Open Face Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

I try not to post too many recipes of the semi-homemade variety, but this one is just too good to keep to myself.  It's so ridiculously easy, half the work is already done before you even start.  Just buy yourself some good quality items so it doesn't taste like you didn't make it. 

Chicken parmesan is a delicious yet decadent proposition, so I had to try Ellie's healthy version and see what it was like.  To be honest, I don't know that the die-hard chicken parm fans (like my husband) will be fooled, but it covers the biggest criteria in my opinion - the cheese and the marinara sauce.  The spinach is a nice touch to round out the meal.  Bottom line is, it will work in a pinch, and it's tasty.

Open Face Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 whole grain Italian loaf or baguette

1 cup jarred marinara sauce

2 cooked chicken cutlets (I poached mine - grilled would be great)

2 cups baby spinach leaves

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat broiler and place foil on the broiler tray.

2.  Slice the bread in half lengthwise to make two pieces.  Scoop out the bread to remove the soft inner portion and save for another use (like breadcrumbs).  Place the bread scooped side up on the broiler tray.

3.  Spoon 1/4 cup of sauce into each piece of bread.  Lay a piece of chicken on top and cover with 1 cup of spinach leaves.  Pour another 1/4 cup of sauce over the spinach, then sprinkle each sandwich with 1/4 cup mozzarella and 1 tablespoon parmesan.

4.  Broil until spinach is wilted and cheese is bubbly and browned, 4 to 5 minutes.  Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Cabbage and Lime Salad with Roasted Peanuts

This is a refreshingly different sort of salad, just bursting with zesty lime flavor.  It's another great example of ordinary ingredients turned extraordinary.  Just grab a couple of cabbages, some limes, and a bunch of spinach at the farmer's market, and you're most of the way there.  The crunch of peanuts serves as a delicious bonus.

This salad comes together easily, but you do have to be somewhat premeditated because of the two hours of resting time.  I actually wilted the cabbage in salt the night before, since by the time it had rested for two hours I would have been criminally hungry.  The wilted cabbage keeps, covered in the refrigerator, for up to a couple of days, so you can get that part out of the way in advance. 

You can happily enjoy this as a main course salad with some bread, or use it as a slaw with tasty BBQ.  You might be tempted to add cilantro (I don't know about you, but lime and cilantro are naturally associated in my brain), but I'd recommend tasting it first.  As much as I love cilantro, I think it would turn this into a completely different dish, and not necessarily in a good way. 

Cabbage and Lime Salad with Roasted Peanuts

adapted from The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern

serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 small red cabbage, trimmed, cored, and shredded

1/2 small green cabbage, trimmed, cored, and shredded

1 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

1 bunch of fresh spinach leaves, cut into 1/2-inch ribbons

1 lime, segmented

juice of two limes

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup canola oil (peanut oil if you have it)

1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.  In a large bowl, toss the cabbages with the salt.  Transfer to a colander, place over the bowl, and let sit for two hours to drain.  After two hours have passed, discard the salty water in the bowl (after admiring the pretty color), rinse and dry the bowl, and return the cabbage to it.

2.  Add spinach and lime segments to the bowl.  In a medium bowl, whisk lime juice, mustard and cumin together.  Stream in the canola oil, whisking constantly, to emulsify the dressing.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss together.  Toss in the peanuts and serve.

Enjoy!

Moroccan Green Bean Tagine

Tonight our culinary journey takes us to Morocco!  This is a spicy (as in spice-y, not as in hot) and rich vegetable dish that will absolutely stun you with the way it manages to be complex and simple at the same time.  You'll need to raid the spice cupboard for this one, so be prepared!

I know this looks a lot like a green bean dish I made a few weeks ago, but it's actually quite different.  It's all about the spices - allspice, chile powder, garam masala, basil, and paprika all together?  Who's have thought they could combine so naturally.  They mingle and get lost in one another to the point where I think you'd be hard pressed to identify the individual spices if you didn't make it yourself.   The flavor is finished off with a tangy red wine vinegar glaze.

This would be gorgeous over cous cous or even rice, but I chose to go the traditional Moroccan route and scoop it up with flat bread (I used pita because it was what I had on hand) - no bed of grains needed! 

Moroccan Green Bean Tagine

adapted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper

serves 3

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound green beans, trimmed

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons dry red or white wine

one 15-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

water as needed

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Heat oil over medium-high in a large, straight-sided saute pan.  Add green beans and onions, and season with salt and pepper.  Saute for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are browning.  Stir in garlic and all the spices (allspice through paprika); cook until fragrant, no more than one minute.

2.  Pour in the vinegar and wine, and boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up any browned bits.  When the liquid is completely gone, stir in tomatoes and their juices.  The green beans should be just barely covered in liquid - you will need to add some water to accomplish this.  Bring to a bare simmer and cover; cook, removing lid to stir occasionally, for 10 minutes or until beans are tender.

3.  Remove the cover and raise heat to a rapid boil.  Cook off excess liquid, stirring often to protect the beans from burning.  Cook until the sauce is thick and rich.  Season as necessary and serve.

Enjoy!

Pizza Rolls

This is more of a concept than a recipe, inspired by something that Giada made on her show a while ago.  You take some store-bought pizza dough, put some toppings on it, roll it up and bake it, and voila!  Pizza rolls.  It's remarkably simple, yet completely tasty and crowd-pleasing.

Today I made two - one with just marinara and cheese to please every palate, and the other was slightly more interesting, so that is the one I'm featuring here today.  You can, of course, put anything you like in it.  So long as you don't go for any toppings that are super chunky, you'll be able to roll it up into a pinwheel.  Just slice it up, put it out on a tray, and watch your guests gobble it up.

