Chicken Cutlets Milanese with Butter Beans and Gnocchi

I think this came from a Rachel Ray magazine. I'm trying to make some of the recipes I have in my no-cookbook recipe stand, and this was on the list, so we had it tonight. I have to say, I thought it was tasty and easy (and fast), which makes for a good weeknight meal in my book. And it was pretty. I even had The Big Geek take a picture, which hardly ever happens around here.

Salt
Pepper
Two 8-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I cooked 3 breasts, but they were from a package so I don't know their individual weights)
2/3 cup instant polenta or cornmeal
3/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (I believe mine was just Parmesan, but I am not positive. I didn't have quite enough grated so I used shredded for the gnocchi.)
Flour, for dredging (about a handful)
1 large egg
2 Tbsp EVOO, plus more for drizzling (add a Tbsp for every additional breast you cook)
12 oz gnocchi pasta
3 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
One 15-oz can butter beans, drained and rinsed
2 springs rosemary, leaves chopped (or some dried rosemary--maybe 1 tsp?)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (I forgot to halve them, then thought, "this would be better if the tomatoes were halved")
2 cups arugula leaves
Juice of one lemon

First, fill a large pot with water and put it on the stove to boil.

While that's warming up, place the chicken breasts on a work survace and, slicking with a knife parallel to the chicken, cut in half to make 4 cutlets. Pound the cutlets between 2 sheets of plastic wrap.

On a plate (or in a shallow dish, like a pie plate), combine the polenta with half of the cheese. Fill another plate with flour. In a shallow bowl, beat the egg with a splash of water. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Set up your assembly line: chicken, flour, egg, polenta mixture, clean plate.

In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp EVOO over medium-high heat.

Dredge each cutlet in the flour, then the egg, then the polenta mixture.

About this time your water is probably boiling. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water (salt the water).

Place 2 cutlets in the heated skillet and cook, turning once, until crisp and golden, 6 to 7 minutes.

Before these are done, your gnocchi will be floating. Drain them into a bowl and return the empty pasta pot to the stove. Place the butter in the pasta pot and melt over low heat.

While that's melting, remove the first cutlets, add another Tbsp of EVOO, and put 2 more cutlets into the skillet.

Stir the butter beans and rosemary into the melted butter. Add the gnocchi adn remaining cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Flip your 2nd batch of cutlets and, when cooked, remove them from the skillet. If you're cooking more, add another Tbsp EVOO and repeat.

In a bowl, toss the tomatoes with the arugula, lemon juice, and a drizzle of EVOO. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, place cutlet on plate. Top with the salad and serve butter beans and gnocchi on the side.

Yum!

This would have been good with white wine. Damn, why am I only just thinking of that??

The little geek and baby geek liked the gnocchi and chicken. Actually, so did The Big Geek. He thought the butter beans were "chalky" and he doesn't like cherry tomatoes. I, however, thought the entire thing was delicious. I'm sure we'll have it again, and they can just pick around the butter beans.

Quick & Easy: African Chicken-Peanut Soup

This soup is one of my favorites for many reasons, mostly that it's good, quick, and easy. If you have little geeks, prep the veggies while they nap, then throw together dinner about 20 minutes before you're ready to eat. From the ingredients, you might expect this to be spicy, but the peanut calms it down and makes it easy for all the geeks to enjoy. Baby geeks can have sweet potato chunks. ;)

It should be noted that I rarely (if ever) measure the veggies. I just put them in the pot. I put how many of each veggie I use in parenthesis.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cubed peeled sweet potato (I like a little more, so I usually do 3 sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 small)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (1 pepper)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (1 large breast)
1 cup bottled salsa
1/2 tsp cumin
2 (16-oz) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (4 cups)
2 (15-oz) cans low-sodium chicken & rice soup (I use Healthy Choice)
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Place large dutch oven coated with cookign spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add vegetables and saute 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and next 5 ingredients (through the beans). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add peanut butter, stirring with a whisk, and cook 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

I know it sounds weird, but it's REALLY filling and good--perfect for a fall or winter night.

