Chicken Picatta w/ Lemon Noodles

This is a Pioneer Woman recipe with some small changes.  The way we made it knocked our socks off, so we're not changing a thing!

Buttery Lemon Noodles:
8 ounces pasta (fettuccine, linguine, angel hair, egg noodles)
1 tablespoon butter
Zest and juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chicken Piccata:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (butterflied)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed
1/2 cup Martinellis Apple Cider
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon drained capers

For the buttery lemon noodles: Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

For the chicken piccata: Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides, then dredge in the flour.

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes on each side; fry them a little longer if the breasts are thicker, monitoring the oil/butter mixture to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove the chicken to a plate.

Add the garlic to the skillet and saute. Pour in the chicken broth and cider, and squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Whisk the sauce, scraping the bottom of the skillet. Allow the sauce to cook and bubble and thicken until reduced by about half. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper as it's cooking.

Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the cream. Add the capers, then cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce thickens. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Expect the sauce to have a real tang to it; counter it with a little more broth and cream if it's too strong!

To finish the noodles, melt the butter in a separate skillet over medium-high heat. Throw in the cooked pasta. Cook it in the butter for a couple of minutes so that a few of the noodles get a little bit of a pan-fried texture to them. Grate in some lemon zest and squeeze in some lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Avocado Rice

Avocado Rice

3 cups uncooked rice (Basmati white & wild rice blend)

½ red onion, diced

Juice of 2 limes

4 ripe avocados

½ cup cilantro, chopped

garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste

1 Rotisserie chicken, chopped

Cook rice in chicken broth or add chicken boullion cube. Cool rice.

Add all other ingredients and stir until well blended.

Toss in chicken last.

Chicken Savory Squares

This was one of my favorite things to make when we were first married.

3 oz cream cheese w/ chives
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 8-oz can Pillsbury croissants
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup bread crumbs

*Cook and cube chicken.

* In a small bowl, combine: cream cheese, milk, salt, pepper.  Mix until creamy.

*Lay croissants on greased cooking sheet in 4 squares.

*Add chicken cubes to creamy mixture and spoon onto squares.

*Fold up the corners of squares and seal edges, then brush melted butter on top.

*Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

*Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Chicken, Artichoke & Mushroom Casserole

1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbsp butter

1 can (14 oz) chicken broth

4 chicken breasts (3 lbs)

1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3/4 cup Half & Half

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

*Saute mushrooms in 2 Tbsp butter until golden brown.  Set aside.

*Place chicken breasts in simmering chicken broth (single layer) in a skillet. Cover and cook for 20 min.

*Remove chicken from broth, reserving 3/4 cup broth.  Cool, skin and bone chicken (if not boneless).  

*Arrange chicken slightly overlapping in 9x13 casserole dish.  Top with artichoke hearts and set aside.

*Melt 1/4 cup butter.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper until smooth. Gradually stir in 3/4 cup chicken broth and light cream. Cook and stir as mixture boils and thickens. Blend in parmesan cheese and rosemary. 

*Pour sauce over chicken and artichokes, then sprinkle the mushrooms on top. Bake at 325* for 30 minutes.  If you make this dish ahead of time, cover, refrigerate, and add 10 minutes to baking time.

Chicken Piccata with Lemon, Capers and Artichoke Hearts

This is a Robin Miller recipe from The Food Network

Ingredients

• 4 (4-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, quartered
• 1/4 cup drained capers
• 1 cup quick-cooking brown rice
• 1/2 cup frozen lima beans

Directions

Place chicken in zip-top bags and pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin until 1/4-inch thick. Remove chicken from bag and season all over with salt and black pepper. In a shallow dish (or plastic bag), combine flour, lemon zest, paprika, and garlic powder. Mix well. Add chicken and turn to coat. Remove chicken from flour mixture and shake off excess flour.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute 2 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Add lemon juice, wine and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens. Add artichoke hearts and capers and simmer 1 minute to heat through.

Cook rice according to package directions, adding lima beans at the beginning of cooking process. Serve chicken and sauce with rice.

Chicken Tetrazzini ala Giada

A friend recommended this recipe and I finally had time to try it. Gotta love a snow day! It's definitely on the rich and creamy side. Total comfort food.

