Lemon Chicken

So another food item that my boyfriend Ron and I recieved from his grandparents for Christmas were boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  I was psyched about this because they are just so versatile! They are one of the staple grocery list items that I buy pretty much every week. I know that some people aren't big fans because they can be boring and dry, but I really believe that if cooked well, and paired with yummy flavors, that they are the best!

Now, because I've made it a priority to clean out my freezer, fridge and pantry, I wanted to choose a recipe that I didn't have to buy a million ingredients for, and use what I had already. This Lemon Chicken recipe is something I had bookmarked forever ago that uses very few, and simple ingredients, but packs a really nice flavor punch.  I loved it!  It was pretty light, which is perfect for my healthy eating resolution, was really nice and simple for a weeknight dinner, and was super yummy!  If you like lemon, you'll like this chicken!

Lemon Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4-6 oz each)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp butter, divided
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup lemon juice
8 lemon slices
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
1. Place your chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, or in a gallon-size ziplock bag, and pound them until 1/4-inch thick.
2. Season both sides of your chicken with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.
3. Heat a large, nonstick skillet, over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tbsp butter, and olive oil to the pan.  When the butter is melted, add your chicken.  Cook about 2-3 minutes per side, until the chicken is browned, and cooked through. Remove chicken to a platter, and tent with foil.
4. Reduce heat to medium.  Add chicken broth and lemon juice. Cook 1-2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits, until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the lemon slices, and cook for 30 seconds more. Remove from heat, add the remaining butter and the parsley.  Stir together until the butter has melted.
5. Pour the sauce over the chicken breasts and garnish with the lemon slices, or do like I did and return the chicken to the pan, flipping the chicken over once to coat with the sauce, and place the lemon slices on top of the chicken.

Source: Southern Living and MyRecipes.com via Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Thai Chicken and Basil Stir-Fry

My garden has been really starting to pick up lately (*knock on wood*), overflowing (kinda) with parsley, cilantro, lettuce, and of course basil, which means that it's about high time that I start using some of my homegrown herbs/lettuce/(and maybe someday peppers).

After thinking about all the awesome stuff I want to do with basil- pesto, caprese salad, strawberry-basil ice cream, tomato-basil soup, et cetera, et cetera, I decided that to start out, a Thai-inspired chicken and basil stir-fry would be the way to go.  I've made a terrific riff on chicken-basil stir-fry before that uses shitake mushrooms (that I'll make sometime soon), but I wanted to try something a little different, and so I came across a few recipes through Tastespotting that sounded promising. They are actually very similar to the one that I've made in the past.  I love the both simplicity and complexity of this stir-fry.  On one hand you have only two main ingredients- chicken and basil- very simple, but then you have the flavorings which give your taste buds a workout- sweet and spicy at the same time.  It's really awesome!

Thai Chicken and Basil Stir-Fry

Source: Gimme Some Oven, originally adapted from Rasa Malaysia and No Recipes

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 "bird's eye" chilies, minced with seeds (or 2-3 jalapenos, if you can't find bird's eye chilies)

2 shallots (or 1 small onion), diced

10 oz. chicken (thigh or breast meat), ground or finely chopped

1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

1 big bunch Thai basil leaves, stems removed (or Sweet Italian Basil, if you can't find Thai Basil, or have regular basil growing in your garden!!)

2 dashes ground white pepper (or freshly ground black pepper, if you don't have white pepper)

Jasmine or Basmati rice for serving

Directions:

1. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add oil, garlic, and chilies, and stir-fry about a minute, until the garlic is fragrant.

2. Add shallots, and stir-fry until they have wilted, about a minute more. 

3. Add chicken, and stir-fry until cooked.  

4. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and pepper, and stir-fry until the liquid is pretty much evaporated.

5. Add basil, and cook until basil is wilted, but still bright green- 30 seconds or so.

Notes:

• I  couldn't find Bird's Eye chilies- even at Whole Foods :(  But the jalapenos still tasted delicious.  Feel free to adjust the amount of peppers to your individual taste.  I'd omit the seeds if you like milder food.
• Since I decided to make this recipe with my homegrown basil in mind, I used my Italian Basil rather than the Thai basil which has a slightly different flavor, and whose flavor is more stable when cooked, but I think that the Italian basil works just fine, and has great flavor in this dish.  I also decided to use some of my Red Rubin basil which has a slightly stronger flavor than the sweet basil, and worked awesomely in this dish as well!
• I served my stir-fry over Jasmine rice, but you could serve this in lettuce wraps if you wanted to, or even over pasta.

