Two Garlic's Cancel Each Other Out :)

WOW.... Can you say MANIC MONDAY?! (BTW, Happy July!)... which happened to greet me with a day started earlier than I've seen in many years with a text from one of my staff member's, and from there, was just.... well.... CRAZY.  Baby being born, checkin' up on my poor pneumonia stricken Nurse, a lost subject/study participant... Oh dear, what can be accomplished between 5am and 1pm is astonishing!... I think my cell phone went on strike....

My ode to the rest of July... please be gentle and kind..... and perhaps dry. We're on day 3 of soak-down Indy city now (that says enough in itself)....

Tomorrow should be equally as crazy (oh the joys of being a manager!), but at least I know I'll being enjoying my 4th of July Thursday with good food and drinks to ring in the holiday.... followed by preventing any unnecessary spazz from our firework-fearing pups :(

Now.... Onto to this DE-LISH-IOUS meal that is so crazily versatile.  I'm telling ya', keep this baby in your recipe box for date night or Valentine's Day or it's completely hassle free weeknight meal for the family too! LOVE-LOVE-LOVE!

Roasted Garlic Chik'n Cutlets

Serves 2

Slight Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

In the line up for the Chik'n!

 - 1 head of garlic, top half cut off and extra leaves removed

- 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (for roasting the garlic)

- 2 Quorn Chik'n cutlets

- 1/3 cup vegetable stock

- 2 teaspoons flour

- 1 teaspoon lite soy sauce

- 2 teaspoons extra virgin oil oil

- Nonstick spray

- Salt & Pepper

 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut off top of garlic head and place on an aluminum foil. 

                                                                                           

 2. Fold sides of aluminum foil up and place in a cupcake sheet and drizzle with some extra virgin extra oil so it get into the creases of each garlic head.  Cover completely and bake for 40 minutes.  

3. Now for the sauce, add 1/3 cup vegetable stock to a bowl, then add flour and soy sauce and whisk all together.  

4. Now for the Chik'n.  I usually take out two cutlets about 10 minutes before I season em' up since they come frozen.  I spray both sides with nonstick spray and season with salt and pepper.  

 5. Over medium heat, add cutlets t extra virgin olive oil and cook for approximately 7 minutes on both sides for until browned and then remove from skillet onto a cutting board or plate.  

 6. After the cutlets are removed, add in the sauce and the roasted garlic heads and cook until bubbly and then turn heat down to low.  

7. Add Chik'n cutlets back into the sauce and cook for another 3-5 minutes so the cutlets can soak in the sauce, then turn cutlets over so both sides are lathered in the sauce.  

While this is deliciousssss on its own, I was ready to jazz things up for a date-night-like kind of meal so served these babies over roasted brocoli and garlic mashed potatoes.  Yes, goin' garlicky crazy over here, but we're in it together, so our garlic breathe's cancel each other out ;)

In the line up for the potatos!

- 3/4-1 lb. red potatoes, chopped, skin on

- 1 Tablespoon margarine/butter

- 1 teaspoon minced garlic

- 1 Tablespoon milk (I used skim)

- Salt and pepper

Coach's Orders!

1. While your waiting for those cutlets to thaw, bring a small/medium pot of water to a boil and salt liberally.  Then add the chopped potatoes carefully so ya' don't burn yourself! and let cook until fork tender and then drain.  The smaller you dice the potatoes, the faster they're cook!

2. Once drained, add potatoes while stick hot to a large bowl,  season with salt & pepper.  

3.  Add the butter/margarine, milk and garlic to the potatoes. 

4. You'll start to see the butter melt and I use a hand mixer to get my potatoes extra silky smooth, but you can mash them with a potato masher or even a whisk if tender enough if you like your mashed potatoes chunkier. 

Silky, smooth, perfect amount of garlic, melt-in-your-mouth-delicious and such a complement to the subtle roasted garlic you get from the Chik'n cutlet sauce that serves as a gravy like addition!

Last, but not least, in the line up for the Roasted Brocoli!

- 1 medium/large head of brocoli, chopped into small florets

- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1 teaspoon salt

- Freshly ground pepper

Coach's Orders!

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lay out chopped brocoli onto a greased baking sheet, add extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder and get those hands in their to make sure they're all lathered up!

2. Roasted on top oven shelf at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes stirring once or twice to distribute the oil and seasonings to each floret.  Roast until browned with a perfect crunch.  

Here we start the layering for a decadent, garlicky but super quick to whip up (minus roasting the garlic, but that a chop and pop in and forget about it until the timer rings!).  The key to a quicker start to finish cooking time is to chop those potatoes small so they cook quicker!

Here ya' go folks! Feast your eyes on this puppy...

Roasting the garlic truly makes this dish because it tones it down a bit, and then the subtle hints of garlic from the roasted brocoli and mashed potatoes makes this a garlicky feast of deliciousness! Make sure to get one of each on your fork since all of these together add a perfect little something... The silkiness from the mashes potatoes lathered in the sauce from the Chik'n, the crunch of the brocoli and the moistness from the cutlets.....

.... Heaven on a fork!... Every last, drippingly good bite!

While brocoli was a great addition and what I had on hand, the IGE Recipe calls for asparagus, which I think would be a better option than the brocoli, but that's the joy of cooking, ya' can do whateva ya' like! :)

And yes... this meal had my stomach grumbling for dessert... which is weird for me... but it was so strong that I shockingly hopped in the car to please my out-of-the-ordinary sweet tooth..

Oh no... but oh so yes! 

... And a strawberry milkshake.. Not gonna lie, but Alex had most of it!

Okay.... now I'm sufficiently full and we're off to watch some Kitchen Nightmares... the only episode where Gorden Ramsey straight up leaves and doesn't come back...

It is shocking how some restaurants get on that show! I mean, there has to be some sort of cut-off point, even for the talented Gorden Ramsey, where you just know/have "that hunch," that place just ain't gonna make it no matter who tries or what changes...  I'd bet a good amount of $$ that several of those earlier places ain't there anymore and even after Gorden came in for the rescue, I still wouldn't touch with a 10-foot-pole!

.... End rant ...

:)

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