CHICKEN PARMESAN

I recently tried this dish for the first time. My friend who dines with me every Wednesday ordered this and I thought it looked good. SO I tried it when Penny and I went out, and LOVED IT !!

So what do you do when you love a dish?? You make it yourself !!

First time I made this at home we had left over sauce that we used. 

But my Buddy is coming over for dinner, and I thought I would use my “Souped Up Ragu” sauce that we just posted. (leaving out the meat)

So if you have your adult beverage, let's get started on the sauce.

SAUCE

2 Jars of Ragu Traditional Sauce

½ Cup Peppers (Chopped)

¼ Cup Onion (chopped)

3 Cloves Garlic (Chopped)

A few shakes of Italian Herbs and Oregino

8 Oz Chopped Fresh Mushrooms (or Can)

Directions

Saute Onions, then add Peppers

When just about sauteed, add the Garlic and cook for about 30 seconds

Add the jars of sauce, mushrooms and all the spices

Cook on Simmer for about 30 minutes (Can go longer)

Now for the Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Eggs

1 cup Panko bread crumbs, or more as needed

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup all-purpose flour, or more if needed

1 cup olive oil for frying

1/2 cup prepared Tomato sauce

1/2 cup prepared Tomato sauce

1/4 cup Mozzarella

1/4 cup chopped fresh Basil

1/2 cup grated Provolone cheese

2 TBL grated Parmesan cheese (NOT THAT CRAP IN THE GREEN CAN !!!!)

1 tablespoon olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Place chicken breasts between two sheets of heavy plastic (resealable freezer bags work well) on a solid, level surface.

Firmly pound chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet to a thickness of 1/2-inch. You are NOT sinking a 4 x 4 in the ground, so don't beat it to death. I got one flatter than I wanted. Go slow.

Season chicken thoroughly with salt and pepper.

I like salt & pepper.

Beat eggs in a shallow bowl and set aside.

Mix bread crumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in a separate bowl, set aside.

Place flour in a shallow bowl and set aside 

Dip a chicken breast in the flour and coat both sides. 

Dip flour coated chicken breast in beaten eggs.

Transfer breast to breadcrumb mixture, pressing the crumbs into both sides. Repeat for each breast. Set aside breaded chicken breasts for about 15 minutes.

(I put them in the frigerdator and had a beer)

(Half hour later)

Heat 1 cup olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Cook chicken until golden, about 2 minutes on each side. The chicken will finish cooking in the oven.

Place chicken in a greased baking dish and top each breast with about 1/3 cup of tomato sauce. Layer each chicken breast with equal amounts of mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and provolone cheese. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese on top and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. 

Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is browned and bubbly, and chicken breasts are no longer pink in the center, 15 to 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F

Cook some skettie (I like Angel hair, but grabbed the wrong box and got regular spaghetti)

Cook per the instructions on the box.

Drain well.

Put a Chicken Breast on a plate with some sketti. Add sauce to your liking.

Goes well with a small salad and Garlic bread.

And of course a cold beer.

My Wednesday dinner guest loved it and I had enough left overs for two days of lunches

Who needs to go out to eat ????   

And a cute doggie picture

"Goo" Bradshaw guarding Grover Cleveland's Lamb Chop

 Live Long and Prosper, and KEEP COOKING !!

SHEPHERDS PIE

I have to admit, my wife and I love Irish Pubs. We had one here in Ocala for a few years and fell in love with the decor and the general atmosphere. We also met a great bunch of Irish Bar Tenders.

We were also introduced to BAR FOOD, and one of my favorites was Shepherds Pie.

When we were looking for food to make in advance for freezing, we remembered this dish, and decided to re-create it. Most of the the credit for this one goes to the wife. The greatest cooking teacher in the world.

When ever we have a house sitter (for the dogs) we always try to prepare a few meals for her to make while she is here. (The dog can be a real pain in the ass.)

But isn't he cute?

We made a nice casserole for ourselves and several for freezing. It's always nice to have things in the freezer so you don't have to to “go out to eat.”

So lets get started. Here's is what you need.

First things first, get a beer

3 Small Onions

2 Medium Carrots

1 Cup Frozen Peas

3 Cloves Garlic

I added the Rose from our garden for our northern friends..he he

2 TBL All Purpose Flour

2 Cups Chicken Broth

¼ Cup Red Wine

1 tsp What's This Here Sauce ( I hare typing Worcestershire)

2 tsp FRESH Thyme 

2 1/2 lbs Ground Chuck (Also seen recipes using stew meat)

1 TBL Tomato Paste

 

3 TBL EVOO - Use 1 for half the meat 1 for the other half and 1 for the onions & carrots

2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

5 lbs of Russert Potatoes

This is not a difficult recipe to make. (Another reason to like it) Just get all your chopping done and set aside.

Here we go

Peel your potatoes and cut into one inch cubes.

Place in bowl, add water to cover and put in fridge

Chop the Onions and Carrots

Peel and Press the Garlic

Remove stems from the Thyme and chop (set aside)

On medium high heat, brown your meat in two batches using 1 TBL EVOO each time add half of the Salt & Pepper as you go (drain well & set aside)

 

On medium heat, saute the Onions and carrots for 4 minutes, adding the rest of the Salt and Pepper.

Add Garlic Tomato Paste and Flour and Cook for 1 minute. (Stir as you cook)

Add Wine, WTH Sauce, and broth, cook for 30 seconds

Raise the heat just a notch

Add Thyme and Beef , bring to a boil then add lid and simmer for 30 minutes

After 30 minutes, remove from heat and add the frozen peas.

Let it all cool as you cook your taters.

Bring pot of water to boil (add 1 tsp of Salt)

Add taters and cook until soft, then Mash

I use a mixer adding warm cream and butter as I mash.

Pre Heat oven to 350

Spray your casserole dishes with cooking spray and add some beef mixture

Spoon on some mashed taters on top.

Add a couple of putter pats on top.

Place on a cooking sheet lined with foil and cook for 30 minutes

Take the extra casseroles and let them cool a bit before putting in the freezer.

I put them on a tray, let them freezer for a few hours. When firm, you can top with foil.

Serve with Irish Beer, or whatever you have in the cooler. 

I wish I could properly explain how fricking good this is. Brings back bar memories. And a few weeks later we yanked one of these out of the freezer and it was just as good. 

So get off your duff and make some freezer food. You can thank me later.

Live Long and Prosper.