Chicken Picata

     Chicken picata is another dish I love but can't order out because of the butter and lemon juice.  It does have one of my favorite ingredients which is capers.  A few tablespoons of these tiny round berries add a burst of flavor in every bite.  My whole family knows as soon as I see a dish on the menu with capers I'm interested.

                                                                  Chicken Picata

2 chicken breasts
2 tblsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 tblsp. olive oil
1/4 cup stick margarine
1/4 cup water with 1 1/2 tsp. lemon powder mixed in
zest of 1/4 lemon
1/2 cup white wine
2 tblsp. capers

     Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of waxed or parchment paper and beat with a meat cleaver or rolling pin until 1/4 inch thick.  Mix flour, salt and pepper in a plastic ziplock bag.  Place the chicken breasts inside, seal the bag, and shake until the chicken is coated.   
     Spray a frying pan with vegetable spray.  Heat the pan with the olive oil.  When the oil is hot, shake off the excess flour from the chicken, and place the chicken in the pan.  Discard the flour mixture  Turn when one side is brown.  Be careful not to overcook because the chicken is thin.  After is it brown on both sides, set it on a plate and cover it with foil.
     Using the same pan,  melt the margarine, add the water with lemon powder, lemon zest, and white wine.  Stir together and set on a low flame to simmer for 10 minutes so the flavors can come together and the alcohol can cook out.  Add the capers and the chicken.  Simmer a few minutes to reheat the chicken.  Makes two servings.
     Next week I'll share my recipe for homemade nachos.  While everyone else is enjoying the game and having their favorite snack food, you can too.  See you next time.

Cherry Almond Muffins

     Who doesn't like to wake up to the aroma of muffins baking in the morning?  Granted that means someone has to get up and make them, but you could make these muffins the night before and, if you're able to wait until morning, which I'm not sure you can, you can warm them up and have warm muffins for breakfast.  They are easy to make and I'm sure you'll enjoy the tart-tangy taste of the cherries.  Because my husband is a diabetic, which I've mentioned before, and now my doctor has mentioned I need to watch my sugar intake as well, I've been experimenting with Splenda.  I've tried agave without much success.  The first batch of these muffins made just with Splenda ended up in the wastebasket.  When I went to half sugar and half Splenda they turned out much better.  You're welcome to make them with all sugar but if you're looking for a place to save some calories, here you are.

                                                      Cherry Almond Muffins
                                                     

4 tblsp. stick margarine, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Splenda 
1 egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 cup flour
3/8 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup soy sour cream
1 cup dried cherries
1/4 lactose free milk
1/2 cup (2 oz. pkg.) sliced almonds

     Cream together margarine and sugar, then add Splenda.  Add egg and extracts.  In a separate bowl mix flour and baking soda.  Add to sugar mixture.  Add milk and soy sour cream and mix just until combined being careful not to overmix.  Add cherries.
     Put cupcake cups in eight cups of a cupcake pan or for crispier muffins spray eight cups in a cupcake pan with vegetable spray.  Fill the cups with batter about two thirds full.  Divide the the almonds evenly between the muffins and sprinkle on the top.  Press slightly to make sure they stick.  Bake at  375 for 20 minutes or until the top begins to brown and it springs back when touched.  Makes 8 muffins.
     Next week I'll share my recipe for chicken picata.  It's one of my favorite dishes but in restaurants there is always butter and lemon juice and they both cause problems for me, but I have found a way around this.  See you next time.

    

SoCal Mama-Cocktail without Alcohol

     This recipe was madeup by my son-in-law Mike and used with his permission.  He is quite the drink mixer and has been very helpful to me in finding foods I can eat even though he doesn't have any of the issues I have.  On a recent visit he was determined to make something for me to drink other than water.  We began at the juice aisle of the grocery store and we put every juice I could drink in the cart.  When we got home he began working with them.  The following is what he came up with.  It's nice when everyone else has something to drink and you can't even have a soda now you can have something too.

                                                             SoCal Mama
                                                 

6 oz. banana juice
6 oz. mango juice
3 oz.Coco Lopez
1 1/2 oz. almond syrup
6 dashes Angostura Bitters

     Blend with three cups of ice.  Pour into three to four glasses.  Garnish fresh nutmeg on each drink and a sprig of fresh mint.
     Next week I will be sharing my recipe for cherry almond muffins.  See you next time.

Pizza Variation

     Now that football season is upon us, baseball playoffs are serious and I have seen some hockey on TV (I have to confess I don't know much about their season), I do know they have in common the need for snack foods.  This usally puts people like me looking for a plain cracker or a carrot stick.  Since I wanted in on the fun, here is my second pizza recipe.
     I would also like to share a recent product discovery.  The credit for this goes to my son-in-law Mike.  On a recent trip to Pittsburgh we were grocery shopping together and he found in the cheese section Finlandia brand cheese slices in muenster, harvati and swiss flavors.  They are naturally lactose free, no hormones added, and all natural.  When I got home I was able to find them locally in the grocery store.  I was so excited!  Real cheese that didn't bother my stomach.  I had already made this pizza before I discovered these cheeses, but they can be substituted in this recipe.

                                                                    Pizza Variation

1 ea. 14 oz. frozen pizza crust, defrosted
1 box sliced mushrooms
3 tblsp. stick margarine
3 tblsp. Marsala
1 6 oz. pkg. Canadian bacon, cut edges off the meat
1/4 cup kalamata olives, cut in half (substitute green olives if you can't find kalamata olives)
1 red bell pepper, core, slice in rings and slice the rings in half
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup rice mozzarella flavor cheese

     Clean mushrooms and brown in a skillet with the margarine.  Once they are brown and the liquid is gone, turn off the flame and add the Marsala.  Turn the flame back on and cook the mushrooms until the liquid is gone.  Set mushrooms aside.
     Preheat oven to the temperature suggested on the pizza crust package.  After pizza crust is defrosted, spread it on a pizza stone or in a pizza pan.  (If using a pizza stone, sprinkle some corn meal to make the crust not stick and to make the crust have more crunch.)  Bake for 5 minutes and remove from oven.
     Add the remaining ingredients making sure they are all dry so they don't make the crust soggy.  You may have to pat the Canadian bacon dry with a paper towel, drain the olives, etc.  Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes making sure not to burn the crust or ingredients but that the cheese is melted.  The bell pepper adds flavor while baking even though I can't eat them so I gently pull them off any piece I eat.
     Next week I'll share a recipe for a cocktail with no alcohol.  Now you will have a refreshing beverage at parties or just for yourself and you won't be there with your usual glass of water or juice.  See you next time.