Pork Schnitzel (German Breaded Pork Chop)

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Growing up, I traveled every year to spend my summers in my parent's homeland of Germany.   My mom went to help my aunt take care of my grandmother and I had to tag along.  I'd spend my days holed up in my room, reading book after book or taking the subway to the city's downtown to wander around old palace gardens.  While I didn't necessarily appreciate it then, I am so thankful for these memories.  How many kids get to spend 2 months a year in Europe?  No wonder my mom would shake her head at me when I'd complain to her that I missed hanging out with my friends, drinking Slurpees.

While born and raised in Germany, my parents came to the States during a time when being a foreigner wasn't cool.  So, my mom ended up cooking a lot more American dinners, like broccoli and rice casserole and fish sticks than German classics.  So, each summer, I got to enjoy some delicious cooking. 

This recipe was a favorite when going out to eat and was pretty much the only thing I'd order.  It helped that it was one I could read from the menu, but the delicious flavor and crispy breading won me each time.   It comes with different toppings, my favorite being mushroom sauce.

The trick is make sure you pound the cutlets to make them evenly thin.  If you don't have a meat pounder (...tee hee...), you can use a pan to pound away your frustrations.

I use panko bread crumbs to make an extra crispy breading, but you can use regular crumbs too.

This recipe came from Foodnetwork.com and I made some adjustments.  Serve with buttered egg noodles and cucumber salad.

Pork Schnitzel

Serves 4

4 boneless pork loin chops (about 5 to 6 ounces each)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

4 cups plain dried bread crumbs

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Lemon wedges

Begin by placing each chop between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently pounding them out with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until they are an even 1/4-inch thick.

Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Whisk the eggs and milk in another shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Put the bread crumbs in a third dish and again season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge each piece of pork in flour, then in the egg and finally into the bread crumbs, pressing the bread crumbs onto the pork gently so they have a nice even coating.


Lay the breaded pork cutlets in a single layer on a plate lined with parchment and refrigerate, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes to allow the coating to dry out a little and adhere to the pork.


Heat oil and butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the thyme to the oil. Gently lay the cutlets into the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to paper towels to drain. Season with salt and transfer to a serving platter while still hot. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Strawberry Ghost Treats

Sorry about the photo quality.  My camera is broken and this is taken with my phone

Adam is 3 today! Happy Birthday, my big boy!  I can't believe it's been 3 years already since you entered our lives.  Love you so much!

I wanted to make something for Adam's birthday treat for preschool party.  I didn't know if I should do a traditional brownie or cookie.  I know they had restrictions on cupcakes, so that was out.  The teacher mentioned "... and they will even eat fruit", so I ran with it.  I found this on a website and thought it was the perfect little bite since Adam's birthday is so close to Halloween.

They were so easy to make.  The only thing I would suggest is maybe using melted chocolate with a toothpick to draw on the face.  The icing I used was easy to apply, but doesn't dry completely and can smudge easily.  Another suggestion I got was to use edible decorating pens.

Your kids will love helping you make these and even the littlest ones can help.  The real trick is to make sure the strawberries are super dry and room temp when you start, so I'd suggest washing them the night before and letting them dry.  Even then, I dabbed each strawberry before dipping. 

The shortening is crucial to get it to be smooth and shiny, so don't skip it.   And you might need to re-nuke the chocolate once or twice as you're going through the strawberries since it can get a bit clumpy.  I'd stick it in for another 10 seconds when it does that.

Adam's teacher and class loved them!  He did too and looked so proud when bringing them in.  I am for sure going to make them each Halloween.

So, grab some strawberries, some chocolate and get to making some yummy ghosts for this Halloween! 

Oh and the best part is someone has to lick the chocolate bowl clean..... might as well be you!

Strawberry Ghost Treats

1 carton of strawberries
1 11-ounce bag of white chocolate baking chips
1 1/4 teaspoon shortening
Black icing tube, melted milk chocolate chips or edible decorating pen

Put white chocolate in a microwavable bowl with shortening.  Microwave for 10 seconds and stir.  Microwave another 10 seconds and stir.  Continue until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Dip dried strawberry in melted chocolate 3/4 the way up. Set down on a cookie sheet that has been covered with waxed paper.  Let the chocolate trail off to make the ghosts tail.  Freeze 5 minutes or allow to air dry. 

Paint on face. 

20 Dinners, 1 Day: Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas

Photo courtesy of Rachael Ray Magazine

I typically am not a chicken salad kind of gal.  Nothing against them, but my family just doesn't beg for them, so they never come onto the menu.  After making this one, I definitely can see adding chicken salad sandwiches to my attempt to switch up the same-old , same-old lunch.

Abe really enjoyed this, while Jimi was so-so on it. It had the dreaded roasted pepper in it, so I'm surprised he even tried it (he did pick out every single pepper, just to let you know).

Pocketless pitas are different than pita bread, which is thinner and has a pocket (I know, I know, I'm such a smarty one, aren't I).  It's similar to a flat bread... thicker and fluffy.  Yumminess.  I find mine in the baking section of the grocery store.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad Pitas

4 pocketless pitas 
3 cups Pulled Chicken 
1 cup chopped Roasted Peppers, chopped 
1 large tomato, seeded and diced 
1 cucumber—peeled, seeded and diced 
1/4 cup minced red onion 
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar 
Salt and pepper 
4 romaine lettuce leaves

Place pitas in stack in 350° oven to warm. In large bowl, combine chicken, peppers, tomato, cucumber, onion, olive oil, vinegar and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Toss well. Top each pita with a lettuce leaf, fill with chicken salad and fold to enclose.

20 Dinners, 1 Day: Rigatoni with Apple and Squash

I had been looking forward to doing this one.  I love pasta, even though I don't make it nearly as much as I should.  Plus, add butternut squash to the mix and I'm there.

The bacon was tricky for this vegetarian.  I was originally going to make the recipe and add bacon just to Abe's portion.  But a recent cholesterol check made adding it maybe not such a good idea (he's had high cholesterol since his 20s, even though he's pretty fit).  So I improvise with using a bit of liquid smoke in olive oil to add some smoky flavor.

If you're not dealing with high cholesterol, I'd recommend using the bacon, though.  :)

The dish was very yummy and it was extra good the next morning for breakfast.  Hey, it was Adam's idea.  He did balance things out by having waffles and syrup for lunch that day.

The butternut adds a bit of sweetness and the apples and onions add the savory.  But I think the cheese makes the dish delicious, so don't skip it.  Not that I thought you would.

I didn't do the sage leaves this time because I didn't have them.  So, I sprinkled about 1/2 teaspoon of dried sage into the butter.  The idea of fried herbs intrigues me, so I will try it next time.

Rigatoni with Apple and Squash
  
1 lb. rigatoni pasta 
8 oz. bacon, thinly sliced 
10 sage leaves 
2 shallots, minced 
1 tart apple, sliced 
3 cups Roasted Squash, chopped 
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
Salt and pepper 
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water. In same pot, cook bacon until just crisp; transfer to paper towels. Add sage to hot bacon fat and cook until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to plate. Add shallots and apple and cook, 5 minutes. Add pasta, squash, cooking water, bacon and parmesan; season with salt and pepper and toss. Top with crumbled sage and parsley.

20 Dinners, 1 Day: Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup

Photo courtesy of rachelraymag.com

Boy, time slipped away from me (an entire month, to be exact!).  I've been doing the cooking part, but the sitting down to blog part has been evading me.  I do apologize!

I cooked this one up after Jimi's football practice when he was cold and wet.  He's not much of  soup kid, but he did like it.  Abe ate his portion (and the left overs from Jimi's bowl) and declared it to be a tasty treat. 

I'd say this would make an especially good lunch.  It seemed a bit light for a dinner, so if you make it, maybe pair it with a hearty salad or as a first course for your Mexican dinner.

I can see making this the day after you have any leftover chicken and some extra rice (I'm going to start freezing my extra rice for things like this).


Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup

1 qt. chicken broth 
1 cup tomato salsa 
1 1/2 cups Pulled Chicken 
3 cups Rice Pilaf 
1/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack 
1/4 cup sour cream 
1 avocado, thinly sliced 
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus 4 lime wedges



In medium pot, bring broth, salsa and lime juice to boil. 

Divide chicken and pilaf among 4 bowls. Fill each bowl with hot broth. Top with cheese, sour cream, avocado and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

20 Dinners, 1 Day: Creamy Chicken with Soft Polenta

Photo courtesy of Rachel Ray Magazine

Another first in this household (who knew Rachel Ray would be introducing so many firsts to me?), I've never served polenta.  Well, I take that back.... I tried a long time ago, but the only polenta I could find was the kind in the tube that looks like cut and bake cookies.  It was... um, weird.  And I didn't even bother to serve it to the family because I knew they wouldn't touch it.  But I saw a cooking show once that talked about instant polenta (which is basically corn meal), so I thought I'd give that one a try.

It was so yummy that I'm hooked.  Granted, what made is so yummy, namely heavy cream and lots of cheese, isn't so figure-friendly, so I'm going to have to watch how often I serve it up.  But wow, it was delicious!  I even had the leftovers for my lunch today and served cold bits of it to Ava for breakfast.  She gobbled it up.

Abe really liked this recipe, polenta and all.  I suspect that it's very similar in flavor to a chicken pot pie, minus the crust.  Just creamy and yummy and good.  And like all of the 20 dinners, it came together in a snap.

The fontina can be found in the deli cheese area.  It melts down into a cream, so it's perfect for something like this.  It adds a wonderful flavor, too.

Creamy Chicken with Soft Polenta
  
1 onion, minced 
3 tbsp. butter 
10 oz. sliced cremini (or baby bella or button mushrooms)
2 tbsp. flour 
1 1/2 cups heavy cream 
2 cups Roasted Squash, chopped 
1 1/2 cups Pulled Chicken 
1 cup peas 
Salt and pepper 
1 cup instant polenta
1 cup fontina cheese, chopped

In 12-inch skillet, cook onion in 2 tbsp. butter. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Stir in flour for 1 minute. Pour in 1 1/4 cups cream and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in squash, chicken and peas; season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Cook polenta in 3 1/2 cups boiling water with 1/2 tsp salt until thickened, 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup cream, 1 tbsp. butter and fontina until smooth. Serve chicken over polenta.

20 Dinners, 1 Day- Pulled Pork and Slaw Sandwiches

Photo courtesy of Rachel Ray Magazine

Wondering if Abe would like these pulled pork sandwiches is like wondering if Adam would like to watch Elmo.  I would've taken my own picture of the meal, but Abe's mitts were all over it in a nanosecond.

Not much to write except that this is for sure a new go-to quicky "what the heck do I make for dinner tonight??" meal.  Abe loved it so much that he replicated the slaw the next day just to snack on.

Pulled Pork and Slaw Sandwiches

3/4 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 1/2 cups coleslaw mix (7 ounces)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 cups Pulled Pork
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
4 hamburger buns

In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup vinegar, sugar and crushed red pepper; add coleslaw and season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Toss and let stand at least 15 minutes.  Pour off liquid and stir in mayonnaise. 

In saucepan, cook pork and remaining 1/4 cup vinegar, worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons water over medium heat to heat through, 2 to 3 minutes.  Divide pork among buns, top with some slaw and serve remainder alongside.