Kiddos Will Love Creamed Peas

Adults love them too!

Got trouble getting your kids or even grown ups to eat anything green? This recipe just may be the answer to that problem.

Since you can use it with most any green veggie, it’s pretty versatile. You can vary it for whichever vegetable anyone you cook for doesn’t care to eat.

I guess my mom was fortunate that I didn’t need too much inducement to eat my “greens.” however, my sister was not the same (as a kid). I even liked brussels sprouts.

And I understand this unwillingness from an adult standpoint as my late husband was extremely finicky about veggies to the point where I’d refer to him as my eldest “son.”

This is one recipe that will get them to eat their greens.

The Sauce

What I used here was just your basic medium white sauce. It’s creamy and delicious plus it can be adapted in many ways.

To make it so it comes out perfectly, there are two basic caveats: cooking the flour and butter for about two minutes so there’s no pasty taste and hot milk. Yes, hot milk.

Using hot milk not only eliminates the need for constant stirring till it boils, it sets up a lot faster for that reason and is creamier. Take it from someone who always used cold milk–this work and it works wonderfully.

Everyone’s Favorite

Now for the best part–there’s bacon in this!

While it’s only a seasoning and/or garnish, it ads a ton of flavor. The marriage of bacon and vegetables isn’t new. The southerners have been doing it for ages. When you think some of their most renowned dishes are veggies that include the taste of bacon you can see they they’re so popular.

The Recipe

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Creamed Peas

A great recipe for veggies

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: recipes for peas, side dishes kids love, vegetables in cream sauce with bacon

Servings: 4

Calories: 267kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 16 oz frozen peas cooked per package directions
• 2 slices crisp bacon diced

Sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups hot whole milk
• 3 tbs butter
• 3 tbs flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper white preferred
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Drain peas and set aside.
• Melt the butter over medium-high heat; add onion and cook until it just becomes translucent. Stir in the flour and let it bubble. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk and whisk until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat and add the salt & pepper.
• Stir in the cooked peas and top with the diced bacon.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 771mg | Potassium: 443mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1280IU | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 2mg

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These breaded pork cutlets in chardonnay cream sauce may sound difficult to make, but they’re as easy as 1-2-3.

Boneless Center Cut Chops

I’ve avoided this cut of chops for ages and only ever bought them if the price was extremely low. Why? Well I always found them dry when cooked or mostly tasteless compared to their bone-in cousins.

This variety of chops was again being sold at a ridiculously low price last week, so I bought a pack. But I didn’t buy a big pack. I figured for that price I could make up some ground pork to use in my Shrimp and Lobster Sauce.

Just happens that this weekend I was remembering a dear and departed friend who was a chef. I remembered Klaus saying he made weiner scnitzel with pork cutlets substituted for veal and that gave me the idea to make cutlets out of those chops!

Pounding Also Tenderizes These Pork Cutlets

As the heading says, pounding meat with a mallet tenderized the meat. That’s the main purpose! I also notice it tenderizes chicken as well.

The other great thing about pounding meat down to a uniform thickness is that it cooks evenly. This is more important for chicken than center-cut boneless pork, but it has advantages for the pork as well. Since the pork is about 1/4-inch thick, it cooks lightening quick and doesn’t have a chance to dry out.

OK, I know they say one-inch chops should cook in about 8-10 minutes and that people overcook pork because old ideas still prevail. My logical side knows this is true, but sorry, I can’t handle pork with pink in the center. I just can’t. But with these cutlets, there is no pink because it’s cooked well, but since it doesn’t cook for long, and it’s breaded to boot, the meat stays juicy.

Nifty Idea I Found

For years, I’ve been pounding meat between 2 pieces of waxed paper. But after about 2 pieces of meat is done this way, the waxed paper begins to fall apart. I’ve also read about using plastic wrap. I never considered it because plastic wrap is a real pain in the neck because it sticks to itself and you can never seem to get a flat piece.

In this cooking course I recently took, the chef used a zipper bag with the zipper part and a small strip from each side cut away. This idea is ingenious! Not only is it neater, but it holds up very well if you have a lot of meat to tenderize. I had a box of cheap freezer zipper bags, so I used those and I recommend using those. Storage bags may not be thick enough to hold up, and the bargain variety most certainly won’t.  I consider it overly extravagant to use high-quality freezer bags for something such as this so the cheap freezer bags work pretty well because their thickness is just a tad less than the high-priced brand.

What you end up with is a great little “envelope” to pound down the meat!

