Wiener Schnitzel with lemon sauce

In the Hartwig house, we love German food. And it doesn't get more German than a delicious Wiener Schnitzel with a lemon sauce.

Ingredients:

4 cutlets cubed pork (sometimes they have this in the meat section, sometimes you have to ask for it - they always have the pork available to cube and make into cutlets for you)

Salt and pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups (plain) breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup dry white wine 

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
4 lemon wedges

Directions:

Season cutlets with salt and pepper.
Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs into three separate shallow dishes.
Dredge each cutlet first in flour, then in eggs, and finally in bread crumbs.
Place breaded pork on a baking sheet or plate.
Heat oil and 3 Tbsp. butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.
Saute pork until golden brown, ~3 minutes on each side.
Remove from pan and keep warm in a 200° oven.
Deglaze pan with wine; add lemon juice and simmer 3 minutes.
Add heavy cream and simmer until reduced by half, about 1 minute.
Off heat, whisk in butter 2 T. at a time.
Stir in parsley; spoon sauce over cutlets.
Serve with lemon wedges.

For sides, I serve with spatzle, warm red cabbage and brussel sprouts.

Chicken Piccata

I made this last night for my husband, my mom and my father in law and everyone loved it. I used Giada's recipe, with a few adjustments.

Ingredients:

4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied, then cut in half
Salt and pepper, for flavoring

Flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers (more if you love capers like I do!)
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. 

When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 1/2 of the chicken and cook for ~3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for ~3 minutes. 

Remove and transfer cooked chicken to plate. 

Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 1/2 of chicken and brown both sides, ~3 minutes each side.

Remove and transfer cooked chicken to plate.
Add the lemon juice, stock and capers to pan. Bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. 

Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for ~3 minutes on each side.

Remove chicken to plate.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. 

Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley and fresh Parmesan.

I served the picatta over rice pilaf with broccoli. 

Easy and delicious!

On a side note, this recipe would be  easy to make a little healthier - don't dredge the chicken in flour, and cut out about half of the butter and oil.

Ham Bone Soup

Finished Ham Bone Soup

A delicious way to use your ham bone after the holidays - but this soup is so yummy, you might buy and cook a ham just to have the bone for leftovers! This is a recipe best started the night before, so keep that in mind.


Ingredients:

For beans:
1 bag (20 oz) mixed beans (i.e. 15 bean soup)
3 quarts (12 cups) water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons Creole Seasoning


For soup:

1 left-over ham bone
1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped up ham
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth
1 large onion, diced

Veggies for Ham Bone Soup

1 large potato, peeled and diced
2 large carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced (fresh is best, or frozen like Dorot, which you can get in the freezer section at Trader Joes, Kroger, Stop and Shop)

Spices for Ham Bone Soup

1/4 cup chopped parsley (fresh is best, use frozen like Dorot if, like me, your herbs aren't in yet)
1 tsp chopped basil (fresh is best, I used Dorot because basil isn't in yet)
2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning
Pinch of thyme (again, fresh is best, if not use frozen)
1 cup frozen corn
2 -14.5 ounce cans petite diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

In a slow cooker, add beans, vinegar and 2 tbsp Creole seasoning. Set on warm and let the beans absorb the water overnight. 

Beans after soaking overnight

The next morning, drain beans.
In a large pot, add chicken broth, ham bone, ham, veggies and spices - hold off on corn and tomatoes.
Bring to a quick boil, then cover and set to simmer for a few hours - the longer the better.

Once done,  take out bone. Strain the soup if necessary (I haven't needed to). Take the leftover meat off the bone and put in pot.

Cooked ham bone and meat pulled off the bone

Put on low, then add beans. Let cook for an hour or so until beans are soft.
Once beans are soft, add tomatoes and corn, and set to simmer for another hour (don't add tomatoes until beans are soft, the acid makes it harder for the beans to get moist).


 Serve and enjoy! Great with rolls or cornbread! 

Mushroom Sausage Quiche

One of my all-time favorites. I make it all the time - usually the night before.

Ingredients:
1 pre-made pie crust
4 eggs
1 cup cream (the thicker the creamier, the thinner the lower calories. I tend to do 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 cup milk)
1/2  (16 oz) package sausage
1 cup mushrooms (fresh)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup swiss cheese (I also like to add a little cheddar to cut through the swiss flavor)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp chives (fresh is best, or freeze dried)
1 tbsp oil


Directions
Heat oven to 350* 
Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage, crumbled up. Cook until no longer pink.
In a separate large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, and cook for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, and cook until well sauteed.
Stir in cooked sausage, cook for 3 more minutes, mixing ingredients together.

Spread sausage mixture into prepared pie crust.

In a bowl, combine eggs, and cream, whisking until combined. Stir in cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg and chives.
Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture.
Cook for 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Killer hotdish

This is comfort food at it's finest. It's one of my husband's favorite meals, and the recipe makes enough for plenty of leftovers.

"Killer hotdish"

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 (10.75 oz) cans cream of chicken soup
42 oz chicken broth
1/2 cup butter - sliced (you can definitely cut this down - I actually only use about 2 tbsp)
2 cans sliced mushrooms
Egg noodles

Directions:
Place uncooked chicken at bottom of crockpot.
Top with cream of chicken, chicken broth and butter.
Cook on low ~8 hours
Take out chicken and put on plate - use two forks to pull apart until you have a plate full of pulled chicken.
Put chicken back in crock pot.
Add mushrooms and egg noodles. Cook until noodles are done (~30 minutes).
Spoon into bowl and serve!

Panang Curry

I love panang curry. This recipe is really easy and really, really delicious. The preparation (and finding some of the ingredients) is what takes the longest.

Panang Curry ingredients

 Ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 oz Panang Curry Paste (more or less depending on how spicy you like it - I use about 1.5 oz and its mildly spicy)
2 cans coconut milk (I use one regular, one reduced fat)
1 tbsp palm sugar (can use brown sugar)
1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1.5 tbsp lime juice (fresh is best - its about 1/2 lg lime)
1/4 cup cashews (unsalted is best, but salted is fine if that's all you have)
1 cup chopped white mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion (white is best, yellow is fine)
6 Thai basil leaves (for recipe - then top finished meal with more)
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup sliced red pepper
10 snap peas
Meat of choice, or tofu. I use chicken.
Jasmine rice

Panang Curry simmering

Directions:
Cook meat, set aside.
Heat oil in wok over medium heat.
Add garlic and ginger and let cook until light brown
Stir in curry paste
Whisk in coconut milk, grated palm sugar, soy sauce and lime juice.
Add mushrooms, onion, red pepper, snap peas, tofu if using instead of meat, and basil leaves. Cook until soft. During last ~5 minutes of cooking, add broccoli - do not add sooner or it gets soggy.

Serve over jasmine rice, with more thai basil leaves as garnish.

Finished product - delicious homemade Panang Curry!

Pesto Brussel Sprouts

Pesto Brussel Sprouts
One of my very favorite side dishes - from a Publix recipe, but a bit altered. If you love pesto and feta, this is a must-cook.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb Brussel Sprouts, halved or quartered, depending on the size
• 4 cloves Fresh Garlic, finely chopped (I sometimes use a bit more, but I love garlic)
• 1/4 cup basil pesto (most recently I used Trader Joe's Pesto alla Genovese)
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Clean and quarter sprouts, chop garlic.
2. Combine brussel sprouts, garlic and pesto in a bowl and mix until sprouts are evenly coated.
3. Heat oil in sauté pan. Add sprouts and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat. Top with cheese and serve.

CALORIES (per 1/4 recipe) 220kcal; FAT 16g; CHOL 15mg; SODIUM 400mg; CARB 14g; FIBER 5g; PROTEIN 8g; VIT A 25%; VIT C 160%; CALC 15%; IRON 10%