Turkey Piccata

It is a windy, rainy Monday. I love days like this. I was even hoping for some thunder, but I guess the rain will do. I don't think the dogs appreciate the weather as much as I do, though. As I type this, Tess is on the floor, popping her head up every time the window blows through the windows and rustles up something in the house.

Today was a pretty productive day, especially since I maybe slept for about 2 hours last night. I was able to come home, relax for a half hour, and then start on a super yummy supper. Dan took Lana to his parents to do a side job, so it's just Tess and I, enjoying our dinner and peace and quiet until Hurricane Lana returns. Hopefully their dog will have tired her out a bit, so I can get to kitchen adventure #2: cupcakes.

In my most recent edition of Cooking Light magazine, they had a recipe for Turkey Piccata. I'm always looking for something new and finding ways to throw in some turkey here and there. We eat a lot of chicken and beef here, so finding good recipes for turkey cutlets is always welcome. Piccata is one of those staple dishes at most Italian restaurants, but I can't say I've ever ordered it. I've tried it, and it's good, but it's not my go-to if I'm out for Italian (pasta takes the medal on that one). This recipe looked too easy and yummy to pass up.

One thing I would change, is a little less lemon juice. I may have used slightly too much. I took a lemon, sliced it in half and gave each half a squeeze over the pan. Even so, lemon juice goes a long way, and two tablespoons of it in the smaller amount of gravy this recipe produced was a bit too lemon-y for my taste. It was still very good, but I'd prefer less lemon next time.

Turkey Piccata
from Cooking Light, October 2013

8 (3-ounce) turkey cutlets
salt and pepper for seasoning turkey
1 tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup chopped shallot
1 tbsp. sliced garlic (I used minced)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. flour
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1.5 tbsp. capers, drained
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Sprinkle turkey cutlets with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1.5 teaspoons of oil and swirl the pan to coat. Add 4 cutlets to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove cutlets from pan and keep warm; repeat with other 4 cutlets in remaining oil.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan. Add shallots and garlic; saute 1 minute. Increase the heat to high. Add wine, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, and scrape the pan to loosen the browned bits.
3. Combine the stock and flour and whisk together. Add to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining butter, lemon juice and capers. Pour sauce over cutlets, sprinkle with parsley, and serve!

Bubbling sauce

Odd angle...don't know why this photo didn't rotate. You get the hint though.

Blue Hawaiian Cupcakes

Home at 10:20 on a Saturday night with my puppy. Dan is at work and Tess is at my parent's house. It's just Lana and I. I like nights like this.

Today's recipe was a request, which I was more than happy to fulfill because a) I like baking cupcakes, b) it gives me more motivation and c) it was for a good friend.

The answer is d) all of the above.

Happy Birthday Angela!

 My friend requested some cupcakes for her birthday. I gave her some choices, one being Blue Hawaiian because I know she likes to drink them. She chose Blue Hawaiian and I set out on some researching. I have recipes for plenty of boozy cupcakes, and one was a Blue Hawaiian that I had saved forever ago. But after re-reading the recipe, I didn't like it. I adapted a recipe for a pineapple cream cupcake I found and did the buttercream on my own. I was pretty pleased with how they came out.

Now, like most mixed drinks, looking up the ingredients I found many variations. I went with one that seemed easiest to convert to a cupcake - pineapple, coconut rum, and blue curacao. A good thing to know is that blue curacao is the same thing as orange curacao, except it's blue. AND, both curacaos are triple sec. Triple sec is just a little less sweet than curacao, but all of them are orange liqueurs. You could use a curacao, triple sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau in this recipe and get the same result. Both Grand Marnier and Cointreau are drier then curacaos, and Grand Marnier is more brandy-based. If you have the higher end, then use it, but for these I grabbed a bottle of triple sec ($6) and used some blue food coloring. A bottle of blue curacao ran for $18. Seriously?! Eighteen dollars for a bottle of something orange flavored and disgustingly sugary that is added to drinks just to make them blue. Totally crazy.

I took a recipe for a doctored box-mix and added my own little twist. Now, normally I'm against using a boxed cake mix for my cupcakes, but every now and then I don't mind a recipe that doesn't just call for you to make a batch according to the box directions. This recipe did that and I doctored it even further, so I feel okay about it. I added in some coconut rum and some cream of coconut. I have never used cream of coconut, but it is thicker than I expected. I wish it came in smaller cans, because I used about 2 tablespoons of it and ditched the rest. Such a waste.

Blue Hawaiian Cupcakes
cake adapted from Your Cup of Cake

 For the cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 and 1/4 cup crushed pineapple with juice
3 eggs
1 tbsp cream of coconut
3 tbsp coconut rum

For the buttercream:
4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
6-7 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp coconut rum
2-3 tbsp triple sec
30-40 drops blue food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake pans for 20-22 cupcakes.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, pineapple, eggs, cream of coconut and coconut rum, and beat until combined.
3. Add the cake mix and beat until combined.
4. Fill liners 3/4 full and bake for 17-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
5. Let cool.
6. For the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy and fluffy.
7. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time and beat until desired consistency.
8. Add the rum and triple sec and beat on medium-low speed. Add more sugar if the frosting is too thin. Add food coloring and mix until fully distributed.
9. Frost cooled cupcakes and top with cherries and umbrellas!