Turkey Burgers with Cheddar and Smoky Aioli

Now that it's unofficially summer, and I have a working outside grill, it seems the perfect time to start exploring the wonderful world of burgers.  Growing up, I admit that burgers were not my favorite meal in the world.... sorry mom and dad.  I have changed my opinion though now that I'm older, and have realized the burgers don't just have to mean a ground beef patty on a bun with ketchup and mustard.  I like the kicked up burgers with interesting toppings and lots of cheese far more than the plain burgers, and nowadays they are actually something I crave.  I am personally more a fan of turkey burgers, rather than beef, and so I decided that my first burger of the season would be one made with ground turkey.  After doing a little searching, I came upon a recipe for a grilled turkey burger with cheddar cheese and smoky aioli that originally appeared in the August 2009 issue of Bon Appetit.  This burger is seriously one of the best I've ever made- the toppings are awesome- cheddar cheese, grilled peppers and onions, and to top it off a delicious cumin and coriander spiced aioli. Really awesome!

Turkey Burgers with Cheddar and Smokey Aioli
Serves 4


Ingredients:
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing veggies
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
4 red onion slices, 1/3-inch thick
1 large or 2 small red bell peppers, quartered
4 slices cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
4 hamburger buns
arugula

Directions:
1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat, and toast cumin and coriander seeds about 1 1/2 minutes, or until aromatic and slightly darker in color.  Shake skillet often to move seeds around while toasting.  Once toasted, grind spices in a spice grinder, or crush in a mortar with pestle.  In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, 2 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, and spices.  Taste, and season with salt and pepper.
2. In a medium bowl gently mix turkey with 2 tbsp of the aioli (mayo mixture).  Make 4 3/4-inch patties with the turkey, and make a shallow indentation in the middle of each burger with your thumb.
3. Prepare your grill (should be about medium-high heat).  Sprinkle your burgers with salt and pepper on each side.  Brush the onions and peppers with olive oil.
4. Grill onions and peppers for about 4 minutes per side, until soft and charred.
5. Grill burgers 5 minutes on one side, then flip and grill 4 minutes.  Place cheese on burgers, and grill a minute more.
6. Assemble burgers with desired toppings- onions, peppers, arugula, and a nice dollop of aioli.

Source: culinarycovers.com, originally from Bon Appetit, August 2009

Notes:

• I highly recommend using a grill basket for the veggies in this recipe.  I unfortunately do not have one yet, and about 1/2 my onions ended up falling into the hot coals- luckily I had sliced more that the recipe calls for, and so the survivors were enough.
• I grilled the burger buns on the grill as well, so if you like toasted buns, place them on the grill while the burgers are cooking, checking them frequently.  Move them around a little too, if some are on a hot or less hot part of the grill, so that they are toasted evenly.
• I used white meat ground turkey for my burgers and they turned out perfectly fine, and not too dry, but the darker meat will turn out a juicier burger.  Dark meat is harder to find though- it's not carried at the Shop and Stop I go to, but is carried at Whole Foods.
• The aioli this makes was the best part in my opinion, and you'll probably have some left over after you put it on your burgers.  It makes a great dipping sauce for fries, so I'd say that's a good way to use any extra.

Buffalo Chicken Melts

There is a wonderful restaurant near where I live, Mortensen's.  It's a casual establishment that started out as a dairy, then started making  ice cream, and this eventually morphed into a casual restaurant where you seat yourself and only cash is accepted.  They still sell the ice cream they make themselves, with about a bazillion awesome flavors, and the best Ice Cream Sundae known to man- the Peanut Butter Brownie Supreme- a couple (2,3,4- who's counting) huge scoops of whatever ice cream you want (chocolate is my pick), with peanut butter sauce, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry, all on top of a warm brownie.  It is divine.  Someday, when I get an ice cream machine I will attempt to recreate this masterpiece (or I suppose I could just buy chocolate ice cream at the store), but for now I'll stick to the food.  Whenever I go, my food of choice is the buffalo chicken melt.  It's messy but oh so delicious, and so after getting this sandwich too many times to count, I thought to myself... hmmmm.... this is something that should be relatively easy to recreate.  Grilled or sauteed chicken breast with buffalo sauce with Swiss cheese melted on it, on toasted sourdough bread... with lettuce, tomato and mayo, and served with a side of blue cheese dressing.  They serve it with fries on the side- some of the most delicious fries I've ever had.

