Pork Schnitzel

Alright, so I've lived in Germany a whole 8 months now and have yet to make Schnitzel for dinner, can you even believe that?! It seems like it would be the very first thing I would make here - well that or Bratwurst - don't get any ideas it will be a cold day in hell before I decide to cook Bratwurst. LOL Sorry it's just not going to happen. Back to the schnitzel! Basically this is the easiest thing to do with pork and I have actually been making my pork chops like this for years (minus the tenderizing). It's simple yet delicious and just to make it a little healthier I prepared a small spinach salad with tomatoes, bacon bits (just a few don't judge), balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  

Ingredients:
2 pork chops, boneless
1 egg - lightly beaten
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of flour
Salt, Pepper
Olive Oil


Directions:
Take each of the pork chops and trim the excess fat from the sides. Then with a meat mallet, tenderize the pork chops until they are approximately 1/4" in thickness. (You might want to slice the tenderized pork in half if you'd like smaller portions.) In a small bowl or plate, place the flour, salt and pepper together and mix gently. Dredge the pork into the flour mixture, then into the egg mixture, then into the breadcrumbs. Make sure you coat each side of the pork before moving on to the next ingredient. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and then cook the pork for about 3-4 minutes on each side. The pork chops should be a golden brown on both sides. Serve it with a light spinach salad or whatever you're in the mood for - it's light and scrumptious!

Pictures:

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ok, so I have been trying to stockpile my yummy/piping hot meals for when the winter actually hits. I have this crazy feeling that once the snow starts falling I am going to just hibernate in my home and let Zach get the groceries and household supplies. I mean really, what could I possibly need out in a blizzard that I cant send Zach to pick up on his way home from work, right?! So, in an effort to 'be prepared' I've been researching different soups, stews, and casseroles that are both easy and healthy for that frigid weather. Lucky for me a few nights ago I stumbled upon this recipe on the DLife website. (And since you know I'm always interested in a diabetic-friendly meal I thought this sounded both delightful and healthy too.) I will tell you that you just have to make the Dutch Oven Bread to go with this soup - I swear it just makes it that much more amazing. Having said that, please note that you have to start the bread the night before...boo I know but it's worth that little extra bit of effort. Alright, enough stalling right? Let's cook...

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh chopped onion
2 stalks of fresh broccoli
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp white all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 pinch black pepper
1 cup fat free milk
1 pinch garlic powder

Directions: 

In a pan, melt 1 tbsp of the margarine and then add the chopped onion. The longer you cook your onions down the less crunchy they will be – I personally despise crunchy onions so I cook them down a good 5-8 minutes. Once the onions are cooked to your liking, add the chicken broth, broccoli, and garlic powder. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until your vegetables are tender. (If you have a food processor, place half of the mixture in a blender or food processor, cover and blend 30 to 60 seconds or until smooth. Then repeat with remaining vegetable mixture and set aside.) If you do not have a food processor, or if you’d just prefer not to get another gadget out of your cupboards you can use a potato masher to smash the broccoli mixture right in the pan that you’ve cooked it in. (This is much easier and just as delicious).

In a separate saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tbsps of margarine. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper and let the mixture brown up lightly. Add the milk all at once, stirring rapidly with a wire whisk. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Once this is attained, pour this creamy sauce right into the blended broccoli mixture. Cook and stir until soup is heated through. Season to taste with pepper.

Pictures:

YUM!

 Broccoli - I used a potato masher since I don't have a food processor but either one works!

 OMG - best loaf of Dutch Oven Bread I've ever made!

 The "Cream" in Cream of Broccoli :)

 Simmering deliciousness!!!

Oven Baked French Fries with Garlic Aioli

So last night I was thinking SCHNITZEL and potatoes for dinner right? Wrong, after looking at the exorbitant amount of calories I managed to consume during my day, I quickly realized that I would have to spend a good hour or two on the treadmill in order for this to not count against me lol. Of course I realized this after I had already washed and sliced up the potatoes so....we ended up having oven baked french fries for dinner. I would have felt badly if I just plopped some ketchup on the plate and said "Here Zach...I made you this" haha so I whipped up a little garlic aioli sauce for the side. It was terrific! This was super simple, but takes a good 45-60 minutes depending how well you like your fries done!

Ingredients:
3 baking potatoes
Nonstick cooking spray (I used Pam butter flavored)
Salt, Pepper, Cajun Seasoning, Garlic Salt
1 clove of Garlic - minced
2 tbsp Greek yogurt - plain
1.5 tbsp mayonaise

Directions:
Wash and slice the potatoes into small strips, the smaller the strip the crispier the french fry will get. Spread the potatoes onto a baking pan and lightly dust them with nonstick cooking spray, or EVOO if you'd prefer. Generously sprinkle salt, pepper, cajun seasoning and garlic salt on top and toss into the oven. After 20 minutes remove the pan and flip the french fries over and repeat the seasoning above. Let them cook until golden brown. That's it - see I told you it was easy!!!

While the french fries are cooking in the oven, you can make the aioli. Simply combine the mayonaise, greek yogurt, and minced garlic clove together in a small dish and refrigerate. Again, that's it! Serve chilled with the hot fries and enjoy!!

Pictures:

Chicken, Broccoli, Penne Alfredo

Ok so it's been ridiculously chilly here in Germany the past week or two that we've been home and all I want to do is bundle up in my downy-fluff blanket and eat warm, delicious food! At the same time I am making a conscious effort to slim down so this puts me in quite the predicament!

