Chicken Parmesan

5 kids = a calendar full of appointments, important dates, notes, things that I cannot forget. I rely very heavily on the calendar that we have on the fridge to keep my days straight and I write things onto it immediately.

The problem is, I occasionally try to outsmart the calendar. Gavin had a birthday party last Saturday at 1pm. We bought the card, we picked up the gift, and we had him there 10 minutes early. I thought it was strange that no one else was there but I waited…and waited… and finally I went to ask if there was actually a party that day for Gavin’s friend. It kind of sucked trying to explain to my 6 year old that Mommy brought him to the birthday party on the wrong day.

 When we got home, there was the birthday party written on the calendar….next Saturday. Had I taken the time to look, I would have saved myself the embarrassment but as it is, I’ve realized how important that calendar actually is. I also write down what we’re going to be eating every day.. this saves me from throwing out things I had planned to use and it also means my husband can get things started if I am busy.

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

1/2 cup packed parmesan cheese

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt & pepper, to taste

1/2 sauce recipe, to follow

1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Sauce:

680mL tomato sauce

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried basil

pinch red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Flatten each chicken breasts with a mallet, one at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place into a 9×13″ baking pan. Sprinkle the top of the chicken with all of the parmesan cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is almost cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. Combine all sauce ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

Spread 1/2 of the tomato sauce over the chicken and top with 1-2 cups of mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Serve over spaghetti squash, if you love it as much as we do.

Zucchini Manicotti

Part of the challenge of eating grain-free is figuring out how to still make my family’s favourite meals. After the success of replacing lasagna noodles with zucchini, I decided to try it out with manicotti. The rolls ended up being a little smaller but twice as good! No fussing with boiling noodles. No ripping manicotti while trying to stuff them. Just put a spoonful of filling onto a roasted zucchini strip and roll it up! 

 I added frozen spinach to the original recipe and used a homemade pasta sauce. The initial reaction from the kids was “Ewww..” but what else is new. I swear, there are meals that I have to convince them that I am NOT trying to poison them. The funny thing is, those are the meals that end up becoming favourites. 

Zucchini Manicotti

Ingredients

2-3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1/8″ thick

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 pound ground beef

salt and pepper

500g container ricotta cheese

10oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup grated parmesan

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 1/2 tablespoon dried)

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups pasta sauce (homemade or jarred)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange slices of zucchini in a single layer on 2 baking sheets that have been oiled with 1 teaspoon of olive oil each. Bake each sheet for 5 minutes, flip zucchini and bake for another 3-5 minutes, until zucchini is tender. Cool while you prepare the filling.

Reduce oven to 350°F.

In a large frying pan, heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium heat. Saute the ground beef and onions until the meat is browned and the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, drain any fat, and cool.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic. Stir in cooled meat mixture and thoroughly combine.

Spread 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of filling onto the end of each slice of zucchini. Roll the zucchini over the filling and place, seam side down, in the baking dish. Arrange the rolled zucchini tightly in the pan until the pan is full. Sprinkle with any leftover filling and cover with remaining 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Top with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

Bake, uncovered, until heated through and the sauce is bubbling, about 30-40 minutes.

Recipe adapted from The Food Network.

Noodle-Free Lasagna

There will be a very long winded post coming soon about the happenings in my life. But for now, there’s noodle free lasagna. One of the biggest challenges of not eating grains is meals whose base is pasta. I could have made regular lasagna and picked out the noodles but that is time consuming and messy. I searched out alternatives and found lasagna using zucchini in place of noodles.

I was thrilled to make this on mother’s day along side a regular lasagna for the kids. In hindsight, I should have just made a full sized noodle free lasagna since they all enjoyed the taste that they had. We have since made a full sized noodle free lasagna and they really enjoyed it. This recipe makes a 9″x9″ pan but you can double it to make the perfect 9″x13″ lasagna. The one thing I noticed was that this lasagna stayed together WAY better than any regular lasagna I’ve ever made. Even that first piece that is guaranteed to fall apart didn’t fall apart!

