Lemon Chicken and Croutons

Another from Barefoot in Paris....

This is quite possibly the MOST delicious chicken I have EVER eaten in my life! And, truth be told, I've eaten a lot of chicken.

This was INCREDIBLE!

I was worried that it would be dry. It wasn't.

I was worried that it would be tasteless. It wasn't.

I was worried that there was no gravy to go with it. It didn't matter.

If you're looking for something that is actually SUPER SIMPLE but unbelievably delicious I HIGHLY recommend this dish.

Lemon Chicken with Croutons

1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken * I used one that was just over 6 pounds. There were 4 of us and we had a fair amount of leftovers.*

1 Large yellow onion sliced

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

2 Lemons, quartered *I only used one. I couldn't get two into the cavity.*

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

6 cups bread cubes *I cubed a French baguette, crust and all!*

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

Remove giblets, etc. from chicken and wash chicken inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels. If there is any visible fat on the chicken remove it and make sure chicken is clean. IF you get a Perdue ovenstuffer or something like that you really don't have to worry about trimming it.

Toss onions with some olive oil- one to two tablespoons- and place in the bottom of small roasting pan.

Place the chicken on top of the onions and sprinkle the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Place quartered lemons inside of chicken cavity.

Make sure the outside of the chicken is dry then brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

You can tie up the legs at this point. I did not. That's only because I didn't have kitchen string. Plus, I really don't think it makes a whole huge difference!

Roast for roughly 1 1/2 hours. When the timer popped out of my chicken it was definitely done!

Remove from oven and tent with tin foil and allow to sit at room temp for at least 15 minutes.

Once you remove the chicken from the oven and tent it, heat a large skillet and add two tablespoons of olive oil until very hot. Add the bread cubes and lower heat to medium. Saute the cubes, tossing frequently and adding olive oil as necessary. You don't want them to be greasy but you don't want them dry. Season with salt and pepper during sauteing, as well. I also added a little garlic powder and onion powder for extra flavor.

Once cubes are nice and toasty arrange on a platter. Slice the chicken and lay the slices over the croutons. Season with a little bit of salt and serve.

Here is the important part that the Contessa didn't do....take the pan drippings and the onions and spoon over the chicken and croutons. It is a lovely mix of lemon and onion and chicken flavor. It was UNREAL!!

ENJOY!

Barefoot in Paris: Cheese Puffs

These were good. Very good. Easy to make. And easy to add to.

I served them "as is" but I suggest splitting them open and adding a seafood salad or chicken salad for a brunch or filling with soft goat cheese to make a delectable appetizer.

From the Barefoot Contessa's Barefoot in Paris:

1 cup milk- I used 1% and it was fine!
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt- I used regular because I forgot to buy kosher.
Pinch of nutmeg
1 cup all purpose flour
4 extra large eggs- I used large
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water for egg wash- I forgot this step and they came out perfectly ok!!

Preheat the over to 425 degrees.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. I used my silicone baking mats- had to be cleaned whereas parchment just gets tossed!

In a saucepan heat milk, butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg over medium heat until scaled- or just before boiling point. Add the flour all at once and immediately stir vigorously with a WOODEN spoon. Everything will begin to come together and look like a dough. Continue to stir constantly until the dough/flour mixture begins to coat the bottom of the pan. It looks like a thin film almost. It takes about 2 minutes.

Dump the hot mixture into your food processor and immediately add the eggs and the two grated cheeses. Pulse until the eggs are incorporated and the dough is smooth and thick.

You now have two options, you can put the mixture into a piping bag with a simple round tip and pipe out mounds onto your prepared sheet pans or you can use spoons to plop rounds on to the pans. I chose my cookie scoop and it created puffs that were large enough to split open and fill but not too large to eat simply.

Once on the pan brush with egg wash and sprinkle with extra cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes or until outsides are golden brown and insides are still soft. I started mine on the bottom shelf and left them for about 8 minutes and then switched them to top shelf to finish.

Serve hot.