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Chicken

I haven't had a good home-cooked meal in a while. It's been whatever's easy to make, or that I can manage to make, with the puppy in full terror mode. This is the second time I've used a Progresso Recipe Starter. The first was in a chicken pot pie, which was delicious. This recipe is super easy and quick..if you're not simultaneously chasing a puppy and emptying and reloading the dishwasher.

This post is short because Bruins official season hockey starts in 10 minutes.

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
from Progresso

4 chicken breasts (I had 3)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 can Progresso Parmesan Basil Cooking Sauce, divided
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2/3 cup Italian style panko breadcrumbs (I had plain so I added Italian seasoning)
2/3 cup freshly grated asiago cheese
** 1/2 tbsp Italian Seasoning, if using

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. In a shallow dish, combine melted butter, 3 tablespoons of cooking sauce, and garlic powder.
3. In another shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning (if using) and asiago cheese.
4. Trim chicken breast, rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Dip each breast in butter mix then breadcrumb mix and place on cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
6. While chicken is cooking, cook some pasta and heat the remaining cooking sauce.
7. Serve chicken with pasta, sauce and a sprinkle of leftover asiago cheese.

**The original recipe called for pounding out the chicken until it was a 1/2 inch thick, and cooking for 15-20 minutes, but I took the lazy way out.

Smoked Gouda Mornay Sauce

Just a smoked Gouda mornay sauce was not the original plan for tonight's recipe. I had bought a pre-cut butternut squash the other day and wanted to make a butternut mornay sauce, but that didn't happen. Here's why...

With the new pup, getting time in to cook dinner and to clean up after is slim, especially when it's just me and Dan's at work. I had some store-bought fresh tortellini, the ingredients for a mornay and the squash. To save time and not have to clean so many dishes, I looked up some information about cooking a squash in the microwave. I was definitely skeptic about the directions I read for this method, it seemed to me the squash would be dry, which it was. The directions just called me to place the squash cut-side down on a plate and microwave for 4-5 minutes increments until soft, and then puree it. It came out thick and dry and none of my blenders (I tried a few) would puree it, not even with a bit of added milk to loosen it up. That went down the disposal...

I figured in case that didn't pan out that I would at least still have my mornay sauce for my tortellini, so something homemade and all my efforts weren't wasted. I winged the sauce, so below are my estimates for measurements. I do recommend adding more milk than I did, maybe 2 full cups rather than the 1 and 1/4 I added. The sauce thickens up after cooking and it got pretty thick, so more milk may keep it a little more thinned out.

Smoked Gouda Mornay Sauce

3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
pinch of white ground pepper
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and let cook for about 2 minutes.
2. Slowly add milk (1/2 cup at a time), and whisk constantly to mix. Cook for 4 minutes, whisking constantly.
3. Whisk in spices.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese.
5. Serve over pasta.

The sauce really thickened up after this

Nutella-Stuffed Pumpkin Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Longest recipe name ever? I think so.

So, remember yesterday when I asked everyone to wish me luck trying to cook with the two pups here and Dan at work? Good thing this recipe came together rather quickly, or else it never would have happened. I was able to distract Lana with 3 ice cubes for a good part of it, and Tess just lays in the kitchen while I bake anyways.

After baking was done all hell broke loose. The dogs were crazy outside, Lana learned to jump over our make-shift baby gate in the hall (make-shift meaning it's two laundry baskets blocking the hallways), and I am bleeding from several bite areas. She is now sound asleep at the other end of the couch. I always say I need to keep her awake as much as I can at night so she'll be tied throughout the night when she needs to be crated but right now I just need her to sleep....

These muffins are great. I read the recipe knowing that I should have most of the ingredients and it would be easy to whip up on a weeknight. I got all prepared for it today and then re-read the recipe. Oh no! Did I still have whole wheat flour left? Did I have plain Greek yogurt (which I never have)?

Yes, yes I did. I actually had almost a whole bag of whole wheat flour and 2 containers of nonfat Greek yogurt in the fridge. I knew it was meant to be. I had to make these. And so, I did. These are delicious. I like how the recipe used the whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt. It kept them moist and gave them a little less sweetness. I was a little worried with all the spices, chocolate chunks, and Nutella that they would be very sweet, almost cupcake like, but they weren't. They held up nicely as muffins.

I learned 2 new things today. The first was how to make brown butter, which is simple enough, but I think I should have left mine on the heat a little longer. I also learned that baking the muffins at a higher temperature just at the beginning will give them a rounder top. Mine weren't as round as the original poster's muffins, but the probably puffed up a little more than if they hadn't been baked at a higher temperature at first.

