Two words that grabbed my attention in this recipe: honey and lemon. A diet cookbook that includes these in the recipe has GOT to be tasty. My oldest son, while I was cooking it, was not thrilled with my choice of entree. His words were: I'm NOT eating that. And another fight over dinner had commenced. As is not uncommon in a house with a picky eater.
The cooking process was fairly easy to understand, yet the process was a lot longer than what the recipe called for in the book. It took nearly double the length of time that anticipated to cook, earning me some glares from my toddler crawling around. So here is the review of the entree:
Ease of Making: The ingredients were simple: flour, butter, honey, salt, pepper, lemon juice, etc. Those were very simple to procure. That was the positive side of this recipe. The negative and disappointing side of this recipe was the length it took to cook the final product. To get to a safe temperature took 14 minutes per side, not the 3-4 minutes per side as instructed by the book. My grade for this recipe is a B-. When you have a house full of kids who are starving and you plan to cook at a certain time, the recipe should be be close to the cooking time. I had to hear my kids repeatedly ask, mommy where's dinner? And a toddler give me the stink eye for not feeding him immediately. If you do try out this recipe, be prepared to spend more time than the recipe calls for, plan for at least 30 minutes. The last part of the recipe that really made it annoying was the cleanup. Who wants to get honey out of a skillet? That calls for some overnight soaking in this house, even after using a non-stick spray.
Likeability Factor: This was a new recipe for us, one my oldest son highly protested. I judge a recipe to successful if at least 2 of my kids like it. 2 out of 3 is a pretty decent track record in our house. If I like it, it definitely stays. The sauce was sweet, but not overpowering. I was a little concerned with the amount of lemon that the recipe called for, but I kept an open mind. The lemon was not over-powering and helped keep the sweetness of the honey at a minimum. It was a great treat. It felt like we were eating a dessert for an entree. I give this an A, because 2 out of three of my children liked the recipe. I also enjoyed the recipe as well.
Diet or Disaster: Now for the part where I get to be brutal. Did this entree just completely destroy my day of hard work at eating right or did this recipe make the cut? For a recipe that is 174 calories, it is pretty low in the calorie count. For the 22 carbs, its a little high for me. I like a main dish to be around 20 carbs or less, because it give me an opportunity to enjoy other things without feeling like I'm missing out on other things. I give this recipe an A- for being just about right. A few suggestions that I would recommend is to not fry them in butter if you are looking to make it even healthier. I would give this entree a try because it really is quite good in my opinion!
Recipe for the Honey Lemon Schnitzel:
Obtained from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet CookBook
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 pork cutlets (4 ounces each)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
Directions:
1. In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add pork, two pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet, cook pork in butter over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.
2. Add lemon juice and honey to the skillet; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until thickened. Return pork to pan; cook 2-3 minutes longer or until heated through.
Yield: 4 servings
Nutritional Facts: 1 cutlet equals 174 calories, 8 grams fat (4 grams saturated fat), 33 mg cholesterol, 368 mg sodium, 22 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 6 gram protein.
Now for the second part of the dish: Camelized Mashed Potatoes
I love mashed potatoes. I swear at one point in my life my parents thought I might actually turn into a potato because I would rather eat then anything else. When I found out I was going to have to start limiting my carb intake, I knew that potatoes was something I was going to have to limit myself on. So when I stumbled on a recipe for carmelized mashed potatoes that was more appropriate for a diet like mine, I thought well yes, I am most definitely going to make this! My kids adore mashed potatoes, well at least 2 of them do. The other one won't eat many carbs, but he'll get over it eventually. Pairing it with Honey Lemon Schnitzel sounded like a great idea, because with a sweet dish a savory one should accompany. So here is the review of the recipe:
Ease of Making: This recipe fails on a grand scale for easy cooking. When I saw carmelized onions, I failed to read the fine print of how long it would take to get those onions carmelized. 45 minutes for onions? Seriously? Who has that kind of time to spend on one part of a dish? If it was a Saturday or Sunday, maybe, but I made this on a weeknight, after my son had just been subjected to the wonderful thing I like to call standardized testing. This was my reward for him. Time ticked by and the recipe took longer and longer to make. But I stuck it out, because this dish was a special treat for my son. The potatoes did not take that long to cook. The bacon was a cinch. Everything was piled up and ready to go, waiting for the onions. 60 minutes later, they were FINALLY ready. For the potatoes alone, it took me three seperate pans to cook, one for the onions, one for the bacon, and one for the potatoes. That made for a huge pile of dishes to add to the already big load of dishes I had. That does not make for a happy momma! So for an ease of making this recipe gets an F.
Likeability: Like I said previously, I judge a successful recipe based on my kids opinions. If 2 out of 3 like them, then its success! This was not a successful recipe for us. My toddler spit it out and gave me a dirty look. My son, who I had made the recipe especially for, asked me why they tasted funny. My middle son refused to even eat a single bite. I gave the mashed potatoes the old college try, but wow did they suck. This recipe gets a big fat F for us.
Diet success or Failure: This recipe does have quite a lot of carbs for a side dish. When combined with the schnitzel, it left no room for anything else. It went over my allotment for my dinner allowance for carbohydrates. That's a deal breaker for me. I do think that you could knock the portion size down to a smaller size to make it more successful for someone who is diabetic or trying to watch their carbs or calorie intake. This also has 200 calories for 2/3 a cup. That's more calories then an entire entree. I don't think this really should be considered a 'diet' side dish. You can make it a diet side dish by making the portion 1/3 cup instead of 2/3 cup. For me this gets a grade of C.
You can give it a try, but be forewarned, its not that great.
Carmelized Mashed Potatoes Recipe:
Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 large onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 1/2 pounds medium red potatoes, quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
2 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook and stir for 15 minutes or until moisture has evaporated and onions are completely wilted. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook and stir for 30-40 minutes or until the onions are carmelized. (If necessary, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if onions begin to stick to the pan)
2. Meanwhile, place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 18-22 minutes or until tender.
3. Drain potatoes; place in a large bowl and mash. Add sour cream, milk, pepper, and remaining salt; mesh until blended. Stir in carmalized onions. Transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with butter; sprinkle with cheese and bacon.
Yield: 6 servings
Nutritional Facts: 2/3 cup equals 200 calories, 9 grams fat (4 grams saturated fat), 18 mg cholesterol, 528 mg sodium, 25 gram carbohydrate, 3 gram figer, 7 gram protein.
Stay tuned for the next post: Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies: Heavenly Goodness or Death to Diet?
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