Wiener Schnitzel

This is a German dish my father learned how to make on his mission to Austria. I ate it frequently at my house as a child, and recently rediscovered it.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 pork loin cutlets (or boneless pork chops)

1/4 C. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 egg, beaten

2 T. milk

3/4 C. dry breadcrumbs

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. shortening

Directions:

1. Pound pork thin to about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut small slits around the edges to prevent curling as it cooks.

2. In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt, and pepper.

3. In a second dish, combine the egg and milk.

4. In a third dish, combine the breadcrumbs and paprika.

5. Coat both sides of the pork cutlets with flour mix, then egg mix, then breadcrumb mix.

6. Heat the shortening in a large skillet on medium heat. Cook the coated cutlets in the skillet 2-3 minutes each side. Remove from pan and serve immediately.

Source: My father, who has been known to wear a lederhosen.

Paula Deen's Peach Cobbler

Okay, have you ever noticed that Paula Deen's recipes almost all start out with "1 stick of butter"? Gotta love. And I love this recipe.

Paula Deen's Peach Cobbler
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
8 Tbs. butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 1/2 cup milk
ground cinnamon, optional

1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2-Combine peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan. Mix well.
3-Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes
4-Remove from heat.
5-Put butter in a 3 quart baking dish.
6-Put baking dish in oven to melt butter.
7-Mix 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Mix until just combined.
8-Pour over melted butter. DO NOT STIR.
9-Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup.
10-Sprinkle to with cinnamon (if desired).
11-Bake for 30-45 minutes.



Source: Food Network search "Paula Deen Peach Cobbler"

Nutella Hot Chocolate

I love Nutella.  Love, love, love it.  And once again, Pinterest provides another scrumptious idea on how to use it.  This is yummy, quick, and easy.  You can play around with the amount of Nutella to suit your personal taste.

Ingredients:
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1-2 Tbsp. Nutella (I eyeballed it)

1.  Place milk and Nutella in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, whisking until Nutella is fully incorporated into the milk.  (You could probably use one of those little cocoa machines with the spout too.)
2.  Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy.

Source:  found on Pinterest (no original source cited there)

Pink Grapefruit Sorbet

I loooooove Ruby Red grapefruit.  So when I saw a recipe for it on Pinterest, I had to give it a shot.  But when I cut into what should've been two Ruby Reds, I was shocked to see just your regular ol' grapefruit.  So disappointed.  But then I remembered that I had a large can of pink grapefruit juice in the pantry.  Surely that would do, even though fresh would be so much better.  So I used it, and it worked!  So delicious.

My next step after that was trying it with Agave Nectar instead of granulated sugar.  Still delicious!  If you love grapefruit, you'll love this.  You can adjust the amount of tart to sweet by adjusting the amount of juice and sweetener.  Taste it just before you're ready to put it into the machine and make your adjustments accordingly.

photo credit: me!

Pink Grapefruit Sorbet (original recipe)

1 1/2 cups fresh or canned grapefruit juice

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1.  Combine sugar and water in saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until sugar is dissolved.  Cool completely.
2.  When cool, add grapefruit juice and stir to combine.  Pour into freezer bowl of ice cream maker.  Turn machine on and freeze until slushy.  Transfer to an air tight container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

OR

Pink Grapefruit Sorbet (agave recipe)
1 1/2 cups fresh or canned grapefruit juice
1 cup agave nectar
2 cups water

1.  Combine juice, nectar, and water and stir until well mixed.
2.  Pour into freezer of ice cream machine and freeze as stated above.

Source:  can't remember, sorry!, also posted on my blog Weighward Woman

EASY Alfredo Sauce

My husband loves Chicken Alfredo. I rarely make it due to it's richness and HIGH calorie/fat content. I came across this recipe earlier this week and new I had to give it a shot.

Creamy Garlic Alfredo Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 6 pieces (see note above)
1 cup milk (see note above)
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste, if needed

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium pot or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, taking care not to let the garlic burn.
Add the cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. It will look curdled at first, but with constant whisking for 2-3 minutes, it should come together to form a smooth, creamy paste.
Add the milk gradually, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking quickly and constantly until each addition is incorporated fully into the sauce.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is the desired consistency.
Cook for 2-3 minutes for a thicker sauce or remove right after the cheese is melted for a thinner sauce.
Serve immediately over hot, cooked noodles.

Comments: I opted to use skim milk and low fat cream cheese. There was a very slight grittiness to the sauce, but it was worth it to me to not have the extra calories and fat. While the sauce was cooking I had noodles boiling, chicken baking in the oven, and some broccoli steaming. Throw it all together.... and you have one yummy meal!

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Cooking Pasta

I was hanging out at my good friend Susan's house and we were, of  course, in the kitchen.  I was looking through a pasta cookbook that she has and found these instructions for cooking pasta.  This is the only way I will cook pasta now!  So easy and you don't have to throw those noodles up against the wall to see if they will stick--who still does that?  Come on, 'fess up!

Photo by Suat Eman/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1.  Bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil.

2.  Add desired amount of salt and pasta (you could put a little olive oil in if you are worried that it will stick).

3.  Stir pasta, constantly, for 2 minutes.

4.  Put lid on pot and remove from heat. 

5.  Set your timer for 10 minutes and go work on the rest of your meal.

6. After 10 minutes, drain your pasta and it is ready to rock and roll!

Here's another tip:  get a pasta pot with the removable strainer.  It is well worth it and can be used for other things like boiling potatoes, corn, just about anything that you would need to drain water off of.  Seriously...I love mine.

Chicken Cordon Bleu - Super Easy

We love the flavor of Chicken Cordon Bleu, however, it can be time consuming. This recipe combines the yummy flavors of the dish. Omits the gravy making it less work and calories!

Ingredients:
12 boneless skinless chicken tenders
Lemon Pepper
Dried chopped onions
12 slices of deli style ham - I use honey ham
6 slices Swiss Cheese
1 1/2 cups Corn Flake Crumbs (crushed Corn Flakes)


1. Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan with non-stick spray
2. Arrange chicken pieces in pan and sprinkle lightly with Lemon Pepper and Dried Onions
3. Place ham slices on top of each other and cut in half - place two half pieces on each chicken tender
4. Cut cheese slices in half to make 12 pieces - place one piece on each chicken tender
5. Sprinkle corn flake crumbs on top. Cover with aluminum foil
6. Bake in 400 degree oven for 30 min. Removing foil the last 10 minutes.

This can be frozen for up to 2 months. Freeze before baking.


Source: A Jennie Original