Oh That Sauce

It’s no secret that I love cream sauces!

They are so rich and flavorful, they complement any meat. And don’t worry about heavy cream. It doesn’t bite, it’s not poison and it tastes great. So don’t be tempted to substitute skim milk or low-fat milk or even fat-free half-and-half for it. Your sauce will taste terrible if you do.And remember, the serving size is only 2-4 tablespoons of sauce because it has so much flavor that you’re really not eating that much of it. Eat the real thing–it’s always better.

The sauce’s flavor relies on a reduction. While the sauce is very easy, it’s not an instantaneous procedure. Reduction takes a little time, but trust me, it’s worth it.

I added mushrooms because I wanted to use up what I had, but if you hate them, leave them out. The sauce will still taste great.

The Recipe

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Pork Cutlets with Chardonnay Herb Cream Sauce

These breaded pork cutlets in chardonnay cream sauce may sound difficult to make, but they’re as easy as 1-2-3.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Everyday Meals, Pork, skillet dinners

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chardonnay, cream sauce, pork cutlets, pork,, skillet dinner

Servings: 4

Calories: 746kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 4 boneless center-cut pork chops about 1-inch thick
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 1/2-2 cups seasoned bread crumbs recipe follows in NOTES
• 1 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms see NOTES
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• olive oil for browning
• 1/4 cup chardonnay or any dry white wine

SAUCE

• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3-4 branches fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dry
• 1/2 tbs sugar see NOTES
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbs butter
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon -OR- 1 tbs
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

• Pound pork with a meat mallet until it’s about 1/4-inch thick (see post for the zipper-bag method)
• Dredge each cutlet in flour, then coat with the beaten egg letting excess drip off then dredge in seasoned bread crumbs.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to the hot pan. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the pork, browning well on each side. You may have to brown in shifts, so just repeat until all the cutlets are browned.
• Remove cutlets from skillet; add more oil if necessary (about 1 tbs).
• Saute the mushrooms. When they begin to brown, add the garlic.
• Deglaze the skillet with the 1/4 cup of chardonnay/ Add the chicken stock, thyme and the sugar. Reduce over medium heat until there’s about 1/4 cup of liquid. This will take about 10 minutes.
• Remove the thyme sprigs (if you used fresh) then add the cream, butter and lemon juice. Continue cooking the sauce over medium heat until it’s reduced about 25%. Add any salt and pepper at this point. Alternatively, you can thicken the sauce with 1 tbs flour mixed with 3 tbs water.
• Return pork to skillet to reheat in the sauce.

Notes

Regular white mushrooms may be substituted. Canned may be substituted as well.

Seasoned Bread Crumbs 2 cups plain bread crumbs, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese. Mix together in a bowl. Extra may be stored in a container in the fridge

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 746kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 263mg | Sodium: 833mg | Potassium: 850mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1205IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 151mg | Iron: 4mg

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Subtly flavored lemon and herb cream sauce is the crowning glory to this sauteed chicken! One skillet and 30 minutes is all it takes.

One thing I always have on hand–because I buy it up when it’s on sale and vacuum seal it–is boneless skinless chicken breast halves. I was actually surprised by how much I did have. I recently bought a bigger upright freezer so I could store most of my frozen goods in there and they’d be easily accessible. I found so much of this in my smaller chest freezer that I’d forgotten about–I’ve been avoiding it lately because it’s a bit uncomfortable with my hip arthritis to dive in the thing. All I can say is thank heavens for Foodsaver because the chicken is just like the day I bought it (maybe 4-6 months ago).

In fact I have so much of this that I’m often looking for different ways to make it.  I was thinking about lemon sauce a lot this week, mainly because I sprung for a bag of lemons, so I thought I’d give it a try with a creamy lemon sauce. I’d always wanted to try a creamier version of my Lemon Butter Chicken, so now was a good opportunity.

Adding a light herbal flavor was a spur of the moment thing. Today, my good friend and neighbor, Linda, whose name oddly enough is “Lemons,”  and I went to the local garden center to buy some plants–and we are dedicated because it was literally pouring rain when we were there.

I picked up my usual–English thyme, hot & spicy oregano, curly & flat-leaf parsley and peppermint. I like to immediately pinch back on the thyme so the few little bits I pinched off went in the sauce. Along with the bit of thyme in went some parsley.

The result was a nice slightly tart cream sauce with a little whisper of herbs. This sauce is not overpowering; it’s very subtle. If you like a bolder herb flavor, then add more thyme or any herb that goes well with chicken–rosemary is one of them.

