Cindy's Recipes and Writings

Walnut Cream Cheese Sauce

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Cindy Kerschner

Walnut Cream Sauce

This sauce uses Neufchatel cream cheese with 1/3 the calories of regular cream cheese!
The roasted garlic brings out the best in walnut flavor without overpowering it!

1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
8 ounces cream cheese (light or fat-free)
1/2 cup skim milk
2 cloves roasted
1 Tbs parsley flakes

1. Add walnuts and cheese together in a food processor. Pulse until chucks are broken up then blend until smooth. Add garlic, blend.

2. Transfer cheese mixture to a medium saucepan. Whisk in milk and add parsley. Cook over medium-low heat until thoroughly heated.

3. Serve over your favorite pasta or use as a sauce for chicken or turkey.

Servings: 8
Yield: 1 3/4 cups

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 60 calories, 23 calories from fat, 2.7g total fat, 3.7mg cholesterol, 205.9mg sodium, 124.5mg potassium, 3.7g carbohydrates, <1g fiber, 2.4g sugar, 5.6g protein, 87.1IU vitamin a, <1mg vitamin c.

Posted in dinner, fasy and easy, gnocchi, main dish, sauce, vegetarian, walnut | Tagged chicken, cream cheese, dinner, easy, pasta, sauce, walnuts | Comments Off

NEW! Nutrition Additions to Posts!

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Cindy Kerschner

Hi Everyone! I’m excited to be able to add the Nutrition information to my recipe posts!
Here’s a Sample. Let me know what you think about it! I can add vitamin, mineral values and/or I can also add weight watchers points value!

4 cups cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup bell peppers,diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Add all the vegetables together in a large bowl, stir to mix.
Dissolve sugar in vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix vegetables and dressing together. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.
Stir to recoat all the vegetables. Remove salad to a serving bowl with a slotted spoon; reserve the dressing to use to refresh salad or for serving on the side.
Servings: 8

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 15 minutes Inactive Time: 2 hours (marinate) Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving

Serving size: 1/8 of a recipe (3.3 ounces)

Calories 65.63,Calories From Fat (1%) 0.63% Daily Value, Total Fat 0.07g <1%, Saturated Fat 0.02g <1%, Cholesterol 0mg 0%, Sodium 14.59mg <1%, Potassium 130.03mg 4%, Total Carbohydrates 16.98g 6%, Fiber 1.35g 5%, Sugar 14.28g, Protein 0.68g 1%% Daily Value

Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cabbage, pepper cabbage, salad | 3 Comments

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Cindy Kerschner

Chicken Cordon Bleu
The term “Cordon Bleu” once referred to a ribbon awarded for excellence in cooking. Cordon Bleu as a dish has that ribbon look to it. You see layers of meat and cheese when you cut it open!
Don’t feel intimidated if you’ve never made it before. It isn’t difficult but it can be messy! But that’s okay, because the outcome is worth it!
I first made this recipe in class, step by step with our Chef. I tweaked it a little (like by seasoning my own homemade breadcrumbs) but his advice still holds true.
Ingredients
2 8-ounce chicken breast cutlets (or 4 4-ounce)
4 1-ounce cheese slices, Swiss or Gruyere
4 1-ounce ham slices, pork or turkey
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning (or 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried rosemary)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon seasoned salt or sea salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil

1. Pound cutlets with flat side of mallet into 1/4-inch thickness. Set aside.
2. Place one slice of cheese on top of one slice of meat and roll tightly. Tuck ends underneath, set aside.
3. Combine flour and basil on a flat plate. On another plate, combine breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic and salt together.
To Assemble:
Dredge cutlet in seasoned flour. Shake off excess.
Place ham/cheese rollup (2 end to end if using 8 ounce breasts) in center of underside of cutlet. Fold all sides together making sure to cover the rollup. Pinch shut.

Here comes the start of the messy part!

Dip the chicken into the beaten egg. Carefully coat all parts. Pinch together to seal seam. Immediately roll in breadcrumb mix. Pinch shut. Redo the egg bath and breadcrumbs as necessary to close seam. (Only redo parts of seam as necessary).

Place finished breasts seam-side down on a clean plate sprinkled with lightly with breadcrumbs to prevent sticking. Cover and refrigerate anywhere from 15 minutes up to overnight to allow Cordon Bleu to set.

Preheat oven to 350.
Add oil to glass baking dish. Place Cordon Bleu seam side in dish. Cover with foil.
Bake for 20 minutes. Flip over. Bake an additional 20 minutes, flip back to seam side down. Bake an additional 10 minutes until internal temperature taken at the thickest part of chicken reaches 165 degrees.
Serve whole or let rest 5 minutes and slice.
Note: There will be a “pink” color on the chicken left there from the ham. It can be easily mistaken for improperly cooked chicken!

Posted in cheese, chicken, cordon bleu, everyday, food, main dish | Tagged chicken, chicken cordon bleu, cordon bleu, dinner, main dish, recipes, stuffed chicken | 6 Comments

Chocolate Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Cindy Kerschner

This started out as a dare from a friend (you’re safe, I won’t give you away) to make a killer Upside-down Cake. How could I resist? You know chocolate needs to fit in somehow!
You can use fresh pineapple or canned. I chose fresh pineapple.
If you use fresh, cut off both ends, cut off peel and slice into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces. Cut out cores with a knife or corer. Remember to beware of Pineapple Tongue!.

Ingredients
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar packed
4 to six pineapple slices
Maraschino or bing cherries
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
4 Tablespoons pineapple juice or water
2 Tablespoons Maraschino cherry juice or water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (scant)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Melt butter over low heat or in microwave.
Pour into 10-inch ungreased cake pan. Sprinkle on brown sugar.
Arrange pineapple slices and cherries. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs until thick and lemon colored.
Gradually beat in sugar. Add juice and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Mix.
Stir dry ingredients into wet mixture.
Pour batter over pineapple slices. Try to coat evenly.
Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
Turn pan over onto serving dish. DO NOT REMOVE PAN. Let pan rest in place for several minutes to allow butter to coat the cake.
Cool, remove pan, cut and enjoy!