Berry Smoothie

This "foovie" is one of Elliot's favorite mid-morning snacks.  I got the original recipe from Eating Well, but after measuring a few times I just eyeball it now.

frozen berries
plain yogurt
orange juice
honey
optional:  whey protein powder, ground flax seeds, wheat germ, dry milk powder, vanilla extract


Fill a magic bullet cup 1/3 of the way full with mixed frozen berries.  Sams Club has a mix I like.  Fill another third with plain yogurt.  Pour in a little orange juice and some honey.  Put in a scoop of whey protein powder, ground flax seeds, and some wheat germ.  Blend

Baking bread

Tonight I made homemade pita bread from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads.  They turned out great!  I was surprised because right before putting them in the oven I realized that we had a birthday party that night.  I put the completely assembled pitas in the fridge to use for dinner the next night instead, having no idea if it would mess them up.  Yeast breads can be finicky.  Anyway, the next day I took them out about two hours before I needed to bake them so that they could come to room temperature.  They did lovely!  Now I'm glad I made that mistake, so I know that they can be prepped ahead of time and just refrigerated until ready to bake. 
It was fun watching them balloon up then collapse as they cool.  Great recipe, will be making my own pitas from now on.  We use pita bread a good bit, for chicken souvlaki, to use as a personal sized pizza crust for a fun and quick lunch, and to make pita chips to dip in hummus.

Chicken stock

I've been trying to make more and more things from scratch, and one of my favorite things to make homemade is chicken stock.  It is very easy, much less expensive than buying it, and much better for you as most brands contain additives like MSG.  I especially love that I can control the amount of sodium since it is hard to find sodium free chicken stock and it's usually expensive.  It makes a big batch (like 6 quarts) that I freeze in one cup containers to use for all kinds of things - the base for soups, cooking rice, making baby food, stir fries, etc...  there are lots of dishes that call for a little chicken stock.  When I know I'm going to be using the bones to make stock I will spend the extra money on the good quality free range chickens.  It helps justify the cost knowing I'm going to use every bit of the bird!

Just today I read in Nourishing Traditions about how great homemade stock is for you.  There are over two pages talking about the benefits of minerals, electrolytes, and gelatin found in homemade stock.  She says that adding a little vinegar "helps to draw minerals, particularly calcium, magnesium and potassium, into the broth."  So I will probably try that next time.  She uses 2 Tablespoons for 4 quarts of broth.  I usually make about 6 quarts, so will put in 3 Tablespoons.  Here's my version:

2-3 Chicken carcasses (or 4 pounds), including necks, gizzards, and feet if you have them.
2 onions, unpeeled and quartered
4 carrots, unpeeled and halved
4 celery stalks, with leaves
2 bay leaves
fresh thyme
fresh parsley
a clove of garlic, halved
2 Tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons peppercorns
water to cover (about 6 or 7 quarts)
3 Tablespoons vinegar

Place everything in a large stockpot, bring to boil and simmer 4-8 hours.  Strain out solids and put broth in refrigerator overnight.  The next day skim fat from top and divide into containers to freeze.

Sandwich bread

What a great bread!  This was from the King Arthur Whole Grain baking book, the 100% whole wheat sandwich bread recipe.  Delicious and flavorful, would make great rolls.  I do prefer a more plain bread to use for sandwiches though, tuna fish just doesn't taste right on a sweet buttery flavored bread.  Peter Reinhart remains my favorite for actual sandwiches.

Classic Lasagna

Made this for dinner tonight and it was great.  From Allrecipes website, "World's Best Lasagna".  I used half whole wheat noodles and half regular, but next time I'll go all whole wheat as the wheat noodles didn't seem unusual at all.  I like that you make the meat sauce for it instead of using jarred sauce.  Next time I'll double the sauce recipe and freeze some to use for spaghetti.

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds  (I didn't have these, so just left them out)
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Chicken Saltimbocca

I often throw this together on a weeknight and skip the sauce.  It is definitely one of the most gourmet tasting dishes I make, with or without the sauce.  You will feel like a culinary expert with this one :)  You can even assemble the cutlets ahead of time, which makes it a perfect dish for serving to company.  Prosciutto can be expensive, but you only need a small amount as you use 1/2 or 1/3 of a slice for each chicken cutlet.  Any extra prosciutto can be stored in the freezer for next time.

Simple directions, no sauce:

Pound chicken breasts to even thickness and cut into smaller sizes (halves or thirds depending on the size of your breast).  Place a small sage leaf in the middle of the cutlet, smear on some type of gorgonzola or blue cheese (or sprinkle on feta if that is all you have on hand.  My favorite was the time I used those laughing cow blue cheese wedges - it was excellent!).  Cover with a thin slice of prosciutto just large enough to cover up the cheese.  Heat olive oil in a large pan and sautee cutlets over medium high heat (prosciutto side down first) until chicken is cooked, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. 



Detailed directions, with sauce:

Step 1: Preparing the Mise en Place

• 3 oz cambozola cheese (gorgonzola/ blue cheese family)
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 slices prosciutto
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 3 large fresh sage leaves

To prepare the saltimbocca, slice the cheese into 6 pieces. Thinly slice the garlic, and cut each slice of prosciutto in half. Set aside.
Cut each chicken breast into 3 equal pieces and sprinkle with pepper. Tear each sage leaf in half and place on top, followed by the cheese and prosciutto. Cover with plastic wrap, and flatten to just under ½-inch.

Step 2: Cooking the Chicken Saltimbocca

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp white wine
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp cold Unsalted butter
• salt and pepper - to taste
• juice of half a lemon

To cook the saltimbocca, preheat a stainless-steel pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, and once hot, add the chicken, prosciutto side down. Shake the pan periodically and once the chicken releases on its own, you’ll know it’s time to turn it. Don’t worry if the cheese oozes out of the sides during cooking. This will make the sauce even tastier. Check for doneness and place onto a plate. Loosely tent with foil.

Make sure the surface of the pan is shiny with the oil that remains, adding a bit more if needed to cook the second batch, if necessary.** Once done, discard the excess oil. Off the heat, add the wine, then garlic, and let simmer. Reduce this to about 2 tablespoons, and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

The sauce should look a little syrupy and have a nice sheen to it, before you add the stock. Bring this to a boil and reduce again by half. Once it looks syrupy again, add the cold butter and gently swirl until everything is melted and combined. Add the lemon juice and taste the sauce for seasoning.
Reduce the heat to low and return the chicken to the pan, pouring in any accumulated juices. Coat both sides of the chicken in the sauce. Place onto a platter, pour the sauce over top, and serve.

**Denise's note: if the browned bits from the first batch look like they are going to get so brown they will burn you could go ahead and dump out the oil and add one tablespoon or so of the wine to deglaze.  When the crusty bits come off the bottom of the pan, pour it into a small dish to reserve for later and add it back when you add the rest of the wine.