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Nana's Soup

Sometimes we just pass germs back and forth - well, such is the case with me and Dane. The cold that Dane gave me last week was back bugging him last night.

Nana (my mother) is in town. She has her own version of chicken soup for kids, and made it for Dane last night. She swears that onions are VERY important for colds (I'll have to research this), and in order to prevent vegetable chunks to remain uneaten at the bottom of the bowl, she actually blends them up and adds them to the broth! Vegetables can be slurped up with little fuss!
NICE

It must have worked, because he's totally fine this morning and actually went to camp!

Nana will be sending me the recipe, but below is a picture of the soup while it was cooking. It has an orange color from blending up the carrots. She adds dried "herbs de Provence", and uses chicken legs (with skin, on the bone). It's delicious!



xo
Lisa

Pastarific!

There's nothing better than homemade pasta! I did myself a favor and bought a pasta maker last year and have been loving it ever since. My mother is in town for a couple days and she made her famous meatballs and red sauce, while Dane and I made the fettuccine. He loves rolling it out with me and after it's cooked, he loves to eat it (because he made it). You don't need a pasta maker to roll out the dough if you don't have one...you can use a rolling pin. It takes longer, but it's just as good.

After some practice, it's actually quite easy to make the pasta. The best recipe I've found is from the Joy of Cooking - All About Pasta. The format of the recipe below is how they format it in "JOY". If you need further clarification, let me know in the comments, and I'll try and help.

Fresh Egg Pasta (makes about 1 1/2 pounds)
Pour onto a clean counter, shape into a mound, and make a well in the center of:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, preferably stone ground organic Add to the center of the well:
5 large eggs or 7 large egg whites 1 teaspoon salt (optional) 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (optional) - but I RECOMMEND THIS!!!
Beat the eggs lightly with a fork, drawing in some flour as you go, until the eggs are mixed and slightly thickened. Using the fingertips of one hand, gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs and blend everything into a smooth, not too stiff dough. If the dough feels too dry and crumbly, add water as needed. Alternatively, process the ingredients in a food processor just until blended, 15 to 20 seconds, being careful not to overheat the dough. Knead the dough until satiny and very elastic, about 10 minutes. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - DON'T SKIMP ON THE KNEADING!!! Divide the dough into 4 pieces and wrap the pieces loosely in plastic or cover with an inverted bowl. If you have time, let the dough rest for 30 minutes before rolling it out.
Give it a try!! It will taste SO much better than store bought and with a little practice, you'll want to do it over and over!!



xoxo
Lisa

Healthy Chicken Strips and Sweet Potato Fries for Kids

Whether we prefer it or not, little kids LOVE chicken fingers and French fries. Dane is no exception - so I decided to make my own and try to make them as healthy as possible. I used canola oil for frying, organic free-range chicken breasts, sweet potatoes (or yams) for the fries. Ya know what? It was DELICIOUS!!! The whole family loved the fries and Dane cleaned his plate.

The whole meal (with enough for leftovers) cost a "whopping" $8.50 - not bad for a whole family!!

Here's my recipe - note that this is NOT something that should be cooked with kids as the oil is VERY VERY HOT!!! They can help in some of the preparation steps, but keep them far away from the stove.

Ingredients
1 large or 2 small yams or sweet potatoes, cleaned and peeled.
1 full (equals 2 halves) boneless, skinless, chicken breast (I buy it on the bone with skin because it's cheaper, and just remove skin and bones - I save the bones for stock).
2 eggs (I use free-range eggs from our farmer's market)
1 cup Panko (Japanese-style) bread crumbs. You can make your own, just put stale bread in a food processor and grind up. I prefer the Panko bread crumbs for frying, it fries up very light and crisp.
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste

Enough canola oil for frying in a cast iron pan. The oil should come to about 1/2 way up the sides of the pan (see pictures). Have extra on hand as some is absorbed into the bread crumbs when cooking the chicken.

Directions
PREPARE THE SWEET POTATOES (I cook these first because the chicken makes the oil dirty)
1) Slice the sweet potato (or yam) into thin round slices for chips or into match-stick size pieces for fries. If you have a mandolin, use that to make the slices. I like to keep them thick so we can really taste the flesh, but some prefer thin so they are really crispy.

2) Heat up oil in a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Make sure oil is hot before adding the potatoes - if it's too cold, the potatoes soak up the oil instead of frying in it. While oil is heating, prepare a colander or large bowl to drain the fries by placing several layers of paper towels on the bottom.

3) Fry the sweet potatoes in small batches - If you are making the chips, cook them in a single layer at a time. Cook about 6 minutes per side, flipping carefully with kitchen thongs. If you are making fries, cook only about 4 minutes total (maybe a little longer if they are thick fries).

4) Carefully remove the fries or chips and place on the paper towels. DO NOT COVER or they will get soggy. Salt while they are hot so the salt sticks to the potatoes. If you like, you can keep the salt off all together as the sweet potatoes are DELICIOUS all on their own.

PREPARE THE CHICKEN
1) Between two pieces of saran wrap, pound the chicken breast pieces thin - about 1/4 inch thick. Cut them into strips, or nuggets, or however you like.

2) Prepare the breading station:

1. plate one - flour mixed with parsley, salt and pepper
2. plate two - crack the eggs and mix with fork until yolk is incorporated into the white
3. plate three - bread crumbs

3) Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour (shake off excess), then the eggs, then the breadcrumbs, making sure to coat completely each time. I usually use a fork for this as it gets messy!!

4) Using the same oil from the fries/chips, place the chicken in the hot oil and cook about 3-4 minutes each side. They will cook quickly because the breasts were pounded so thin. Make sure the breading is a golden brown (not black!).

5) When cooked, remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain off the excess oil. EAT AND ENJOY!!!

xoxo
Lisa B