Chicken Pamesan and History of April fools day

This is a coyuple of days late but I thought I shoul re share this post.

This History of April Fools day is very interesting in 1582 King Charles 1X moved the New year from the week of March 25 - April 1st to January 1st. The problem was the people of this time were not as hooked up or connected as we were today. So some people celebrated on the Original date of March 25- April 1 and others who were more informed celebrated on January 1. The King heard that people were still celebrating on the old week of new years and he called them fools! These people were labeled as Fools and were sent invitations to phony parties, events and all sorts of other activities. The people who had been pranked became known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish" because a young naive fish is easily caught. However, the most common of all pranks  was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke. So today in honor of April fools day I'm going to do a good fake out recipe.
I love a good fake out recipe so in honor of April fools day I am going to share my Chicken Parmesan! Recipe. This is a great recipe because its quick and easy plus you are in and out of the kitchen within 30 minutes. My kind of cooking.

Image courtesy of  the Museum of Hoaxes

Chicken Parmesan Ingredients
1 package of Chicken Tenders
1 cup of Oat Flour
1 cup of Bread Crumbs I used Glutino
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 Jar of Favorite Marinara Sauce
1 box of Favorite Pasta
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Equipment1 Frying Pan
Saran Wrap
Hammer or Frying pan to pound meat down flat
Pyrex or oven safe pan for chicken

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil in Frying pan Heat up add to pan more as needed.

Boil Water for pasta

Pound all Chicken tenders to the size of a chicken breast

Coat Pounded Tenders in Eggs

Mix Oat Flour and Bread Crumbs together adding Salt and Pepper to Taste. Dip Chicken in after coated in Eggs first.

To make sure oil is ready put the bottom of a wooden spoon in oil should boil around stick.

When Oil is hot place breaded chicken in batches into pan until all complete and golden. Note these will not be cooked through so you will need to put in oven to cook thoroughly for about 20 minutes after browning in EVOO.

Heat Sauce in Pan

Serve with pasta and Chicken Poor sauce over then sprinkle with cheese and serve with a fresh green salad.

Enjoy and Bon Apetit!

Mrs. Mix It







                                 

St. Joseph's day on a Meatless Monday Lemon Asparagus tomato Pasta

With St. Joseph’s day today and it being meatless Monday also. I thought I would share with you a recipe for St. Joseph’s day and a meatless one and here are some other St. Joseph's Day recipes if you don't want a meatless one. I love to create recipes that are using what ever you have in the refrigerator. I have had many a meal that I have gotten home from work and both husband and daughter are very hungry and its Monday night and my farmers market is not until Tuesday night. So by then the vegetables are not as fresh as I will by tomorrow. So I looked in my refrigerator and I had a basket of organic cherry tomatoes a half of bunch of asparagus a lemon and some Parmesan cheese. So with two hungry bodies I started to boil my water for the pasta.

Lemon Asparagus Tomato Pasta
2 Cups of Cherry or Grape Tomatoes.
20 stalks of Asparagus
1/4 cup Olive oil
1 lemon for juice
2 cups of Parmesan Cheese shredded
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic
Gluten Free Pasta


Boil Pasta in water with a couple cloves of garlic..

Tip of Day: In order to have a great Gluten Free Pasta here’s my secret, I either flavor water with salt or a bullion cube and if I want that extra garlic flavor I will boil a couple of cloves of garlic.
The best way to make gluten free pasta is to boil water first add pasta and flavoring then constantly stir for 7 minutes so it does not stick together. Then let it sit in water with no heat for 3 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly in hot water so pasta gets the starch off of it. Gluten free pasta is a little bit soupy when you cook this way but once you rinse you will see the difference.

Chop Asparagus in 2 to 3 inch strips. On a large Cookie sheet place Asparagus and Tomato

After pasta is cooked add the juice of a lemon.

Next add vegetables

Then Cheese toss and serve.



Enjoy and Bon Appetit-


Sheila Fretz

Sweet and Savory Meatballs for St. Joseph's Day

The other day I was asked by one of the Mom's at Miss J's school to join the scholarship comity I quickly asked what does this entail because as you all know I wear a lot of hats in my home and in my life. The person from my daughters school said there are two dinners per year plus a handful of other fundraisers. I quickly said yes and then asked what was the next function, and they told me it was the Feast of Saint Joseph's Dinner their annual Pasta Dinner. I knew right away that it would be a good fit and I offered to give a necklace out of a jewelry line that I used to produce. So as soon as I said yes I don't know why but I  always revert back to food and my food imagination goes wild and immediately I thought  of this great dinner that I originally had OnefabulousMoms Best Meat Balls Ever at her house  one night., she happens to be my neighbor However, I didn’t have the recipe. So I went back to my taste bud, until after I made my own recipe up from  memory and I remembered they were a sweet and savory and there was some kind of dried fruit in them. She had told me that she had originally got the recipe from the Oprah Show.  I wanted to make it my own so I went to the drawing board and this is what I ended up with. If your looking for a fabulous meatball recipe I believe this is where its at.

Makes 15 to 20 Meatballs depending on Size.

Sweet and Savory Meatballs:
1 package Italian sausage (mild or spicy depending what you like! remove casings
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 cup chopped dates
1 cup grated Parmesan/Romano cheese
3/4 cup Glutino bread crumbs you can use regular bread crumbs too but I like these because my little one is Gluten Free.
2 teaspoons Dried Basil
3 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Jar of your favorite Jarred Marinara Sauce
Cooking Spray

Equipment Needed:
1 Frying Pan
1 set of tongs
Paper towels to drain on
1 Plate to place Paper towels on
1 crock pot
wooden spoon to rest oil

Combine in a bowl all ingredients and mash together until fully .

