Breaded Chicken Cutlets

So this is a recipe that I learned from one of my senior year roommates in college. Her father was a chef in NYC for many years, and she has inherited many of his cooking skills. This recipe came to me one night when we hosted a potluck dinner in our apartment, and she put me in charge of making the chicken cutlets. I'd never handled raw chicken in my life (yes I was 22 ha) and didn't even know what a meat pounder was (but I did know that the name was definitely something you could make jokes about). How far I've come in the 2 years since. The picture shown above is from chicken cutlets made from leftover chicken/egg wash from my Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe. You can cook it several ways (L taught me the frying pan method), but the one pictured was done in the oven. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 chicken breasts, sliced into thin cutlets 
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1 1/2 cup flour, all-purpose or whole-wheat
• 1 1/2 cup bread crumbs, regular or Italian-style
• Cooking oil

Directions:

~FOR BOTH FRYING & OVEN~

• Cut your chicken breasts into thin cutlets. Pound cutlets to make thinner. (Not necessary if you don't have a pounder, just cut them thin enough in the first place then!!)
• Put egg wash, flour, and bread crumbs into 3 separate bowls.

• Take a cutlet, dip it thoroughly in egg wash.
• Next, dip it thoroughly in flour, coating it evenly.
• Finally, dip and evenly coat cutlet in bread crumbs.
• Repeat with remaining cutlets.

~FRYING~

• Heat up oil in bottom of frying pan over medium heat. Watch once it gets really hot, little oil specks will fly up and hit you in the face/arms/chest/wherever they can get.
• Once oil/pan are heated, place cutlets in pan. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes. Repeat several times, flipping sides, until chicken is cooked and crumbs are brown and crunchy.
• Remove from heat and eat!

~OVEN~

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray cookie sheet with nonstick oil.
• Place cutlets on cookie sheet.
• Cook in oven for 11-16 minutes, or until cooked through.
• Broil for 3 minutes to brown.
• Remove from oven and eat!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ignore my messy kitchen table in the background. 

Usually I have a little trouble with meats (unless it's basic grilled chicken or spare ribs), mainly due to fear of giving myself food poisoning. And since I'm usually only feeding myself...oh well. Here, however, I managed to successfully cook it to its full delicious potential. Mom was surprised to hear I made this since I'm not a big ham person...but I'm ok with it cooked into things. I also managed to set off my fire alarm making this. Twice. It's really sensitive, even when NOTHING IS BURNING. Ugh. Awkward. Good thing I don't know most of my neighbors. Another note: remember to remove the toothpicks before eating. Don't ask why I know what an essential step this is.

Ingredients:

(Adapted from skinnytaste.com 's recipe)

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (really however many you want)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup of egg whites
• 1 tbsp of water
• Italian-style breadcrumbs
• 6 slices deli-sliced ham (I got the cheapest sale one, naturally)
• 6 slices/7-8 oz. Swiss cheese, sliced (You can buy them sliced, or get it cheaper in a block and slice it yourself, as I did. Definitely would have been easier if pre-sliced)
• toothpicks (don't eat them though)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice chicken breasts into VERY THIN cutlets. Pound them to make them even thinner, if you didn't cut thin enough. I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THINNESS ENOUGH. It really helps with the rolling later.

Most of these were honestly wayyy too thick

• Spray a cookie sheet with cooking oil.
• Cut each piece of cheese into squares/rectangles (so it nicely fits on chicken cutlet). Place on chicken cutlet.

• Place layer of ham, then another layer of cheese on top.

But more neatly than this, it was my first one

• Here comes the tough part: rolling the chicken. Pick an end and roll with it (as tightly as you can) (pun intended). Secure with a toothpick or 4, depending on if you made it too thick, as I did several times.
• Repeat with rest of cutlets.

Yea...some are nicer than others

One of two actually successful and pretty ones

Look at that beauty

• Whisk eggs/egg whites and water to make an egg wash. 

No worries, the funfetti in the background will be used soon

• Dip chicken cutlet rolls into egg wash, then bread crumbs.

• Bake in oven 25-30 minutes.
• Turn on the broiler for ~3 minutes to brown bread crumbs a bit. (This is how I set off the fire alarm the first time. Opened the broiler and whatever heat it emanated angered the fire alarm. Second fire alarm was set off b/c while trying to fan the alarm the first time, I left the chicken in for another minute or two, and got it a little charcoaled. Alarm #2 goes off b/c of this. This is my life)

See, they're not even that browned!!

• Remove toothpicks before eating, and serve!

Prep: 25 minutes

Yield: As many chicken cutlets as you made.

I served it with a side of my tri-color rotini pasta salad.

I also had leftover egg wash & breadcrumbs & poorly cut chicken cutlets, so I used them to make just regular breaded chicken cutlets: recipe here.

Four-Cheese Mac and Cheese

This was a lovely mother-daughter Mother's Day mac and cheese making experiment. Also an attempt at finding the elusive 4-cheese mac and cheese recipe I am still on the hunt for (this is not it, but it's very good). This also taught me that if you want your food browned, that's what a broiler is for...and where/how to use my broiler. (Press the broil button on my stove.)


Ingredients:

• 1 box pasta (I'd go with elbows, penne, etc.)
• 3 tbsp + 1 tsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk (I used skim.)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 8 oz. Gouda cheese, grated
• 4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 oz. Swiss cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2/3 cup plain panko bread crumbs (I used just plain Italian bread crumbs b/c they were on sale)

Directions:

• Coat 1 or 2 9x9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. (I used two b/c my mom and I split up the two between ourselves)
• Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.
• Drain & transfer to bowl.
• Heat 3 tbsp of butter in a medium-size saucepan until melted.
• Add flour, whisking to blend. Gradually add milk, whisk until smooth.
• Bring to a simmer over heat, stirring.
• Add onion powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer 3 minutes then remove from heat.
• Stir in Gouda, cheddar, Swiss, and 1/4 cup Parmesan until cheeses are melted and sauce is smooth. (My grater wasn't that good so it took a WHILE to grate it all...get your mom to do it like I did, or do it before you start cooking)

• Mix into cooked pasta and pour mixture into prepared dish(es).

• Separately, melted 1 tsp of butter.
• Stir in bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Divide evenly over pasta.
• Broil 3 minutes or until browned. (I broiled it in the toaster oven for ~20 min til it was browned).
• EAT!!!

Prep: 20 min (basically grating the cheese)

Yield: 12 servings

Rigatoni with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (16 oz.) pasta (I used rigatoni, but penne or anything similar works!)
• 1/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk (I used Nestle Carnation Fat Free Milk)
• 1 8 oz. package shredded Italian-style 4-cheese blend
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Instructions:

• Prepare pasta according to package directions. Add sun-dried tomatoes to boiling pasta water for last 2-4 minutes of cooking time.
• Combine evaporated milk, cheese, basil, garlic powder, and pepper in saucepan over medium heat. Cook until cheese is melted, remove.
• Add mix to sun-dried tomatoes and pasta and serve.

Prep: 10 minutes

Cooking: 15 minutes

Yields: 7 servings

Adding shrimp or chicken to it would be delicious as well. 

Side note: if your can opener breaks as you go to open your evaporated milk can, an alternative way of opening your can is to stab the top with a steak knife. Not recommended for those under the age of 16. Yes, that happened.

Enjoy!

Chicken broccoli stuffed shells recipe

It looked so good I couldn't
wait to take a picture until
after I'd already eaten some :)

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. Alfredo sauce (one jar)
• 2 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (I only used ~1.5 cups because I didn't feel like opening a second bag)
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese (It melts in, so no need to obsess over perfect shredding)
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 21 jumbo shells

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine and mix the Alfredo sauce, broccoli, chicken, and cheeses.
• Spoon into pasta shells.
• Place in a greased 13-inch x 9-inch baking pan.
• Cover and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. (I didn't cover it and cooked it for 30 minutes and it worked perfectly)

Prep: ~25 minutes

Yield: ~7 servings

Result: DELISH!!






Enjoy!!Original recipe borrowed from www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chicken-Broccoli-Shells. Thanks guys! :)