This is a messy dinner, but I think that's okay sometimes!  Just keep lots of napkins handy.

Buffalo Chicken Melts
Serves 1- infinity (but the hot sauce mixture is good for about 4 sandwiches)


Ingredients:
For chicken:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded thin, or chicken cutlets
Olive Oil
Paprika
Chili Powder
Salt
Pepper
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot (or other cayenne pepper sauce)

For Sandwiches:
Swiss Cheese
Sourdough bread, sliced
Lettuce
Tomato
Mayonnaise
Blue Cheese Dressing

Directions:
1. Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet (you can use nonstick if you have a working one) over medium-high heat.
2. Season both sides of chicken with salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder.
3. Add chicken to skillet.  Cook about 3 minutes on each side, until chicken is done.
4.  Melt butter in microwave (30-45 seconds until melted, but has not exploded- keep a close eye on it!).  Add hot sauce to butter and mix.  It may congeal a little if the butter is way hot and the hot sauce is cold.  That's okay, just put it in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds, and stir.
5. Add the chicken to the hot sauce mixture, and turn to coat.
6. Heat a nonstick skillet, or griddle over medium heat.
7. Butter each side of your bread, and place one piece butter side down.  Place chicken on bread and then Swiss cheese on top of the chicken.  Cook as you would a grilled cheese sandwich- a couple minutes or so, until brown on one side, then flip and brown the other side.
8. Repeat as many times as you want, depending on how many sandwiches you are making.  On a big griddle you could cook more than one at a time.
9. When done, add desired toppings- lettuce, tomato, mayo, and serve the blue cheese dressing on the side to dip the sandwich to.  Or you could do as my boyfriend does and replace the mayo with blue cheese dressing instead of dipping.

Source: Inspired by Mortensen's Restaurant in Newington, CT, and slightly adapted from Rachael Ray's Hot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Notes:

• So my sandwiches were a little plain as my lettuce went bad, and I used my tomatoes to make Mexican rice, but sometimes being plain is okay, and these sandwiches were more than okay.  My boyfriend, Ron, doesn't like to put any veggies on his sandwich anyway- he says he's through fooling himself about trying to be healthy.
• When seasoning the chicken you can leave out the paprika and chili powder if you want.  It's not necessary as the hot sauce gives plenty of flavor, but I like it because it just kicks the chicken up another notch.
• Make sure you watch your sandwiches as they are grilling closely.  If you walk away and forget about them, they may burn.... not like I know from experience or anything.  P.S. They can be messy to flip, but you'll get the hang of it.
• I think fries on the side are a perfect accompaniment.  I served these with Chipotle sweet potato fries because they are my personal favorite.
• I've been cooking these in a pan because I like the flavor that the toasted butter gives, but you can certainly pop them in the oven once the sandwiches are assembled (minus the veggies and mayo), to melt the cheese instead, and I'm sure they'd be less messy.  If you do this, I'd suggest toasting the bread first, then putting on the chicken and Swiss cheese, and then just putting them in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melty, and then assembling them.  

Green Chile Chicken Soft Tacos

Last Friday I purchased a cookbook I've been eyeing for a while (thank you Borders for the 40% off coupon!). I've been wanting one of Rick Bayless' cookbooks since the beginning of time and after scanning the titles I decided to go with Mexican Everyday.  I've heard it mentioned here and there, and since I don't always have hours and hours to do prep work on a dinner, this cookbook seemed perfect for me, as it contains recipes that one can complete in little time, which is perfect for me since most of the time I get home from work between 6 and 6:30.  Last Saturday, the day after my purchase, I was already cooking one of his meals- a Red Chile Chicken Enchilada (I will definitely be making it again, so you can expect it on here at some point), and it was excellent!  Today I thought I'd go with another of the recipes from this cookbook, and I decided on the Green Chile Chicken Soft Tacos.