Preheat Olive Oil in a Frying Pan.

Tip of the day: To test and see if oil is ready place the end of a wooden spoon in oil if you get bubbles its ready.

Next use a Mellon Baller or cookie scoop about the size of a Ping Pong Ball and scoop Meatballs then roll in your hand until ball forms. You will need to do these meatballs in batches so as soon as you are done making all balls . Slowly brown. You are only going to brown.

Do not overcook because you will be cooking in Slow Cooker after you brown in that Jarred Marinara sauce.  After you have browned all Meatballs drain on paper towel.Next spray crock pot with Cooking spray. Then poor Jarred Marinara sauce in Crock pot place on high and carefully place in Marinara Sauce.

Flip after an hour Cook on high for 2 hours. Or on low for 4 hours. Serve Over your favorite Pasta.


Enjoy and Bon Appetite



Sheila Fretz

Spinach Lasagna Gluten Free

The other day I was in Whole foods and I saw they had Lasagna noodles and they looked so yummy and tasty. So I knew I had some spaghetti sauce in the freezer and I had some spinach and Ricotta cheese so it was time to make lasagna again. I really missed Lasagna and now that I found these no bake lasagna I would be making it. The only problem was i got a phone call while baking this so it's a little toastier than normal.

Spinach Lasagna

2 eggs

1 ½ cups of Ricotta Cheese

1 Box of gluten free lasagna noodles

2 cups cooked spinach

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce I used Drunken Meat Sauce

1 cup mozzarella cheese

cooking spray

Equipment

1 9 x 9 pan

1 sheet of foil

Preheat oven to 350

Warm sauce in a large pot.

Take 2 eggs whisk together Add Ricotta Cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper to eggs .

Cook spinach in microwave according to directions then place in cheese cloth and drain all excess water off.

Next add spinach to Ricotta and Egg Mixture Mix thoroughly.

Take 9 x9 pan and spray with cooking spray, Add sauce on bottom of pan, Next Place noodles horizontally on sauce. Then add Cheese and Spinach mixture.

Next place noodles vertically and add sauce, then add Cheese and Spinach mixture.

Repeat until cheese mixture is gone. Next place noodles vertically and add sauce.Cook covered for 45 minutes then uncover and add cheese until golden brown.

Enjoy and Bon Appetit

Sheila Fretz

Fast and Flavor full Pasta

So the other day I received this fabulous box

When I opened it look what I found. This fabulous box has aprons and cookbooks and all sorts of goodies including 3 kinds of stewed tomatoes.  So the main reason Red Gold sent us this fabulous swag is for # Iron Chef Challenge with Ott A.  So I quickly put it away knowing the recipe was due on March 18th a Friday. I would post a meatless meal in honor of lent, me being the good catholic girl.  However, this post was written prior to the horrible earthquake in Japan So it will be a Meatless Monday post.

Fast and Flavor full Pasta Ingredients:

½ cup of  lemon juice,  about 2 lemons.

1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 Can of Red Gold Tomato and Basil diced tomatoes

1 Cup Marinated  Artichokes quartered.

1 Cup of Sun Dried Tomatoes

1 Box of Pasta I used Gluten Free

Boil Pasta according to directions until fully cooked.

Tip if the Day: Salt your water this is how the pasta gets its flavoring. If I'm making a meat sauce that includes Beef or Chicken. I place a Beef or Chicken bouillon cube in the pasta while boiling. This always gives it additional flavor.

While  pasta is cooking make sauce by taking the juice of two lemons and the Parmesan Cheese in a pan until cheese melts and combines with lemon juice.

Next drain Red Gold tomatoes with lid on if a little extra juice stays in can that’s okay.

Add Artichokes and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Toss with cooked pasta serve immediately.

Bon Appetite and Enjoy

Sheila Fretz

Easy Breezy Pasta with Asparagus, Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes with a Mushroom Glaze

The Other Day after cleaning out my refrigerator, I noticed I had some asparagus that had started to wilt and  needed to be eaten right away; and some Cherry Tomatoes in the same condition. I thought to myself I have to make something right away with these items or they are going to end up in the garbage in the next couple of days. So I pulled out a couple Chicken tenders out of the freezer and defrosted them. Then I started to envision what we could have for dinner.

Easy Breezy Pasta with Asparagus, Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes with a Mushroom Glaze Ingredients:

1 Large Bunch of Asparagus about 2 cups chopped in 3 pieces

2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes

4 Chicken tenders

3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon Olive Oil

2 Tablespoon of crushed Garlic

1 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

3/4 Cup of Mushroom Broth

1 box of Cooked Pasta I used Gluten Free

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Pepper

Garnish with Chopped Basil Optional

Boil Water for Pasta and add Olive 1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Take Olive Oil and Heat in Wok, Cook Garlic 1st until golden, Add Chicken

Then add Asparagus and Tomatoes

Add Salt Pepper and Garlic Powder

Add Mushroom Broth then Parmesan Cheese

When Pasta is cooked strain and poor back in Large Pot Pasta was cooked in then add Chicken Asparagus mixture and Toss evenly.

Serve with Parmesan and Chopped Basil optional.

Bon Appetite and Enjoy

Sheila Fretz