Lie out your apple slices and drizzle with honey and set aside.  Pan fry your bacon until crispy in a small skillet (or large, I don't care). Toast your bread and plate. 

Lie your lettuce on one slice of toast (this will be the bottom) and top that with your chicken (as much as you prefer).  Top that with your apple slices followed by the bacon.  Spread the, well, spread  on your other slice of toast and top off the sandwich.  Eat it. 

Notes:

I love it and so does the bf.

Perfect for those who like salty and sweet at the same time.   If that's not your thing, skip this.

Injuries:
I sliced into my thumb while slicing my apple.  I cursed that S.O.B.

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.

Simple Pesto Chicken and Prosciutto Panini

Ingredients:

ciabatta bread sliced in half (and cut into pieces appropriate for a sandwich)

small bottle pesto home-made pesto

grilled chicken  4 baked, marinated chicken breast, pounded and cut into pieces cut at a

   diagonal (simple prep instructions to follow)

prosciutto sliced thin (as much as you want)

reduced-fat provolone slices

fresh basil (a handful)

Marinade:

olive oil (eye it)

red wine vinegar (eye it)

oregano (eye it)

garlic powder (eye it)

salt (eye it)

pepper (eye it)

romano (eye it) Wishbone Italian dressing

Pesto:

(This recipe is intended for plentiful batch that can be used for future recipes.  See Notes

   Section for more information.)

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

      *To make this Really Simple Pesto Chicken and Prosciutto Panini, go ahead and use jarred (wuss).

Pre-heat your oven to 400º

Set your panini press to High

Pesto:

Put the pine nuts, garlic, basil, salt and pepper into your food processor and “process” on low for about 30 seconds.  While it breaks down your ingredients, stream in the olive oil through that hole-thing where that pushy thing goes.  When you pureed the ingredients, add the romano and puree for an additional 45 seconds to a minute. Put in the fridge to cool.

Chicken:

Make a high-lipped aluminum foil boat, for lack of a better term (basically a lipped floor that will hold liquid) and lay on a cookie sheet, covering it with a foil lid.  Add your chicken in it.  Smother it with your salad dressing, cover and cook in oven for about 25 minutes.  Remove your “boat” and take the cover off and allow to cool.

Panini:

Spread your pesto on both sides of your ciabatta slices.  Layer your chicken slices on the bottom piece of ciabatta.  Cover with slices of provolone and a generous portion of prosciutto.  Place on lower plate of panini press and, well, press with the upper level.  Allow to cook for like 5 minutes---check all you want.  Crisp is nice. Hard and burnt, not so much.

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.

Pesto recipe yields enough to be used for future recipes.  You my freeze your pesto by covering the pesto with a think layer of olive oil and kept in an air tight container.

Tweaks:

I chose to use home-made pesto to be at least a little fulfilling in the “I made it” department.

I chose to skip the grilling in favor of baking in a marinade for a more flavorful chicken.

Cheats:

In the spirit of keeping this meal Simple, I skipped what I would normally use to make my own marinade (I’ll do that as a post another day) and used the perfect poor college guy replacement: Wishbone Italian dressing.  Works perfectly.

*To further cheat and increase the level of Simple, skip the pesto steps and use jarred.

Verdict: Success

This recipe is deemed Neighbor-worthy, I just didn’t make enough to share, sorry. 

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