Noodle Free Lasagna

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1-2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1/8″ thick

1/2 orange pepper, sliced 1/4″ thick

1/2 yellow pepper, sliced 1/4″ thick

4 large mushrooms, sliced 1/4″ thick

500g ricotta cheese

10oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly

1 egg

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 pound ground beef

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup pasta sauce (or tomato sauce seasoned as you like)

1/4 cup pasta sauce (for the bottom of the pan)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°. Roast the zucchini slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, oiled with olive oil, for 10 minutes. Toss the remaining vegetables with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and roast for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway, until softened. Remove from oven and cool until you can handle them enough to chop into smaller pieces. Reduce heat to 400°.

In a bowl, stir ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, and parmesan cheese. Set aside.

In a large pot, brown ground beef with onions and garlic. Drain and stir in 1 cup of sauce. Spread 1/4 cup of sauce over bottom of a 9″9″ baking dish. Layer 1/3 of the roasted zucchini, 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, half of the meat, half of the roasted vegetables. Repeat with 1/3 zucchini, 1/3 ricotta, remaining half meat, remaining half roasted vegetables. Top with remaining 1/3 zucchini, remaining 1/3 ricotta, and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned. 

Pizza Pretzel Bites

I had an embarrassing moment at the coffee shop the other day….my debit card wouldn’t work. You know when you’re in one of those situations and your mind goes to “Do I even have money in the account?”. But you know there’s money there and you feel like the cashier is judging you because she is pretty sure you have no money in there. Yeah….that was me.

I had to charge my coffee on my credit card because I never carry cash on me. It finally occurred to me that I had a new ‘chip’ card at home that I refused to start using because new technology scares me. The bank, seeing my refusal to upgrade, took me out at the knees and now I am forced to use this chip card with its unfamiliar pin number. Change is hard.

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you might remember this post about trying to find new foods to send my oldest son for gym. We haven’t sent him a pre-made meal in over a month and it only takes 1 day to make him a couple of week’s worth of food. Last weekend we made pizza pretzel bites and it made enough for 3 weeks!

Pizza Pretzel Bites

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons = 1 package)

3 ounces unsalted butter, melted

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 1/2-5 cups all purpose flour

olive oil

pepperoni, cut into small pieces

shredded mozzarella cheese

large pot of water (5 quarts/5 litres)

3/4 cup baking soda

1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water

coarse sea salt

marinara sauce, for serving

Directions

Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let stand for 5 minutes. 

Add the salt and flour; mix on low speed with dough hook until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth (about 3-4 minutes). Remove the dough from the bowl and knead into a ball with your hands. 

Oil a large bowl with olive oil, add the dough, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a tea towel and the bowl in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size (about 1 hour).

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and add the baking soda. 

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ‘snake’ measuring about 22 inches long. Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces and flatten each piece (with a rolling pin or your hands). Put a bit of pepperoni and cheese into the center of each piece of dough, fold the dough over, and pinch closed. Set all of the pieces to the side until they are all stuffed. 

Boil the pretzel bites in the water, in batches of 15, for about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of the bites with the egg/water mix and season with coarse sea salt. Bake for 15-18 minutes; until golden brown.

Remove from the other and cool for 5 minutes. Serve with pizza sauce.

Recipe from Two Peas And Their Pod.

Rolled Chicken Parmesan

My kids are plotting against me. I’m sure of it. They have picked up every virus going around for the past 2 months. When they are not sick, they are up all night. I am needing insane amounts of coffee just to keep me moving. Last night saw #1 with a sore ear, #4 crying for no reason, and #5 being woken by #4’s screaming. *yawn*

Since I’m numbering them, #2 asked yesterday why I can’t remember their names. I was so sure I wouldn’t be that mother who can’t get the right name without going through the list…but I am. Shamefully so. I do, however, know their birthdays, what time they were born at, what their favourite/least favourite foods are, their friends’ names… 

I also know that they all like chicken parmesan. 

Rolled Chicken Parmesan

Makes 4 rolls

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 strips of bacon

2 tablespoons minced onion

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup + 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

2 cups pasta sauce (your choice)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, pound each chicken breast to 1/4″ thickness. *the plastic wrap keeps bits of chicken from flying all over your kitchen..do not leave that part out!* Season chicken with salt and pepper.

In a large frying pan, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to a plate and drain all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings. Saute minced onion and garlic in the bacon drippings until the onion is softened, 5 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from heat. 

