Chicken Breasts with Roasted Lemons and Capers

I found this recipe on foonetwork.com when I was looking for some healthy recipes....

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/eating-well/chicken-breasts-with-roasted-lemons-recipe/index.html

We eat boneless/skinless chicken breasts a lot, so I am always looking for something different.  I really liked how this turned out.  Roasting the lemons and then adding them to the dish made the sauce less tart than most lemon chicken recipes, but it still had a ton of citrus flavor.  I made some angel hair pasta to go along with it.  I cooked the pasta according to the directions on the package.  Then in a small sauce pan I heated 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium low heat.  I added 3 minced cloves of garlic, a quarter cup of chopped fresh parsley, the zest of two lemons, and salt and pepper to taste.  I let that simmer for about a minute and then added a quarter cup of white wine (you could also use chicken broth).  Then I added the pasta and tossed it to coat it in the sauce.  You could add a pinch of crushed red pepper when you add the garlic if you like a little heat.  You could also top the pasta with some shredded parm :)

The only down side to this meal was that it's not something you can put in theoven or on the stove and then leave.  It doesn't take very long to make, but if you have little ones like I do this is the sort of meal you should make when someone else is home to handle the kids while you concentrate on dinner ;)  If you are flying solo when you make this I suggest doing cutting and chopping ahead of time so they are ready to go when you need them.

Erika's Swiss Chicken

Erika made this for us after we brought Lena home from the hospital, and it was so good I had to try to make it. I didn't make it exactly to her recipe...partly because I made a few changes...and partly because I didn't read the recipe right. I used thin sliced chicken breasts to cut down the cooking time, I added garlic salt and pepper, and I doubled the amount of cheese (because there is no such thing as too much cheese). The original recipe only calls for a cup of stuffing mix...but somehow I read a BOX ;) So the amount of butter had to be increased. Luckily it turned out great. The chicken is really moist, there's a great amount of cheese, and the stuffing has a soft layer and then a crunchy top layer.


I think I might try a dairy free version of this with no cheese and golden mushroom soup instead of the cream of chicken.

4 Thin sliced skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Garlic salt & Pepper to taste
8 slices swiss cheese
1/2 can (10.75 oz) can of condensed cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoons milk
1 Box chicken Stove Top Stuffing mix
5 tablespoons butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350 degrees


Arrange chicken in a greased 12x8x2 baking dish. Season to taste with garlic salt and pepper. Top with swiss cheese slices (two per chicken breast).

Combine soup and milk and stir well. Spoon mixture over chicken and sprinkle with stuffing mix. Drizzle butter over crumbs.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes! Enjoy! :)

Accidentally Vegetarian Chili

Normally the first step to making this chili would be browning one pound of lean ground beef.  I guess I had a senior moment when writting my shopping list because I forgot the ground beef.  Soooooo I decided that if this was going to be vegetarian I would add a few veggies to make it a little heartier.  Normally (in the recipe that includes meat) there would be no olive oil, carrot, or celery.

2 TBS Olive oil
1 Small onion
2 Cloves of garlic, diced
1 Carrot, peeled and diced
1 Celery stalk diced
1 (28 oz) Can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5 oz) Can diced tomateos with green chilies
1  (4 oz) Can diced green chilies
1 (15 oz) Can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) Can Pinquitos (pinto beans seasoned with cumin, garlic, etc.), undrained
2 (15 oz) Cans Black beans, drained and rinsed
1 to 3 tsp Chili powder (depending on how spicy you like your chili)
1 tsp Ground cumin
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1/3 Cup chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Add diced onion, garlic, carrot, and celery.  Cook until onions are translucent and carrots start to soften.  Add all remaining ingredients except for the cilanto.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 30-45 minutes.  Add chopped cilantro a few minutes before serving.  Top with shedded cheese and/or sour cream, eat it plain, or put it on top of a plain hot dog in a bun.

Crispy Potato Skins

This was another Super Bowl treat for the hubby...

2 Medium sized potatoes
2 Cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
4 Strips of pepper bacon
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Sour cream
Chives

Pre-Heat Oven to 425 degrees. 

Wash the potatoes and dry them off.  Poke a few holes in the potatoes with a fork or a knife.  Rub the potatoes with olive oil and then sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes (or until cooked through). 

While the potatoes are baking cook the bacon until crispy and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them sit until they are cool enough to handle (about 10-15 minutes).  Slice the potatoes in half length wise.  Use a spoon to scoop out the middle of the potato leaving about a 1/4 inch of potato on the skins.  Fill the potatoes with cheese.  Crumble the bacon and place it on top of the cheese.  Put the potatoes back in the oven for about ten minutes (or until all the cheese has melted).  They will be really hot so let them sit for five to ten minutes.  Then you can top them with sour cream and chives. 

Pepperoni Twists

I made these for my hubby on Super Bowl Sunday. Very simple and oh so yummy :)



1 Can refrigerated pizza dough
2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz. sliced pepperoni
Garlic powder (optional)
Shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
Your favorite marinara sauce or pizza sauce for dipping.

I lined a baking sheet with foil and then sprayed it with cooking spray. Then I unrolled the pizza dough and covered half of it with a cup of shredded mozzarella. Then I layered sliced pepperoni on top of the cheese. Then I covered the pepperoni with the remaining cheese. Then I folded the half without any toppings over the half with toppings. I pressed down on the dough a little so everything would stay put. Then I used a pizza cutter to cut 1 inch strips. Then I twisted the strips and placed them on the baking sheet. Then I dusted them with garlic powder. If I had some shredded parm I would have sprinkled that on too. I followed the baking instructions from the dough (425 degrees for 13 minutes). I warmed up some pizza sauce for dipping and they were ready to go. This made 8 twists which was enough for two or three people to share. If I was making these for a party I would probably cut the strips in half to make smaller twists.

Lemon Pepper Chicken Club Sandwiches

This is a really simple dinner or lunch for two.....two thin sliced chiken breasts (boneless/skinless) marinated in the juice of two lemons and one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.  Season with garlic salt and pepper to taste.  Grill or sautee the chicken.  Lightly toast four slices of sourdough bread.  To put the sandwich together just use light mayo, dijon mustard, baby salad greens, tomato, avocado, and cooked bacon.  I like to "smoosh" the avodaco instead of putting on the sandwich in slices.  It kind of acts as the glue to keep the tomato and bacon in place ;) 

Blackened Cajun Salmon

I think this is one of my favorite ways to have salmon....and we have salmon two or three times a month so it's nice to have a few different options. It's not too spicy, but it has a lot of flavor. You can use a premixed Cajun seasoning or make your own blend. Season the salmon filets liberally with Cajun seasoning. Heat two tablespoons of butter in a skillet over high heat. Cook salmon skin side up for about five minutes. Flip salmon, reduce heat to medium high and cook for another five minutes (or until cooked through)