Chicken Parmigiana

Serves 2

3 tablespoons butter

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1 cup Marinara sauce

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Put three tablespoons of butter in a square glass baking dish and place the dish in the oven to melt the butter.

Place a chicken breast in a large freezer bag and pound it out until it becomes flatter and the thickness is a bit more even.  Repeat for the second chicken breast.

Pour the breadcrumbs on a plate.  In a separate bowl, coat the chicken in Dijon mustard.  Then dip each piece of chicken in the breadcrumbs, so that both sides are coated with crumbs.

Remove the baking dish with the melted butter from the oven and place the chicken in the dish.  Return the dish to the oven and cook the chicken for 15 minutes.  Flip the chicken over and cook for another 15 minutes.  Then pour the Marinara sauce onto the chicken (I like to let it run off of the sides a little bit).  And sprinkle the cheese on top of the chicken.  Return to the oven and continue to cook until the cheese melts.  You can broil it a little bit if you would like.

Serve with spaghettini or angel hair pasta, extra sauce, and some vegetables.  (The picture above is roasted asparagus with olive oil, balsamic, salt, and pepper.)   Also note, I usually eat half of my chicken and save the other half for lunch.  And this recipe can very, very easily be adapted to feed more people - just add more chicken and bump up the quantities of everything else 

Chicken with Vegetables Recipe

Ingredients

For the stock

1 chopped carrots in big pieces

1 chopped onion in big pieces

1/2 celery chopped in cubes

Parsley sticks

3 whole cardamoms

1/2 tea spoon whole black pepper

1 tea spoon whole carnation

Salt

For the Chicken

1 ½ kilo chicken approximately

¼ tea spoon Ground turmeric

¼ tea spoon Ground cinnamon

Chili pepper (optional)

¼ tea spoon Ground dry coriander

¼ tea spoon Ground cardamom

½ tea spoon whole black pepper

½ whole carnation

½ cup mashed tomatoes

1 Chopped potatoes in medium cubes

1 Chopped colorful pepper in medium cubes

1 Chopped eggplants in medium cubes

Method

For the stock

• Put water in a pan and add chicken wings, carrots, onion, celery, parsley, cardamom, black pepper, carnation and salt.

• Place over medium heat, cover but not completely.

• Remove foam and leave to boil then reduce to low heat.

For the chicken:

• Wash chicken well and cut in eight pieces.

• Mix turmeric, cinnamon, chili pepper, dry coriander, cardamom, little oil, in a pan, and then mix well until the mixture becomes like paste.

• Put chicken pieces on the mixture and roll well until they are covered completely. Set aside to marinate.

• Heat olive oil over medium fire and add whole cardamom, whole black pepper and whole carnations.

• Add chicken pieces and fry well from all sides.

• Add little stock and mash tomatoes.

• Add vegetable pieces, season with salt, cover and leave until the chicken is tender.

• Serve with vegetables.

Fatet shawarma *

Ingredients for the Shawerma

1 kg tender beef cut into cubes
1 pack of shawerma spices (available at all super markets)
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup water
2 hard tomatoes cut into cubes after removing the watery seeds
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

Ingredients for the Rice

3 cups basmati rice
6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
5 cloves قرنفل
2 bay leaves ورق لارو
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp turmeric (korkom)
2 tbsp margarine
4 loaves of Lebanese bread cut into square pieces

For the Garlic Sauce (tomeya)

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup yogart
1/2 cup sour cream
4 finely chopped gloves of garlic
Salt

Directions

For the garlic sauce, we mix all ingredients and taste to make sure there's enough garlic in it. Leave it in the fridge till serving.

For the shawerma beef, marinate the beef in the shawerma spices, oil, vinegar & water and leave for at least 2 hours marinating in the fridge, the longer the better of course. After marinating, stir fry your beef and leave it on heat to soak all water, if it wasn't quite done you can add water. After you remove it from heat add your tomatoes and parsley.

For the rice, cut your bread into small square pieces, coat it with some oil and leave it to toast in the oven until crispy and golden brown then leave it aside. Wash your pasmati rice and leave it to soak in water for 20-30 minutes. On high heat, add your chicken stock and bring them to a boil. In the cooking pan your cook the rise in add 2 tbsp on margarine, the cloves, the cinnamon sticks, turmeric and the bay leaves and leave them all to heat up together and then add your saffron chicken stock. Drain the rice from any water and add it to the stock and spices. Season with salt and very little pepper and leave it covered till it's cooked.

Now, we start layering our dish! First, you layer your toasted bread and then you top it with all the rice and then you top them both with the shawerma beef. You can sprinkle the garlic sauce on top or you can leave it aside.

