I made this recipe three times, and the flavors are really great.  My daughter Randi loved the chicken, so I’m sold.

1 1/2 pounds organic chicken cutlets

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil mixed with 1 large or 2 medium garlic cloves grated

pinch kosher salt

pinch of red pepper flakes

sprinkling of dried oregano

about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese mixed with about 1 cup Italian bread crumbs with a few twists of freshly grated black pepper

Put the chicken cutlets in the oil and garlic mixture with the salt, red pepper, and oregano.  Then dredge in the bread crumbs and cheese mixture.

At this point, you can fry the cutlets, or bake them.  If you bake them, you have to bake them at a high temperature to brown them.  I fried them, and that worked out well.

My kids love these oven fried cutlets as much as real fried cutlets.  They are easier to make, and maybe a little healthier.

• 1 pound thin sliced chicken cutlets
• Italian bread crumbs, plain bread crumbs, or a mixture of the two (my favorite combination to use is Colonna Italian Style Bread Crumbs mixed with 4-C whole wheat bread crumbs)
• olive oil (any type)
• kosher salt and black pepper (if using plain bread crumbs) to taste, black pepper but less salt if using other than plain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Pour some olive oil into a bowl.  Put the cutlets in the oil.  Then pour a generous amount of bread crumbs on a flat plate and any salt or pepper.  Dredge the cutlets in the bread crumbs really well.  Place the cutlets on a half sheet pan covered with foil, that you have greased with some oil.  Bake for about 25-350 minutes depending on the thickness of the cutlets.  

Note:  You can make these for Passover using matzoh meal instead of the bread crumbs, seasoning the matzoh meal with with salt and pepper.  Before baking these, drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Just yesterday, I was at my magnificent grandson Noah’s second birthday party, having the best time ever.  One of my daughter’s very lovely friends, Bobbie,  was at the party with her son, and I started having a great conversation with her.  We discovered we had some common interests, especially food and cooking.  Then, I noticed she was feeding some yummy looking chicken to her son.  She offered me a taste, and I really liked it.  She was kind enough to email me her recipe, and I made it this evening for my son Danny and me.  Wow!  The flavors were great.  The combination of ingredients is delicious! Danny was oohing and aahing and stated that this dish was pure delectableness.  I think of the dish as tasting gourmet, but what I like is that the ingredients are simple, and the preparation is easy.  Tomorrow, I’ll bring the leftovers to Randi, and I know she’ll love it.  Hopefully, Noah will like it too.  Thanks for sharing your recipe, Bobbie!

for the chicken:

• 1 pound of thin sliced chicken cutlets
• about 4-6 tablespoons flour mixed with about 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt and about 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

for the sauce:

• 1 medium red or yellow onion, or 1 large shallot,  sliced thin (I used yellow onion)
• about 6-8 cloves garlic, crushed, minced, or chopped (I chopped it finely in my new little chopper)
• about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• about 3/4 cup to 1 cup  of chicken stock or broth to start and more as needed (I used Greenway Organic Chicken Stock - Greenway is an A&P organic brand)
• 2 tablespoons shredded Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• about 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• additional Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
• lemon wedges for serving about 3/4 of a lemon for 1 pound of cutlets

Dredge cutlets in flour mixture.  Heat about 3 tablespoons oil (I used light olive oil) in large nonstick saute pan over high flame.  When hot, add cutlets- do not crowd pan ( I did the cutlets in 2 batches).  I sprinkled a little more black pepper on top of each cutlet at that point.  Flip cutlets when lightly browned on bottom, and brown lightly on second side.  Set aside on a plate. If your cutlets are thin, and mine are because I use the Purdue thin sliced cutlets, then you want to do this as quickly as possible so as not to overcook your chicken, because you will be cooking the cutlets in the sauce again in the last step of this recipe.

Wipe out same saute pan with a paper towel if you feel there is too much residue from the flour and oil.  But if you only have just a little of the brown bits, you can leave it.  I did wipe out my pan.   Add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil -I used extra virgin for this- or light olive oil to pan.  Over medium flame, saute onion for about 2 minutes till translucent,  add a good sprinkling of red pepper flakes- 1/4 teaspoon or so, then lower the flame to low and add the garlic, and saute for a minute over low flame- be careful not to burn.  Then add the chicken stock, and simmer about 2-3 minutes, just till reduced a bit.  Add the 2 tablespoons of Romano cheese and mix.  Then add 2 tablespoons cold butter cut into cubes.  Mix, then add cutlets back to pan, and heat through about 2-3 minutes.  Add about 1/4 cup more of stock, a little sprinkle of kosher salt, a sprinkle of ground pepper, and  another little sprinkle of red pepper flakes.  Finally add some parsley to the sauce, sprinkle some on top of the cutlets to make them look pretty, and heat for another minute or so.  Place cutlets on serving platter and sprinkle all with the juice of about 3/4 of a lemon.  Serve.

