Nearly 6 Months

I've had quite the hiatus ... adding Baby G to the family back in November has taken time from my other 'baby' (this blog).

And aren't these two very cute, very good reasons to take a break? 

Now, that's not to say I haven't been trying new recipes - I've just been working through all the meals I stockpiled in the freezer (about 5 weeks worth) and I'm been very selective and limited by how much time I can spend in the kitchen. 

If I had all the time in world, I'd happily a) clone myself so one of me could enjoy my 1st favorite past time (those two loves pictured above) and 2) send the other me to spend afternoons making fantastic dinners ... so far, the cloning hasn't worked out. Drat. 

So, in the spirit of getting back in the swing of things, here's one of the more recent recipe discoveries. I've made it several times - it may look like a lot of instructions, but the steps are pretty simple and you can have it on the table in 30 minutes. Plus, it's very forgiving (choose a different combo/proportion of cheeses, omit some of the spices, forget the basil (oops), etc.) and equally good as a sandwich or cold leftovers for lunch. 

Best Chicken Parmesan
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated, March/April 2013

Ingredients

Marinara sauce, warmed - your favorite store-bought brand or homemade
2 (8 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, halved horizontally, and pounded to 1/2-inch thick
salt
2 oz whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)
2 oz provolone cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)
1 large egg
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup torn fresh basil

Preparation 
Sprinkle each side of the chicken cutlet lightly with salt (about 1/16 tsp per each side), let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. 
Combine Mozzarella and Provolone cheese in a bowl, set aside. Adjust oven rack 4-inches from broiler element and preheat broiler.
In a shallow dish, whisk together flour and egg until smooth. In a separate shallow dish, toss together Parmesan cheese, Panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, oregano and 1/4 tsp pepper. 
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working with 1 chicken cutlet at a time, dredge chicken in egg mixture coating both sides and allowing excess to run off, then immediately transfer to Parmesan mixture and coat both sides with mixture, while pressing gently to allow crumbs to adhere. Transfer chicken to a plate and repeat process with remaining chicken cutlets. 
Pour 2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and vegetable oil into a 10-inch non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add 2 coated chicken cutlets and fry without moving them until bottom is crispy and golden brown, about 2 minutes, then using metal tongs rotate to opposite side and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer fried chicken to a large plate lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat process with remaining 2 pieces of chicken.
Place cutlets on rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle Mozzarella cheese mixture evenly over cutlets. Broil in oven until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, about 2 - 4 minutes (keep a close eye on it). Remove from oven and cover each cutlet with 2 Tbsp marinara sauce. Sprinkle tops evenly with remaining 1/4 cup fresh basil and serve immediately, adding additional sauce while enjoying, as desired.

 

Rosemary White Bean Soup

I am in full nesting mode around here. As of today, the baby is coming in 3 weeks, 6 days ... and that means I've got some cooking to do. (Even as I'm updating this, I'm boiling water for the two pans of baked ziti that will be saved for later meals.)

Tom calls it "doomsday prepping" -- while I call it 'good thinking' to be stockpiling meals and freezing just about anything that moves and can be thawed and edible again, and entering said meals into a spreadsheet so I can find them in easily in the deep freezer or regular fridge-freezer. (And it fits perfectly with my planning Virgo personality)
 
So while I'm freezing most of this soup for now, I had enough left over that just wouldn't fit in my freezer bags for my lunch (funny how that happens). It's rustic Tuscan at its best - simple and lets the flavors of the beans shine. 

Rosemary White Bean Soup 

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients

1 pound dried white cannellini beans

4 cups sliced yellow onions (3 onions)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup dry sherry

1 large branch fresh rosemary (6 to 7 inches)

1 bay leaf

2 quarts vegetable/chicken stock

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Drizzle of good oil and/or crisped bacon/pancetta, optional

Preparation

In a medium bowl, cover the beans with water by at least 1-inch and leave them in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. Drain.

In a large stockpot over low to medium heat, sauté the onions with the olive oil until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for 3 more minutes. Add the dry sherry and cook until most of the moisture is gone, about 5-7 minutes.  Wrap rosemary and bay leaf in cheesecloth bundle and add to pot along with drained white beans and stock. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, until the beans are very soft. Remove the rosemary branch and the bay leaf bundkle. Pass the soup through the coarsest blade of a food mill, or place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until coarsely pureed. Return the soup to the pot to reheat and add salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve hot drizzled with olive oil and crumbled, crisped bacon.

Quick Chinese Beef Broccoli

I had a hankerin' for a rice bowl, definitely looking for something saucy, maybe some beef would be good too ... but wasn't really wanting an overly difficult dinner.  

I happened upon this recipe - and it's just as good (if not better and healthier) than the takeout version!

Tip: If you freeze the beef for about 35-40 minutes, it gets just firm enough to slice really thin - allowing for the marinade to soak in, a quicker cooking time and less tough meat.

Chinese Beef & Broccoli

Ingredients 
1/3 cup oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/3 cup sherry
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 pound beef flank steak, trimmed and cut into 1/8-inch thick strips
3 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more if needed
1 thick slice of fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1 pound broccoli, cut into florets

Preparation

Whisk together the oyster sauce, sesame oil, sherry, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Place the steak pieces into a shallow bowl, pour the oyster sauce mixture over the meat, stir to coat well, and marinate for at least 30 minutes in refrigerator.

Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, and stir in the ginger and garlic. Let them sizzle in the hot oil for about 1 minute to flavor the oil, then remove and discard. Stir in the broccoli, and toss and stir in the hot oil until bright green and almost tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the broccoli from the wok, and set aside.

Pour a little more oil into the wok, if needed, and stir and toss the beef with the marinade until the sauce forms a glaze on the beef, and the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Return the cooked broccoli to the wok, and stir until the meat and broccoli are heated through, about 3 minutes.