Chicken Marsala done the Crystal Chef way

The challenge was actually to use the Parrano cheese BEFORE eating it all. Challenge accepted. I had not made my Chicken Marsala in years so I decided this would be the perfect time to roll that recipe back out. It is one that I have not added to the list  and it needs to be here for my children so they know how to make it when I am gone.

My ingredient list started with the following items from the grocery store:

1 wedge of Parrano Originale Cheese

1 package of Parma Prosciutto Di Parma

1 package of thinly sliced chicken breasts (tonight I am only using 3)

8 ounces of sliced button mushrooms

1 good bottle of Marsala wine

If you can't find Parrano in your area, you can go here:

Parrano Cheese

It starts with my homemade seasoning mix. In a teacup I add the following:
1 - tablespoon of black pepper
1 - tablespoon of onion powder
2 - tablespoons of salt
2 - tablespoons of garlic powder
1 - tablespoon of dried leaf oregano
1 - tablespoon of cayenne
1/8 - tablespoon of chipotle chili powder
Mix well.

Add one heaping teaspoon to 1/2 cup of flour and combine well.

Heat approximately 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium high in a skillet until very hot but not smoking and then add 3 tablespoons of butter.

Dredge three pieces of thin sliced boneless chicken breast in the flour mixture and place in the hot skillet (be careful as it may pop). Cook approximately three minutes each side until golden brown on  then transfer to a plate.

Add three more tablespoons of butter to the pan and then add the 8 ounces of chopped mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently until the mushrooms are golden brown and have given off their liquid.

Add 1 cup of a GOOD Marsala wine. Trust me on this one. If you use a cheap one, it will taste cheap. The one I used was imported straight from Italy...hey, I'm Italian! What did you expect? Bring the Marsala wine to a boil, scraping the bottom to remove any browned yummy bits. Let this continue until it has reduced by half.

Next add 1 cup of chicken stock. Cook for about three more minutes until the sauce starts to thicken up. Lower your heat and settle your chicken back into the skillet. Spoon a bit of the sauce of the chicken. Next is the FUN part. Turn down the heat to medium low.

Open your package of Citterio prosciutto di parma and lay about one half of a slice on top of each piece of chicken. Next slice your Parrano Originale cheese and put two generous pieces on top of each piece of chicken.

Add two more tablespoons of butter to the sauce. As it melts, swirl it around in the sauce. Continue to spoon some of the sauce around and on top of your chicken. This will help melt the cheese and enhance the flavor of the the prosciutto.

Now, I know, I should have made a side of pasta or some smashed potatoes to go with it. I chose asparagus because it cooked itself in the oven. My meat and potato man was not very amused with me but I had not made this in so long I wanted to focus on getting it right. He survived. I put the leftover sauce in a container in the fridge. It was so good I could seriously just drink it. I might just do that tomorrow for lunch....with the leftover Parrono cheese.

What in the world should this be called????

It was Wednesday night.  I was in a hurry. I had a package of boneless pork chops I needed to use before they went bad.  What happened next was unplanned, unscheduled, nary a recipe followed. It was mostly just a desperation dinner.

As usual, I started with two medium size yellow onions cut into rings. Into my large skillet they went with some canola oil and butter.  I chopped my pork chops into bite size pieces and threw them into the skillet with the onions. I had a large package of white button mushrooms. I wiped the dirt off of them with a damp paper towel and then sliced them.  I put them in the pan with the pork and the onions.

I am stirring it and realizing it is still not enough to feed everyone so I look around for something else to add to the pot.  I smash a few cloves of garlic and toss in. Next, I take out a package of Ore-Ida crinkle cut french fries and start chopping them into smaller pieces.  They get tossed into the pan with the rest of the pork, onions and mushrooms.  I sprinkle in some Soul Seasoning and stir until everything is nice and brown and done.

Was it good? Actually, yes it was. I sprinkled mine with garlic salt and gobbled it up.  Were ALL the family members brave enough to try it? NO.  My husband enjoyed it and so did my son.  I think even Trixie (my "adopted" daughter) ate it.  Not to bad an average.  The only bad side-effect was that I went to church with garlic breath!!

Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy

It was a beautiful day to worship. How nice it was to see Carolyn, the wife of our pastor, at church today. She is an amazing and special woman.  Her husband had knee surgery and has been out for a few weeks. Now he has a pinched nerve in his shoulder. I feel bad for them. I know he is anxious to get back to work. They need lifted up and loved on. The best way I know to do that is to cook. Today I am making them some of my mother's pork chops and mushroom gravy, butter beans and honey rolls.