If you plan on filling them, they should cool for a bit first. You can always reheat by placing on a warm stove or back in the oven for a few minutes!

Freezing is super simple, as well. Once puffs have cooled simply place in a plastic bag and stick in freezer until ready to use!!

ENJOY!

Rejuvenation

So, I went to see "Julie and Julia" last week and I really enjoyed it. I'm not a huge fan of French cooking but I think that has more to do with the fact that I haven't really had much of it more than anything else.

I watched as food was transformed into a life changing mechanism and I just so enjoyed every bit of it. I left the theater feeling upbeat and hungry!

I knew I could never go through Julia Child's cookbook because there are just some things I will NOT eat. Plus, I'd like to not weight 500 pounds 6 months from now. And I just don't have the time.

But I have plenty of cookbooks that I have allowed to collect dust. Spines unbroken and pages immaculately clean. Wasted.

I decided to change that.

I purchased a small bookcase that now sits in my kitchen. It is the home to all of my cooking magazines and cookbooks. They are in the open now just begging to be used.

And they will be.

I have committed myself to taking at least one night per week and making at least one recipe from one of my cookbooks.

It's different. It's exciting. It's making me hungry.

I started last week with the Barefoot Contessa from Paris and the food was delicious!

The recipes are to follow.

So, rejuvenation has come to this blog. New life. New foods. New opportunities to share.

Hope you're still around to enjoy!!

Update

Rejuvenation and recipes on their way.

Soon.

I promise.

fruit dessert with pudding and yogurt

this is a friends recipe.. its great for summer and taste great! it is light and super easy!!!



grapes on the bottom
blueberries on top of that
drained canned peaches on top of that
sliced strawberries on top of that

take one box of vanilla pudding, mix according to directions on box and then add one regular sized container of vanilla yogurt, pour over fruit and let sit in fridge for at least 30 minutes covered.

Barley-Asparagus "Risotto"

This was DELICIOUS!!

I've been living on Weight Watchers for just over a month now and I'm down close to 20 pounds! During the day I live on high fiber snacks and usually salads or a frozen meal. For dinner, though, I want something filling and tasty and satisfying! Last week I discovered this dish and I was leery at first simply because the idea of barley did not get me excited. I just wasn't sure I was going to like it! Well, I did! It wasn't exactly like risotto but it was pretty close and definitely filling!!!

Enjoy!!

2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion(s), minced
1 cup(s) uncooked barley, use quick-cooking pearl variety
3 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth, or vegetable broth
1/2 pound(s) asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup(s) chives, fresh, sliced
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in barley and cook, stirring, about 1 minute more.

Add broth, cover and simmer over low heat for 8 minutes; stir in asparagus and simmer 2 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir in chives and vinegar; season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Torta Passionata

Doesn't that look yummy?!?!
I made this recipe as a dessert for a family party. It was SUPER easy and deliciously rich!!

I used an 11 inch Tart pan, not 9 inch as the recipe recommends so I doubled the recipe. The only thing that didn't work with doubling was that I had a little bit of extra crust that didn't fit in the tart pan. Other than that, doubling it worked GREAT!!
This is NOT the doubled recipe....this is the original. Just double all of the ingredients if needed!

-

8 Tbsp. Butter
- 2 cups ground skinned and toasted hazelnuts (I toasted them in a dry frying pan and ground them in the food processor)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (you can use orange, too!)
- 8 squares (1 oz. each) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (You can also use semi-sweet chips
- 2 Tablespoons Raspberry Liqueur (I used extract instead of the alcohol. If you use orange marmalade, use Orange Liqueur or Extract)
- 1 and 1/4 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325°.

In small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons melted Butter, hazelnuts and sugar. In 9-inch tart pan, evenly press on bottom and up sides. Bake 20 minutes or until crust is golden. On wire rack, evenly spread jelly on crust; cool.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, bring 1 cup cream just to a boil over medium heat. In blender, process hot cream, semi-sweet chocolate, remaining 4 tablespoons Spread and 1 tablespoon liqueur until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour into prepared crust. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

You can also melt white chocolate and mix with the remaining 1/4 cup of cream and serve alongside the torta.

