No Way Nuggets

Rex's Daycare does not provide lunch for the children - such a pain, I know!  But just because it would be easier if they did, it doesn't stop me from trying to make his lunch special.  I was blessed with a great eater.  He is not like most picky toddlers I hear about that live off of grapes and cheese.  He willingly eats meat, loves rice with any type of gravy, still digs on pureed veggies and can't get enough whole grains.  Sure, he has a few hangups but in general he eats great.  And he eats A LOT.  So I normally send some type of grilled meat leftover from the night before, a starch, a veggie pouch or yogurt and a granola bar.  I have special little containers and I make sure it appears well balanced and appealing.  Very rarely, if we eat out the night before or have something strange or extremely spicy I have to send Rex with a sandwich.  But those occasions are few and far between.  So I was quite appalled when his teacher made a lunch suggestion to me one day a few weeks ago.  She said that Rex was "sharing" one of the other students lunch items and he really seemed to enjoy them.  I was intrigued and always open for suggestions so I inquired further.  That is when I found out that this lucky Tot's Mom placed frozen chicken nuggets in a Ziploc bag in the morning, left them out in the lunch box all day, so they were (according to Rex's teacher) perfectly thawed by mid day.  "It is so easy", she remarked.  I smiled politley, nodded, gathered Rex's things and started our short walk home.

I am not a food snob by any means.  Sure, I like fancy cheese and will spend a small fortune on French Sea Salt and have no problem throwing down $30 bucks for cured meats to snack on over the weekend but anyone that truly knows me knows that I love low brow food as much as the next guy.  I eat fast food more frequently than I would like to admit and can't wait to order bar food at the local dives as soon as I arrive.  But I have to put my foot down somewhere and I think that somewhere is not cooking my child's frozen processed "chicken" nuggets.  It just seems wrong and I can't even force myself to buy those things even if I were to cook them.  However, being the middle child that I am, I aim to please and wanted to give Rex a chicken nugget option every now and then and was so happy to find this recipe.  It was the perfect compromise!

 

Chicken Nuggets and Honey Mustard
Adapted Cooking Light September 2012

Ingredients

 

Chicken nuggets:

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup dill pickle juice
• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

 
Sauce:

• 1/4 cup canola mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

 

Preparation

1. To prepare the chicken nuggets, combine first 3 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning occasionally.



2. Place panko in a large skillet; cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently.




3. Preheat oven to 400°.

4. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place panko in a zip-top plastic bag. Combine 2 tablespoons water and egg in a shallow dish; dip half of chicken in egg mixture.



Add chicken to bag; seal and shake to coat. Remove chicken from bag; arrange chicken in a single layer on a baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining egg mixture, panko, and chicken. Bake chicken at 400° for 12 minutes or until done.

5. To prepare sauce, combine mayonnaise and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; stir to combine.



Serve with chicken nuggets.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Smoothies for Smalls: Odwalla Fruit Smoothies for Kids

I was delighted to be asked by BlogHer to share this episode of Weelicious Lunch Crunch sponsored by Odwalla Fruit Smoothies For Kids with my readers. Enjoy!

Strange Seasons

We don't mark our Seasons here in New Orleans using temperature changes.  The truth is that it will be hot (really really hot) for probably three more months in my hometown.  We don't have a true Fall and our Winter is always very mild.   We note season changes using other factors.  Summer into Fall is usually the end of SnoBall Season and the beginning of College Football, we work with what we have ;-)  So even though we won't have to retire our grill anytime soon, I feel like my days for recipes like these are getting numbered.  Especially since this has been the frequent scene around my house:

Grilled Watermelon with Prosciutto and Feta

Adapted from Southern Living August 2012

 

 Ingredients

• 3 (1/2-inch-thick) watermelon rounds, quartered
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Sea salt
• 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• 4 ounces feta, crumbled
• Fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

 

Preparation

1. Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high) heat. Brush both sides of each watermelon quarter with olive oil, and season with desired amount of salt. Cut prosciutto into thin strips.
2. Grill watermelon quarters, without grill lid, 2 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear.



3. Transfer watermelon to a serving plate; top with feta, prosciutto strips, and fresh basil. Drizzle watermelon with balsamic. Serve immediately.



Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Quite the Quiche !

I just finished telling you in my last post about how I have to have some type of protein in my meals to feel satisfied and here I am following up with another meatless dish.  I love quiche, and so does my husband (don't tell anyone, I think that does something to your manly status).  I have made tons of quiches in the past.  Most of them were packed with meat and Forrest admitted to being partial to those, but he said the caramelized onions in this dish were the star.  I served this for dinner, one big slice along side a piece of grilled andouille.  The presence of the zucchini made this seem like more of a lunch/dinner meal rather than breakfast, but I don't see why it couldn't be served at any time of day.  There are two tips for making this recipe much easier than it seems: caramelize your onions the day before you plan to make the quiche, and use a mandoline to get perfectly uniform and extra thin zucchini slices (I just use a cheap handheld one, nothing fancy).

