Simple Chicken Cutlets

Chicken cutlets is a dish I grew up having frequently in my home. It is quick to make, and something obviously any beginning cook should be able to make. In fact, everything on the plate above is very to make and takes just minutes.

Broccoli
I purchased broccoli crowns at the supermarket and cut the up. I steamed them. I put an inch of water with some salt in a half quart pan, and placed a metal steamer inside.

When the water boils add the broccoli. Steam them until they turn a bright green (which is not going to be very long) and fork tender. If you don't have a steamer that is okay, you can cook the broccoli in the pot without the steamer and they will still come out fine. Between 5 and 8 minutes. It may also depend on how much you purchased. It can be as long as 10 minutes.  Butter before placing on the table.

Noodles
For the noodles you should follow the directions on the package. They are all a little different because it all depends on the thickness of the noodle. A little science knowledge from Alton Brown can go a long way. Water and salt is the keep to good noodles.Always add salt to the water. Make sure you cook the noodles in plenty of water. Butter before placing on the table.

Chicken Cutlets
Chicken breasts
all purpose flour
eggs
plain breakcrumbs or panko
canola oil
black pepper
salt
Line everything up in this order.
Clean and prepare the chicken cutlets. Pat dry.
Place some flour on a plate seasoned with salt and pepper.
Beat some eggs in a bowl. If you are cooking 6 or 8 chicken cutlets you will need at least 3 eggs .
Place panko or plain breadcrumbs on a plate.
Start by dipping cutlets in flour. Work to cover thoroughly.
Dip the cutlet in the egg.
Then place the chicken in the panko or plain bread crumbs. Cover thoroughly.
When almost all the cutlets are covered, heat a deep saute pan at medium high heat. When hot add some canola oil.
When the oil is hot and sizzles add the chicken cutlets, cook until the cutlets are browned on both sides, turning once, and make sure the chicken is no longer pink in the middle or 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Note: For this recipe I used large organic eggs, and organic chicken cutlets, treated with no chemicals.

The chicken cutlets were a hit!

Related articles

• Chicken Teriyaki
• Southwestern Chicken
• Pleasantville Meatloaf Revisited
• Homemade Fluffy Butter Frosting on the Happy Cake for Mother's Day
• Review: Other People's Money at the Ivoryton Playhouse

Pleasantville Meatloaf Revisited

Here is the Pleasantville Meatloaf. It is definitely a meal that looks like it belongs in the 1950s. It is fitting that it looks like that since it is one of my favorite movies. I love Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire in this movie and how they overcome adversity.

This is the picture from Pleasantville I felt fitting for this blog. It may not be meatloaf but it is food from the kitchen.
When I had originally started blogging in 2009 my boyfriend wanted me to make a meatloaf so I made this one, but what I didn't say was that the recipe serves 8 people and he didn't want me to make this gigantic meatloaf for 2 people. He wanted me to make it much smaller, so I cut the recipe down.

Pleasantville Meatloaf
Adapted from Dinner and a Movie
Serves 3-4
Glaze:
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
For the loaf:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 Vidilia onion or 1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon dried herbs (basil, oregano, parsley, etc.)
1 1/4 t Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 1/4 lbs meatloaf mix
In a small bowl mix the glaze ingredients and set aside.
In another small bowl place the buttermilk and oatmeal to sit for at least for 5 minutes or more.
Saute onions and garlic in the tablespoon olive oil until translucent about minutes or so.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl place the beaten egg, yogurt, Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, dried herbs, oatmeal,  and meatloaf mix. Add the onions and garlic and mix to combine.
Note: Meatloaf will appear liquidy, but the oatmeal and the meatloaf will soak up the liquid.
Pull out a roaster pan or a cookie sheet with a rim and place aluminum foil on top. Oil the aluminum foil. Dump the Meatloaf atop the aluminum foil and use the aluminum foil to center it and shape the meatloaf.

Here I have shaped the meatloaf in the aluminum foil. After you shape it, Glaze it with half of the glaze. Then place a thermometer in the meatloaf, and place it in the oven.
The meatloaf takes about an hour to cook. The thermometer should read 165 F.
After 45 minutes put the rest of the glaze on the meatloaf.
When the meatloaf is finished take out of the oven and eat to your hearts content.

Why feed 8 for 4 when you can feed less?

Related articles

• Homemade Fluffy Butter Frosting on the Happy Cake for Mother's Day
• Chicken Teriyaki
• Southwestern Chicken
• Review: Other People's Money at the Ivoryton Playhouse

Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken teriyaki has always been a favorite in my home. We've had Kikkoman Teryaki Marinade where we have marinaded the chicken in the marinade from the supermarket. I believe I made another teriyaki recipe from someone else online. Now I have this recipe, which is old which I do not even know where it originally came from. Almost all these Asian recipes do seem to have one thing in common - Sherry.

This recipe, just to let you know is written for the broiler, but you, of course, may obviously, also cook it on the grill. It is considered a very might summer recipe, excellent to be served with salad, perfect for Memorial Day Weekend!

For this recipe you will need:
a whole chicken, cut into pieces, or 2 and a half or 3 lbs chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks, or whatever you like
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 garlic glove, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger
Vegetable oil for oiling roasting pan or grill
Place the chicken pieces into a shallow pan or a marinating pan along with the other rest of the ingredients and marinate in the refrigerator for two hours or more.