Do not cover the Torta when you put it in the fridge to cool.

Pancakes...

No not from Bisquick, and not from Aunt Jemima, not even from a box! From SCRATCH! This couldn't be easier, and they taste 100 times better than the box mix!

Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 20 Minutes Yields: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
1.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Add your favorite Fruit to the batter and make them taste even better!

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

This is an easy and tasty dinner that requires no side dishes! It's great for a light summer meal or even perfect for a quick dinner!!

1-2 heads of fresh broccoli steamed in chicken broth

1 lb pasta- I used what I had leftover and I cooked it in a mixture of chicken broth and water.

2-3 chicken breasts- I used leftover chicken from earlier in the week. It was already cooked so all I had to was cube it and toss it in the sauce to heat up.
You can use raw chicken, too. I would season it with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and any other seasoning you like. During the summer I would grill the chicken until cooked through or you cansautee or bake it until done.



Minced Garlic- Fresh or jarred

Chicken broth- for the sauce, at least 1-2 cups

1 small to medium onion- chopped small

Grated Cheese- 1/4 cup for the sauce and more for garnish

White wine- 1/4 cup

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

Cooking spray

1 tbsp butter

Splash of Worcestershire Sauce



Boil pasta water and add pasta and cook to al dente.

In a sautee pan or frying pan heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil and cooking spray. Make sure bottom of pan is coated.

Once pan is hot add garlic and onion, allow to sweat and sautee for a few minutes. You want the onions to soften and become somewhat translucent. Do not allow the garlic to burn.

When onions are done add in the Broccoli and coat with onions and olive oil and garlic. Add cooked chicken.

At this point you want to add your white wine. Make sure the pan is screaming hot. Add wine and scrape bottom of the pan picking up all of the tasty bits on the bottom. Mix all together and let cook for 2 minutes.

Add in 1-2 cups of chicken broth. You can add more if you want a more broth like sauce. At this point I also take out about half of the pasta, along with some pasta water and add to the sauce pan. The pasta will cook the rest of the way in the sauce and the pasta water helps thicken the sauce slightly and adds more flavor.

Add in butter and Worcestershire sauce. If you want it more "saucey" add remaining chicken broth. Add in cheese and mix everything together.

Allow sauce to simmer until pasta is done or for a few minutes. Once remaining pasta is finished add to sauce and stir to coat everything.

Serve with grated cheese and enjoy!!

Candy Bar Apple Salad (Dessert)

(Picture is not mine, but from the website I mention.)

This is great, and light, and kind of healthy. I mean it has Apples in it.. HA HA HA..

This is were I got the recipe from. I love this mag. A lot of great recipes.


SERVINGS: 12
CATEGORY: Lower Fat
METHOD:
TIME: Prep/Total Time: 15 min.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups cold milk
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 large apples, chopped (about 6 cups)
4 Snickers candy bars (2.07 ounces each), cut into 1/2-inch pieces ( I used the mini's)

Directions: In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in whipped topping. Fold in apples and candy bars. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 12 servings (3/4 cup each).

Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese

This is Alton Browns recipe. My hubby LOVES IT!! So those with kids, this is a great dish. Its easy to do too.


Recipe Summary Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings


Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: For Whom the Cheese Melts 2


1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

Grilled Zucchini

The other night I made grilled zucchini. Very simple, easy and it was great!!

Cut the zucchini in half long ways.

Cover with olive oil. Both sides.

Put on some, (on the cut side)

oregano
garlic powder
salt
pepper

and top with Parmesan cheese

Put on grill parm side up. Depending on how you like it, you will have to judge how long. I believe I put it on for about 20 minutes. I like it soft. So experiment. Have fun.

Chicken and Shrimp with pasta in wine and garlic sauce

I made this the other night and the hubby loved it! Thanks to the help from A, who gave me this, this is a great and tasty dish. Its easy to do and very flexible to work with.