To make this chicken, all I did was simply adapt one of my regular chicken recipes for Passover.  These are delicious, which I know for sure, since all my children loved them.  In fact, my daughter Randi claims that she likes this chicken more than my not for Passover oven fried chicken cutlets.  These are delicious hot, but also cold.  What I like to do is prepare the chicken before I leave for work in the morning without baking it, stick it in the fridge, and then when I get home, I can just throw it in the oven and dinner is ready in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

•  1 pound or so of thin sliced chicken cutlets
• matza meal
• kosher salt
• pepper
• olive oil or any other oil of your choice (I use a combination of extra virgin and light olive oil, but that is not necessary)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1.  Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil, then pour a few tablespoons of oil on it, and shmear it all over the pan.  Pour some oil in a shallow bowl, enough to coat all your cutlets.

2.  Place the cutlets in oil and with make sure the cutlets are all totally coated in the oil.

3.  Pour a good amount of matza meal on a large plate, and add salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Dredge each oil coated cutlet in the matza meal, using your hands to really coat the cutlet well on both sides.  I usually turn the cutlet over a few times, pressing the matza meal into the cutlet.  Then transfer each cutlet to the sheet pan.  Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper over each cutlet and drizzle the top of the chicken very lightly with.

5.  Place in center of oven for about 15 minutes.  Change the setting of the oven to broil- low.  Then cook for another 10 or so minutes just until the top of the chicken is nicely browned.  During this time, watch carefully.  If chicken is starting to burn, then change the setting back to bake at 400 degrees.

Note:  The chicken cutlets I use are very thin.  If your cutlets are thicker, bake them for more time up front, and broil them for a few minutes at the end.  Matza meal takes longer to brown than bread crumbs or corn flakes crumbs.  That’s why I have found it is necessary to broil the cutlets to brown them.  The thin cutlets only need 20-25 min. to cook, and the matza meal will not brown in that time period only on a bake setting.

I’ve made lots of versions of this, and I’ve never really used a recipe.  I made it this week for my daughter Randi and her baby, my amazing grandson, Noah.  They both really enjoyed so here it is.  The one thing I do differently is that I take all the chicken off the bone after it’s cooked and then I cut it up and put it back in the sauce.  It turns out to be more like a chicken stew.  Of course, you may keep it on the bone if you like.

• 4 pounds of chicken pieces, seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper (I use only breasts - that’s about 5 - 6 breast pieces)
• 1 28 oz can of good quality crushed tomatoes (or whole peeled tomatoes in thick puree) Best brand of crushed tomatoes is Sclafani or Jersey Best- the tomato product is amazing!
• 8-12 oz. sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella this time)
• 2 large red peppers, sliced
• about 4 carrots, peeled and sliced in large chunks (optional- if you like to add more veggies, this works well)
• about 10 oz. chicken broth or stock- buy organic or msg free
• 4-6 tablespoons of dry white wine (optional)
• 1 large onion, medium dice
• 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
• olive oil
• kosher salt, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme (use fresh herbs if you have them), crushed red pepper flakes to taste, about 1/2 teaspoon (optional- if you like the heat- I can’t use it for the baby)

In a large deep frying pan, pour 1 tablespoon oil,  heat up, and then place seasoned breasts face down, brown, turn and cook another few minutes.  Take out and place on large plate.  Add a little more oil, and saute onions till just starting to brown- towards the end of cooking the onions, throw the garlic in and saute just till transluscent, take out.  Do same for sliced mushrooms, when browned, put on plate with onions.  Then saute peppers, till just soft, take out.

Now you are ready to put it all together.  If this pan is large enough, and has a cover you can cook it all in pan.  Otherwise, in a pot, put the chicken in, all the cooked vegetables, the can of crushed tomatoes or whole tomatoes with juice, the cut up carrots- if using, the chicken broth, the wine if using, oregano, any additional salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer covered over lowest flame for about 45-55 minutes. If you are serving right away, either cook rice or egg noodles, and then serve over.

I do something different at this point.  I  let the pot sit there at least 1 hour, covered, until the chicken has cooled down.  Then I take the chicken out.  I lift the entire breast off the bone, and then I cut the chicken into nice big chunks. I do this because my children never really learned to eat chicken on the bone.   I put the chicken back into the sauce.  Then I turn the flame on, put the cover back on, and I simmer over lowest flame for another 30 minutes to get the juice into the meat.  Then I either serve it, or let it cool and put it into quart containers for serving later in the week or for freezing.

Note:  I go to the butcher shop at my Foodtown, and I buy the chicken that has no antibiotics.  The chicken is more expensive, but it tastes so much better!

My son Danny and I really enjoyed watching this last season of The Next Food Network Star.  We were really hoping that Melissa D’Arabian would win, because we liked her approachable and sensible approach to cooking.  I felt like I could really relate to her personalilty and cooking style.  Anyway, she won so we now are enjoying her show.  This past week, she made a chicken recipe, which my son Danny asked me to make.  What was so great was that I learned from watching Melissa how to take the chicken breast off the bone and then slice it.  This chicken recipe is fantastic because it uses so few ingredients, yet it tastes absolutely delicious. I made very few changes to Melissa’s recipe.

for 4 people:

• 3 pieces of chicken breast, skin on, bone in (each piece is 1/2 chicken breast)
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil (or other cooking oil)
• kosher salt
• freshly cracked pepper
• 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
• 4 tablespoons honey

Season chicken pieces with kosher salt and pepper on both sides.  Heat skillet that is  large enough for your chicken.  Then add the oil, heat for another minute till oil is hot.  Put chicken in skillet skin side down.  Keep flame on medium high.  Let chicken brown without touching it for about 5 minutes until the skin is very nicely browned and crisp.  You will not need to turn chicken over and cook it on the other side!  Take chicken out of pan and place it on a sheet pan covered with aluminum foil.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare your glaze for chicken.  In small saucepan, measure the frozen orange juice concentrate and the honey.  Sprinkle in a little kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.  Bring to a boil, then let boil for about 5-8 minutes on low flame, stirring every minute or two, until mixture reduces and becomes a little thicker.  Brush both sides of chicken generously with glaze.  Place on middle rack of preheated oven, skin side up, and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken.  Take the chicken out one or two times, and brush on more of the glaze.  For the last 5 or so minutes of cooking, switch the oven setting to broil (low) and watch carefully to make sure chicken browns, but doesn’t burn.  You want to look for that beautiful caramelization on the skin. 

Take chicken out of oven, and make sure the chicken is cooked through.  Let it rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes.  Then, carefully, take the chicken off the bone.  Then slice it into thickish slices on the bias.  Place on individual plates or a serving platter and drizzle with a little of the heated up glaze. 

Note:  I recommend you log on to foodnetwork.com and watch the video of Melissa D’Arabian making this dish, so you can see how to safely and easily take the chicken off the bone! 

Like every family, we have our favorite Chinese restaurants. Ours is Hunan Gourmet in Manalapan, New Jersey.  As far as I’m concerned their Chinese food is as good or better than any other, including New York City restaurants.  Recently, my children have developed a passion for P.F. Chang’s, and we go there as often as possible.  I got tired of having to go out for Chinese food, so I developed this recipe, and thrilled (and amazed) my kids with it.  My daughter Randi has just started eating meat after more than 10 years, and I made this for her.  She went crazy for it.  I will make it for her again very soon.  Better yet, I will teach her how to make it for herself.  This dish looks beautiful too, so get ready to really impress your family, your friends, and yourself with it. 

•  1 1/2 pounds thin sliced chicken cutlets - either sliced into thin strips or cut into 1 inch cubes (I use Purdue thin sliced cutlets)
• 2 large red peppers, cut into bite size chunks
• 1/2 -3/4 pound string beans (I usually buy the string beans you find in the ready to microwave bag in the produce section of the supermarket- the string beans are already trimmed and washed- so you won’t have any prep work to do)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (depending on how hot you like your Chinese food)
• 2 tablespoons oil (I use light olive oil)
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced or chopped fine
• 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated, each cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 5 - 6  tablespoons hoisin sauce (you will find this in the Chinese food aisle of your supermarket)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup peanuts (I use cocktail- salted) or cashews (salted or unsalted)
• brown rice or white rice for serving (I use about 2 cups of non-instant rice for this quantity of chicken)
• Chinese noodles for serving (optional)

In a medium bowl toss the cut up chicken with the 3/4 teaspoon salt and the 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then toss the chicken with the cornstarch with your hands.

In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat for 1 minute.  Add the crushed red pepper and stir for 30 seconds.   Add chicken, and cook for less than 1 minute.  Add the garlic, and the white parts of the scallions, the string beans, and the cut up red pepper chunks.  Stir quickly for about 2 minutes.  Then add the vinegar, continue stirring for a minute or 2 until vinegar evaporates.  Add hoisin sauce and water; continue cooking until vegetables are starting to soften- about 2-3 minutes.  Add the nuts and the green parts of the scallions. Stir one or two minutes until the sauce starts to reduce and look slightly glazed.

Place on large platter, and serve rice in another bowl.

Notes: 

• If you start cooking your rice right before you begin the stir frying process, the rice will finish cooking when your chicken is done.   
• You may substitute other vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, or you may eliminate all vegetables.
• Your cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken.
• Wash you hands frequently, and use separate cutting boards for the chicken and the vegetables.
• Save those little containers of mustard you get from the Chinese restaruant to serve along with this dish.

When I want to whip up a quick and healthy dinner for my sons that they really enjoy, I make this.  What makes it so easy is using the bags of either Dole or Fresh Express Caesar salad.

• Use 1 bag of prepackaged salad for 2 people, use 2 bags for 3-4 people.
• 1 pound of chicken cutlets (for 2-3 people)
• kosher salt (very lightly)
• freshly cracked black pepper
• garlic powder
• paprika
• chili powder (optional)
• oil for sauteing (I use light olive oil)

Sprinkle both sides of cutlets with spices, being more generous with the paprika.  Heat up a large skillet (I use either non-stick or  cast iron).  Let it get really hot. Then pour just a tablespoon of oil or even less in the pan.  Place chicken in hot skillet over med. to high flame.  Do not touch the chicken.  Let it get really browned on the bottom, then turn.  Cook until the underside is beautifully browned. When cooked through, put cutlets on a cutting board. 

Prepare your salad.  Toss with dressing and croutons.  Then slice the chicken into thin slices, and lay chicken on top of the salad. 

Hint:  I normally make individual servings for each person.

My son Danny loves chicken, so I am always trying to come up with  updated and delicious recipes to try out on him.  I made this recipe last week, and he went absolutely gaga over it.  I’ve already made it twice since then, and I think he loves it so much, he could eat it at least once a week.  This chicken is extremely tasty and very healthy, too!  See my latest, even healthier variation below!

for the chicken: 

• 1 pound of thin sliced chicken cutlets, or boneless cutless
• kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced  
• about 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves (if you have both fresh thyme and fresh oregano, use a combination of the two)
• olive oil (I use light)

for the tomatoes and shallots:

• 6-7 plum tomatoes, cut into chunks (each chunk should be about 1/2 the size of a cherry tomato)
• 4-6 shallots, small dice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• about 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

to pull it all together:

• 1 cup of chicken broth or stock
• 1 can (15 oz.) of white beans, drained
• a little more fresh thyme (or fresh thyme and oregano)

Serve over brown rice if you like.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  On half sheet pan, drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Then place tomato chunks on pan along with chopped shallots.  Sprinkle with minced garlic, thyme leaves, kosher salt, and some cracked black pepper.  Toss to coat with the olive oil.  Cook for about  45 min. to 1 hour or until tomatoes start to shrink and shallots are beginning to caramelize.

Right after you put the tomatoes and shallots in the oven, prepare your chicken.  Place the cutlets on a sheet pan which you have drizzled with olive oil.  Season the cutlets with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the cutlets with the minced garlic and the thyme (or the thyme and oregano).  Put in the oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes until cooked through, depending on the thickness of the chicken.  Let cool for a few minutes, and then cut into bite sized pieces. 

In a large skillet, pour about 1 cup of chicken stock, add the drained beans, the cut up chicken, and the roasted tomatoes and shallots.  Sprinkle with about 1 more teaspoon of fresh thyme or a combination of fresh thyme and oregano. Mix gently, and heat together over a medium flame for about 10 minutes until beans are heated through.  Reseason if necessary with salt and pepper.  Serve.

 Notes:  You can substitute 2 pints of cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes cut in half for the plum tomatoes.  I used canneloni beans, but you can substitute any type of canned white beans.

If you buy fresh oregano or fresh thyme, you can store it in a ziploc bag covered with a damp paper towel, and it will keep for a few weeks.

Note from 7/30/09: 

To make this dish even healthier, I increased the following, but used only 1 pound of chicken cutlets.  The results were amazing!

I roasted together about 12-13 plum tomatoes, and 2 boxes or bunches of grape or cherry tomatoes- halved, about 6 or 7 large garlic cloves minced, 6 shallots or 1 large vidalia onion chopped finely, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, about 2 teaspoons kosher salt, about 1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional), tossed with about 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.  I actually started out the roasting on 2 sheet pans, because you want the tomatoes in one layer. Then later, when I needed the sheet pan to roast the chicken, I was able to consolidate the tomatoes onto one sheet pan.  Roast the tomatoes until they are really caramelized, turning them every so often. 

Then continue directions above for the chicken and for putting the whole dish together, pour roasted tomatoes into large skillet, add the cut up chicken and any accumulated juices from pan, 2 cans of beans drained and rinsed, and 2 cups of organic chicken stock or broth.  Heat up covered about 10-15 minutes over medium flame, taste to see if you need any more salt, pepper, or red pepper flakes.  Serve with brown rice.

Then I used 2 cans of northern beans, drained, 2 cups of organic chicken stock or broth, a little more fresh thyme,