I placed the chicken pieces in a shallow pan. Turn the at least once if you do put them in the pan. Place the chicken in the refrigerator while the chicken marinates.
After the two hours has passed or when you are ready to broil or grill the chicken. Oil the broiler pan or the grill with the vegetable oil. If broiling, broil the chicken 5 to 6 inches away from the broiler unit. Broil until 8 minutes on each side, basting frequently. Cook until chicken is cooked through.

Here they are fresh out of the oven.
The chicken was excellent, as the recipe was easy, but then you can always count on most marinating recipes to be easy.

I have been a little slow on my writing lately but recently I wrote an article on Comments! Comments! Where are The Comments? you may find interesting if you are a blogger.
If you enjoy Teryaki try the chicken.

Related articles

• Southwestern Chicken
• Homemade Fluffy Butter Frosting on the Happy Cake for Mother's Day
• The Cake that Cassandra Made
• Review: Other People's Money at the Ivoryton Playhouse

Homemade Fluffy Butter Frosting on the Happy Cake for Mother's Day

Here is the second cake I made, this time for Mother's Day.

I used Duncan Hines Confetti Cake Mix to make the cake, and this time I decided to make the frosting myself.

Here are the cakes out of the oven.

Here is the frosting finished, which I added yellow food  coloring to in honor of Spring time. My boyfriend decided to call a Happy Cake.

The frosting recipe comes from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook and it is described as being light and airy.

Fluffy Butter Frosting
Enough frosting for an 8 or 9 inch cake.
4 tablespoons butter (I use unsalted)
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, divided
2 egg whites
Cream the butter, and add 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar.
Beat the egg whites in a mixer until foamy and thick. Add the 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Beat until stiff.
Blend together the two mixtures. If the frosting is too liquidity add more confectioners' sugar to make it easier to spread on the cake. The frosting hardens as it sits.

Note:
If you add your sugar to the egg whites too early, this is as stiff as your egg whites will get. This is not what you want.

When you are all done you get this?

And if you are lucky enough, your guests will eat practically all your cake.

Hope everyone had a great Mother's day!
So this is what I made for Mother's Day as part of our family celebration.
What did you make for Mother's Day?

Related articles

• The Cake that Cassandra Made
• Southwestern Chicken
• Review: Other People's Money at the Ivoryton Playhouse
• Passover Seder Invitation and Matzah Brittle
• My Pork Creation

Southwestern Chicken

My boyfriend was craving southwest chicken. He is a salsa fan. He often picks up the organic salsa in the produce section when he is craving salsa and eats it with his eats his eggs. So he told me that he wanted a southwestern chicken dish. I remembered in my cookbooks that I have a Southwestern Cookbook  from Favorite Recipes published in 1989. So I decided to make....

Keam's Canyon Chicken
Makes 4 servings
4 cups tortilla chips, processed into rough coarse crumbs with a food processor or crushed in a plastic bag with a rolling pin
1 chicken, cut up into pieces (recipe calls for 3 to 3 1/2 lbs but can be as big as 4 1/2 lbs), or various chicken pieces you like
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 package (1 1/4 ounces) taco seasoning mix
2 to 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup sour cream or more
1 medium avocado if desired
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Salsa
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Place tortilla chips on a large plate. Mix butter and taco seasoning mix in pie plate. Dip chicken in butter taco mixture than cover with tortilla chips than place in a 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake, uncovered, 1 hour or until juices run clean .

To serve:
Arrange chicken on a bed of shredded lettuce, top with sour cream (or place it on the side), along with the salsa, and a slice of avocado if desired.

The dish went over very well. It was might tasty. Maybe the only extra it needs now is a little guacamole?

Related articles

• The Cake that Cassandra Made
• Passover Seder Invitation and Matzah Brittle
• My Pork Creation
• Review: Other People's Money at the Ivoryton Playhouse

Review: Other People's Money at the Ivoryton Playhouse

Image courtesy of the Ivoryton Playhouse

Other People's Money, the last time I heard those words uttered concerned the movie which was released originally on October 18, 1991 starring Danny DeVito. It was based on the play written by Jerry Sterner, which is the play being performed right now at the Ivoryton Playhouse.

Edward Kasser* (pictured above) plays Lawrence Garfinkle, a Corporate Raider interested in Rhode Island's New England Wire and Cable.

Gary Allen Poe* is Andrew "Jorgy" Jorgenson,the owner Rhode Island business

Dennis Fox* plays William Coles, the President who runs the company

Denise Walker plays Bea Sullivan, Jorgy's assistant

Elizabeth Donnelly*(pictured above) is Kate Sullivan, Bea's daughter

The story involves issues of ethics as well as social and economic justice versus objectivism or capitalism.  This is a game of strategy and power and money. Jerry Sterner, the man who wrote the play, spent much of his life in business before play writing that is why this story is so interesting.

Maggie McGlone Jennings directs this production.

See the world of business from the top down. The actors performed their parts to a tee; the stage fit the scene, and the actors were fitted to fit their parts. I personally would love to own the shoes worn by Ms. Donnelly. The only message left is to go and see the show!