You can grill the chicken, I would marinate it first if you're going to grill it.

Marinate the chicken in 1 tsp olive oil, chopped garlic, white wine, salt pepper, lemon juice and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Grill the chicken and then slice or cut into chunks.

For the sauce,

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tablespoons butter

1-2 tbsp flour

chicken broth

white wine

lemon juice

garlic- lots of it!

put olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in pan...allow to heat up and butter to melt

Add garlic and saute for a minute or so. DO NOT allow it to brown or burn!!!!

If you did not grill the chicken you should add it now. I would flour it lightly with flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

If you did grill the chicken then you add white wine, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup...make sure pan is really hot before adding it.

Then add chicken broth and mix together.

Add a squirt of lemon juice, not too much, and even a dash of Worcestershire sauce.Take remaining pats of butter and "dip" them in flour to coat them. Then put in pant and whisk to melt...it should thicken your sauce a bit.Add shrimp and grilled chicken and saute for a few minutes.

If you're serving over pasta, cook pasta in chicken broth and just before it's done add about 1/4 of pasta and one or two ladles of pasta water/broth to the sauce. The pasta will help thicken the sauce and it will cook a bit more in the sauce. Once the rest of the pasta is done, toss all together and enjoy!

Cranberry Almond Spinach Salad

I had this salad a family BBQ a few weeks ago and haven't stopped thinking about it since, so I had to make it for dinner last night.

(Unless I have a recipe for something, I usually just estimate the ingredients, hence this recipe calls for "1 Handfull" of a few ingriedients)

What you need:

1 Bag Baby Spinach

1 Handful of Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)

1 Handful of Slivered Almonds

1 Handful of Feta Cheese

Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing

How to make it:

Couldn't be easier, mix all these ingriendients together :)

You could also make this a meal by adding some grilled chicken on top.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Tandy Cake (r)

This is very much like the ones you can buy in the store, just better!!

Ingredients

1 cup milk

2 tbsp butter

2 cups flours

2 cups sugar

2 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Peanut butter

1 lb Hershey bar or 14 small bars

Directions

Scald and cool milk and butter. Add flours, sugar, baking powder, vanilla and eggs. Mix all together and put in greased and floured 15x10 cookie (jelly roll) pan. Bake at (either 15 or 35 minutes, my recipe smudged right there). Cook completely then spread top with a light layer of peanut butter. (Honestly do as much as you want!!) Refrigerate 1 hour. Melt Hershey Bar and pour on cold cake, spreading evenly. (You can also use more chocolate!!)Refrigerate until chocolate hardens. Return to room temperature, cut into squares. Enjoy!!

What I did this weekend was took out the cake part of the recipe, and used a box cake. Then spread the peanut butter and chocolate. I found the box cake was higher then when my mom makes the cake with the recipe. You can experiment with it. I had to let the peanut butter sit on the cake for a minute to make it spreadable.

This turns out so good and yummy, I sometimes have one for breakfast!

Blue Moon Whole Wheat Bread

I made this today. It is super simple and super good! Definitely enjoy a piece warm!


I used this to make it. But you can use your favorite, instead!


Pre heat oven to 375 degrees

Grease loaf pan.

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

1/4 cup Firmly packed brown sugar (I used dark brown)

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1 1/2 teaspoons Salt

2 Tablespoons Butter Melted

1 12oz bottle or can of beer (I used Blue Moon but you can use any that you'd like!)

Mix flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Pour all of beer in and mix until combined. Do not beat together.

Pour combined batter into greased loaf pan and spread out to fit into pan. Brush melted butter over loaf.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes in 375 degree oven.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes in loaf pan and then cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Fajita Quesadilla Lasagna

This was a creation inspired by leftovers and a Google Recipe Search. I had leftover fajita filling and tortillas from last week and I went in search of recipe to make.

I found this recipe: Quesadilla Lasagna.

I used it as my "inspiration".

Fajita filling- mine was grilled, marinated chicken, sauteed onions and peppers seasoned with fajita seasoning. About 3 cups worth.

