German Dinner

Last week, D decided that we should make an international meal each week. This week he chose the country. He picked Germany. I am not particularly fond of sausage and I didn't want to deal with marinating beef for Sauerbraten. Since we hadn't really planned this event for a very long time, I decided to go easy on myself. I picked a Chicken Schnitzel recipe that claims to be "low fat" but who knows. I also made "Authentic" German Potato Salad. The potato salad was an especially big hit with D. But both the boys enjoyed our German dinner. I didn't have time to bake any Kuchen or Strudel so I went to our local grocery store and bought some mini apple strudels which were also wonderful.

Chicken Schnitzel (Low Fat)
from Cooks.com

1 lb chicken breasts or tenderloins
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cracker meal
2 tablespoons oil, low fat
salt and pepper to taste

1. Beat chicken with a mallet until thin.
2. roll chicken in flour.
3. Dip chicken in egg and then roll in cracker meal.
4. Fry in hot oil until brown.
5. Salt and pepper chicken and serve with gravy and noodles. Serves 5 to 6 people.

Sauce for Schnitzel or Noodles:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1-1/4 cup water
2-1/2 cups dry white wine
2 tablespoons butter

1. In saucepan cook onion in oil until brown. Remove and set aside.

2. Melt butter in saucepan then deglaze pan with the wine. Add water. Cook until reduced to half.

Authentic German Potato Salad
from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

3 cups diced, peeled potatoes
4 slices bacon
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Place the potatoes into a pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain, and set aside to cool.

2. Place the bacon in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Fry until browned and crisp, turning as needed. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Add onion to the bacon grease, and cook over medium heat until browned. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper to the pan. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes and parsley. Crumble in half of the bacon. Heat through, then transfer to a serving dish. Crumble the remaining bacon over the top, and serve warm.

Well, German day was a complete success. Next week is my choice. I chose Chinese because I love Chinese food and there aren't any decent Chinese restaurants in our area. We have to drive over half an hour to find descent Chinese. We'll see next week how my first attempt at a Chinese meal goes.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Ziti and Eggplant

I am sure I've mentioned that I LURVE eggplant! My brother-in-law, S has a garden full of it growing like crazy. The stuff is soooo good. I especially enjoy the Japanese eggplant that he is growing. The only problem for my sister is that they become overabundant and it is hard to know what to do with them all. My mom makes a mean eggplant Parmesan that she freezes and gifts me with on occasion. Gotta love that woman! But I felt like making an eggplant dish on my own that didn't require lots of frying. I found this one that my family enjoyed very much. I didn't use Ziti because I didn't have any in my pantry. I used Penne instead. It was wonderful with the Penne. You will definitely love this eggplant. Another idea that I got from a friend of mine was to make the sauce and then put it into the blender. That way the kiddies and the hubby will never know that the sauce has "good for them" eggplant and peppers in it. I am not Jessica Seinfeld or anything but I do think this is a good idea for those who don't like veggies. Fortunately, my boys aren't opposed to chunky tomato sauce as long as the veggies are cooked thoroughly. This recipe comes from allrecipes.com.

Ziti and Eggplant

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
ground black pepper to taste
1-1/4 teaspoons white sugar (optional)
1 (7 oz) jar roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips
1 (16 oz) package dry ziti pasta


Cooking Instructions

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the eggplant about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, black pepper, and sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Mix the roasted red peppers into the skillet with the eggplant mixture. Continue cooking until eggplant is the consistency of the rest of the sauce.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place ziti pasta in the pot, cook 9 to 11 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Serve the eggplant and tomato sauce over the cooked ziti.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook