Food 4 the 4th,with picnic chicken, potato salad and a killer Berry Tiramisu

 

Happy Independance Day to all of my American friends.  I thought I would show you a quick, easy and tasty meal that you could serve to your friends and family on the 4th.  A meal which you could do ahead of time, leaving your hands free to enjoy all of the festivities of the day!   This is the type of food I like to eat in the summer.  Light and fresh, and easy to prepare.

We do eat a lot of chicken in this house.  It's such a versatile meat and goes with just about anything.  I always have boneless chicken breasts in the freezer.  Just perfect for this delicious chicken recipe.  I have adapted it from the Betty Crocker website.



It always turns out moist and delicious, and let's face it . . . chicken breasts are so very easy to get wrong.   I hate dried out chicken breasts . . . cardboard is every bit as palatable . . .



These are always moist and delicious, easy to make and perfect for eating cold with salads, or hot . . . as you like.   They are great both ways.   The chicken is dipped in buttermilk and then rolled in a tasty coating and baked just until golden brown on the outsides, yet still moist inside.   These are fabulous!   You can also do chicken tenders in this way.  Just cut the baking time down!

 

*Oven Fried Picnic Chicken*

Serves 4  

Printable Recipe  

A tasty and easy way to prepare chicken to bring with you on picnics or for those summer evenings when you want something tasty to serve with your salad!  Adapted from a recipe found on the Betty Crocker site.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and dried

1/3 cup of buttermilk

1/2 cup cornflakes

1/2 cup of Bisquick biscuit mix, or plain flour

1 package of dry ranch dressing mix

(you can also use a substitution noted at bottom of recipe)

low fat cooking spray oil

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.   Spray a shallow baking sheet with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Tip the buttermilk into a bowl.   Put the cereal, biscuit mix (flour) and ranch dressing mix into the bowl of a mini food processor.  Blitz to combine well and crumble the cereal.  Tip this mixture into a plastic food storage bag.  Roll your chicken breasts in the butter milk, turning to coat, one at a time.  As you coat them, drop them into the bag with the dry mixture and give them a shake in it to coat.  Place them onto the baking sheet, presentation side down.   Repeat until all four breasts are coated.   Spritz well with the cooking spray.   Bake for 25 minutes. Flip them over and spritz them again with the cooking spray.  Bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes or until the juices run clear when pricked at the thickest part.  Serve hot or cold.

Note:   As  a substitute for the ranch dressing mix, combine  2 TBS dry parsley, 1 tsp dried dill weed, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp dried basil and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper in a mortar.   Crush with a pestle until fairly fine. Use as above.  If you want to use it as a salad dressing, combine 1 TBS of the mix with 1/3 cup of mayonnaise and 1/4 cup of milk.

Of course a tasty salad goes well with these.  I like a tossed salad myself . . . but the Toddster is a meat and potatoes kind of a guy . . . so I like to make this creamy garden Potato salad, which meets both of our desires.   He gets to please his meat and potatoes soul . . . and I get part of my daily dose of veg . . . both in a tasty salad.   This dressing is a type of honey mustard, creamy delish!!



*Creamy Garden Potato Salad*
Serves 6 to 8
Printable Recipe

A delicious potato salad with a punchy low fat Honey Dijon mayo dressing.  The green bush beans and radishes add a bit of crunch and colour.

1 pound of small new potatoes
2 TBS Cider Vinegar
4 TBS low fat mayonnaise
2 TBS honey Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 to 4 spring onions, chopped
(white and green parts)
a handful of radishes, trimmed and chunked
a handful of bush green beans, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
1 TBS Dill Weed (or a handful of fresh dill, finely chopped)



Place the potatoes in a pot of lightly salted water to cover.  Bring to the boil and then simmer on medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes.  Add the green beans for the last 5 to 6 minutes of cooking time.

While the potatoes are cooking whisk together the vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne pepper along with salt and pepper to taste.    Set aside.

Drain the potatoes and beans once they are tender.  Leave in the colander and place the colander over the hot pot.  Allow to cool until you can easily handle.  Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters.  Place the warm potatoes and beans into a bowl.  Pour the dressing over top of the warm vegetables.  Add the onion, radishes and dill weed and gently toss together.

Serve at room temperature.

 

If you are looking for a simple and delicious dessert why not try Strawberry Tiramisu!  Easy to make and very pretty to look at.  If you really want the colours of the flag you can add a layer of fresh blueberries.  Very pretty!

*Strawberry Tiramisu*

Serves 6

Printable Recipe 

An easy and deliciously fruity version of an old favourite!  Sure to please!  As this contains raw eggs, do take care if serving to the elderly or the very young.  You may also use pasturized eggs if you are really concerned.

400g fresh strawberries (a scant pound, almost 3 cups)

5 amaretti biscuits (crisp almond meringue type of cookies)

2 large free range eggs, separated

40g of sugar (3 1/2 TBS)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

4 TBS white rum (I don't do alcohol and so I just use extra apple juice and 1/2 tsp rum flavouring)

250g of mascarpone cheese at room temperature (a generous cup)

3 TBS whipping cream

100ml of pressed apple juice (1/2 cup, not from concentrate, cloudy apple juice)

100g sponge fingers (Lady fingers, 3/4 of a package)

Hull the berries.  Weight out 100g (2/3 cup) and chop them finely.  Slice the remaining berries and set aside.  Crush the amaretti biscuits coarsely by placing them into a plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin.  You want them to be about the size of coarse bread crumbs.

Whisk the egg yolks until they are pale yellow and fluffy.   Whisk in the sugar gradually as you go.   Whisk in the vanilla and a TBS of the rum.  Put the cheese in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon to soften, then gradually whisk in the egg yolk mixture, whisking it until you have a smooth and lump free combination.   Whisk the egg whites with a clean whisk in a separate bowl until soft peaks form.  Fold the chopped berries into the mascarpone mixture and then carefully fold in the egg whites.  