This sauce is rich so a little dab will do you with it. If you want more sauce for serving this with pasta, the recipe is easily doubled.

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Chicken with Lemon Herb Cream Sauce

Subtly flavored lemon and herb cream sauce is the crowning glory to this sauteed chicken! One skillet and 30 minutes is all it takes.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Chicken, skillet dinners

Cuisine: American

Keyword: air fryer chicken wings, lemon herb cream sauce, lemon sauce

Servings: 4

Calories: 753kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup cream or evaporated milk
• 1-1 1/2 cups unseasoned bread crumbs see NOTES
• 2 tbsp olive oil

SAUCE

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme or scant 1/8 tsp
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 1 tbs dried
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar optional
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

Instructions

• Using a meat mallet, pound chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper until it's 1/4-inch thickness.
• Dip each chicken breast in the cream or evaporated milk.
• Dredge with breadcrumbs.
• Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat and brown chicken well on each side. Pounding the chicken down makes it cook fast so it should be done and safe to eat after browning, but always test with a meat thermometer to be safe.
• Remove chicken from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel.
• Return skillet to heat and melt the butter for the sauce.
• Add the flour and stir well so there are no lumps.
• Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and thyme. Cook for about 3 minutes.
• Gradually add the cream and milk, whisking constantly so the sauce remains smooth.
• Add the salt, garlic powder, pepper, sugar (if using), Parmesan cheese and the parsley. Stir well to combine. Simmer over low heat for 3-5 minutes.
• If sauce is too thick for your liking, thin with additional milk.
• You can return the chicken to the skillet if you wish so the sauce coats the chicken. Otherwise, place chicken on a serving platter and drizzle with some sauce. Serve additional sauce on the side.

Notes

Breadcrumbs amounts are given as a range. How much you use depends on how thickly you coat the chicken and the size of the chicken breast halves.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 753kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Cholesterol: 214mg | Sodium: 838mg | Potassium: 625mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1765IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 190mg | Iron: 3mg

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Chicken Lazone is made from a few every-day ingredients, but don’t let that fool you–this one-skillet dinner is big on taste!

This is a recipe I pinned on Pinterest a few months ago that I knew I HAD to make because it looked and sounded out of this world!

The recipe I pinned was Mandy’s from South Your Mouth but she’d gotten it and tweaked it from Steph from Plain Chicken.

Well, here’s yet another tweak of this great recipe!

The original calls for chicken tenders, but I didn’t have any of those. What I did have was some boneless skinless thighs in my freezer that I wanted to use because they were just frozen in the store package. I just had no time when I bought them to vacuum seal them. I figured they would work pretty well in this too because thighs have more flavor than breast (where the tenders come from).

Mandy used more cream than Steph because she has more people to feed and served it over spaghetti so needed more sauce. I went with just slightly less than Steph originally used because my cooking process produced a bit of stock. So what I subtracted from cream was made up rather nicely with some reduced stock that formed in the process. This probably was responsible for giving the sauce quite a bit of flavor. I also used less butter mainly because I had less batches of chicken to brown.

Both gals served this over pasta–and it really extends the amount of chicken you use if you have to feed a bunch of people. Truthfully, I was way too lazy to make any pasta, so I ate this with a veggie on the side. It would also be great with mashed potatoes because this sauce will knock your socks off–seriously.

And without the pasta or served with “zoodles,” this fits nicely into a low-carb diet. Probably passes the paleo test too, but I’m no expert on that so make sure before you make it!

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Chicken Lazone

Chicken Lazone is made from a few every-day ingredients, but don’t let that fool you–this one-skillet dinner is big on taste!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Chicken, Everyday Meals, skillet dinners

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken recipe

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 591kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 4 tbsp butter divided
• 1 cup heavy cream

SPICE MIX

• 3 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper don't substitute--it's essential for the flavor

Instructions

• Mix all the spice ingredients together--remove and reserve 1 tsp for the sauce.
• Place chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle the spice mixture over the chicken. Mix the chicken and spice mix with your hands so each piece is well coated.
• Melt 2 tbs butter in a large skillet over medium heat until it sizzles (don't let it brown)
• Add half of the chicken and brown well on each side. Remove from pan and melt the remaining butter and brown the remaining half of the chicken.
• Add all the chicken back to the skillet, cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until juices run clear from the chicken.
• Remove the chicken from the pan (cover and keep it warm) and raise heat to medium. Reduce the liquid by 25%--this should take 3-5 minutes once it begins to boil.
• Slowly stir in the cream. Add the reserved 1 tsp of spice mix to the sauce.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon--about 10-15 minutes
• Add the chicken back to the pan and heat through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 591kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 328mg | Sodium: 918mg | Potassium: 649mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1678IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 2mg

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This warm and comforting tortellini dish comes together in less than 30 minutes with a little help from your grocer’s refrigerated pasta section

I am astounded at the varieties of fresh tortellini there is at my local grocery! I always knew you could get the cheese ones, but my store has some really gourmet fillings.

