Cooking with Laura - Chicken Cutlets

Chicken cutlets is a quick, easy, healthy, and delicious meal, and everyone loves them.  Buy boneless breast of chicken.  Rinse the chicken and trim any fat.  Dry the chicken with paper towels.  If the breasts are very thick, I sometimes carefully slice them into two thinner cutlets.  Lightly dip the breasts in a beaten egg. Then coat the cutlets with a thin layer of breadcrumbs - I like non-seasoned breadcrumbs because they don't burn as easily.  Also, I buy natural breadcrumbs with no additives or preservatives.  Pan saute the cutlets in olive oil, which gives them a great taste.  They cook beautifully in a cast iron pan.  Place the cutlets on paper towels to absorb excess oil before serving. Serve with a large tossed salad.  It doesn't get much easier than that. 


Another Tip from Mom: Economizing Key:
If you are low on eggs, no need to run out and pick some up. Instead, dip the breasts in fat free milk. The milk works just as well (even better because the breading won't go on as thick) as egg in holding onto the breadcrumbs, plus now you have an extra egg or two for scrambled eggs for tomorrow's breakfast. 


Economizing Key: Turn leftovers from this dinner into tomorrow's lunch. Nothing my son loves more than for me to pack him this brown bag lunch for school: a chicken cutlet, Romaine lettuce, and light mayo sandwich on a long hero roll for lunch the next day!




Romaine salad with black olives, grape tomatoes, romano cheese, and red onion

  

Gift-Wrapping & Recycling

Nice-looking boxes sometimes come with things we order online, like these shiney red ones in which a keyboard and an electronic part were shipped!  I tucked these away in my gift closet, planning to use them for Christmas or Valentine's Day.  Well, Christmas is here and I've already found uses for them: one contains a cardigan; the other, a leather wallet.

Recyling and money-saving combined. No need for gift bags, gift boxes, or wrapping paper! Simply glue-gun some seasonal greenery (shown here) or a silk flower. Or, as my mom has always done, tie on a pretty ribbon or nonbreakable ornament for a festive touch.

No Need for Gift Bags or Wrapping Paper:
Just Glue-on or Tie-on an Adornment!



Economizing Key:  If you don't have spare ornaments, artificial greenery, or silk florals lying around, take a restorative nature walk and treasure-hunt outdoors: you can naturally adorn your boxes (or even plain brown bags) by hot gluing pine cones, acorns, or sprigs of natural greenery.

Ornaments and trinkets can personalize the cards and gifts that you give to family and friends.  A beautiful ribbon, like this lacy and gauzy ivory one (pictured below), makes your card special. The added texture and trinket can help prevent the envelope from being misplaced. The receiver of your card or gift will be touched by the extra care you took in giving this birthday, holiday, communion, or sympathy card a little extra TLC.

Adorn Greeting Cards to Add
a Personal Touch

Keep your eyes open for ornaments, dangling trinkets and charms that you can squirrel away and have handy for all-year-round use. Surprisingly, I've found some beautiful adornments at dollar stores, which are very affordable, especially when sold in 2-packs.  

 

No Need to find the Right Size Gift Box.
Effortlessly Wrap this Large Pottery Barn "Winter Caribou" Platter
and Body Spray in a Reusable Basket Bag

  

Ornaments Add a Festive Touch to Gift-Wrapping
French Wired Ribbon is my Favorite

 

~ Linda

Baking with Linda - Walnut Shortbread Cookies

Baking with my children is a favorite pasttime in our home. This week, my three year old son-shine and I made Walnut Shortbread Cookies. Using a Krups electric coffee grinder, he scooped handfuls into the mill and, once the protective top was in place, pressed down firmly on it to start grinding up the walnuts - this recipe called for 1.5 cups finely chopped walnuts, 4.5 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups vegetable shortening or butter (room temp), 2.5 cups packed light brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Combine flour and finely-ground walnuts.  Cream shortening and brown sugar in a large, separate bowl.  Beat in vanilla. Gradually, blend in the dry ingredients.


Pouring and placing the ingredients into our KitchenAid heavy duty mixer is something the little one loves to do!  And, once the pair of interlocking splatter guards are in place (thank goodness for them!), he lets the powerful mixer rip and hum.  Nothing mixes as evenly or easily as the lifesaving mixer, which my husband (god bless him) picked up for me over a decade ago.

Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of shortbread dough and place 1.5 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.  Flatten with back of teaspoon (dust spoon with flour first so it doesn't stick). Press half a walnut onto top of cookie.


Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in 350 degree oven
 for 12-15 minutes
or until light golden brown.

My Little Helper Loads up the Walnuts.
Everyone Home Should Have a  Recipe Book
Just for Cookies

 Delicious topped with a sweet dusting of powdered confectioner's sugar. My oldest son loves the taste of these cookies with a tall glass of milk or hot cocoa but, ironicaly, prefers them with the half walnuts removed.

Always helpful, my thirteen-year-old son held these silk poinsettias in place while I took the photo.  Chip proof and lightweight, my red lucite serving tray  is one of my favorites. With the half-walnut on top, these cookies are tempting and elegant.

Timesaver:  If you want to bake ahead, these cookies freeze beautifully in freezer-safe Tupperware.


Economizing Key: If you don't have enough walnuts, you can top the remaining cookies with pecan halves instead. In fact, this shortbread recipe can be made by completely replacing walnuts with pecans. If you don't have another cookie to pair these with, place dried apricots here and there in between the cookies. Fruit and nuts - good combo.

Cooking with Laura: Chicken Soup

There's nothing like homemade chicken soup on a cold day, and no better medicine for a cold.  Since everyone in my family has a cold, I put up a delicious pot of chicken soup.  After the soup has been cooking for a while, the house fills with the soothing aroma of chicken soup.  It is delicious and healthy and really makes your cold feel better.  It is also easy to prepare and a one-pot meal so clean up is easy, too.  I like to cook mine in my large All-Clad pot.  


I rinsed five chicken quarters and place in pot with two quarts of College Inn chicken broth and two quarts of water.  I added a large Vidalia onion, peeled and quartered, and about two cups of baby carrots.  The baby carrots are easy to use because you don't have to peel them or chop them.  Also add about four stalks of celery, cleaned and cut into large pieces.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and a sprig of fresh dill if you have it.  Bring to a boil, and then simmer for an hour and a half.  Then add 1/2 lb. of small noodles and cook in the soup until the noodles are done - about 6 minutes for thin noodles.  You can add pastina or tubettini or another small pasta.


When the soup is done, remove the chicken, discard the skin, and take the chicken off the bone.  Serve soup with chicken slices in it or serve chicken on the side or in sandwiches. 

Enjoy!


Economizing Key: Peel remaining chicken off of the bones. Make a refreshing, healthful chicken salad for lunch the next day, according to what's available in your refrigerator.  Take out your cutting board and add:  finely chopped celery and/or carrots, diced apples and/or pears, seedless grapes cut in halves, fresh lemon juice, a little mayo, a splash of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. If you happen to have shelled walnuts, you may want to add small pieces of the walnuts as well for an added flavor and crunch.

Delicious served as a scoop on top of a bed of your favorite lettuce or as a sandwich in a toasted sweet roll knot, this homemade chicken salad is easy-to-make with what's handy in your refrigerator.