Pesto Sauce

**Not Dairy Free?? Add 1/3 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese 

Ingredients:

2/3 cup fresh basil
1/3 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 Tbs walnuts
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

Blue cheese Dressing

Ingredients:

1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 juice of lemon or 2-3 Tbs lemon juice
½ cup cream cheese
½ cup mayonnaise (see Cinderella's post for Homemade Mayonnaise)
½ cup water with green tea (warm)
2 Tbs Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.  

How to Cut Thin Sliced Chicken Cutlets

My husband and I HATE thick chicken. We need the chicken to be as thin as possible to really enjoy it, but those pre-packaged thin sliced chicken cutlets are so expensive-so I make my own! Every week I buy one or two big packages of chicken that has 5 whole breasts in it.

I use a sharp serrated knife, a meat tenderizer (I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond for $15- It's an Oxo Good Grips Meat Tenderizer) and a wooden cutting board.

I take each chicken breast and place it on the cutting board.

Then I cut away all of the fat.

It will look like this after all of the fat is cut away.

Now it's time to slice. Hold the knife at one end and slice all the way down to the other end making one thin slice of chicken.

Repeat this step two more times until you have three thin slices of chicken from your one whole chicken breast. You will have a lot of excess chicken left over after the whole process is complete. No worries! 

Now, take each slice and place one at a time on the cutting board. You will pound both sides of the chicken with the meat tenderizer until they are really thin.

  

Repeat this for all slices of chicken. 

Your chicken will be very thin and ready for whatever you are cooking! Repeat all of these steps for all of the whole chicken breasts.

I like to buy the whole package for the week. I put them in gallon Ziploc baggies, 7 slices in one and 8 slices in the other (because there are always 5 whole breasts in a package that works out to 15 thin slices). I usually end up freezing one or both and then put them in the refrigerator the day before I am ready to use them. They stay in the freezer for a while so if I don't use it one week I can always use it the next. Enjoy!

Love,
Cinderella

Chili

**Not Gluten Free?? Serve with corn muffins or cornbread
**Not Dairy Free?? Serve with regular sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese
**Grain Free?? Eat recipe by itself
**Paleo?? Leave out beans and use homemade tomato sauce 

Serves: 4

Note: This recipe takes 3-4 hours to cook, but it's worth it! Just leave yourself some time to prepare it.

Ingredients:

3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 Tsp celery seed
1 onion, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp cumin seed, crushed
1 pound chopped beef, chicken or turkey
1 bay leaf
3 cups of water
2 Tbs chili powder
1 1/3 cups crushed tomatoes
1/8 tsp basil
1 green pepper minced
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 can beans (any type of beans)
Tortilla Chips (Cinderella loves Mission tortilla rounds)

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot, add the onion and garlic and sauté until golden brown
2. Add the meat and cooked until brown or cooked all the way through. (If making vegetarian chili skip this step)
3. Add all remaining ingredients and stir well.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is as thick as desired, about three to four hours.
5. Serve with tortilla chips.

Chicken Piccata

**Not gluten free?? Just substitute regular flour instead of almond meal and serve with regular spaghetti
**Not dairy free?? Just substitute butter for olive oil in the sauce. 

**Grain free?? Just substitute the pasta for a vegetable of your choice 
**Paleo?? Use homemade broth instead of wine

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (see Cinderella's post on How to Cut Thin Sliced Chicken Cutlets)
2 cups almond meal or any gluten free breadcrumbs (Cinderella loves Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt + 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil + 2 Tbs olive oil + 3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs capers drained
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs dried parsley

1 package gluten free pasta (Cinderella loves Barilla gluten-free-spaghetti)

Directions:

1. Slice each chicken breasts to make 2-3 thin slices and pound with a meat tenderizer to desired thickness (See Cinderella's post on How to Cut Thin Sliced Chicken Cutlets)
2. Place almond meal on a plate and add cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, mix well
3. Coat each slice of chicken in the almond meal mixture
4. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
5. Boil a large pot of water with 1/2 tsp sea salt and 2 Tbs olive oil
6. When water boils cook spaghetti for about 10 minutes -stir A LOT-this pasta sticks if you don't
7. Place chicken in the pan and cook until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side then put on a separate plate
8. Repeat this step until all chicken is cooked, adding extra olive oil if needed
9. Cook capers in excess oil in pan smashing them lightly to release brine for about 30 seconds
10. Pour white wine into skillet and stir in the capers-cook for about 2 minutes
11. Stir lemon juice, water, and 3 Tbs olive oil into the wine mixture-cook for about 2 minutes
12. Reduce heat to low and stir parsley through the sauce.
13. Return chicken breast slices to the pan cook about 2 minutes
14. Serve chicken and sauce over spaghetti

My Story

My Cinderella Story

     For about 25 years