You can alter the vegetables as suits you (although you really should leave the sweet potato and red bell pepper). I've tossed in a can of corn, extra carrots (in addition to the carrots in the pre-made soup), extra celery--whatever you have that you need to use.

Vegetarian option: throw in some extra sweet potato, use veggie & rice soup and vegetable broth. You could also use tofu in place of the chicken if you like.

Yield: 11 1-cup servings

From Cooking Light

Christina's Easy Cheesy Garlic & Rice

My friend Christina shared this recipe, and I've made it twice so far. This is my adapted version, which is a big hit with all the geeks and is so easy that I'll probably make it often, even though it's not exactly diet-friendly. I did what I could to move it that direction. :)

1 jar Ragu Roasted Garlic Parmesan sauce (I've also used a store brand, which was ok)
1 can petite diced tomatoes, NOT drained
1 can chicken broth
1 cup shredded or diced cooked chicken (original recipe calls for 1 can, but I like using leftovers)
1 cup uncooked brown rice (original recipe calls for long grain)
2 cups shredded 2% Italian-blend cheese (or full-fat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a baking dish and cover with foil.
Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes covered. Remove from oven, uncover, stir, and cook for an additonal 10-15 minutes (brown rice takes longer--sample some when you take it out and decide how long it needs at that point). If you want to be "fancy" you can save about 1/4 cup of the cheese and sprinkle it on the top at that point, or just sprinkle some additional parmesan or something.

The original recipe said to cook "until the top is brown and bubbly," but mine never got to that point (perhaps b/c of the 2% cheese). The first time I made it it cooked for absurdly long before I finally just tasted it and decided it was actually done.

This has to be the easiest casserole ever, and it takes about 5 minutes to throw together and then you can just walk away from it for 45 minutes. AWESOME for those nights when you just.can't.do.anything.else. Add a salad and you're good, and the leftovers are yummy the next day. Plus you can use up some leftover chicken.

Horeseradish Beef Strudel

This was easier than I thought it would be, and you could prepare the filling in advance and toss it together at the last minute. It worked out well for me tonight because I could assemble them while The Big Geek did baths, then put the baby geek to bed while they cooked, and then come out for dinner with The Big and little geeks.

TAKE THE PUFF PASTRY OUT OF THE FREEZER TO THAW about 40 minutes before you start cooking. If you're like me and forget anyhow, you can try what I did and stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until it seems thawed enough to roll out.

I believe this came from a Rachel Rey magazine.

1 lb baking potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 2-3)
2 Tbsp butter (you could use evoo if you wanted)
1 small-medium onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 cup sour cream (light is fine)
2-3 Tbsp prepared horseradish
salt and pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, beaten with a splash of water

Preheat the oven to 400. While it's heating, add the potatoes to a large saucepan and add enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil adn cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, then mash in a large bowl.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt butter (or heat oil) in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Transfer onions to mashed potatoes (or bowl for potatoes if they aren't done yet). Add the beef to the skillet and cook, breaking it up, over medium-high heat until barely pink, about 5 minutes. Stir the beef, sour cream, and horseradish into the mashed potatoes and onion, season with salt and pepper.

On a floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out 1 sheet puff pastry into an 11 x 15 rectangle. Spread half of the meat mixture in the center, covering 2/3 of the surface and leaving a 1-inch border along the long ends. Fold in the borders on the long ends and, beginning from a short end, roll up to enclose. Or you can do what I did and leave slightly more pastry on the edges, fold the sides up to enclose, and then roll up the ends.

Transfer, seam side down, onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Brush with the beaten egg. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

I thought this was pretty good, although it could have used more horseradish for my taste. Next time I may make one (for the small geeks) and then add more horseradish to taste to the rest of the filling to make one for The Big Geek and myself.

The Big Geek dipped his in A-1 (I give up). The little geek ate a few bites and then had salad and leftover mac 'n cheese from lunch. I'm betting the baby geek would have eaten it--we'll find out tomorrow as I've got an entire "strudel" left.

Probably not that healthy, but not awful and very quick/easy.