Long time no post

 I have not been feeling well so not as many pictures of new recipes as a result. I have discovered some amazing flavors of yogurt though and have been eating my favorite apple variety Cosmic Crisp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely gigantic apples that are just a wonderful treat for eating. I don't have good front teeth so I cut it up into small pieces and there is enough in that one apple to make a decent 8" pie. Seriously. Cosmic Crisp, expensive even at my store but so worth it. 

Due to having loads of turkey left and not eating as much of what was in the freezer I was able to splurge on a rack of pork. This was the smallest Costco had and perfect size for two of us and only $17. I am still debating whether to do it as a savory herb style or bbq, since we got some white potatoes and yukon gold I'm thinking savory with a nice gravy and mashed potatoes. That is going to be Christmas Eve dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Kitchen hack: If you want a toasted hot dog bun but toaster slots are too small, oven is too much work and you're boiling your hot dog... use your toaster like a broiler only reversed. Gets it mostly toasty and no burning at the 2 or 3 setting. 

Chicken cutlets or my attempt at chicken schnitzel. 

Butterfly cut two chicken breasts and then beat them between two pieces of plastic wrap until about 1/4" thick or closest. Standard breading set up:

1/2 c flour

2 eggs whisked

1 cup Italian bread crumbs with 1 tsp each garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper and additional Italian seasoning if you wish. 

I ended up cutting one flattened breast in half because it was a bit too thin on one side and gave way. Generously salt and pepper the pieces.

Heat 1/2 cup oil in pan until shimmer.

Coat chicken in flour, shake off excess, dredge in egg thoroughly then coat in breadcrumbs, pressing firmly to get the crumbs to stick. Fry one at a time if pieces are too big, doesn't take too long due to how thin the chicken is. Golden brown on each side then remove to paper towel on plate.

 

I forgot to make gravy but we had some of the yukon gold potatoes baked in the microwave. Delicious dinner and very simple. The breading turned out perfectly seasoned and there was an enormous one left over we split for lunch the next day. Partner cut his in pieces to put in ramen and I used my half on a bun for a chicken sandwich.

Today's meal was shrimp tacos or shrimp and rice bowl for partner with lime cilantro rice. I made chipotle ranch sauce which was insanely more easy than other recipes. Ranch dressing from a packet, whisked it and let it set for an hour. Took half of that in a smaller jar and added two finely chopped chipotles and some adobo from the can with an added clove of garlic crushed. I think I added a smidge of chili powder and cumin as well. It is delicious!

I have some pre-shredded cabbage (cole slaw mix) and added some of the sauce to a handful of cabbage for topping. Oh but the shrimp you say? I found a packet of Mojito Lime marinade mix at the store and followed the directions on that. It cautioned that you only need to marinate the shrimp for up to a half hour. I lost track of time and may have gone over that. If I didn't have the lime rice or the slaw the shrimp would have been a bit overpowering on salt flavor. But the combination of pico, cabbage and avocado it was absolutely delicious! Total do again for sure!

 

Pico de Gallo

1 roma tomato fine chopped 

1/4 yellow onion fine chopped

1/4 jalapeño fine chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp lime juice. 

 

There have been other meals but again, I am more focused on actually fixing the food and eating than impressing people with how it looks. Hopefully the coming year there will be more fantastic, terrific recipes and meals to share.