Chicken Strips Italiano with linguine

4 oz. uncooked linguine
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup italian style bread crumbs
1/4 c Italian salad dressing
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch thick strips
1 T oil
1 c spaghetti sauce
Chopped fresh parsley

Cook linguine to desired doneness as directed on package.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine cheese and bread crumbs; mix well. Place salad dressing in small bowl. Dip chicken strips in salad dressing; place in bread crumbmixture. Toss to coat evenly.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add chicken strips; cook 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned and no longer pink, turning occasionally.

Place spaghetti sauce in small microwave-safe bowl; cover with waxed paper. Microwave on High for 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring once.

To serve, drain linguine; spoon onto 2 plates. Top each with squaghetti sauce and chicken strips. Sprinkle with parsley. 2 servings.

Mushroom-Stuffed Grillburgers

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 T plain bread crumbs
2 t Worcestersire sauce
1 egg
1 (4.5 oz) jar sliced mushrooms, drained
4 slices American cheese
4 medium burger buns, split

Heat grill. In medium bowl, combine ground beef, onion, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce and egg; mix well. Shape mixture into 8 patties, about 1/4 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon mushrooms in center of each of 4 patties; reserve remaining mushrooms. Top with remaining patties; press edges together firmly to seal.

When ready to grill, place burgers on gas grill over medium-high heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium-high coals. Cook 8 to 10 minutes on each side or until beef is no longer pink in center. During last 1 to 2 minutes or cooking, place cheese slice on each burger.

Place burgers on bottom halves of buns. Top with remaining mustrooms and top halves of buns. 4 sandwiches

Maple-Glazed Pork Tenderloins

1 t dried thymem leaves, crushed
1 t dried marjoram leaves, crushed
1/4 t salt
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1 lb pork tenderlins, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 T margarine or butter
2 T real maple syrup

In resealable plastic bag, combine thyme, marjaram, salt, onion powder and garlic powder, seal bag and shake well. Add pork slices. Seal bag; shake to coat.

Melt margarine in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture; cook and stir 8 to 10 minutes or until pork is browned and no longer pink. Add syrup; cook and stir until pork is glazed. 4 servings

Risotto

approx. 2 pints stock (chicken, fish or vegetable as appropriate)•
2 T of butter
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
14 oz risotto rice
2 wineglasses of dry white vermouth (dry Martini or Noilly Prat) or dry white wine
sea salt
2 ½ oz butter
4 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese

stage 1
Heat the stock. In a separate pan heat the olive oil and butter, add the onions, and garlic, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.
stage 2
The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.
stage 3
Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.
stage 4
Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while the risotto retains its beautiful texture.

from Jamie’s Kitchen

Fruited Brie Bake

1 15 ounce wheel Brie cheese
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 c apricot preserves
Slice Almonds

Preheat oven to 350. Slice off the top 1/4 inch of the Brie wheel; se taside. Hollow out the center of the cheese, leaving a 1-inch chell all around. Place in an ovenproof serving container slightly larger than cheese. Save leftove cheese for another use.

Break up cranberry sauce with a fork and place in center of cheese. Cover with top of cheese. Spoon apricot preserves over top; sprinkle with almonds.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until soft and slightly melted. Serve with crackers. Makes 8 servings.

Saag Paneer

I've tried to do all of the metric conversions for you. Plus a little research on some of the more unusual ingredients.

10 oz. paneer (see recipe in this blog)

1 lb spinach, washed and finely chopped (or you can mix other greens with it to make up the amount - kale, choi sum)

1 T garlic paste

1 T ginger paste

green chilis to taste

1/2 c of gram flour (ground dried chickpeas - probably available in a health food store)

2 oz. butter

salt to taste

For the Tarkha Sauce:

1 onion, chopped

1 - 2 tomatoes, chopped or 15- g canned tomatoes with juice

1 T tomato paste

1-2 T oil

slivers of fresh ginger (optional)

salt to taste

1/4 t chili powder (to taste)

1 t cumin powder

1 t garam masala (this is a mixture of indian spices)

In a covered pan add about 2/3 cup water, finely chopped spinach, salt, garlic/ginger psate, green chilis and buter. Cook vegetables until soft. Meanwhile, cut the paneer into edible sized cubes. Melt oil in a pan over medium heat. When hot, but not smoking, brown the cubes of paneer, taking care as it tends to splatter when the fat gets hot. Drain on absorbent kitchen paper and set aside.

Make a thin paste of the gram flour with water and mix slowly inot the cooked spinach leaves. Keep stirring until the flour blends into the spinach and leave it to continue simmering. If you have a puree machine, gently 'mulch' this pinach or 'saag' so it is not lumpy, yet not pureed totally. It should still have some texture.

For the 'tarkha', heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onions and fry till golden brown. Add tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, chili powder, and cumin powder together with the slivers of ginger and cook until the oil separates from the sauce. Add this to the cooked spinach or 'saag' and allow to cook further until the juices have evaporated, scraping and mixing anything that sticks to the bottom of the pan. This adds extra flavor as long as you do not let it burn. Finally, add the paneer, recover and simmer for 6 - 8 minutes. Sprinkle with the garam masala and leave to absorb the flavors for a few minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serves 8.

Paneer - Indian Cottage Cheese

I fell in love with India. Not sure if it was the Saag Paneer or the people. But I might be able to recreate the Saag Paneer starting with this recipe...

1 quart milk

3 T lemon juice or white vinegar

Bring the milk to a boil. Reduce heat and add lemon juice. Simmer gently until the milk curdles and separates from the whey (if the milk has not separated add a few more drops of lemon juice). The whey should be a clear, pale yellow liquid. The residue is paneer. Pour the paneer and liqued through a muslin cloth. Discard the liquid whey and tie the muslin cloth. Flatten the paneer to 1 cm thin and place it on a tray to rest in a tilted position. Place a weight on it to flatten to desired thickness. the pressure will drag out the remaining mosture and the tilten position will channel the liquid away from the paneer. Leave to drain. After two hours take the paneer out of the muslin cloth and chill in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 hours before cutting into cubes. The cubes are then usually shallow fried to use in various dishes. Serves 4