Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Lemon Chicken Piccata


 I have been meaning to make this again for quite sometime, we loved it the first time we had it several years ago.  We were tired and wanted something fast and easy for dinner and I knew I had a handful of lemons to use.  It was lemony and delicious, I paired it with Roasted Red Potatoes and Sweet Corn on the Cob for a wonderful summery dinner!

  • 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast
  • halves - cut into 1/2-inch medallions
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or as needed
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
  • 3 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F  Place a serving platter into the oven to warm.

2. Season the chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour. Shake off excess flour. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet; pan-fry the chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, adding oil as needed . Place the chicken pieces onto the warmed platter in the oven. When finished with all the chicken, drain most of the oil from the skillet, leaving a thin coating on the surface of the pan.

3. Cook and stir the minced garlic in the skillet until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth. Scrape and dissolve any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the lemon slices and bring the mixture to a boil. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces to about 2/3 cup, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the lemon juice and capers; simmer until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes more. Drop the butter into the skillet and swirl it into the sauce by tilting the skillet until the butter is melted and incorporated, remove from heat and set aside.

4. Arrange the chicken medallions on serving plates and spoon sauce over each portion to serve.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Ham, White Cheddar, Mushroom and Green Onion Quiche



I love Quiches and my husband does as well, even though "real men don't eat Quiche" he is a real man who does eat Quiche!   I had a hunk of Ham leftover and decided it had been awhile since I had made a Quiche.

I had some Green Onions, Mushrooms and I was all set.  I still cannot make a decent pie crust so I use pre-purchased ones.  I do not pre-bake my pie crust, do you?  I did put a pizza stone in the oven and placed the Quiche on top of it, I hope it makes the crust nice and crispy.  I also used Egg Substitute and only two eggs.

1.5 Cups of Diced Ham
4 Green Onions sliced (green parts included)
2 big or 4 small Mushrooms, I used Crimini
1.5 small size containers of Egg Substitute
2 large Eggs
1/4 cup of half and half or milk
2 Cups of Cheese, I used a sharp white cheddar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp Cayenne
few shakes of Tarragon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, place pizza stone in the oven if you have one

Place the Ham, Green Onions, Mushrooms and Cheese into your uncooked pie crust, try to even it out

Mix the eggs, egg substitute, milk, salt, pepper and spices, using a whisk mix well

Place in the oven for 40 minutes, checking for doneness, it should not wiggle around.  My Quiche took well over an hour to cook.

Let cool and serve.  This Quiche is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

How to spatchcock a chicken or turkey!

Finishing some of Cheryl's drafts... Keeping spatchcocking simple. Using a VERY sharp cleaver or kitchen shears -- not scissors, carefu...