I make a lot of chicken because it is the meat I am most comfortable cooking and it is so versatile.... and it was on sale for $1.99/pound this week, which didn't hurt!!!  Yep, I'll be making a lot of chicken this week it seems.  The chiles used in this recipe are poblanos, but he says that pretty much any large fleshy pepper will work (red peppers and Anaheims are the others he mentions).  I served these with a Mexican rice recipe that I found on Annie's Eats a few weeks ago that is just amazing, and I'll post up sometime, and canned black beans (which I added some cumin, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder to).  It was a seriously delicious and filling meal, but so good that I just wanted to keep eating until my stomach burst or I went into a food coma.

Green Chile Chicken Soft Tacos
Tacos de Pollo al Chile Poblano
Serves 4


Ingredients:
2 large fresh poblano chiles
2 tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil (divided use)
1 large white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 pound (3 medium-large) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press
12 warm corn tortillas, store-bought or homemade
About 3/4 cup Roasted Tomatillo Salsa or Guacamole, or bottled sauce or hot sauce, for serving

Directions:
1.  Roast the poblano chiles, either over an open flame, or under the broiler.  If roasting them over and open flame, turn them often, until blackened all over.  It'll take about 5 minutes.  If roasting them under the broiler, adjust to the highest rack.  Place them on a baking sheet (I lined mine with foil), roast about 5 minutes on each side.  When done, put the peppers in a bowl, and cover it with a kitchen towel, or plastic wrap.  Leave them in the bowl until cool enough to handle.
2.  Turn the oven on to its lowest setting- on my oven it is 200 degrees.  Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook until golden, stirring often.  This'll take about 4-5 minutes.  Put them in a heatproof serving dish, and put this into the oven to keep warm.  Set the skillet aside until ready to cook the chicken.
3. First though remove the blackened skin from the chiles, remove the stems and seeds.  Rinse them under water to remove any remaining skin and seeds.  Cut them into 1/4 strips and add them to the onions in the oven.  Taste the mixture and season with salt if needed, it'll probably be about 1 tsp.  Put the dish back in the oven.
4. Put the skillet back on the stove on medium heat.  Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil.  Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper, and place the chicken in the hot pan.  Brown one side (about 5 minutes), turn over and cook the other side until done (about 4 minutes).  Add lime juice and garlic to the pan.  Turn the chicken in the mixture for 1-2 minutes until the lime juice has reduced to a glaze and the chicken is coated.
5. Cut the chicken in 1/4 inch strips and combine with the onions and peppers.  Taste and season if desired.
6. Serve with warm corn tortillas, salsa, guacamole and/or hot sauce.

Source: Mexican Everyday


Notes:

• I used store-bought corn tortillas this time.  I've never made my own, and I'm a bit intimidated to be honest, but I'll give them a try at some point.  To heat them, you can sandwich them between dampened paper towels or clean kitchen towels and microwave for about 45 seconds to a minute.  Rick Bayless suggests a different method which involves dribbling some water on a kitchen towel, wrapping the tortillas inside, slipping them inside a microwavable plastic bag, microwaving on high for 4 minutes at 50% power, and then letting them steam for 2-3 minutes, and I'm sure that works great, but I'm a bit more lazy than that.  
• My chicken took quite a bit longer to cook than this recipe says.  It's probably because my chicken breasts were larger than medium-large.  In any case, just make sure the chicken is actually cooked before adding the garlic-lime mixture. 
• I blackened my poblanos under the broiler and I didn't really feel it necessary to keep turning them.  I just did 5 minutes on one side, flipped them over, and broiled 5 minutes on the other side.
• Bayless suggests either serving this with roasted tomatillo salsa or guacamole, but I decided to go crazy and make both.  It was an excellent combination with both the spiciness of the salsa, and the creaminess of the guacamole.  Don't worry, those recipes will follow these notes!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatillos (about 8 ounces total), husked, rinsed and halved

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

Hot green chiles to taste (i.e. 2 serranos or 1 jalapeno), stemmed and roughly chopped

About 1/3 cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro

1/2 small white onion, finely chopped

Salt

Directions:

1. Set a large nonstick skillet, or foil-lined sticky skillet (what's the opposite of nonstick?) over medium-high heat.  Place the tomatillos and garlic in the skillet, cut side down.  Cook about 3-4 minutes, until the tomatillos are brown, then flip and cook the other side about 3-4 minutes (flip the garlic too).  The tomatillos will be soft.
2.  Put the browned tomatillos and garlic in a blender or food processor.  Let them cool to room temperature, and then add the chiles, cilantro and a 1/4 cup of water.  Blend until coursely chopped, or to whatever consistancy you like (mine was a bit more on the finely chopped side).  Pour into a bowl for serving.  If it is too thick, you can add a little more water.
3.  Rinse the chopped onion under cold water.  Stir into the salsa.  Taste and season if necessary (about 1/2 tsp).    

