Lemon Chicken Risotto

My hubby likes chicken and rice, so I try to have different combinations for a little variety. This is a good one that doesn't really need a side dish since the veggies are already in it.

Recipe
Adapted from Pampered Chef

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat
Salt & pepper
1 T olive oil
1-3 lemons, halved (depending on how much lemon flavor you like - I use 3)
1 medium onion, diced
1-3 garlic cloved put through a garlic press (we like garlic so I use 3)
2 packages pre-cooked rice, 8.8 ounces each (we use Uncle Ben's Ready Rice in the Brown Rice flavor)
1 medium carrot, julienned or chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced
8 oz. (about 1/2 can) peeled, diced tomatoes, drained
2-2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup asiago cheese, grated (you can substitute parmesean)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced
2 ounces mascarpone cheese (optional)

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and lightly spray with nonstick spray. Arrange chicken and lemon halves, cut sides down, in the skillet. Cook 6-8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning once. Remove from skillet. Cool slightly and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Lightly spray same skillet with nonstick spray. Cook onion and garlic over medium heat until onions have softened.

Add rice and juice from carmelized lemons (be sure not to let the seeds in). Cook and stir 3-4 minutes.

Add carrot, zucchini, tomatoes and 2 cups of broth to skillet; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 4-5 minutes or until broth thickens slightly.


Stir in chicken and cook until heated through.

Remove from heat and add cheese and basil. Stir until cheese melts and sauce thickens (adjust consistency with additional broth if necessary). Stir in mascarpone, if desired.

Serve and eat.

Stir Fry

I don't know that a lot needs to be said about stir fry. It's pretty easy and very quick. It's a great tasting way to get those veggies into your diet, which is hard for my family sometimes. You just need to find yourself a good sauce (I love Trader Joe's General Tsao sauce). There are many to choose from in the asian isle at the grocery store, or you can make your own with a little soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic and chicken/beef broth. I also usually par-steam the harder veggies (like carrots) so they cook faster in the stir fry. If not, I try to add them first so they have a few more minutes of cooking time.

Recipe

Your choice of meat cut into bite sized pieces (we like beef or chicken).
Your choice of veggies that your family likes cut into bite size pieces (we like to combine 3-6, usually a combo of carrots, sugar snap peas, broccoli, mushrooms, peas, zucchini).
1-3 cloves of garlic, minced (we love garlic and use lots but use what your family likes)
2 T olive oil
1 bottle of your favorite sauce

Directions

Add olive oil to a large skillet or wok and swirl to coat bottom. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the meat and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add veggies and cook 3-5 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and veggies are cooked but still slightly crisp. Add sauce and cook until warmed through. Serve over brown rice.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Stir fry
Tuesday: PC Lemony Chicken Risotto
Wednsday: Tri Tip Hash, green beans
Thursday: Curry Chicken
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: Spaghetti & Meatballs
Sunday: Pork chops

Roasted carrots.

These carrots turn out quite yummy. Roasting them really brings out the natural sugars and they come out of the oven super-sweet. I’ve become a little addicted. And keep in mind that roasting them also shrinks them down, so they don’t seem like much when they are done.

Recipe
From Everyday Food

2 pounds carrots, thick pieces halved lengthwise
1/2 pound shallots, peeled and halved if large

1 T fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoons olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss carrots, shallots, rosemanry and oil; season with salt and pepper.

Bake until brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes, tossing once halfway through.

Pasta with broccoli rabe.

I saw this recipe a couple years ago and have actually been dying to try it, but I can never find broccoli rabe (also called rapini) in the store. They have it at a local market (Henry’s) every once in awhile but they are always out when I see the sign for it. Well, today I saw it at the store and had to pick it up. It’s a little bitter like other dark greens, but very tasty - like a cross between spinach and broccoli. I will definitely try this one again, maybe even adding some additional chicken, veggies or cherry tomatoes.

Recipe
From Martha Stewart

Salt and fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds broccoli rabe, rinsed, trimmed, and cut in 1-inch pieces
1 pound shaped pasta (orecchiette, bowties, rotini or your favorite)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 anchovy fillets (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil; Salt generously. Add broccoli rabe. Cook until leaves are wilted, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer broccoli rabe to colander; drain well. Return water to a boil, and add pasta; cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until soft, 30 seconds, being careful not to brown. Add anchovy fillets, if using, and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in broccoli rabe; cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add pasta to broccoli rabe mixture; toss to combine, adding reserved cooking water as desired. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Serve with Parmesan and lemon wedges.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Pasta with broccoli rabe
Wednesday: Fried chicken with roasted carrots
Thursday: Ham with garlic potatoes and salad
Friday: PC chicken with lemon and rice
Saturday: Tri-tip hash and roasted sweet potato fries
Sunday: Pasta & meatballs

Wheat bread.

