Veal Parmesan is a classic Italian staple. Full of flavor, the juicy and savory meat is complimented further by the cheese and tomato sauce. This On-Cor frozen Veal Parmesan is just that, frozen. Your expectations would be too high if you expect a 5 star restaurant quality meal. Beyond that, I’ve been eating On-Cor’s Chicken Parmesan and Salisbury Steak since I was a child.
This Veal Parmesan doesn’t have any of the crispy texture you’d get at a restaurant. The patties are coated in sauce that removes any chance of texture. The veal is also a veal patty that is compacted meat, and the cheese is a small square that you can see under the top breading. Beyond that, this veal parm is good for a frozen meal. The sauce it thick and tastes like real tomato sauce, but there is only a small excess in sauce. The breading and veal have good flavor and texture, not bland, rubbery, or gelatinous. The cheese is stringy and isn’t over powdered. This meal is also cooked on a sheet pan in it’s container, so you don’t even have to wash the pan. I usually serve chicken/veal parm with buttered noodles, and serve the protein on top.
A couple weeks ago, Josh and I went grocery shopping. I always have a list and a general idea of what items we have. We tend to bulk shop, so we only have to go shopping 1-2 times a month. I always tell Josh to get whatever he wants and he’s never been too extravagant. Well, when we returned home from the store, I was putting everything away when I came across 6 new boxes of Jello! Josh must really be wanting some Jello! So last night, I finally got around to making the poor man some Jello. I followed the directions on the box and just added the strained oranges before refrigeration. It was quite refreshing, and Josh as also very happy.
Heat 1 cup of water for 1-2 minutes in the microwave till very hot. Dissolve orange jello mix completely into the water, the instructions say about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of cold water, and stir.
Open a can of mandarin oranges. Strain out the juice into a side bowl. Add 1/2 the can of mandarin oranges to the jello and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving. You can eat or preserve the remaining oranges for garnish.
I pulled out a pound of ground beef and I was thinking all day what I could do with it. I did some Bing searches and came across curry. Josh nor I have ever had curry, but when I passed the idea by him, he was willing to try it too. Most of these spices I’ve never used, and if I had used them, it was only a tiny bit. I’m not familiar with all the flavors, how they interact, and how they cook. I looked at several Korean recipes for curry and several Indian recipes, and so I decided to add a bit of everything I had seen. This curry was a unique experience. Every bite had a different flavor. As it cooled, new flavors developed. It was delicious! I couldn’t stop eating it; it was so full of flavor. Our curry didn’t have any heat to it at all. It was strange because it was almost sweet at times. You can add more veggies to your curry, such as celery or beans, but I decided on just onion and tomatoes. I also added about 1 1/2Tbsp of cumin, and 2 Tbsp curry powder. We served it with cooked white rice, about 3 cups cooked. And, we’ll probably get 5 servings out of this recipe.
Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 2 Tbsp oil, then add about 1 lb of ground beef. Brown and break up the meat.
Dice one onion, about 1 to 1 1/2 cups. Once the meat it browned, add the onion, and cook till it begins to turn translucent. Open a can of diced tomatoes and add to the pot.
Next, you add your spices. Add 1 Tbsp Garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground mustard, 2 tsp turmeric, 3 tsp ground cayenne pepper, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 Tbsp ground ginger, and 1 tsp Paprika. Cook until mixture becomes thick.
Add 3 cups of beef broth. Add curry powder and cumin to taste. Add 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Remove 1 cup of liquid, whisk in 2 Tbsp flour, then return to mixture. Boil down curry till it reaches your desired consistency and flavor.
Let sit for 5 minutes to cool, then serve with rice.
This is a recipe I received from my mother-in-law several months ago. Josh grew up eating this dish and I’ve been able to make it for Josh a time or two according to the recipe. However, with this pandemic, I’m not able to get to the store as much as normal, and things with short shelf lives are used up very quickly in my house because I don’t want them going bad. So, things this recipe would usually call for, like sour cream, I didn’t have.
There are many things I did differently with this recipe, or should have done differently. First, I didn’t microwave my broccoli before baking. Though the broccoli did cook in the oven, there was water in the bottom of the casserole dish. Cooking and straining the broccoli would help this, you could also use fresh broccoli if you have some. I baked my chicken breast for 40 minutes since it was still half frozen. I took the internal temperature and it was up to 170 F, so though the juices from the chicken have some color, it isn’t dangerous, I also had to bake it again in the casserole, so even if there were under temperature spots, they would be cooked again in the casserole. I made a lot of alteration to the sauce. The recipe called for less mayo and sour cream. I don’t usually have sour cream on hand, and I also had no vanilla yogurt for that tangy flavor. So, I added in ranch for a bit of that dairy tang, and I really enjoyed the extra flavor from it. I didn’t realize the onion and garlic flavor would taste so good in this recipe! I also added lots more curry powder than original, and I added some cumin for even more flavor. The sour cream and curry powder made me think this recipe has an inspiration from Indian cuisine, so I added the cumin to add a bit more of the Indian spice without the heat. I also didn’t add all of the spice into the sauce mix like I should have. I tasted the sauce and it was lacking, so I gave the sauce a dusting of curry powder and cumin once it was already spread in the casserole dish. It’s an inconsistent way of measuring so it’s best to put it in the sauce and mix it in evenly. Then I shredded a block of sharp cheese. I keep them in the freezer because they tend to go bad in my fridge, and shredding frozen cheese is so much easier! I then grabbed a loaf of homemade bread I made last week, crumbled it over the top of the casserole, then sprinkled it with the standard stuffing herbs, sage and thyme. I dusted very lightly over the top, because you don’t want too much stuffing flavor, you want more of the Indian spice flavor. This dish made 6 serving for us.
Bake a 1 lb chicken breast at 400 F for 30-40 minutes until an internal temperature over 165 F is reached. Spray an 9 x 13 casserole dish with non-stick spray.
Grab a 12 oz bag of frozen broccoli and microwave it as directed. Strain any excess water from your broccoli and make one even layer in your casserole dish.
Let your baked chicken cool for 5 minutes, transfer into a large bowl and shred the chicken using a hand or stand mixer. Evenly spread the shredded chicken over the broccoli.
In a medium sized bowl, mix together 3/4 cup mayo, 1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup, 3 Tbsp ranch dressing, 3 tsp of curry powder, and 2 tsp cumin. Stir until mixed, then spread in an even layer over the shredded chicken.
Reduce oven to 375 F
Shred 8 oz of sharp cheese and spread evenly over sauce. Cube about 2 cups of bread (use stale bread if you have any) and spread evenly over your cheese layer. Sprinkle over the top a dusting of sage and thyme.
Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Fried ravioli was an interesting experience. On one hand it’s fried noodles, so it tastes like Chinese food. At the same time it’s cheese filled, and tastes oddly like mozzarella sticks. The buttery flavor that the ravioli absorbs makes this a fun finger food for parties, or a playful dinner. Serve these as they are for a fun unique flavor, or serve them with sauce for a buttery mozzarella stick experience. These are very hot, and will be very hot even after you let them cool for 5 minutes.
In a large sided dutch oven, heat 1/2 inch of oil over medium heat. Heat till oil is shimmering.
Add ravioli to hot oil. Cook on first side for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes, or until cheese begins to leak out.
Strain on a paper towel lines plate, wait 5 minutes before serving. Optional serve with pasta sauce.
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