Whisk the whipping cream until soft folds appear.  Fold this into the mascarpone mixture also.  Fold in about 1/3 of the crushed amaretti.

Mix the remaining rum with the apple juice in a bowl.   Dip some of the sponge fingers in this mixture and then lay them across the base of a glass serving bowl.   Reserve some of the sliced berries for decoration.   Arrange a layer of the remainder of the berries over the soaked sponge fingers.   Cover with a layer of the mascarpone cream.  Repeat with one or two more layers of soaked biscuits, sliced berries and the mascarpone cream, finishing off with the cream mixture.   Chill overnight, or for at least five hours.  About an hour before you wish to serve it, scatter the remaining amaretti crumbs over top and decorate with the reserved sliced berries.   Chill until ready to serve.

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Wheyhey, the new Protein Ice Cream

I was recently asked if I would like to try this new protein ice cream by Wheyhey!

 "Making sure you have enough protein in your diet is essential to getting the most out of your body - and life! Protein is the building block for all human cells, the second most abundant component of the human body after water, and can help with everything from losing weight to muscle repair and skin anti ageing! Protein is made up of amino acids of which there are 9 known as ‘essential’, and 11 other ‘non-essential’ and ‘conditional’ amino acids."

Wheyhey is made using a whey protein isolate, which contains  9 essential and 11 non essential amino acids that the human body needs.  Whey protein isolate is a by-product of the cheese making process and it’s 100% natural and considered to be easily and rapidly digested.

This ice cream is designed to not only taste good, but also do you good at the same time.  Each pot contains 20g of protein.  It's also sugar free and suitable for use by diabetic, being naturally sweetened by a natural sweetener called Xylitol in all of their flavours. (Xylitol is a derivative of tree bark and it’s what you find in sugarfree gum and toothpaste.) Wheyhey protein ice cream helps keep your blood sugar levels stable by slowing the absorption of glucose into the blood stream.

So now you know all the healthy stuff about it, but bottom line . . .  does it taste good?

 

I quite liked the strawberry and the banana, but I am not fond of chocolate flavoured milk anything . . .  not ice cream, not milk, not hot chocolate . . . so I didn't really care for that, but don't take my word for it because I am not fussed.   A chocolate milk lover might find it exceptionally tasty.  It just wasn't me.  Also the vanilla pot I think might have melted and then been frozen again as it had a really weird  texture . . .



which you can see in the middle pot in this photo on the top line.  It was foamy and airy and almost a bit like Styrofoam.  It did say on the pot not to refreeze if it melted, so I really couldn't make an honest judgement on it's flavour.

It comes in four  flavours . . . Banana, Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry, and is free of sugar,  additives and chemicals . . .  which can't be bad actually.  I often worry about all the chemicals we ingest nowadays.  (That can't be good for us I am sure.  So it's nice to see a product that tastes nice and is additive, sugar and chemical free.)

From the sports perspective ingesting more protein makes sense and this is a pretty tasty way to get it.

From the weight loss perspective, upping your protein intake helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer, cuts cravings and helps slow the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream, which is also a plus. 

It is available online now at Ocado and at Musclefood and is available in the single serving sizes and a larger family size. 

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Bacon, Tomato & Basil Toastie

I wanted to present to you today a simple and quick toastie sandwich that is perhaps a bit lower in fat than your usually toastie sandwich.  Not only is is quick and easy but it's quite delicious as well, but then you probably already know that because if you have been reading me for a while, you will know I never show you anything that I don't think is delicious!


 

This is a little bit different than your usual BLT sandwich.  I use grilled back bacon, which is very lean.  I like the dry cured oak smoked, but you can use whatever you want.   In North America, I would use back bacon.



Along with the grilled bacon, I have grilled sliced tomatoes.  They cook quickly and the grilling makes otherwise not so tasty tomatoes, delicious . . . helping to release some of their natural sweetness and juices.  You can tuck some slivers of garlic in them as well if you want.

 

I used whole wheat whole grain bread, for extra goodness and nuttiness.   The bread is also grilled.



I dress the sandwich with a fabulous basil mayonnaise, which is as simple as chopping fresh basil and stirring it into regular or low fat mayonnaise.  A grinding of black pepper and Bob's your uncle!  Everybody is happy!

*Bacon, Tomato & Basil Toasty*

Serves 1

Printable Recipe 

A healthy, quick and easy version of the traditional bacon and tomato sandwich which goes down a real treat.  Portions are given for one, but can easily be increased to serve more. 

2 extra lean bacon rashers (fat side clipped at 1/4 inch intervals)

1 medium tomato, sliced

2 slices of stoneground whole meal or whole grain bread

1 TBS mayonnaise

2 tsp chopped fresh basil

balsamic vinegar to taste

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

 

Preheat the grill to high. Whisk the mayonnaise and basil together and set aside. Place the bacon rashers on a grill tray and cook for 2 minutes.   Add the tomato slices to ther tray and cook for a further 2 minutes.  Turn the bacon over and add the bread to the tray.  Pop back under the grill and let the bread go golden on one side, then flip over and lightly toast on the other side. 

 

Remove the grill tray from the oven.   Set one slice of the toasted bread aside and keep warm.  Spread the other slice of bread with the basil mayonnaise and replace it on the grill tray.  Top with the bacon rashers and the sliced tomatoes.  Drizzle with a bit of balsamic vinegar and dust with some salt and black pepper to taste.  Pop back under the grill for a further 2 minutes.   Serve immediately, topped with the other slide of toasted bread.  Cut on the diagonal to serve.

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