This is a really yummy homemade wheat bread recipe. Everyone really enjoyed it with dinner tonight. It might even convince me to start making my own bread more often. The bread turned out really soft and light, which I always find hard to get with wheat bread. This is made to use with a dough hook and mixer and I’m told it’s hard to get the lightness if you try to kneed it by hand. It’s a pretty large recipe and will give you 4 loaves of bread. My mixer isn’t that large so I halved the recipe and got 2 nice loaves.

Recipe
From a friend, Edina

3 cups warm water (100-110 degrees)
1 T. sugar
3 T. yeast
2 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup molasses
2 T. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
6 cups white flour
8 cups wheat flour

Directions
Add warm water, sugar, and yeast to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. (You can add them directly into the mixer also. If you do that, beat until dissolved.)

In a saucepan with heat on low combine buttermilk, oil, honey, molasses and salt. Warm all the ingredients but not too hot (about 110 degrees). Remove from heat and add the baking soda. Mix until the soda makes the mixture froth.

Add the warm buttermilk mixture to the mixing bowl. Add 6 cups of white flour and 2 cups of wheat flour. Start the machine on low and mix for five minutes. Then add 6 cups wheat flour. (Add additional flour if the dough does not pull away from the sides of the bowl when mixing). Turn the machine on high speed for five minutes. After mixing, let the dough rise in the bowl for 15-20 minutes. Remove the dough onto a greased counter top/cookie sheet and punch down. Let the dough rest 8 minutes and then shape into 4 loaves and put into greased bread pans. Let the loaves rise in a warm place (or a slightly warmed oven) for 35 minutes. Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes. Remove from pans and place on baking rack to cool. Do not refrigerate - it dries them out.

Beef & Barley Veggie Soup

I don't have a lot of time to make homemade soups so when I found this one I was very excited. It has wonderful flavor and is full of delicious barley and veggies. It's become a favorite in our house (as are many things from Trader Joes). Maybe someday I'll try to figure out how to make a homemade version, but in the meantime....this is a quick and easy dinner.

Soy Salmon

Here is another marinade I like to use on salmon. We all love it, even the kids.

Recipe
From La Leche League

1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c brown or coarse ground mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 c parsley, chopped

Directions

Put all marinade ingredients in a ziptop bag and shake to combine. Place salmon in bag and marinate in fridge up to 4 hours. Bake (at 350) or grill until fish is cooked through.

Carrot & Zuccini scapece

This side dish needs to be started the night before so it can sit overnight. A little bit of planning, and it's actually a really easy recipe. The flavors are a bit strong if you have family members that are sensitive to that (the kids don't like this as much as I do).

Recipe
From Food Network

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 large zucchini (about 2 pounds), cut into 1/4-inch rounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
10 medium carrots (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Directions

Heat 1/3 cup oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the zucchini and fry until golden, about 2 minutes per side.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried zucchini to a baking dish. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle half of the garlic, basil, and mint leaves over the zucchini.

Add the remaining oil to the frying pan. Add the carrots to the hot oil and saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried carrots to the dish of zucchini.

Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the remaining garlic, basil, and mint leaves over.

Drizzle the vinegar over the vegetable mixture and toss gently to coat. Cool to room temperature. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Allow the vegetables to come to room temperature before serving. Transfer the scapece to a platter.

Skirt steak

We had a yummy steak, which is a relatively inexpensive cut. I marinated it for about 4 hours prior to grilling. The steak was about 1 pound and cooked in about 15 minutes. When marinating things, I often like to try new combinations, or just put together flavors we like. Tonight's marinade went as follows:

Recipe

1/2 low sodium soy sauce
1 T minced garlic
1 T coarsely ground mustard

Directions

Add marinade ingredients to a zip-top bag, seal and squish bag to combine ingredients. Add steak and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes t0 several hours, as desired. Remove steak from bag and discard leftover. Then grill, broil or cook your steak using your favorite method.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

These are a yummy twist on a potato side dish. They are soft and crispy at the same time.

Recipe
Adapted from Everyday Food

2 garlic cloves
coarse salt (like kosher) and fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 - 2 T olive oil
1 1/2 pounds small gold potatoes sliced 1/4 inch thick (you can use a mandolin to make the slicing easier if you have one)

Directions

Preheat oven to 475. Finely chop garlic and sprinkle with salt. Press the flat side of a chef's knife back and forth across garlic to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and add the thyme and olive oil and stir to combine. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss potatoes with garlic mixture. Bake until browned on underside, 20-25 minutes, mixing halfway through.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Soup & sandwiches
Tuesday: Skirt steak with garlic potatoes, salad
Wednsday: Pork chops and scapece
Thursday: Curry chicken
Friday: Salmon with broccoli, rolls
Saturday: Beef & barley vege soup, homemade wheat rolls
Sunday: Easter ham dinner