Notes:

• I used 2 serrano chiles in mine, and I thought the spiciness was just perfect.  It did tone down a little when paired with the tacos.
• Bayless suggests that if the salsa is not going to be served immediately, to wait to add the cilantro until it is about to be served, as well as the onion.  If you are not adding the cilantro in at the blending stage, it should be finely chopped, rather than coursely.
• My salsa had no issue with being to thick, in fact I was concerned that it was too watery at first, but once I added the onion and cilantro, it ended up being just perfect.

Source: Mexican Everyday

Guacamole

Makes about 3/4 of a cup

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe avocado

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press

Salt

About 1 tablespoon lime juice

Directions

Cut the avocado in half, twist the halves apart, and remove the pit.  Scoop out the avocado flesh with a spoon into a small-medium bowl.  Mash up the avocado.  I used a fork, but a potato masher would also work.  Add the garlic, salt and lime juice.  Taste and add more salt or lime juice as desired.

Notes:

• I halved Bayless's recipe and it was enough for the two of us (my boyfriend and I), especially because we paired it with the salsa as well, but you can certainly double the quantities and make a normal sized recipe.  If doubling it, 1 clove of garlic will still be enough, unless you like your guacamole extra garlicy.  Also the lime juice quantity may remain the same, depending on your personal taste.
• Bayless has 3 versions of guacamole in his cookbook- simple, herby, or luxurious.  This adaptation is a combination of simple and herby.

Source: adapted from Mexican Everyday

Chicken and Red Pepper Stir-Fry

After a few days worth of cheesy meals (which don't get me wrong, were super delicious), I decided somewhat lighter far was in order.  Stir-frys always seem a good bet to me in that respect and so I chose a simple one that I've made a few times in the past, where the main ingredients consist only of chicken, red peppers, and onions.  Until fairly recently, I was under the impression that stir-frys needed to be chock full of veggies- the more the better- but for some reason, despite the over-abundance of ingredients, they always came out bland.  One fateful day though, as I was perusing the interwebs looking for something I could cook with ingredients on hand, I came upon a Thai-inspired chicken and basil stir-fry- one where only the chicken and basil were the star ingredients (and the delectable sauce that is), and that was a huge success.  After that I had a revelation- simple sometimes equals better.  Since then, I've gone for simple stir-frys, and I haven't turned back yet.

This recipe comes from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast which I only received a few months ago for Christmas, but have so far not been steered wrong by.  The recipe is for Stir-Fry Wraps, where they suggest serving the Stir-Fry in leaves of Boston lettuce.  Now, this sounds delicious, but last night I decided to go with a more standard side dish of Jasmine rice.  Maybe next time though.... They also suggest trying it served in tortillas, which sounds excellent as well.

Chicken and Red Pepper Stir-Fry

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced

Course salt and feshly ground pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 large red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

3 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari

3 tbsp. rice vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp. water

Rice for serving. ( I used Jasmine rice, but you can use Basmati rice, or really whatever type suits your fancy)

Directions:

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp. of the oil over high heat.  Add half the chicken; cook, stirring constantly, until opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes.  Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

2. Add the remaining tbsp. oil to the pan, along with the onion and bell pepper.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the onion is tender and golden, about 4 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).

3. Reduce the heat to medium; add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes to the pan; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. 

4. Stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch mixture; remove from the heat.  Add the chicken and any accumulated juices; toss to coat.

5. Serve over rice. (Or in Boston lettuce leaves, or tortillas!)

Source: Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

Notes: I, unfortunately, do not have a large nonstick skillet (or I suppose I should say I have one, but it is no longer nonstick), so I used my regular large stainless steel saute pan, and lo and behold the chicken stuck, but hey, it was still delicious.  I actually cooked the chicken and veggies at a medium high-heat because my burners tend to run hot (and I've been afraid of cooking with oil and high heat ever since the time I almost lit my kitchen on fire when some hot oil burst into flames).  The cooking times remained the same though on the lower heat- and I did end up having to turn the heat down when cooking the peppers and onions.  I also didn't seem to have quite a pound and a half of chicken last night, so I added extra bell pepper, and there was still definitely enough.