Chicken Cardinale- Kind of

So I had this dish at an Italian restaurant not far from my house, (my plumber's wife actually owns it) and I ate everything on my plate.  I am not normally a member of the clean plate club, but this dish was just so amazing I couldn't stop eating!  I had to try and recreate it, but when I looked up recipes for chicken cardinale they were different from the one I had that night.  So, I did my best to recreate the flavors, and I think I got it.

The night I cooked this I forgot to get red peppers

1 1/2 lb thin cut chicken cutlets
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
1 shallot- chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 small can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
fresh mozzarella
prosciutto- enough for each piece of chicken
roasted red pepper-enough for each piece of chicken

Heat oil in a skillet, and dredge chicken in flour with salt and pepper.  Saute chicken in oil until browned on both sides.  Take chicken out of skillet and put to the side.  Add shallot to the pan and saute for about 1-2 minutes.  Add in wine and bring to a bubble.  After 1-2 minutes add in tomato sauce and simmer.  Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in water.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes. If sauce gets too thick add more water, if it is too thin, simmer longer.  While sauce is simmering, place chicken on a baking sheet and top with slices of mozzarella.  Place chicken under the broiler or in a hot oven to melt the cheese.  When cheese is melted, take out the chicken and top with prosciutto and roasted red pepper.  Top with sauce and serve.  YUMM!

BBQ Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas

This was sooo yummy!  I love the combination of sweet pineapple in a savory dish.  At one of my favorite restaurants there is a dish with shrimp and pineapple and it is delish!  I think that inspired this dish as I was thinking about what I could make that would be quick, but different.  I sometimes get a little bored with the same dishes over and over.  After making these I thought of some other variations, like shrimp, or mango.  YUM!

1 1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins
2-3 Tbsp barbeque sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1/2 Fresh Pineapple cut into long strips (I am sure you could use canned but if you use canned I would use the rings)
2 cups shredded cheese (I used Monterey Jack, but you can use the Mexican blend they sell)
Tortillas

*optional add-ins: scallions, jalapeno


Coat chicken in BBQ sauce.  You can either grill your chicken or bake it. (I baked mine.)  While chicken is cooking, cut up your pineapple.  Grill pineapple to get nice brown grill marks.  Then cut pineapple into small chunks.  Once chicken is cooked, cut it into small pieces.  Get grill pan nice and hot and place a tortilla on pan, layer cheese, pineapple, chicken and a drizzle of BBQ sauce and top with a little more cheese and top tortilla.  Once the bottom is browned and cheese has melted, flip and grill other side.  When both sides are done, cut and enjoy!  You can top with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.

French Dip Sandwiches

This is such a quick and easy dinner.  My daughter loves to dip her foods, so this is a great meal for her.

1-1 1/2 lbs roast beef cold cuts
1-2 baguettes
2 Tbsp butter
1 shallot- chopped
1/4 cup red wine
1-2 Tbsp flour
16 oz. beef broth

Melt butter in pan and saute shallots.  Add in red wine and let alcohol cook out, about 2 minutes.  Add in flour.  Slowly whisk in beef broth.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Cut bread in half length wise and dip the inside into the broth mixture.  Then place the roast beef into the broth mixture to warm and top bread.

Lasagna Roll Ups

I love these lasagna roll ups and I love how you can really make so many variations too.  You can really make this with whatever fillings you want.  I think I might try a taco/Mexican version soon.  This one I make with sausage and spinach and an alfreado sauce since my husband is not a huge red sauce fan.

lasagna noodles cooked
1 lb Italian sausage
1 package frozen chopped spinach
8 oz. ricotta cheese

Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
3/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Cook lasagna noodles and lay out flat.  Cook and drain sausage.  While sausage is cooking defrost spinach in microwave.  Drain spinach and mix together with sausage and ricotta cheese.  Make alfredo sauce .  Coat bottom of 9 x 13 pan with alfredo sauce.  Lay out lasagna noodle and spread the sausage mixture down the legnth of the noodle.  Roll up the lasagna and place in pan.  Coat all the roll ups with sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I had two bananas that were really starting to turn brown and the thought of just throwing them away made me sad.  I didn't want to just make banana bread because everytime I make it, I think I am going to eat it and then half the loaf gets eaten and the other half ends up in the garbage.  So I thought banana chocolate chip muffins would be a great idea and since school just started it would be a great breakfast on the go.  This recipe came out great and I love that it calls for plain yogurt.


1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I am sure vanilla yogurt would work fine too)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup chocolate chips

In large bowl mix dry ingredients.  In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt, and vanilla.  Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until moistened.  Fold in banana and chocolate chips.  Fill muffin pan, if not using liners then you must grease the pan.  This made just 12 muffins for me, and I filled the muffin cups almost to the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Strawberry Infused Vodka

As we say good-bye to summer, I had a wonderful summery drink that I made with my strawberry infused vodka.  To be honest I think that when I am feeling the winter blues, I am going to be mixing up a drink with this yummy vodka.

Infusing vodka happens to be very easy and I think the flavor is much better than the flavored vodkas that are out there on the shelves.

To make the strawberry vodka you need to hull and slice your strawberries, put them in some sort of air tight container, and then pour your vodka over the strawberries.  I used a mason jar and used about a pint of strawberries.

Then let the strawberries and vodka sit in a cool dark place for about three days and agitate it once per day.  You will notice the strawberries will soon become white.  Once you have let your strawberries sit you will need to strain them.  I used a coffee filter over a strainer.  If you just use the strainer you end up with small bits of strawberry seeds.  Your vodka will end up with this wonderful red color to it.

I then stored my vodka in the fridge and mixed it with seltzer and a wedge of lime.  The best thing about this cocktail, besides how great it tastes, is that it doesn't have a ton of calories either.


My sister-in-law made raspberry infused vodka and we mixed it with lemon-lime soda, a splash of cranberry juice and a wedge of lime and it was a hit at her party!  I think we might try and make our own sweet tea vodka next.

Baked Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is my son's absolute favorite meal.  Whenever we ask him what he wants for dinner he replies with "mac and cheese".  I am not a huge fan of the neon orange cheese that first starts out as powder, so I tend to make this baked mac and cheese and it is extremely indulgent.

1 lb macaroni (sometimes I use small shells or cavatappi)
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1/2 tsp salt
pepper (to taste)
2-4 cups grated cheese (I tend to use 4 cups and I like a combo of sharp cheddar and monterey jack and I don't use the kind that is already shredded, for some reason I feel it doesn't have as much flavor)
1/2 cup bread crumbs sauteed with 1 Tbsp butter for the topping

Cook pasta according to directions.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour.  Slowly pour in milk while stirring to keep the mixture thick.  Do the same with the cream.  Add in your salt and pepper.  Add in your cheese and stir to melt it.  Pour the pasta and cheese into a baking dish and top with breadcrumb mixture.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

*for a lighter version, use only milk (no cream) and use 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp flour rather than the 4 listed above.