Although, right as I'm writing this I'm thinking they would make great cupcakes without the Nutella inside the cake, but the Nutella swirled into a nice buttercream....

Nutella-Stuffed Pumpkin Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Muffins
from Veggie and the Beast

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs (room temp)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice (I didn't have any so I just omitted this)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2/3 cup chocolate chunks (or chips)
about 12 teaspoons hazelnut spread (Nutella)

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Cut butter in chunks and melt in a small saucepan over medium low heat, whisking frequently. You will notice some foam on top around the edges, keep whisking. When you begin to see little brown specks appear at the bottom, remove from heat and whisk for another 30-45 seconds. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer and let it cool a bit.
3. While the butter is cooling, mix the flours, baking soda, spices and salt together in a medium mixing bowl.
4. Add the pumpkin puree and sugars to the stand mixer bowl with the slightly cooled butter. Beat on medium-low until creamy and combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.
5. Slowly add the flour mix to the pumpkin mix. Fold in the yogurt and then fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Place liners in 12-14 muffin tin cups. (Mine made 12)
7. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of muffin mix into each liner.
8. Place a teaspoon of Nutella on top the muffin mix and cover with another tablespoon or so of muffin mix. The mix should be just about level with the liner.
8. Bake for 5 minutes at 425. Lower the temperature to 350 and bake for another 15 minutes.

Easy Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie

While in the grocery store yesterday, I grabbed one of those cans of Progresso Recipe Starters. The creamy roasted garlic one has a recipe for a chicken pot pie on the back. I love chicken pot pie and Dan would never eat it, so I figured I'd make it on a night when he's at work... like tonight.

This recipe is incredibly easy. You could cook your own chicken, which is better than using a rotisserie chicken, but for the sake of saving time, the rotisserie is a great option. I thought the taste of this was great too. It's not your standard gravy filling, you get the garlic sauce with chicken stock, the poultry seasoning, and the rotisserie chicken adds some flavor as well over plain chicken.

This took 6 ingredients. It was delicious, easy, and only needed 6 ingredients. Love it!

Easy Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie
from Progresso

1 box of refrigerated pie crusts
1 can Progresso Recipe Starters creamy roasted garlic with chicken stock cooking sauce
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 bag (14 oz) frozen mixed vegetables (I used corn, carrots, green beans, peas and lima beans)
1.5 cups chopped cooked chicken

1. Preheat oven to 425. Prepare pie crusts as directed on the box for a 2-crust pie in a 9-inch pie plate.
2. In a 2-quart saucepan, using a wire whisk, mix together the cooking sauce, flour, poultry seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Add vegetables and heat to boiling. Boil for 2 minutes stirring frequently.
3. Add chicken and mix to combine. Pour filling into the prepared pie crust.
4. Top with other crust and seal the edges. Cut slits in the top of the crust.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, covering crust edges with foil after 15 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning.

** I recommend cooking a little bit longer until you get a nice golden crust. Mine could have used an extra 5 minutes.

Honey Mustard Chicken

 

Sleepy Lana!

Puppies are a handful.

If it wasn't for Dan, I may have pulled all of my hair out already. Dan has been good enough to take Lana outside with him while doing yard work and tire her out so I can still cook dinner and spend some time with our older pup Tess.

Glamour Shot

I am not looking forward to tomorrow and Thursday night. Dan has to work. That leaves me to cook and wrangle up the pups on my own. Wish me luck.

Tonight's dinner was a Pinterest find, and I adapted it a little to my own taste. Dan loves bacon-wrapped chicken, or bacon-wrapped anything, but I tend to always be a little squeamish about the bacon being so soft. I always feel like it's not cooked enough, even though I know it is. Check out the original recipe, or follow min if you'd like. I'm sure they are both delicious (and they're not THAT different anyways). This chicken was still nice and moist and had a great flavor, a very nice fresher honey mustard taste. You could use a bottled honey mustard, but the fresh honey gives it a really nice sweetness, where the bacon gives it saltiness and the Mozzarella mellows everything together. I will definitely make this again, it's absurdly easy and packed with flavor. I may even try piercing the chicken and marinating it in the honey mustard mix.

Honey Mustard Chicken
from All Recipes

4 large chicken breasts (I used 5 since a couple were on the smaller end)
1/2 cup prepared mustard
3/4 cup honey
Lemon pepper seasoning (I didn't have this, I used Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute)
4 slices bacon, cut in half (I used 5)
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 and spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the mustard and honey until combined.
3. Place the chicken in the baking dish and pour the honey mustard mixture over chicken, being sure to cover each chicken breast.
4. Bake for 25 minutes.
5. Place 2 slices of bacon on each chicken breast, covering the breast. Sprinkle them with the cheese.
6. Return to oven for 10-15 more minutes, until bacon is cooked, cheese is melted and juices run clear.