Schnitzel

Thanks Davi for being my supermodel for the schnitzel debut!

When I think of German/Austrian food, I think schnitzel...and brotchen, and brezeln, and lebkuchen, and linzesuppe, and rhabarber kuchen...and, and, and.

But always first is schnitzel. Near and dear to my heart and my stomach, this wonderful pork cutlet is super easy and most delicious and must be shared. Someday, when I get my dream diner, I'll erase these posts so I can keep it all secret, but for now the secrets out!

Schnitzel

1. Boneless pork cuts (However many you need. I don't recommend getting the thin sliced.)
2. 5-6 eggs, depending on how many you end up making. (think about 1-2eggs for 3-4 schnitzel.)
3. Salt & pepper the eggs or meat, whatever you prefer.
4. Plain breadcrumbs (Again, depends on how many you are making. I just keep pouring out what I need as I go.)
5. Flour (Same deal as the bread crumbs, I just fill a plate with edges and add as I need.)
6. You need a mallet, I prefer using a rubber mallet myself, place the cutlets between plastic wrap and pound away. I like to start in the middle and work my way out; they should be thin enough to see through.
7. Start by dredging the meat in the flour making sure it is completely covered. Next, dip it in the egg coating it entirely, be sure that you get the excess off by letting it drip down before coating with the crumbs. Lastly, press the crumbs firmly onto the pork in the plate or pie dish (what I usually use).
8. Fry in vegetable oil or whatever you prefer in a deep enough skillet to at least cover half the schnitzel. I used an oil thermometer last time and it seemed to fry best between 325-350 degrees for about 4-5 minutes on each side, approximately. I mostly eye-ball it, it should look a deep golden brown like in the picture.

Place the finished schnitzel in a dish lined with paper towels because this is greasy!

This a big family favorite, hope you enjoy it, too!

P.S Don't forget the lemon wedges! Total must with schnitzel!! Squirt it all over the top like you do with fish.

Smothered Grilled Chicken

Found this recipe at Camille's Casa and loved it! Of course, I need to re-post it so I can remember to make it over and over again! So simple and healthy!

Smothered Grilled Chicken

Defrosted chicken breasts (however many you need), Salt&Peppered

Fresh spinach

Sliced tomato (1-2 slices per chicken breast)

Shredded cheese (any kind you prefer, I used colby)

• Using a grill pan, grill the chicken in olive oil on both sides until cooked through and golden.
• Turn the heat to low or off even
• Top with spinach first and then tomato
• Cover the pan and let steam until the spinach is just wilted and then top with shredded cheese.
• Cover again for just a minute or two until the cheese is melted.

** This is sooooooo good! No joke, I could eat this almost every night! Next time I make it I'll post a picture. Can't believe I forgot to take one!

3 Ingredient Fettucini

I want to say this recipe came from Paula Deen, but I can't be sure anymore. I am sure, however, that it is delicious and if made only once in awhile, acceptable to eat for dinner- I suggest not eating too much of it though! And you can guess why that is, butter and cheese. It's like a fancy mac-n-cheese, but way more fattening.

3 Ingredient Fettucini

• Beat 2 sticks butter at room temp. with 1/2 lb grated parmesan cheese until creamy
• Cook 1 box of fettucini noodles, reserve 1/2 cup water.
• Return noodles to warm pot.
• Toss pasta with 1/2tsp. salt, cheese mix, and 1/4 cup water-add more as needed.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground cloves or allspice

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Wedding Mints

These are called wedding mints but can easily be made for any event or even made with different flavors. I got this recipe from Debbie, or rather I made her a batch and stole it. :) I know she made these for our wedding, but I don't recall eating them...or much of anything else really. I've never seen them or had them before then, but they are pretty good and definitely worth posting.
The recipe uses simple ingredients and is easy to make. The only down side is that they are a little time consuming.

Wedding Mints

3 oz. cream cheese (use the lines on the packaging)

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (plus 1 extra)

1 tsp. flavoring of choice.

(Debbie's recipe used 3/4 tsp, but trust me the full tsp is so much better!)

Blend in a food processor until combined.

Drizzle in the flavoring.

Add in the extra sugar until it no longer sticks.

* Place on wax paper and keep covered because it dries quickly. Debbie has some silicone molds that she uses to make shapes. Not sure what else you could use to form them, maybe just make them into balls or rounds even.

** We used our food dehydrator as a drying rack to place the molded mints on to dry.

*** Take a pinch at a time, (enough to fit the mold) and roll into a ball and then into granulated sugar.

***Press into the mold and then pop them out onto the drying rack. Try not to move them until they are completely dried.

***You can use any kind of extract to flavor them. May I suggest raspberry and of course the mint.

I wondered if they were ok to sit out since it has cream cheese in them...Just so you know, I've eaten plenty these last couple of days and no problems.

These are melt in your mouth good and no taste of cream cheese!

Enjoy!

Dinner Biscuits

Gotta love biscuits, they are so quick and easy to make. I've really come to like them since I don't really have to plan in advance when making them.

I've combined two different recipes and decided that I can finally post this after getting it down pretty good.

Make sure you don't over work the mixture. I toss it around only a couple of times until it's all combined and then dust the counter with flour. The dough should be super sticky, just dust it with some flour, too before cutting them out.

I plop it down so it's about 1/2- 2/3 inch high and cut with a medium biscuit cutter, still barely moving it unecessarily.

Biscuits:

2 C. Flour

1 T. baking powder

1. T sugar

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 C. butter & shortening mix

*Whisk together

1 C. Milk mixed with 1 beaten egg

*Stir into dry ingredients and move around with a spatula.

**Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden.

Pork Loin Roast

I was looking for a great pork loin recipe online and found one at about.com. The ingredients in this are surprisingly delicious. It calls for cinnamon, cumin, paprika, chili powder and a few others and with the glaze it is amazing. The original recipe used bacon strips cut in half on the roast but I didn't have any defrosted and didn't want to bother with it, but I can imagine it being super fabulous with bacon.

It's a pretty simple recipe and definitely worth a go!

(Don't start this until about 30 minutes left for the roast to cook. Should register at 160 degrees when done, I put half the glaze on and then again after 15 minutes. It seemed to slide off pretty quickly.)

Glaze:

1 cup. brown sugar

2T. flour

2T Cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

* Mix the dry ingredients together in a saucepot and then add the vinegar. Bring to a simmer for about a minute.

(I forgot to take a picture until this evening. This is a cold roast out of the fridge...so it doesn't look as good as it did when it was straight out of the oven!)

Pork Rub:

1 tsp. Chili powder

1/2 tsp. Paprika

1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1/2 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. Cinnamon

* Mix it all together and rub generously all over the defrosted pork in a roasting pan.

** Pre-heat @ 350 for 60- 90 minutes