Ingredients

9 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 ounces linguine
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.
Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.
Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.
Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

Red Chicken Chili

Yum! Two chicken chilis in one week! This one is very different than the first. Here's what you need:

Red Chicken Chili

Saute:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

Add:

1 can chicken broth

1 can chicken breast

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can white northern (or canellini) beans

1 can diced green chiles

1 jar (16 oz) green salsa

1 can corn (I used frozen)

Bring to a simmer until throughly heated. Garnish with cilantro and corn tortilla chips. This was about 5 minutes of effort and has a fantastic taste. Love it.

White Chicken Chili

Jimmie is telling everyone he 'took second place' at the annual church chili cookoff yesterday. They announced a winner (which was neither of us), but no second or third place awards were given. We both made a pot of chili - mine was white chicken chili; his was black bean elk chili.

All I'm going to say about our little competition is a) he went around telling everyone which was his chili, then asking them which one they liked best; b) every last drop of mine was eaten, while his had leftover; c) several people have asked for MY recipe. The defense submits the above to the jury for deliberation. :) We're not competitive. at all.

White Chicken Chili

8 cups [cooked] white northern beans (or 5 cans)
2 (4 oz) cans diced green chiles
3 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced

Cook and drain the beans ahead of time. I put 2 lbs of white northern beans in the crockpot on high for about 2.5 hours.

Cook and shred chicken breast. This can also be done ahead of time and refrigerated.

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil. Combine all ingredients to crock pot and heat on low for 3-4 hours. Add salt to taste.

For thicker and creamier chili, place 3 or 4 cups of the beans in a blender and puree.

Garnish with shredded cheese and tortilla chips (optional).

5 Minute Chicken Taco Soup

I woke up from a nap today in the mood for homemade soup....chicken fajita soup...but too hungry to take the time to thaw and cook chicken. ENTER canned chicken!

Soup is a wonderful way to use it because you can't tell it came from a can. This is a soup you can make entirely with things in your pantry.

5 Minute Chicken Taco Soup

8 cups water
8 cubes chicken boullion
1 can diced green chiles
1 13 oz can chunk chicken breast
1 can black beans [with jalapenos]
1 can corn
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp onion powder
3 Tbsp lime juice

Bring to a boil and simmer a few minutes, breaking apart the chicken chunks.

Garnish with cilantro, crumbled tortilla chips, shredded cheese.

We inhaled it.

Chicken Chiles Relleno

I typically shy away from 'creating' my own recipes, and usually go for the tried and true recipes of others. Today I was in the mood for Chiles Relleno and Stuffed Peppers and couldn't make up my mind....so I kind of combined the two. Come to find out, they're the SAME thing...one said in Spanish; the other said in English! My idea of a stuffed pepper is very much based on the way I've always made them (call it American). This is all beside the point. I think they came out really yummy, so here's the recipe! This recipe made enough for 6 - 8 people. You could halve it if you're only cooking for 2 or 3.

Chicken Chiles Relleno

6 peppers (poblano for spicy, bell for UNspicy)
2 cans chicken breast, shredded
2 cups cooked white rice (I made the rice ahead of time, so it was cold)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can green chiles
1/2 onion and 2 cloves garlic, sauteed in olive oil (I did this ahead of time, so it was cold)
8 oz pepper jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Cool.
In a large bowl, shred chicken breast with 2 forks. Add rice, beans, green chiles, sauteed onion and garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff filling into peppers that have been washed, dried, halved and cleared of seeds.
Place cheese on top of each pepper.
Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes.
Remove foil and bake another 5ish minutes until cheese is golden.

I don't think it needed the sauce, but I also made this creamy tomato sauce for topping off the peppers:

1 28-oz can tomatoes
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 - 3 jalapenos
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup cream or half and half

Puree the tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapeno well.
Heat olive oil in saute/sauce pan. Cook puree for 10-15 minutes, so it turns from pink to red.
Add salt to taste, then add the cream and remove from heat.
I only had one jalapeno, so it wasn't very hot. Next time I'll use 3. That's why I added a dash of cayenne pepper.

I forgot to take a finished picture, but they look even yummier with the melted cheese on top!
This is a great recipe to make ahead and refrigerate overnight before popping into the oven.

Kitchen Weapons

Looks like a weapon, doesn't it?

Meet my new favorite tool.

I've been on the hunt for a meat tenderizer for the past several weeks. I found some pretty good deals on Amazon, but they all had one flaw noted in fine print: Do Not Place In Dishwasher. This would apparently ruin their shiny finish.

