Week of Jan 22, 2017

Roast Chicken

Sun - Marsala Braised Ribs
Mon - Mediterranean Chicken and Couscous 
Tue - Roast Chicken
Wed - BLT Pasta
Thur -  Wild Rice and Chicken Soup
Fri - Pan Fried Pork Chops

Marsala Braised Rib
1 package Marsala Skillet Suace (22 oz)
2 lbs short ribs
1 (8 oz) container sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms or sliced Button Mushrooms
Brown ribs in a skillet with a 2 tbsp of veg oil on high, on all sides.
CROCK POT Remove from pan and place in slow cooker. Add mushrooms. Poor skillet sauce on top. cook on low for 8-10 hours.
OVEN: brown (same as above) in roasting pot with lid. add mushrooms. Pour skillet sauce on top. Stir. Cover and cook in oven 250 8-10 hours. Check every 2 hours to make sure there is enough liquid and it is not burning.

Roast Chicken
1 (5-6 lb) bone in whole chicken (completely defrosted if from frozen)

1 rib celery
1 carrot
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
handful fresh parsley and thyme sprigs
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Chop onion into 8 pieces. Cut carrot and celery into 3 pieces. Remove skin from garlic. Remove anything in cavity from chicken. Rinse and pat dry. stuff vegetables and 1/2 onion, 1/2 herbs into cavity and neck opening. Put other 1/2 onion and herbs in roasting pan. Rub chicken with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place a meat themamater (oven safe one) in thickest part of chicken. Place chicken on rack in roasting pan. add enough water in bottom to cover bottom of pan. Cover pan (use foil tent if no lid) Roast at 375 about 1 1/2 hours to 165 F internal temp. remove cover for last 20 minutes (when temp at 150 F) to crisp skin.

(BLT Pasta) Bacon, Linguini & Tomato Toss

Pampered Chef Recipe, with my changes

 12 slices bacon, divided

 4 cups (1 box) chicken broth

 2 cans (14.5 oz each)  Italian-style diced tomatoes (3½ cups/875 mL)

 4 garlic cloves, pressed

 1/2 tsp (2 mL) crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

 16 oz (one package) uncooked linguini pasta

 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

 1 cup (250 mL) loosely packed fresh parsley, divided

 4 oz (125 g) cream cheese

 1 oz (30 g) Parmesan cheese, grated

1.         Slice bacon crosswise into 1/4-in. (6-mm) strips using Santoku Knife. Place into (12-in./30-cm) Skillet; cook over medium-high heat 8-9 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from Skillet; drain on paper towels. Drain Skillet, leaving 1 tbsp (15 mL) drippings in Skillet.

2.         Add garlic pressed with Garlic Press and pepper flakes, if desired. Cook 10-20 seconds or until fragrant. Carefully add broth, tomates with juice, pasta, half of the bacon and salt. Simmer, covered, 9-10 minutes or until pasta is almost cooked but still firm, stirring occasionally.

3.        Finely chop parsley using Chef's Knife; reserve 1 tbsp (15 mL) for garnish. Cut cream cheese into cubes. Grate Parmesan cheese using Rotary Grater. Remove Skillet from heat. Stir in remaining parsley, cream cheese. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes or until pasta is tender and sauce is thickened. Serve with remaining bacon, Parmesan cheese and reserved parsley.

Yield: 6 servings Nutrients per serving: Calories 450, Total Fat 18 g, Saturated Fat 8 g, Cholesterol 45 mg, Carbohydrate 49 g, Protein 18 g, Sodium 1500 mg, Fiber 3 g

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
1 package (6.9 ounces) RICE-A-RONI® Wild Rice flavor
2 tablespoons of margarine, butter or spread with no trans fat

broth cooking

2-1/2 cups water
6 cups chicken broth (I will be making the broth from left over bones of roast chicken)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (again, left over)

2 celery ribs, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup frozen peas

In a large skillet or soup pot, saute onion in 2 tbsp butter until translucent. Remove, set aside. Combine rice-vermicelli mix and 2 tablespoons margarine in same skillet. Saute´ over medium heat until vermicelli is golden brown, stirring frequently. Slowly stir in 2 1/2 cups water and Special Seasonings; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes. 

Add broth, carrot, celery, cooked onion, peas, chicken to skillet. Boil until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Add slat and pepper as needed. Serve hot.

Pan Fried Pork Chops

4-6 (about 1 1/2 lb) pork chops

3/4 + 1/4 cup  milk

1 egg

3/4 cup bread crumbs (I use Progresso Italian)

Oil to coat the bottom of the pan (veg or canola)

flour coating:

1/2 cup AP flour

1 tbsp seasoning salt (such as Johnny's)

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

To bread the chops you will need: 2 bowls, 2 paper plates, 1 non-stick cooling rack, a fork. Set up the assembly line: bowl with 3/4 cup of milk, paper plate with flour coating, bowl with 1 egg and 1/4 cup milk beaten together, paper plate with bread crumbs, and last the cooling rack. Put all the chops in the 1 st bowl. let set in the milk for 5 minutes. One chop at a time, place on the flour and coat with the coating. Dip in the egg mix. the place on the bread crumbs and coat the chop. Lay on the cooling rack until all chops are breaded.

To cook the chops, heat the oil in a large skillet (with a lid) on med-high heat. Add chops one at a time, being careful not to splatter yourself. Cover, and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the bottom side is golden brown and top is starting to turn from pink to white. Turn and cook until done. Middle of chop should reach 160F. Let rest 5 minutes on the cooling rack to drain oil. Serve with mashed potatoes and milk gravy (recipe follows).

Milk Gravy

About 1 tbsp Pan drippings from meat (chops, bacon, sausage, ect)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp leftover flour coating (or AP flour + seasoning salt)

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups milk

Scrap the pan and get the chucks out. Melt the butter in the pan on high heat. using a whisk, add the flour coating mix to the pan, turn down the heat to low and stir for 2 minutes or until it smells nutty. Turn the heat back up to high and add the milk, constantly whisking. Boil until the gravy comes to the thickness you like (remember it will continue to thicken off the heat for a bit). Taste, add salt and pepper as necessary.