Balsamic Almond Chicken

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 egg
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
• 2 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 heaping teaspoons brown sugar

Directions

• In a shallow bowl, combine almonds and flour. In another shallow bowl, whisk egg. Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. Dip chicken in egg; then coat with almond mixture. In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, broth, vinegar and brown sugar until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve with chicken. Yield: 4 servings.

*this was very good. very, very good...BUT I didn't have cornstarch on hand and flour doesn't work as well as sauces made with cornstarch. The cornstarch, at least when I've used it in gravies and stir frys, makes sauces thinner and glossier. Flour has to really cook awhile to get rid of the "raw" taste and by that point has been reached, the sauce is often to thick and the flavor of the sauce has been changed. 

Get you some

Please make these. I must admit, they are probably not considered a "health food". These are probably not the sort of foods one with high cholesterol should be eating (not that I know of anyone that has high cholesterol. nope. huh uh. not this girl.) Let me tell you how to make these:

Fried Ravioli

ingredients:

1 pkg fresh cheese ravioli (at Walmart when the craving strikes? it's in the front of the store. go figure)

1/2 box panko bread crumbs (just trust me on this. they are better than regular)

2 eggs

1 tbsp italian seasonings (from a mix or from your creation of multible spice jars in your pantry...it matters not)

1/2 c canola oil or olice oil (after all, they are heart-healthy)

jarred marinara sauce (I like the refrigerated kind best and I whirl it with the hand blender to make smooth)

1. beat eggs and add seasonings to panko mixture

2. get pan hot then add oil (yes, this matters)

3. coat ravioli in egg mixture

4. cover in panko crumbs

5. fry until golden brown and then turn. pull out when done (maybe 3 mintues total)

6. lay out on paper towels until you can't stand it anymore and then eat.

7. serve with warm marinara for dunking

p.s. as you are coating your ravioli, you may not think the mixture sticks well to the pasta. don't worry. just you wait, it will be perfect!

Shepard's Pie

We had this tonight. Needs some tweaking...not as good as other versions I've had and certainly nothing as good as I had in England and Scotland! 

I made my own mashed potatoes (with lite sour cream and a spalsh of milk, no butter or cheese like listed below)

(picture from the Food Network)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 pounds lean ground beef or lamb (beef for our pie)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 1 1/2 cups garden peas
• Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven at 400 degrees F.

Add butter and oil to a large skillet on medium heat. Saute onions, carrots, celery and garlic until tender for about 7 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Once the vegetables have softened and start to brown a little add the tomato paste and mix evenly. Add the ground beef and cook until beef is no longer pink about 10 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and beef stock. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook and simmer for another 10 minutes. Mix in peas. Transfer mixture to an oven-proof baking dish and spread evenly. Place potato on top of ground beef mixture and spread out evenly, once the top surface has been covered, rake through with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. Place the dish into the preheated oven and cook until browned about 20 minutes. Spoon out the shepherd's pie and serve.

• Mashed Potatoes
• 4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, quartered
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup grated mature white Cheddar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fill a large saucepan with cold water and a tablespoon of salt. Add potatoes to the water and bring to a boil. Let potatoes cook until soft about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are at a desired density,drain the potatoes and place them back into the saucepan for mashing. Add butter and cream and begin to mash potatoes into a semi smooth consistency. Once at desired texture add cheese and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes

1 pkg spice cake mix
1 pkg (3.4 oz size) instant vanilla pudding
1 c canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 pkg softened cream cheese
1/4 c sugar
1 egg

1. Prepare cake batter according to package instructions. Add dry pudding mix and pumpkin. Mix well and pour into 24 paper-lined muffin cups (I use an ice cream or cookie scooper to make this mess free).

2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and egg. Dollop onto pumpkin mixture and gently swirl into batter.

3. Bake 18-21 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Review:
Very moist, pretty tasty, super convenient (you use a mix!)...but I could have gone for even more pumpkin flavor. I would make these again. They are not overly sweet and don't have a frosting, so I would almost pass them off as a muffin!

To-Go Food

I made a promise a few months ago to get out of a food rut and to share my new-found recipes with you. I was really good at trying new dishes and posting them for you to try...for a few weeks. In an effort to get back on the horse, I am putting the food on the front burner by giving it it's own blog. Here you will get a glimpse at what we are eating, what it looked like, and the recipe. Bon Appetit!