The German McDonalds Experience

I’m not sure why this spikes my interest so much but it just seems so fun to me that each McDonalds prepares food that is considered “normal” for the country it’s in. For Americans…it’s milkshakes with loads of whipped cream and a cherry on top. For Germans, just a milkshake…no extra fluff…aka calories. I don’t eat at McDonalds anymore unless we are stranded and nothing else is available, for the record.

Take a look at some of the things German McDonalds offers that America doesn’t.

First up, I present the “Chicken Bagel” – Chicken on a sesame bagel with rucola salad, cream cheese, and a lemon pepper sauce. Hmmm….it’s supposed to part of the “American” promo they have going on but we all know we don’t put chicken on bagels!! Not sure which “American” advised them of this but they clearly have been living in a cave. Am I wrong?!

This is pretty common and was weird when I first saw it but here we have “Golden Corn Nuggets” – Chicken nuggets in a corn flake outside with corn and melted cheese in the middle. Any of their ‘crispy chicken’ items are crispy not breaded. The Crispy meaning literally rice crispy treats! So strange!

Next up, the “McFish” – Similar to the Filet O’Fish but with ketchupy tomato chunks on top instead of the usual cheese and tartar sauce.

Getting into the breakfast items is my favorite, this is where I really could see the difference between the US and the Germs. Take exhibit A: “Classic Breakfast” – Typical German breakfast with rolls, jelly,butter, nutella, or honey.

And something similar yet different is the “McGriddle” – In the US we know this as a pancake like bread with syrup cooked into it, sandwiching a sausage, egg, and cheese. Kinda of wild and actually disgusting but the Germans have their own take. It’s just two pancakes and you’re given a bit of honey to dip it into…not syrup…honey.

Would you eat any of these? Looking between the two you can really see the differences of over the top FAT and proportionate. The big breakfast plate options in the US are disgusting, and over doing it but at the same time…thats what makes us Americans. Not necessarily the fatter foods but the eggs and sausage and bacon. Thats us! The Germans breakfasts are normally rolls with cheese or bologna or ham. It’s a different world out there, friends! Taking it all in stride one difference at a time!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken – Pin Challenge – Day 1

Ahhh…the sweetness of the beginning of a challenge. By day 5 I’ll be pulling my hair out, wishing I were dead, and curse myself for starting this crap!

So yesterday I showed you the different things I made for the Easter dinner and the main course was the Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken which can be found on Pinterest here or on the original site of Bigoven.com.

It really is quite easy to make, really tasty, and well worth it for the chicken lovers! I added a bit more cream and chicken broth to make more sauce. Toblerone is a sauce of all flavors kind of guy so I always make extra. The directions are very clear and easy to follow as well. 

What you need:

1/4 Milk

1/4 Cup Dry bread crumbs

1lb boneless chicken breast, 4 halves

3 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1 can (4oz) Pimento; sliced

1/4 cup Basil; fresh, minced

1/2 cup Parmesan; grated

1/8 tspn Pepper

How To Make It:

– Heat skillet over medium high heat

– Place milk and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls

– Dip chicken in milk, and then coat with crumbs

– Add chicken to skillet with 1/2 of the butter about 5 min

– Add remaining butter flip chicken and cook another 5 min till chicken is cooked.

– Remove and keep warm

– Add broth to skillet bring to boil over medium heat to remove fond

– Stir in cream, and pimientos; boil and stir for 1 min

– Reduce heat, add parmesan cheese, basil and pepper; cook and stir until heated through.

– Serve chicken with sauce poured over.

 

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

Creamy Dijon Chicken Linguine!

I made this for Valentine’s Day and it was a HIT! Lately, I’ve been trying to stay away from Garlic recipes since it makes for some really stinky breath but since it was Valentine’s Day I decided to let us have it!

This recipe is super easy and only takes a few ingredients! Give it a try and let me know what you think! 🙂 (Note: Sorry for the lack of pictures – I was cooking 8 things at once and didn’t have a chance to get out the good camera! Hope you can forgive me!!)

What You Will Need:

350 gram package fresh linguine, cooked
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup fresh, cleaned, and sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper to season
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds – if you can’t find toasted just regular (peeled) and chop them up!
4 ounces dry white wine
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups whipping cream

How To Make It:

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan over medium low heat.

2. Add chicken breasts, garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook the chicken until completely cooked.

3. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm

4. Add 4oz white wine (I used dry) to the pan and let simmer until it is reduced by half.

5. Next add in 2 cups whipping cream, 3 tbsp Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.

6. Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon.

7. Return Chicken to the sauce and add the mushrooms.

8. Simmer for an additional 2 minutes.

9. Serve over cooked linguine. Sprinkle almonds on top.

10. GUTEN APPETIT!

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

Chicken Marsala – Totally Worth It

As most of you may have figured out I’m beyond addicted to a cute little website called Pinterest. It’s going to be the death of me, however, it’s really sparking me to get a grip and do things better. I decided a while ago that I wanted to expand my repertoire in the cooking field and this I am doing with the help of other’s super easy recipes. I came across this website called Savory Sweet Life and in it I found this recipe for Chicken Marsala.  Toblerone loves the beef or chicken flavored gravies. When he was a a little tot…that’s all he ate was bread and gravy so I knew this recipe would be one he could easily enjoy.

