Month: March 2018

We recently tried Joe Losardo’s Chicken Francese recipe featured in the May Taste of Home magazine.

We followed it fairly close. We pounded flat two boneless chicken breasts then salted them. We washed them in two eggs and covered them with a mix of three tablespoons of shredded Parmesan cheese, a teaspoon of pepper, a teaspoon of dried parsley flakes and a cup of bread crumbs.

We fried them — about two minutes per side — in olive oil and removed them. We added a cup of water, a packet of chicken bullion and a half cup of lemon juice to the skillet remembering to scrap up the delicious brown bits to include their flavor. We boiled the sauce for eight minutes to reduce it then returned the chicken letting it braise  for about five minutes flipping it halfway through.

We served it with a Knorr pasta side and a box white.

Frankly, we prefer the tomato sauce and mozzarella way of doing it, but it was a nice tasty change and a bit easier as you only needed one pan and didn’t have to use the oven. It would be a good meal for guests as it is pleasing and not something they are likely used to.

Chicken Francese Made For Interesting Meal

Braised Pork Chops With Mushroom Sauce — This meal is a riff on Judith Hannemann’s recipe which can be found at The Midnight Baker

Take two pork chops and salt and pepper them. Slice an onion and about five white mushrooms. Open a can of Campbell’s Pork Gravy that has been sitting on shelf for three years and add a can of water to it.

Heat up the old Dutch oven on your stovetop and put in a tablespoon of butter and a generous splash of olive oil. Sear the chops on both sides and remove them. Put in the onion and mushrooms along with a couple of good shakes of powdered garlic.

Stir until the onions are soft, then add a half cup of white wine to deglaze.

Add the gravy/water mix.

Return the chops, bring to a boil then let simmer while covered for 40 minutes.

The big guy thought the chops were a little tough and could have used more simmering. He was probably right but we will report what happened. The taste was great.

A slow cooker might have been better than the Dutch oven.

It was served with white bread, butter, homemade applesauce and a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon.

Braised Pork Shops With Mushroom Sauce