* Sun Dried Tomato Basil Cream Soup

Ingredients

½ cup sun dried tomatoes chopped
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp of the sun dried tomato oil
2 tsp olive oil
A pinch of red chili pepper flakes
½ tsp paprika
1 bay leave
2 tbsp flour
3 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp sugar
4 whole basil leaves
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup milk
200 ml cream
1 tbsp basil cut into strips
2 tbsp sun dried tomatoes chopped very finely
Salt & pepper



Ingredients

In the sun dried tomatoes oil and the olive oil sauté the sun dried tomatoes. Add all the spices, the bay leave and the garlic. Sauté till the garlic starts turning golden and then add the flour and make sure it mixes with everything. Add the chicken stock, the sugar, the tomatoes paste and the whole basil leaves and bring all to a boil. Leave it to cook for about 15 minutes and then remove from heat to your electrical mixer and beat till all is smooth and soft, make sure you remove the bay leave before you mix the soup. Return back to the pan and add the milk, season with salt & pepper. Bring to a soft simmer and then add the cream, the chopped sun dried tomatoes and the basil leaves and remove immediately from heat.

* Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients


For the Chicken Marinate

1 kg chicken breasts
2 very finely chopped onions
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp chopped basil
½ tbsp fresh thyme
Salt & pepper


For the Crust

3 eggs
Flour
2 cups bread crumps
½ cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp paprika
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tsp oregano


For the Marinara Sauce (Tomato Sauce)

8 ripe tomatoes skinless and chopped very finely
500 ml chicken stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
¼ cup olive oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/3 cup basil leaves
1 bay leave
3 whole thyme stems with the leaves
¼ tsp hot red chili pepper flakes
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp dry oregano
Salt & pepper


The Rest of the Ingredients

2 cups mozzarella cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese
6 basil leaves


Directions

To marinate the chicken mix all ingredients together, rub the chicken breasts with it and leave it in the fridge over night.

To prepare the marinara sauce, heat up the olive oil with the chopped garlic and fry just until golden seasoning with some red hot chili pepper flakes. Once the garlic is golden poor in the chopped tomatoes, the tomato paste, the chicken stock, the sugar, the basil, the thyme and all the spices. Bring to a hard boil and leave it boiling for 10 minutes and then lower the heat and leave it to cook for 15 minutes and then another 30 minutes with the led covered.

Now, to prepare the chicken season your eggs with some salt and pepper and beat them. Place the flour on a wide dish and mix the rest of the ingredients well with the bread crumbs and place it on another dish. Dip every chicken piece in flour then eggs then the bread crumbs mixture. Sallow fry the chicken breasts in some oil and set aside.

Now assemble the dish bring a baking dish preferably one that won’t stick. In the bottom poor in some marinara sauce, the quantity is according to your liking, if you like it a bit saucy then add more if you prefer it dry then a little less. Lay your chicken pieces on top of the marinara sauce and then sprinkle the basil leave over them with some mozzarella and some Parmesan. Cover with more sauce also according to your liking and then cover the top with mozzarella and Parmesan. Loosely cover with foil and enter a very hot oven. Leave it there to allow the flavors to mix and the cheese to melt and just in the end remove the foil to make sure the cheese is completely melted

* Indian Samosa

Ingredients
For the Dough

2 cups flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp oil
Water enough to form the dough


For the Stuffing

3 small potatoes
Green beans
Green onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic
Some ginger, paprika, cumin, turmeric & dry coriander
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp oil


Directions

For the potato stuffing, peal your potatoes and boil them whole until they are well done and soft from inside out. Mash your potatoes and add all ingredients and let it cook for about 5 minutes on heat. Leave your stuffing to cool completely before using with the dough.
For the dough, mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the oil. Mix well and then start adding water gradually till the dough is forming into a ball and not at all sticky, the dough should be very soft and smooth and doesn't stick to your fingers at all. Roll the dough out thinly and cut into circles with a cutter. Fill in with your cooled stuffing and close tightly. Fry in hot oil just until golden and crisp

* Stuffed Potatoes

Components
1 ½ kg of potatoes, small round
2 cups oil for deep frying
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions or 250 g of onion, chopped
750 g minced beef
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon of seven spices, ground
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 medium or 450 g tomatoes, peeled
And chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cubes MAGGI ® flavored lamb
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups or 500 ml of water
How to prepare
Peel potatoes and cut the bottom part of the base to form together and fry in oil
Heated until it becomes golden color and semi-mature. Set aside
Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, add onion and fry for 3 minutes or until
Matures. Add the minced meat and stir until cooked. Salted and seasoned with spices. Add
Toasted pine nuts. Stir and remove from heat.
Stuff the potatoes fried with the meat mixture and set aside.
How to prepare the sauce
: Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan and fry garlic
Then add tomatoes and stir for 5 minutes. Add the paste
Tomatoes, cubes flavored broth lamb, black pepper and water. Bring to boil
And simmer for 10 minutes.
Pour the tomato sauce in a dish resistant to the heat of the oven.
Coordinate stuffed potatoes in the dish over the tomato sauce.
Covered with aluminum foil dish and bake in a preheated oven at 200 ° C for
40 minutes or until cooked potatoes