Finely chop the cooked bacon and mix with bread crumbs, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, onion mixture, salt, and pepper. Divide the bread mixture into 4 and gently roll into 4 logs. Place the logs at the wider end of the chicken breast and roll the chicken breast. With the seam down, put the rolled chicken breasts on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 40 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven and top each roll with 1/2 cup of pasta sauce, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, and 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese. Continue to bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and browned. 

White Turkey Lasagna

Our 17 pound Thanksgiving turkey (for 4 adults and 7 kids) ended up as 13 pounds of turkey leftovers. My mother in law suggested I freeze it but I know that my freezer is like a black hole…that turkey would be set free in a year, only to be thrown out. I can’t tell you how many bananas are currently calling the freezer home. Or how many batches of muffins I have forgotten about. So I vowed to make use of every last bit of turkey. 

I want to say that I came up with the idea to have lasagna, but it was actually my husband that suggested it. It’s entirely possible that my ‘meat and potatoes’ husband is becoming a foodie. Or not. No, probably not. His lasagna suggestion ended there and I still came up with the end result. The delicious end result. 

Turkey Lasagna
Serves 10-12


Ingredients
20 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked according to package
1 onion, chopped
2 cups chopped baby portobello mushrooms
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chopped turkey
1 pound lightly steamed asparagus, cut into 1″ pieces
500g container ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 1/4 cups shredded parmesan
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups whole milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large pan, saute the onion, mushrooms, and garlic for 5 minutes (until onions are softened). Add italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Continue cooking for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and stir in chopped turkey. Set aside while you prepare the sauce.

Lightly steam asparagus until softened but still crisp. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour. Carefully whisk in milk and bring to a simmer over low heat until thickened. Add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and set aside.

In the prepared baking dish, layer as follows:
1 cup sauce
5 noodles (overlapping as necessary)
1/2 of the turkey mixture
1 cup of sauce, drizzled over turkey
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
5 noodles (overlapping as necessary)
ricotta cheese, spread evenly
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
asparagus
1 cup of sauce, drizzled over asparagus
5 noodles (overlapping as necessary)
1/2 of the turkey mixture
1 cup of sauce, drizzled over turkey
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
5 noodles (overlapping as necessary)
Remaining sauce (approximately 1 cup)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
sprinkle the top with 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning.

Bake for 35 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes uncovered. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

The kids get to pick their birthday suppers and Gavin picked pizza…with a little help from his big brothers. I was happy since I’ve been wanting to try out this Barbecue Chicken Pizza recipe for a while. I had a bit of a panicked moment when I realized that it was 11:30, we were getting to leave for the afternoon, and I hadn’t even made the pizza dough. I frantically scooped flour and sprinkled yeast onto warm water..not even really reading the instructions while I rushed through. It was such a great relief to see that once the dough was mixed, I could just leave it! 

When we got back from our afternoon outing, the dough was beautiful. It was fluffy and so easy to form into a crust. I even attempted a pizza dough toss..a la Italian pizzeria..except that’s really not an easy move at all. I set it back onto the pan before I had to enforce the 5 second rule. Look at how pretty that crust is! I baked it at 500° for 10 minutes before I put the toppings on; I think it definitely worked in my favour because the crust was crispy on the outside but still chewy on the inside. Next time I make this I’m throwing some bacon on it. And maybe some spinach. Mmmmm….bacon and spinach….. 

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Makes 1 pizza

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cups cooked cubed chicken

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons chicken and rib BBQ sauce

8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin

1/4 of a large red onion, sliced thin

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

Directions

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let sit for a few minutes. In the bowl of a Kitchenaid (KitchenAid KSM150PSWH Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer, White), mix flour and salt. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low and drizzle olive oil slowly into the flour mixture until just combined. Switch to the dough hook and add the water/yeast. Mix on low until the dough comes together and starts climbing the hook. 

Coat a large mixing bowl with a bit of olive oil and form the dough into a ball. Coat the dough in olive oil, place in bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set it someplace warm and draft free for 1-2 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 500°. Take half of the dough; form into one 15″ pizza crust and bake it for 10 minutes each, until golden brown. Bake the other half of the dough and make yourself another pizza with different toppings. 

Toss 1/2 cup BBQ sauce with cubed chicken. Spread 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce over pizza crust. Lay mozzarella slices over top, sprinkle chicken over the mozzarella, and top with onions and mushrooms. Bake at 500° for 15-17 minutes; until cheese is bubbly and browned.