Lemon Chicken Picatta

This was, as my husband put it, "the best meal I ever made." It was on our plates for less than 5 minutes. Jack's too- he loved it. I got this recipe from my cute neighbor, but only changed a couple of things.

Lemon Chicken Picatta

3 Large Boneless Chicken Breast Halves, cut into medallions

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 C. flour

2 T. vegetable oil, (more as needed)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 C. Chicken Broth

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

1/3 C. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 T. capers, drained

3 T. butter

2 T. minced italian flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, and place a serving platter inside to keep warm.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour. Shake off excess flour. Heat a skillet with the oil in it and pan-fry the chicken pieces till slightly golden. (A few minutes on each side.) Do not crowd skillet, work in batches if needed. Place the browned chicken into the warm platter and keep in oven to hold heat. Drain most of the oil in the skillet leaving a thin layer, you will be using this same skillet to make your sauce.

-Cut and stir in the minced garlic in the skillet, till fragrant.

-Carefully- pour in chicken broth and stir in lemon slices. Scrape down any brown bits that may be on the side of the pan.

-Let sauce come to a boil, then reduce heat slightly and cook till it reduces to about 2/3-1 Cup, then add the lemon juice and capers.

-Let it cook till it thickens slightly, about 5 min more. Then add the butter and swirl it in letting it melt slowly.

-Once incorporated, remove from heat then add parsley and stir it in completely.

Pull your chicken out of the oven, then pour all the sauce over* and slightly toss the chicken till the sauce is evenly distributed. Serve immediately.

*(if serving with noodles, after pouring sauce over chicken, leave the pan with a coating of the sauce, add a tablespoon more of butter, and toss the cooked noodles in the pan. Serve chicken over noodles.)

We were all left wanting more...

Lemon Frozen Dessert

It seems like it should be called "Frozen Lemon Dessert".. but being that this dessert is one of my dad's favorites, he believes the word "lemon" should come first.

Lemon Frozen Dessert

Ingredients:

1 Lemon, juice and zest

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cups of sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Graham crackers (crushed)

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a double boiler at medium heat. Stir with a whisk for 8-10 minutes, until it thickens.. to the point where it coats a spoon. Pour into bowl and LET COOL (or refridgerate.) While it cools, whip the cream and once the lemon concoction is cooled, fold in the whipped cream. Line the bottom of an 8x8 pan with crushed graham crackers, pour in mixture and top with remaining graham crackers, freeze.

Try not to eat all of it.

Lemon Asparagus Bowtie Pasta

I found this on my new favorite food blog, found HERE. Honestly I should just quit now, 'cause this chick has it all figured out. But nevertheless, I'll pick and choose some fun things and make them. I've been pleased with everything so far. This is EASY and SO TASTY.

lemon asparagus pasta
1 large bunch of asparagus
250 g bow-tie pasta
1 t salt
3 T butter
3/4 c heavy cream
2 T freshly grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
1/4 t salt (optional)
1/3 c finely chopped parsley
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

1. Prepare asparagus by snapping off the bottom tough ends & then snapping each stalk into 1 inch pieces.

2. In a large pot, boil water and add 1 heaping teaspoon of salt. Add pasta. When pot comes back to a boil again, put prepared asparagus into a large metal colander, place over the boiling pot and cover the asparagus with the pot lid. One and a half minutes into the steaming process, take tongs and gently toss asparagus, replacing lid for another one minute and a half. Remove colander and rinse asparagus under cold water until cool. The asparagus should be crisp-tender. Drain well and set aside.

3. In a smaller pot, combine lemon juice, butter and cream over moderately low heat. Stir in zest then remove pot from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of the pasta water into the cream sauce.

4. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add in the asparagus and parsley and combine well. Add the cream sauce and parmesan chees and cook over moderate heat, tossing until heated through. Taste and add remaining salt if necessary.

Chicken Schnitzel

Oh man. I may make this again this week, because it was a huge hit. I got it of of iVillage again, but I made my own changes. I used lemon, and I used Panko Crumbs in stead of bread crumbs, and I added the noodles with lemon sauce. You can make this however you want and I'm sure it is just dandy.

Chicken Scnitzel

2 large chicken breasts

2 cups Panko crumbs, sauted till golden with butter in a frying pan

1 egg

2/3 c flour

salt and pepper

Canola oil

1 package soba noodles (yummy buckwheat noodles that are SO good for you, found at Whole Foods or even better- Sunflower Market)

Sauce

2 T butter

1-2 T flour

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 T capers

salt pepper to taste

squeeze of lemon

Place your chicken breasts between two pieces of wax paper and one at a time, beat with a rolling pin till 1/4 inch thick. Cut in half, length-wise so you now have four schnitzel's. Beat the egg, and put in a shallow bowl. Put the flour in another shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Put your toasted Panko crumbs in another bowl. Dip each schnitzel one by one first in the flour, then the egg, then the panko crumbs. Make sure to press into the panko crumbs to get good coverage. Place on a plate and refrigerate for 30 min.

Meanwhile, boil your soba noodles just until tender and drain. Melt the 2 T butter in a small sauce pan and add the flour. Keep stirring, and always try to keep the mixture moving. Add the cream and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add the capers.

Rinse your soba noodles and drain as much as possible. (They are pretty slimey... don't worry about it.) Toss the noodles with the sauce and set aside to keep warm.

In a large skillet warm up the oil and when hot add the refrigerated schnitzel. If doing them not all at once, warm the oven to 175 degrees to have a place to keep them warm. Fry the schnitzel's for 2-3 min on each side at med-high heat, or until golden brown and cooked through. Keep warm in oven till ready to serve.

Curl up a pile of noodles on the plate and place warm schnitzel on top, and serve!

Alaskan Halibut with Lemon and Herbs

This looks a lot fancier than it really is. I think I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen, hence the butter. It is quick, yummy, and costs about as much for two as it would one at a restaurant. I over-cooked my asparagus, so I left it in the bokeh of the picture..

Alaskan Halibut with Lemon and Herbs

2 Alaskan Halibut fillets (about 6 oz, I got mine at Market Street)

1 lemon

fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme

Garlic salt

Season All (optional..but it really adds a nice kick)

2 T butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.

Place fillet's on a sheet of aluminum foil and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and other seasonings. Then put a tablespooon of butter on each fillet and top with herbs. Slice the lemon and place slices on fillet, squeeze the rest of lemon juice over them.

Wrap and seal all ends of foil and put in the oven for 15-20 min, checking periodically to see if cooked through.

(It's tricky finding the harmony between your oven and the fish, sometimes I end up overcooking because my fish is slightly thinner than the last time I made this meal, or the fish just FEELS like being overcooked. It takes time to find the perfect amount of time..so checking it is a MUST..)