Chicken Caruso

This is another easy recipe. I always have a jar of spaghetti sauce in the pantry. I often just take some of my homemade sauce out of the freezer about an hour before I need it. Homemade sauce is so much better than the canned or jarred version. And, you can control the ingredients that is in the sauce.

1 Lb. Chicken Tenders

1/2 Salt & 1/4 tsp. Pepper

1/2 tsp.Garlic Salt

3 Tbs. Margarine

1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1 Cup Sliced Celery or 1/2 tsp celery salt

Melt margarine in a sauté pan, Add salt, pepper and garlic salt. Add the chicken tenders and cook on medium heat until no pink remains. (About 3 to 4 minutes on each side). Stir in spaghetti sauce and seasoning. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until well warmed through. Add celery or sprinkle about 1 tsp. Celery salt over all. Cook another 5-10 minutes over low heat. Serve over rice or noodles.

Chicken Piccata

This is a fast, easy recipe. You can tweak the recipe as you go depending if you like more lemon or less. The difference between this recipe and Turkey Scallopini is that you do not use bread crumbs and cheese. and there is more lemon juice in this one. They are very similar, but it will come down to the flavor you like best. Also I use a lot more garlic in this recipe.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

1 egg

3 Tablespoons lemon juice, divided

1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken stock or broth

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 cup butter

t TBSP chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley flakes.

Pound the chicken breasts between two pieces of waxed paper or plastic. You can also buy thin chicken cutlets if you prefer. You want the chicken to be about 1/4 inch thick.

Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Combine the other 2 tablespoons with the chicken stock/broth. Whisk together flour, garlic powder and paprika in a bowl. I also add a little oregano and pepper.

Melt butter is a medium to large skillet. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture and then dredge it through the flour mix. Place it in the skillet. Cook over medium heat for about 1 minute on both sides. You are looking to get a little brown color to the chicken. Pour the chicken stock mixture over the chicken and reduce the heat to medium-low. I also add the minced garlic at this point. If you are not a garlic lover, leave this ingredient out. Cover and cook until chicken is very tender. About 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving plate.

Stir sauce in pan and let cook for another minute to thicken it a little. Spoon over the chicken and garnish with parsley and sliced lemon.

This is great with quinoa or brown rice. Glazed carrots will add a spark of color to the plate. And…they are good for you.

Turkey Scallopini

This is a similar recipe as Chicken Picatta. Use turkey or chicken cutlets. This is an easy meal that takes just a few minutes to cook and place on the table. It is great for those meals where you have very little time. I add a little chicken stock to the pan drippings to make a pan sauce. Serve it with rice or quinoa and use the pan sauce to bring it all together.

4 Turkey or chicken cutlets.

1/4 cup flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 large egg

2 TBS. water

1 cup soft bread crumbs (plain or seasoned)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 tsp lemon juice

Minced fresh parsley

Make sure your cutlets are thin (about 1/4 inch). In a shallow bowl, add flour, salt, pepper And, a little garlic powder never hurts. In another bowl, beat egg and water. In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs and grated cheese.

Dredge turkey in flour mixture, then dip in egg and coat with crumbs and cheese. Let it sit for the time it will take you to melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and sizzling, place turkey cutlets in pan and cook on both sides until turkey is no longer pink and coating is golden brown. Be sure to allow turkey to cook long enough to brown crumbs. Turn over and cook second side. About 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and sprinkle with parsley. Add 1/4 cup chicken stock to drippings. Whisk together until it slightly thickens. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Chili Grape Meatballs

This is a super easy recipe. It takes minutes to put together and can be partially done the night before. I use a crockpot, but if you don’t have one you can put it on the stove in a heavy duty pot and let it simmer until meatballs are cooked. You can also use frozen meatballs. They are a great time saver and taste great in this sauce. Serve it over rice, quinoa, noodles or mix it up and serve as a meatball sandwich using a crusty sub roll. It makes extra, so plan on using the rest as a leftover meal.

If you want to save time, make the meatballs the night before and place on a platter so they do not stick together.

2 Lbs. hamburger

1 egg, beaten

1 small onion, finely chopped

Salt & pepper to taste (1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper)

1 (14 oz.) jar of grape jelly

1 small jar of chili sauce (You can find this in the grocer in the condiment section)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice.

Mix the hamburger, salt, pepper, onion and beaten egg in a mixing bowl. Shape into meatballs using your hands or a 2″ cookie scoop. Set aside.

When the meatballs are shaped, turn the crockpot down to medium and place meatballs into sauce. They may not be completely covered, but stir them gently to coat. Be careful that you do not make meatballs crumble.

Cook slowly for 3 to 3 1/2 hours until sauce is mixed and meatballs are cooked through. You can stir gently a couple of time during the day, but it is not needed.

Basic White Sauce

This is a basic white sauce that can be utilized in many dishes. We usually make it to go over Salmon Pie. It is a creamy sauce that can stand the addition of hard boiled eggs or peas and/or carrots. This recipe only takes about 10 minutes so do not start it too early.

In a medium saucepan. melt 2 tablespoons of butter. When melted, mix in 2 tablespoons of white flour. Using a rubber spatula, mix well and let cook for a minute or two. It will be very thick, but the flour needs to cook off a little or it will taste like paste. Slowly add 2 cups of milk stirring constantly. This is not a recipe that you can leave alone. It will clump up and stick to the bottom of the pan. The sauce will thicken slowly. Add salt an pepper to flavor. You may add chopped 2 or 3 hard boiled eggs or 1 cup of peas to the sauce. Remove from heat when it reaches the thickness you desire.

Apricot Chicken

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I always use skinless, boneless chicken. You can use either thighs or breasts or some of each. The photo doesn’t do justice to the chicken as there is no skin to make it look brown. But… it is cooked and moist as I left the thighs whole. You can make it smaller pieces, but be aware, the chicken may cook a lot faster and tend to be dry. If you cut it up in smaller pieces, you will only need a 25 to 30 minute cook time. This was served with sweet potato, and mixed vegetables.

2 Chicken Breasts or 4 Thighs

6 oz. Apricot Preserves

8 oz. Italian Dressing

1 Pkg. Dry Onion Soup Mix

In a sprayed casserole dish, whisk together the preserves, soup mix and Italian dressing. Salt & pepper the chicken pieces. Add to sauce mixture turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to marinate. The longer the better. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in oven. ‘

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. If you use chicken tenders, change cooking time to 30 minutes. Serve with baked or mashed potato, quinoa, noodles or rice. Don’t forget your vegetable.

Meatloaf

½ Lb. Ground Beef

1 Egg

2 Tbls Minced Onion

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Pepper

1/3 Cup Bread Crumbs

1/3 Cup Milk

Mix all ingredients together. Place in greased pan. Cover with Piquant Sauce.

Piquant Sauce

3 Tbs. Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Ketchup

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp. prepared mustard (Honey or Stoneground)

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can serve this with mashed or baked potato, green beans, corn, carrots or any favorite fruit or salad. You can add a beef gravy, but with the sauce, you really don’t need one.
This can be mixed together the night before and just popped into the oven the next day. Letting it come to room temperature for about an hour works best.