REALLY?? Why would I want a tool made for pounding raw meat that is not dishwasher safe? I'm not going to pound chicken with ANYthing that can't be tossed into the dishwasher.

Others at Target and Walmart that were dishwasher safe seemed light and inadequate.

So, I finally decided to splurge for this little beauty at Williams Sonoma.

Nice and heavy. Big surface for even flattening. No more falling-apart-chicken breasts from pounding them unevenly with a can.

With a simple twist of the handle, you can flip over the surface and use the tenderizing side.

Tough meat, no more!

I see more chicken parmigiana and grilled chicken in my immediate future!

Chipotle-Lime Grilled Chicken Salad

I am no culinary genius.
I'm more of a culinary copycat.
But, I know a good recipe when I try one, and that is the purpose of this blog!
I promise to share my best finds with you and try to include a photo whenever possible.

I've been thinking about chipotle all week, since I made white chicken chili last week. I came across this reipe on the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen. I changed enough that I'm going to list my own recipe below. Here's the link to the original.

Chipotle-Lime Grilled Chicken Salad

1/2 cup cilantro
1-2 Tbsp minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (two peppers...I minced them all and froze the rest)
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lime (or 3 Tbsp lime juice)

Combine all of the above ingredients, whisking in the olive oil last.

Pour half of the vinaigrette into a container and marinate 2 chicken breasts for 1 hour or overnight. [I used my FoodSaver and it was ready in 20 minutes.] This is a pretty spicy dressing/marinade. Reduce chipotle to 1 Tbs for the faint of heart!

Grill chicken breasts, slice thinly and serve over salad.

Combine salad ingredients, which include:

1 head romaine lettuce or mixed greens
1-2 carrots, cut in half and shaved into peels
2 small tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 avocado, diced
2 cups corn kernels, roasted [I fried frozen kernels in olive oil until brown and crispy-YUM! You could also broil on a baking sheet.]

You could add cotija or feta cheese, but I found cheese unnecessary, with so much flavor going on already.

Grill chicken breasts, slice thinly and serve over salad, dressing with remaining vinaigrette.

So good...it's what's for lunch tomorrow.

Sheena's Black & White Chili

We tried Sheena's Black & White Chili recipe tonight. I think it might've killed me.....

......'cuz I've died and gone to heaven! Seriously better than ANY chicken tortilla soup I've ever had.

Who knew how important [and potent] ground Chipotle could be? Apparently, Sheena did! I couldn't find it locally, but I did find whole dried chipotle pods at Pueblo Market #2. I ground them into powder myself using a coffee grinder [but not before practically ruining my Cuisinart food processor and destroying my lungs by inhaling it]. But, I digress!

You can find her recipe HERE on her blog. I used about 3/4 Tbsp chipotle and it had some HEAT! Just enough bite and SO much flavor.

Her presentation is prettier than mine. I took this picture before I crumbled some Tostitos w/ Lime tortilla chips over the top of my bowl.

We love all things: Avocado, Cilantro and Lime.

Add Chipotle to the list!

Chicken Parmagiana

Weather like this makes me want to cook! Last night as the snow began to fall, I stumbled upon a recipe for Chicken Parmagiana on The Pioneer Woman's site. That woman can cook!

Rather than re-post her recipe (which you can get to via the above link), I'll just post a few pics of the easy steps and tell you how I improvised, since I didn't plan this one in advance, and....HELLO....we're having an ice storm! ;)

I made just 2 chicken breasts. I don't own a meat tenderizer (need to get one of those!), so I used my can of crushed tomatoes to smash the chicken flat inside a gallon size ziploc bag.

BEFORE

AFTER

Salt, Pepper, Flour dredge Mmmm...olive oil and butter. 4 minute each side, then keep warm.

Then saute onion and garlic in the oil. I didn't take a picture of the next step, which is adding red wine to the onion/garlic and simmering to reduce. I'm not a fan of the red wine flavor, so I substituted a pomegranate juice blend I happened to have in the fridge.

After it's reduced, you add crushed tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes. I also didn't have 3 cans of crushed tomatoes, so I just pulsed some diced tomatoes in the blender for a few seconds. Viola!

Put the chicken into the sauce and sprinkle with parm. Simmer for a few minutes.

Serve over linguine. I used angel hair because that's what I had.

Wow. The Pioneer Woman is a genius. This was SO good!