Zucchini and Caramelized Onion Quiche

Adapted from Cooking Light August 2012

 

 Ingredients

• 1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups (1/8-inch-thick) slices zucchini
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Basic Caramelized Onions
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper/cayenne 
• 3 large eggs
• 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

 

Preparation

1. Caramelize Onions.  Vertically Slice 3 large onions and saute in a pan with 1Tbs of olive oil, 1/2 Tbs of butter and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Cook for 1 hour on low heat until the onions are dark brown and caramelized; stirring frequently.



I did this the night before to cut down on the preparation time for the quiche.  3 large onions will cook down to amount to about 1/2 cup of caramelized onions.

2. Preheat oven to 425°.

3. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Fit dough into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Fold edges under; flute (as you can tell from my pictures, I am not a good "fluter" - in fact, I am a terrible "fluter"!).



Line dough with foil; arrange pie weights or dried beans on foil.



Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove weights and foil; bake an additional 2 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

4. Reduce oven temperature to 375°.

5. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl. Add zucchini and garlic; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sauté 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Cool slightly.



6. Arrange Basic Caramelized Onions over bottom of crust;



top with zucchini mixture.



Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, milk, flour, pepper (black and red), eggs, and cheese in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.



Pour milk mixture over zucchini mixture.



 Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.



Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Presto Pasta

 

I find it hard to feel satisfied with meatless meals.  I think it is more mental than anything else.  There are certainly a number of ingredients you can add to a meatless dish in order to fill up your belly, but I always feel deprived if there isn't a single "meat" ingredient.  I was expecting to have the same reaction to this dish, but decided to give it a try anyway since it was a super fast weeknight option.  To my surprise, I was very satisfied with all of the ingredients here.  I didn't miss a thing while enjoying this hearty meatless pasta.  I think the use of fresh pasta was a good choice as it sped up the cooking time and added a special touch to this perfect "few ingredient" dish!

Fettuccine with Tomato-Cream Sauce
Adapted from Cooking Light August 2012

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked fresh fettuccine
• 4 quarts boiling water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, drained and crushed
• 3 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup small fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved

 

Preparation

1. Cook pasta in 4 quarts boiling water with 1/4 teaspoon salt for 4 minutes or until noodles are almost al dente. Drain pasta through a sieve over a bowl; reserve 1 1/3 cups pasta cooking water.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes or until very fragrant and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and tomatoes; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.



Stir in reserved 1 1/3 cups pasta water; bring to a boil. Add cream cheese; stir until smooth.



Add pasta, olives, and red pepper;



cook 3 minutes or until pasta is al dente, tossing to coat. Divide pasta mixture among 4 shallow bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon basil. Divide Parmigiano-Reggiano evenly among servings.



Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Bun Bust

One of my favorite things to get while dining out casually when I lived on the East Coast was Shrimp or Lobster Rolls.  I didn't live in Maine so the quality of lobster was never really the star of the show.  My favorite part was the New England Style hot dog bun with the split top.  When I saw this shrimp salad roll in the latest edition of Cooking Light I was so excited to see it served on that type of bun.  I had my hopes set high that I would be able to find that specific delivery method here in the south.  I searched several supermarkets in my area all to no avail.  But I shouldn't have been surprised, because I think the reason I love those buns so much is because I had never seen them while living in New Orleans and they were a novelty to me.  I would have been thrilled to have been able to serve these on the perfectly grilled split top bun to stay authentic, but I had to make a regular old hot dog bun do.  And by time I took my first bite I had forgotten my ingredient substitution because the shrimp salad was so yummy that it didn't matter.

Shrimp Salad Rolls
Adapted from Cooking Light August 2012

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 pound)
• 1/4 cup canola mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 4 (1 1/2-ounce) hot dog buns
• 8 Boston lettuce leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; swirl to coat. Add shrimp to pan; season with salt and pepper to taste (not the salt and pepper called out in the ingredient list, that is for later); sauté 4 minutes or until done.



Place shrimp on a large plate; chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Coarsely chop shrimp.



Combine mayonnaise, and next 6 ingredients (through cayenne pepper) in a large bowl.



Add Shrimp to the mayonnaise mixture,



and mix to combine.



3. Open buns without completely splitting; arrange, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Spray with Pam.  Broil 1 minute or until toasted. Place 2 lettuce leaves in each bun; top each serving with 1/2 cup shrimp mixture.



Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Wish Wash

Check out my latest non-food related indulgence here:

http://elizabethsedibleexperiencereviews.blogspot.com/2012/07/dove-renewing-body-wash-review.html