Schnitzel and Spaetzle

 Matt and I went to Hermann, MO for our Anniversary and had schnitzel and spaetzle at this little German restaurant.  Ever since then, we have been wanting to try making it ourselves.  It snowed this weekend, so we decided to have a German filled day.  We brewed beer, listed to German Folk Music, and made Schnitzel and Spaetzle!  



Pork Schnitzel

4 boneless pork loin chops
1 1/2 cups flour
salt and pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 cups plain dried bread crumbs (I used Italian seasoned bread crumbs)
2 Tbsp olive oil
lemon wedges

Begin by placing each pork chop between two sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound them out with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until they are 1/4 inch thick.

Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.  Whisk the eggs and milk in another shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.  Put the bread crumbs in a third dish and again season with salt and pepper.  

Lightly dredge each piece of pork in flour, then in the egg, and finally into the bread crumbs, pressing the bread crumbs onto the pork gently so they have a nice even coating.

Lay the breaded pork in a single layer on a plate lined with parchment and refrigerate, uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes to allow the coating to dry out a little and adhere to the pork. 

Heat oil and butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Gently lay the cutlets into the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.  Remove to paper towels to drain.  Season with salt and transfer to a serving platter while still hot.  Garnish with lemon wedges.

We did not have a meat tenderizer so we used a hammer wrapped in a towel :)  There was also a lot of left over flour and bread crumbs-I will definitely use less of them next time.  

Spaetzle

1 cup flour
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 pinch pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 gallon hot water 
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Mix together flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Beat eggs well.  Add milk and eggs to dry ingredients.  Mix until smooth.

Press dough through a spaetzle maker or a large holed sieve.  

Drop the spaetzle dumplings in simmering liquid.  Cook 5 to 8 minutes.  Drain well.

Saute cooked spaetzle in butter.  Sprinkle chopped parsley on top and serve.

We did not have a spaetzle maker or a holed sieve... so after a mini breakdown, we decided to come up with an alternative method of making little dumplings.  I ended up just using two spoons and scooping little pieces of the dough into the water.  It was more work, but it still tasted great.  I'm thinking I might have to ask for a spaetzle maker for Christmas. 

We also made a sauce from olive oil, butter, and lemon... yum!  This meal was delicious, we both loved it!  No left overs at our house :)

Schnitzel recipe from Food Network and Spaetzle recipe from Allrecipes.com

Beer Mac and Cheese

Beer and Mac 'n' Cheese are two of Matt's favorite food items... so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it!  

16 oz box of pasta

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

1 cup German Beer

1 cup cream

4 oz cream cheese

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

First cook and drain the pasta.

While your pasta is cooking, melt the butter and add the flour.  Mix until it turns into a thick paste.

Next pour in the beer and mix. I used Warsteiner Dunkel.

Then add and mix the cream too.

Bring the mixture to a low boil, then add in the cream cheese.  Stir and heat until it's melted.

Next add the cheese

Heat and stir until everything is melted.

Finally mix the sauce with the pasta

And then serve.. with your favorite German beer of course!

Prost!  

Recipe from Wanderlust in the City Blog.

Birthday Beer

Matt and I were in Chicago over the weekend celebrating the wedding of our good friends Britt and Ryan.   My birthday fell on that Sunday.  What better way to celebrate than a trip to Ikea and a birthday beer!  We went to a bar called The Beer Market.. I highly recommend it!  They had 50 beers on tap- so many to choose from!  I ordered a beer called Not Your Father's Root Beer from a local micro brewery, Small Town Brewery.  If you like root beer, you will love this beer!!

Who needs cake when you can have a birthday beer!
<3 Kelly

http://the-beer-market.com/
http://smalltownbrewery.com/

Pork Tenderloin and Twice Baked Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes

4 baked potatoes
splash of milk
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
salt, pepper
olive oil
bacon

Poke holes in the baked potato and cover with olive oil and cracked salt.  Bake in oven for an hour, turning once.  While in the oven, cook bacon and let cool.  Remove from oven and let cool a little.  Cut open lengthwise and scoop out the inside of the potato into a big bowl.  Add sour cream, cheese, milk, and small pieces of bacon to the bowl.  Stir together- add salt and pepper to taste.  Scoop the mixture back into the potato skins and put back in oven for 20-40 minutes... depends on how hot your oven is and how done you like your twice baked potatoes.

Matt loves these.. I usually make up a bunch and freeze some.

Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin or pork chops
balsalmic vinegar
salt, pepper
olive oil
minced garlic

Sometimes I add some brown sugar or soy sauce to my mixture too.

Combine ingredients and put in large bag- marinate for a few hours or overnight.  Sear pork tenderloin on all sides.  Then, wrap pork and left over marinade in foil.  Wrap twice in foil to prevent the marinate from leaking out.  Put in 400 degree oven for a half hour or until the internal temperature is at least 160.  Remove from oven and let rest.  Slice pork and serve with twice bakes potatoes and a salad with a light vinaigrette.  Yum!!

I made this when my in-laws came over for dinner the other night and it was a success!  The apple crisp with ice cream I served for dessert was a big hit as well!  Great fall meal :)

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I felt like baking and wanted to make something pumpkiny, so I found this recipe for a chocolate chip pumpkin bread.  I love baking, but this was my first attempt at making bread.  It was an easy recipe to follow and turned out great!!  Matt and I both loved it... so much that I had a little slice for breakfast this morning :)  It is great served warm!

Recipe from Sallys Baking Addiction Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 and 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup  sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much too soon. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, and orange juice. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. There will be a few lumps. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be before or after 60-65 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes at the 55 minute mark or so.

Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing and slicing. The bread will stay fresh in an airtight container (it tastes better on day 2!) at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. But it won't last that long.

FREEZING: Baked bread may be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Blueberry Cobbler

I love all berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries!  I had a bit of a sweet tooth over the weekend and decided to make a blueberry cobbler and topped it with vanilla bean ice cream.  YUM!

Blueberry Cobbler
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

3-4 cups of fresh blueberries- I just used a big box of blueberries and did not measure.
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix well and place in greased 2 qt casserole dish

Mix together:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix until crumbly and add 3 Tbsp softened butter or margarine.  Mix well and then use as topping- cover all blueberries.
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

It wasn't enough topping for me- I will add more oats next time.  We served the cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream.. yum!

Healthy Lunches

I've been trying to plan healthy lunches to bring to work, but I am tired of eating the same old things every day.  Here are a couple new lunch ideas I tried this week:

Hummus, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and spring greens in a pita pocket.  Strawberries and pineapple.

Carrots, peppers and hummus.  Strawberries with nonfat greek yogurt.  Grilled chicken over spring greens.
I found these individual hummus packs at Sams Club- they are great to grab on the go! Over the weekend we barbecued and had left over chicken-- perfect to add to a salad for lunch during the week!  I had a bigger lunch today because i'm going to take a cycling class after work today :)