If at First You Don't Succeed

One of my best friends commented that I "don’t have any trouble coming up with new recipes." Not true! Adapting old recipes to healthier cooking methods sometimes works and sometimes does not. I remind my husband that everything I cook these days is an experiment and watch anxiously as he takes his first bite of a new dish. I have more than my share of failures. However, it is a shame to let a good idea go to waste so-- try, try again. Below are some memorable messes and their fixes:

Chicken Cordon Bleu is one of our favorites but the classic version is stuffed with ham (too salty for our diet) and cheese and then fried. It is usually topped with a cream sauce. My mission was to make oven-fried stuffed chicken breasts without the ham. In my first attempt I used just Swiss cheese. I do not know if the chicken breasts were not sealed well enough or if it was the lack of the ham around the cheese that caused it to melt and run out. I scraped it from the bottom of the baking dish and put it on top of the breasts. It was not a great presentation.

Many recipes for stuffed chicken breasts say something like, "This elegant dish will impress your guests, but is really very easy!" I will not tell you that. At least for me, pounding chicken breasts thin enough to wrap around and hold a filling is NOT easy–but possible. I used a combination of methods before I succeeded. It was worth the effort, and my husband was indeed impressed. The recipe below is filled with cream cheese and mushrooms:

Stuffed Oven-fried Chicken Breasts

4 large chicken breasts
2 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped, cooked mushrooms*
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash® table blend
Pinch of salt, optional
Several generous grinds of black pepper
wooden toothpicks
1/2 cup of mayonnaise, approximately
1 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
Cooking spray
Plastic Wrap and Waxed Paper

Put a layer of waxed paper on a chopping block. Add a layer of plastic wrap. Put a chicken breast on the wrap. Top with more plastic wrap and waxed paper. Begin pounding the breast with the flat side of a metal meat mallet. When it stops getting thinner, switch to a heavy can of vegetables. Continue pounding with the side of the can and then roll it with the side of the can bearing down with your weight. You want the chicken breasts as thin and wide as you can get them, less than 1/4 of an inch thick.

Put the cream cheese, onion, mushrooms, basil, thyme, Mrs. Dash®, salt, if using, and pepper to a mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Spread 1/4 of the filling on the center of each breast. Roll the breasts around the filling and secure the edges with toothpicks. Chill for an hour or so. (The breasts will be firmer and easier to work with.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the mayonnaise in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, coat each breast with mayonnaise and roll it in the bread crumbs, making sure that each breast is completely sealed and coated. Spray an oblong glass baking dish with cooking spray. Add the breasts, making sure they are not touching. Bake 30-40 minutes or until the breasts are done through and browned.

*I was delighted to find no-salt-added canned mushrooms the other day. Or you can slice and cook your own.

Lime and Ginger Yellowfin Tuna

I found some frozen yellowfin tuna steaks on sale and set out to find a recipe. I found one that sounded wonderful. Finely chopped seasonings, including fresh ginger and jalapeno peppers, were simmered in wine and lime juice and then put on the tuna. When I began to simmer the seasonings, an indescribably delicious aroma filled the kitchen. I looked forward to dinnertime and the end result. The instructions called for patting the seasoning onto the tuna steaks, drizzling them with olive oil and searing them in a very hot, heavy skillet. I do not know what I did wrong; perhaps it was the reduction in salt and omission of the sugar! The seasoning mix came off the tuna and began burning in the bottom of the hot skillet. The smoking jalapenos caused my husband and me to cough and choke and run from the kitchen gasping for air!

Here is what I did the next time:

3 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno peppers
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
3 tablespoons lime zest
3 tablespoons lime juice
Pinch of course salt, optional
Several grinds of black pepper
1 tablespoon measures-like-sugar sweetener
1 cup dry white wine
4 tuna steaks, thawed if frozen
2 tablespoons olive oil

In a small sauce pan combine the jalapeno, ginger, garlic, lime zest and juice, salt, if using, pepper, and white wine. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes on medium heat. Most of the liquid will be absorbed. Remove from the heat and cool.

Pack the seasoning mixture onto the tuna steaks. Rub an oblong glass baking dish with some of olive oil and add the tuna steaks. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over them. Let them absorb some of the flavors for 20 minutes at room temperature before baking.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the tuna steaks about 10-15 minutes or to desired doneness.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Brownies

I try to keep my use of white flour to a minimum so I made a classic chocolate sheet cake using almost half whole wheat flour. It turned out with a dense uncakelike texture–more like brownies. Idea! Add chopped nuts, cut it into squares and have brownies. These have a bit more sugar than I normally use because of the brown sugar and optional drizzle with semi-sweet chocolate but they are a real treat.

1/2 cup measures-like-sugar sweetener
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
(Or 1 1/2 teaspoons sodium-and-potassium-free baking powder)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
(Or 1 1/2 teaspoons sodium-and-potassium-free baking soda)
1/3 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 square semi-sweet chocolate, optional

Heat the oven to 350. Spray and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the egg substitute, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the boiling water. Then fold in the chopped nuts. Pour into the prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan. If desired, when completely cool, melt the semi-sweet chocolate either in the microwave or in a double boiler. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the brownies. Let the chocolate harden then cut into squares.