I start with some fresh center cut boneless pork loin chops, placed in a baking dish and liberally sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. Next in the pan is some fresh white mushrooms wiped clean of their dirt and sliced. One family size can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup and one can of evaporated milk. Cover with foil and place in a 375 degree oven for one hour until the pork is done, the mushrooms tender and the gravy nice and thick. I take the foil off when there is about 15 minutes left so it can brown up a little bit and get good and bubbly.

Here it is in all of it's yummy goodness! My mother used to make it all the time except she did not add the fresh mushrooms.  That was my idea. I love my fungus! The butter beans are almost done and I need to wrap this dish up and get it out the door and get ready for church.  I hope you are heading to service today too!!

Wild and Crazy Dinner!

It started out normal.....but it did not end that way.  I decided to make Giada's Lasagna Rolls for dinner.  I just needed to go to the grocery store for the lasagna noodles and the ricotta cheese.  I started at our brand new G-Mart that opened around the corner from my house.  This is an amazing International foods store.  They have every kind of vegetable and fruit you can think of and even more you have never heard of or seen.
As I strolled through the fresh fruit and veggies I came across some real Mandarin oranges.  I have NEVER seen these except in a can! Of course I had to pick up a few.  I also got some some pomegranates, lemons and limes.  I kept walking and finally found the pasta.  The selection of Italian type pastas was very, very small.  The only pasta they had was the kind that did not require boiling.  This would not be the type of lasagna noodles I need.  I decided to go ahead and check out and head to one more store.

I left the G-Mart and went to my local Target.  It has quite a nice addition of grocery items.  Looking around here, I expected to find the type of lasagna noodles I required.  There was a larger selection, even Giada's own brand of pasta. Alas, the only noodles they had were the kind that you do not boil.  Have we gotten so lazy we don't have regular lasagna noodles? <sigh> This required a change of plans. I bought two boxes of bow-tie pasta.  They were on sale for $1.00 and I decided it would make the dish more interesting in lieu of elbows or spaghetti.

Here is what went into my dinner dish:

(1) pound Ground chuck (poor chuck)
(1) large chopped yellow onion
(1) large Green pepper, chopped
Garlic powder (Okay...stop right there! I usually ALWAYS have fresh garlic but the last bulb I had went bad and I did not realize it!! The HORROR!!)

I cooked the ground chuck (poor chuck), onion, pepper and garlic powder until the hamburger was done.
I drained the hamburger and added one can of Hunt's Roasted Onion and Garlic tomato sauce.

The two boxes of bow-ties were set to boiling with a dash of salt.

I steamed one bag of Edamame, then peeled them out of their shells. I added the edamame to the sauce.

Next I added one large container of fresh chopped white button mushrooms.
Next I added chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces just torn by hand)
I prefer fresh mozzarella in lieu of aged.
I decided I needed more sauce so I added one more can of the Hunt's Roasted Onion and garlic tomato sauce.

I drained the bow-ties and added them to my sauce (obviously I had already switched the hamburger and sauce to a larger pan!).

After the bow-ties were stirred in I added three large handfuls of fresh baby spinach.  I stirred it up well and served my family.  It went over pretty well.  The mushrooms were hidden pretty well but the soy beans stuck out!  It was really good and with all the extra mushrooms, soy beans and spinach, it did not need very much meat. It was not a favorite with my girls, but my hubby and son and I really enjoyed it!

yummy mushrooms and Texas Pete

I went to the grocery store to get some more Texas Pete (I swear it is what keeps my darling hubby all spicy and sexy!).  As I wandered into the store I went straight to the fresh veggies.  In the mushroom section was an interesting package from Modern Farms Mushroom.  It was a mushroom blend of sliced baby bellas, shitake and oyster mushrooms.

 http://www.modernmush.com/products.html

Honestly I have never had anything except the small white button mushrooms! Who knew the complex and earthy flavors I had been missing out on? They were woody and wonderful.  I was surprised at the aroma of the oyster mushrooms.  I put them in a small saute pan with a stick of REAL butter and got them all warm and yummy.  I used them to pour over my roast I made for dinner tonight.  I had made a quick run to the butcher and picked up a new cut of beef I had never tried.  It was called a beef tip roast.  It was already trussed up by the butcher.  I wasen't sure what to do so I just threw it the oven for a couple of hours.  It was pretty good but it was even better with the mushroom sauce.

I also bought a 3 pound bag of red potatoes and made mash-a-taters with some real butter and milk. I meant to fix some brussel sprouts but got distracted and forgot.  It was definately a meat and potatoes night.