I used 6 small tortillas. They came with my fajita kit (Old El Paso) earlier in the week. I also used two large tortillas.

1 cup of your favorite salsa

1 Small can of chili, or your own, without beans.

1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a 9x11 baking dish put about 1/4 cup of chili and 3 tablespoons of salsa on the bottom and spread around.

Mix remaining chili with ricotta cheese and set aside.

Place two small tortillas on bottom of pan next to one another. They will probably overlap a tiny bit. Place fajita filling on both tortillas and top with 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese. Place two more small tortillas on top of filling.

Take half of chili and ricotta mixture and spread on top of tortillas. Spread about 1/3 of remaining cheddar cheese on top of ricotta chili mixture. Pour 1/2 of remaining salsa on top of cheese.

Place two more small tortillas on top first layer, press down slightly. Put remaining fajita filling on top of tortillas. Top with more shredded cheddar cheese. Take first large tortilla and place on top of this layer, pushing edges of tortilla down along sides. Take second large tortilla and place over remainder of layer, these will overlap quite a bit, push edges down along sides and ends, as well.

Take remaining chili and ricotta mixture and spread over top of last layer. Pour remaining salsa on top of chili ricotta mixture and top with all remaining cheese, including mozzarella.

Place in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and lasagna is bubbly. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes then cut and serve like regular lasagna. This can be served with a yellow Spanish rice and a salad.

This can EASILY serve 4 adults, maybe 6 if the pieces are small.

It was REALLY good!!

I included a few pictures, but my food photography is not winning any awards any time soon!!

The Most Delicious Salad Ever-Take 2

I'm revisiting the salad!

LunaNik made the suggestion of toasting the almonds before adding them! I'm pretty sure they were toasted in my salad and I never mentioned it. Either way, Luna is totally right! Just throw the nuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat and toast for a few minutes. The toasting makes the nuts crunchier and it draws out the nutty oils that make them taste even better!

Last night my husband came home from softball and surprised me with The Salad. It was SO GOOD! It appeared last night they tossed the greens in some balsamic vinaigrette before assembling the salad. Definitely added more flavor! It wasn't a ton of extra dressing, just enough! And then topped with the remaining ingredients....again, so good!

If you're from my area feel free to email me and I'll let you know where you can get this fabulous salad. My husband even offered to go and work there so he could find out EXACTLY how to make it!!

The pictures are terrible. They were fast, I wanted to eat!! ENJOY!

The Most Delicious Salad Ever

My husband and I went out for dinner on Saturday night for our 5th anniversary. We tried a new restaurant- one we had never been to before. It was DELICIOUS! I had this salad as an appetizer and it was the best salad I've ever had! Seriously! My husband thought I was going to lick the plate!
I'm going to do my best to recreate it here....clearly, I need to start taking pictures of what I eat before I dig in!

This recipe will make one salad, obviously add more to make it a larger meal or appetizer!

Mixed Field Greens

1 tomato, quartered

1/4 cucumber peeled and cut into small chunks

5-8 pitted kalamata olives

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

Soft Goat cheese such as Chevre or any kind that you like. (Not the crumbles, get a good goat cheese!)

Raspberry Vinaigrette- this is the most important part, find one that is not too thin and tastes delicious!

Place field greens on plate, around the edge place tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. Top greens with almonds and then "fork" out little dollops of goat cheese on top! Salt and pepper to taste then top with dressing, not too much, not too little!

I'm sorry this is so vague but the combination of all these flavors was just PERFECT! I think I may have to go and get some take out salad, my mouth is watering!!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

This is something I got at Salad Works. Its really easy to make for lunch or light dinner.


lettuce - whatever kind you want
grilled chicken
cheddar cheese
tomatoes
onion
tortilla chips
buffalo sauce
(I used http://http://www.kensfoods.com/kf/products/productView.servlet?consumerProductId=53 )
blue cheese dressing

Put everything together. Crush the chips on top, add dressings and you have a very tasty salad!