OK, so chicken isn’t exactly gourmet, but it is different. The kind I got was chicken & bacon. Now when you add bacon to anything, you improve it at least 50% by my way of thinking.

Since I wanted to give the sauce a decidedly chicken flavor, I cooked the tortellini in some tasty chicken stock and cooked it in the skillet I was going to prepare the rest of the dish in. This way, I had no extra pots and pans to clean. The chicken stock not only cooked the pasta, but it formed the base of the creamy sauce in the final dish.

You have to use a rich-tasting stock. I find that College Inn Bold to be very good tasting. Knorr concentrated (the stuff that comes in the little tubs) is very good too. I do make my own, but frankly, some of these store-bought stocks taste almost as good, so I figure why bother.

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Creamy Chicken Tortellini

This warm and comforting tortellini dish comes together in less than 30 minutes with a little help from your grocer’s refrigerated pasta section

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Chicken, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, pasta, skillet dinners

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: chicken recipe, skillet dinner, tortellini

Servings: 4

Calories: 655kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 pkg refrigerated chicken tortellini
• 3 cups rich chicken stock i.e. College Inn BOLD Rotisserie
• 1 cup light cream -or- half and half -or- whole milk
• 2 cups broccoli florets frozen or fresh
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 strips crisp-cooked bacon diced

Instructions

• In a very large skillet (12-inches minimum) heat chicken stock to boiling.
• Add the tortellini, cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 8 minutes.
• Add the broccoli florets, cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the cream; stir well to combine.
• Mix the flour and water well so there are no lumps
• Raise heat to medium and when liquid is hot, stir in the flour/water mixture.
• Stirring contantly, bring sauce to boil; reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes.
• Top with diced bacon

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 655kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 967mg | Potassium: 382mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 587IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 248mg | Iron: 5mg

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All it takes is some humble chicken, some wine and tarragon to make this awesome and gourmet skillet dinner.

Years ago, a chef friend introduced me to chicken flavored with tarragon. It was love at first bite!

The chicken he used to make was broiled with a tarragon-flavored rub. It was the first time I ever tasted that herb and was glad he helped me discover it’s many uses (hint–it tastes WONDERFUL with zucchini).

Another thing I love is skillet meals. I had a taste for tarragon-flavored chicken and wanted to do something in one pan. What could be better than something herby with a wine and cream sauce? Not much LOL!

Few ingredients, gourmet taste

This recipe’s prep is very simple. But do remember to brown the chicken VERY well–it will add so much to the flavor of the overall meal.

I tend to reduce sauces by half, but if you like a thinner sauce, then 25% will do. My rule-of-thumb is that the final product should coat the back of a spoon.

This dish would also be spectacular with rosemary substituted for the tarragon. As for the wine, I’m partial to chardonnay, but any dry white will do for the sauce. If you don’t want to use wine, then a high-quality (real) chicken stock can be substituted (i.e. Knorr, Better Than Bouillion).

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Tarragon Chicken with Chardonnay Cream Sauce

When you need a quick dinner, how about this 20-minute chicken in tarragon butter sauce? It's just as easy as a TV dinner or carryout, and it's made with REAL FOOD.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 30-minute meals, chicken recipe, cream sauce

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 639kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken cut up or equivalent parts*
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• 1 1/2 cup chardonnay wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

• *I used bone-in thighs and drums with skin on. Skinless is fine too.
• Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter.
• When butter sizzles, brown chicken well on all sides. Remove from pan.
• Deglaze pan with the wine. Add the tarragon, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Add chicken back to the pan, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Remove chicken from pan and discard crushed garlic clove. Reduce pan drippings about 50%--this will take about 5 minutes.
• Slowly stir in cream (you can add more if you like) and heat through.
• Add chicken back to pan and spoon sauce over chicken.
• Serves 4-6

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 639kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 199mg | Sodium: 732mg | Potassium: 461mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 900IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg

Tarragon Chicken with Chardonnay Cream Sauce

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