Pizza Rolls

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. store-bought pizza dough (preferably whole wheat)

flour for your work surface

2 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

one 15 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat liner.

2.  Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out the pizza dough to about 12 inches around.  Distribute the mozzarella slices fairly evenly around the pizza, followed by artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes.

3.  Carefully roll up the pizza into a cylinder, tucking in the edges to seal.  It will look like a giant burrito.  Brush with olive oil and season the top lightly with salt and pepper.

4.  Place on baking sheet, seam-side down, and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.  Cheese might leak out, and that is perfectly okay.  Let cool a few minutes, then cut into 1-inch slices with a serrated knife.  Serve.

Enjoy!

Havarti Chicken

This is a simple yet interesting chicken dinner that can easily be thrown together on a weeknight.  It's elegant, it's different, it's good.  A crunchy bread crumb crust combined with an ooey melty cheese center?  What's not to like?  Top it all off with some creamy avocado slices and you have a meal fit for company.


Be cautious about your cooking time - this is basically an extra thick piece of chicken after you roll it up, so you want to make sure it is completely cooked through, but not overcooked. 

Havarti Chicken

adapted from The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for the dish

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

2 quarter inch thick slices Havarti cheese

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup dry white wine

avocado slices for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Drizzle a little bit of olive oil in a baking dish and spread it around.

2.  After pounding chicken breasts to even thickness, sprinkle with seasoned salt.

3.  Combine the olive oil with oregano and parsley.  Drizzle about 1/2 tablespoon of the mixture over each chicken breast.  Top each with a strip of cheese at one end.  Roll up the chicken breast, starting at the end that has the cheese, adn tucking in the edges so the rolls are the same length.

4.  In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs with salt and pepper to taste.  Drizzle the chicken breast roll-ups with remaining oil/herb mixture, then dunk in the bread crumbs to coat all over.  Place in the baking dish, seam side down.  Drizzle with wine.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  

5.  Serve topped with avocado slices.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Mousse (CEiMB)

This week was an extra special Craving Ellie in My Belly week for me, since it was my turn to pick the recipe!  What an honor.  Since we started the week with Valentine's Day, it seemed fitting to choose something chocolate.  (Oh who am I kidding, I would probably have chosen something chocolate anyway).

This is Ellie's take on chocolate mousse.  It's a very smooth, almost pudding-ish mousse.  But it is completely delicious.  I know many are skeptical of desserts containing tofu, but have no fear, if you use good quality chocolate and you top it with a little home-made whipped cream, you seriously cannot taste the tofu in this dessert.

I tend to tweak the recipes a bit, but this week I stayed true to the recipe, since I felt it was my duty as the hostess.  The only change I made was to use whiskey instead of brandy, since it was what I had on hand.  Some ideas I saw online were to use orange liqueur or mint extract, which I think would be delicious too, but would make this mousse taste less purely chocolatey.

Chocolate mousse is pretty much a crowd-pleaser, and this version is no exception.  Whether you make it for your special someone or for a group of guests, you will not be disappointed.

Thanks, CEiMBers, for cooking along with me this week!

Dark Chocolate Mousse

from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 (12.3 ounce) package silken tofu, drained

3 ounces high quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon brandy (or whiskey)

1/2 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

chocolate shavings for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Puree the silken tofu in a food processor until completely smooth.

2.  In a heat-proof bowl over a pot of barely simmering water (or in a double-boiler),  combine the bittersweet chocolate, cocoa powder, water, and brandy.  Stir frequently until melted and smooth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar, a little at a time, until smooth.

3.  Add the chocolate mixture to the tofu in the food processor and puree until well-combined and smooth.  You may have to stop it a few times to scrape down the sides.

4.  Pour the mousse into individual serving dishes, cover tightly, and refrigerator for at least one hour, up to three days, to set properly.  

5.  When you're going to serve,  beat the 1/4 cup heavy cream with an electric mixer until just starting to form soft peaks.  Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon sugar, continue to beat until it is the texture of whipped cream.  Top the servings of mousse with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings (use a vegetable peeler on your chocolate bar to create shavings).  Serve.

Enjoy!

Mango Dal

Lentils don't appear to be a particularly interesting food group, but India has given them a whole new life in the form of dal.  Dal takes something ordinary and makes it virtually unrecognizable.  There is a huge variety of types of dal, and I don't pretend to know even a fraction of them.  But I will say that today I tried a type I'd never had before, and I made it in my own kitchen. 

Dal, meet mango.  I understand from some rudimentary internet research that it is actually a very traditional dish, but my passion for Indian food had yet to take me here.  Put my favorite fruit into a lentil dish?  I'm there. 

This is a spicy, warm dish that you simply have to try.  Every bite is packed with unexpected flavor.  Ginger and mango naturally go together - they are soul mates.  Add in traditional Indian spices like cumin and coriander, and you're well on your way.  The fresh bite of cilantro finishes the whole thing off.  Lentils are ordinary no longer!

Note:  Don't wait for all the liquid to be absorbed - this is meant to be a slightly soupy dal.

Mango Dal

adapted from Eating Well magazine

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup yellow or green lentils (I used green)

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

pinch cayenne pepper

1 mango, peeled and diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Rinse lentils in a colander and drain.  Combine with 2 cups of water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and turmeric in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer, cover partially and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, ginger, coriander, and cayenne, and cook for an additional minute.

3.  Add the onion mixture and the diced mango to the pot of lentils and stir to combine.  Bring back to a simmer and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until lentils are very tender and starting to fall apart.  Stir in cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!