Back in the days of pregnancy #1 I had the lovely blessing of gestational diabetes and during that time I became well acquainted with the DLife website - it's a fantastic website for anyone who has diabetes! It has a ginormous variety of recipes and breaks each one down so that you can see how many calories, carbs, etc. So I logged my happy self right onto this website and began searching for something warm and savory...the end result was Alfredo Sauce :) DELISH!!! I used a low-carb penne pasta and threw in some broccoli and grilled chicken. It was amazing, I swear it!  

Ingredients:
1 box of Dreamfields Low Carb Penne Pasta
1 head of Broccoli, steamed and chopped roughly
2 chicken breasts
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2.5 cups of low fat milk
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes
nonstick Spray (PAM)


Directions:
In a pot, steam the broccoli until tender then set aside.

In a pan, spray some nonstick spray and heat on med-high heat. Lightly sprinkle salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes on the chicken breasts and then cook until golden brown. Set aside to rest, don't cut into them until you're ready to serve everything!


Bring a pot of water to boil and salt heavily. Plop those noodles in and while they're cooking you can start the alfredo sauce...



In a pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Make sure you mix the ingredients completely and then let it brown up - it takes about 5 minutes or so. Then whisk in the milk gradually, stirring continually. Feel free to add salt and pepper here to your liking. Once the sauce has thickened you can add the parmesan cheese and stir thoroughly.


In a large bowl combine the noodles, alfredo sauce, and broccoli and mix together. Serve a few scoops up into a bowl and then slice up a few strips of chicken and place it on top. I added a little shredded cheese on top just for good measure :)


Pictures:

Apple Crumb Cake

Alright, well tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we were invited to have dinner at Bill and Tina's house which is just lovely because I'll be damned if I was going to attempt to make a turkey in this miniature oven lol. Even if I was lucky enough to fit the turkey into the oven there would have been no room for anything additional so it just would have been a pathetic Thanksgiving. (Not that I can really complain since this will be my THIRD Thanksgiving this year haha). Anyway, so in addition to the Celery and Onion Stuffing that I posted a few days ago I am also baking a dessert. Now of course when you think Thanksgiving you think PIE but I wanted to do something different so I am baking an Apple Crumb Cake and OMG my entire house smells divine! 

I initially found this recipe when I was visiting my parents in North Carolina and it was a hit there so I'm doing it again :) It's actually Emeril's recipe but I have changed a few things around and omitted the glaze that he normally adds. (The link to the one he makes is as follows: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/apple-coffee-cake-with-crumble-topping-and-brown-sugar-glaze-recipe/index.html) But here's the way I did it...

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 stick of butter - salted

1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup light sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large apples - peeled, cored and diced into small cubes

Cooking Spray (Pam)

Crumble Topping:

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter, softened 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with the cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges. 

To make the crumb topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. (**My cake took about 65 minutes but I used a s deeper dish and perhaps the German altitude has something to do with it because I always have to bake things longer than recipes call for with this oven. So just make sure that the center is not wet before taking it out of the oven.) Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. 

Obviously, devour this when it’s warm with a cup of coffee/tea/cocoa/spiced cider/or milk!  It’s AMAZING!

Pictures:

 Everything mixed before adding the crumb topping...

 With the crumb topping.

Jer's Caulifower Soup!

Let's just start with one word: YUM!
Ok so back in the day I used to hate vegetables...ok so some of them I still DO hate lol but I've come a long way so try not to judge me. Anyhoo, one vegetable that I have always loved is cauliflower. Perhaps because whenever my mom would make it for dinner it would be smothered in a delectable cheese sauce. If it wasn't in cheese then I normally wasn't interested; however, like I said, I've come a long way lol. So when my friend Jeremy posted on facebook this delightful meal I was basically craving it instantly. And you know what, it was just as magnificent as I had dreamed it would be! So thanks Jer!
I would also like to say that had I not been trying to 'watch my weight' due to the fact that I have overindulged for the past 8 weeks in the states, I would have absolutely baked a loaf of that dutch oven bread and devoured the two recipes together. They honestly would have been delightful - ok now I am bummed that I didn't make the bread lol. Whatever. Alright, lets cook...

Ingredients:

1 stick Butter (divided in half)

½ whole Onion (diced)

1 whole Carrot (diced) – optional, I didn’t use it but I HATE carrots J

1 stalk Celery (diced)

1 - 2 Whole Cauliflower Heads (roughly chopped)

2 Tablespoons Parsley (chopped) - optional

2 quarts Chicken Broth – but Jeremy used Vegetable Broth in his so whatever you’d perfer

4 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

2 ½ cups Heavy Cream (divided in 2 cup and ½ cup)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Cayenne (pinch) - optional

Sour Cream

Directions:

In a large soup pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for until it starts to turn brown.

Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes.

Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine.

Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, pour in vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan make a rue of 4 tablespoons melted butter, stir flour into melted butter until smooth.  Add 2 cups heavy cream and whisk to combine. Once the rue has thickened, add it to the simmering soup – then add ½ cup extra heavy cream. 

Add seasonings as desired

Allow to simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Before serving, place a dollop of sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen and then add the hot soup.

Pictures:

 Celery, Onions, and Cauliflower

 Pre-simmer...

Et Voila - Seriously add a slice of crusty bread and DEVOUR!

 

Sidenote - how is anyone supposed to cook when this is happening...