This is how mine turned out in comparison to the picture from the website below.

Please please please go check out Savory Sweet Life’s webpage! It’s INCREDIBLE!!! These are the exact pictures, recipe, and directions from the website so no credit to me! You should know that I used white wine instead of sherry and it was just as good. Next time I will try it with sherry just to see if there is a difference. It’s SO tasty and I absolutely will be making this again!

TOBLERONE’S TASTE TEST:

Well, I guess its the first time I am doing something like this, I mean, posting I guess, other then on Facebook probably. I am following Kaiti’s post longer then all of you do for sure but now I am at the computer, now I am in charge, as the Americans would say ! So I know, you  heard a lot about me and our lives here in Germany, all the bad things, all the good things, all the up and downs, everything. Thats not what I am supposed to talk about I guess… Well, if you care about my private life as well, here are a couple facts first, before I start rating the Chicken Marsala ! 1st of all, I am just getting out of our jacuzzu, sitting at the couch right now and thinking about food I have to write about in a blog, as I just got told…. Sounds weird to me. I am not a big writer. Me, the Toblerone, I am a soccer, snowboard, hiking outdoor guy. Very competitive and I also never can lose. Sitting here, thinking about food, and even worse, how to rate it. Maybe I can add some beer tasting ? I just got yelled at for that comment. Just got yelled at again for not getting to the point, or to Chicken Marsala. Ok fans, you will get more later,  big promise.

Here is the rating (To see my rating table go here): Years ago, I hated beans, I basically hated everything green, spinach, broccoli, beans, everything. Today, with a good piece of steak or chicken and I dont care about the green stuff.  The first thing I told Spice when I ate the Chicken Marsala was that I really love it, and I meant it. The chicken was super tender and moist, the mushrooms perfectly cooked and even the beans (I hated years ago) were better then expected. Overall I would say, it was an 8 out of 10 points. I have to say, I compared it to some food in the past (I dont want to specify any closer) which was a 4 or so at most. So, for me an 8 is like super good. Ok people, thats it for now. As Spice would say, until next time readers! Cheers Tobi

Chicken Marsala Recipe

Ingredients
2  skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour or corn starch for gluten-free
up to 1/2 cup  olive or vegetable oil
8 ounces container of mushroom, sliced and cleaned
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sherry or dry white wine
Optional: 2 tablespoons  heavy cream
Garnish with chopped parsley or oregano

Directions:
Split each chicken breast through the middle to make 2 pieces.  Place plastic wrap over them and pound each one flat using a meat tenderizer/mallet until they are about a quarter inch thick.  Season a good amount of salt and pepper on both sides of each piece.  Place some flour on a plate and and dredge each piece of chicken in it.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat and when the oil is hot fry each piece of chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown (this may require you to do this in 2 batches). Remove chicken and place them on your serving platter covering them with foil.

Reduce the heat to medium and add butter and mushrooms.  Saute mushrooms for 4-5 minutes making sure to season them with salt and pepper lightly.  Add marsala wine, sherry, cream, and chicken stock allowing the liquid to reduce slightly – approx. 3 minutes.  Pour mushrooms and sauce over chicken and serve. Enjoy!

 

NOW GO OUT AND MAKE IT!!! STAT!

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

Tomato Balsamic Chicken – Holy Decliciousness!

This is one of my favorite recipes ever to make. I’ve made it for those I love the most – Roomie, my FamDamily, and the Toblerone of course! It’s incredibly simple and super fast to make. Flavors are brilliant and I just HAVE to share it with you all!

What You Need:

Boneless Chicken Breasts (up to 6 for this recipe)

Black Pepper

1 can (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes

1 tsp dried basil and oregano

1 tsp Garlic Salt

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 Onion, Thinly sliced

First things first:  Season both sides of the chicken with pepper and garlic salt. I also sometimes use a little bit of greek seasonings I have. I made this last night and used Turkey because I didn’t have Chicken in my giant freezer but it all tastes the same to me! After you season both sides, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet. You want the pan to be a little deep because of all the added juices. Once oil is heated, brown the onion and the chicken. You don’t need to cook all the way through, just get it started.

Next you pour in the balsamic vinegar and the tomatoes into the skillet. Throw on your basil and oregano. You can add rosemary and thyme as well but I don’t. Let it simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear. This usually takes about 15 minutes or so.

If I’m feeling extra festive I serve this with garlic bread, fresh mozzarella slices (goes perfect with the balsamic vinegar and tomatoes), asparagus, and chicken flavored rice.  TA DA! Guten Appetit!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxxo