Lemon Chicken

The other night I asked the hubby what he wanted for dinner.  Its always a loaded question.  He always comes up with something way off in left field.  This specific night when I asked he first said, "well, what are my choices" and so I started naming off a few things I knew I had all the ingredients in the house to make.  Then he says "I want lemon chicken!"  Lemon chicken?  Where did that come from?  I checked my produce basket (I love my produce basket!  See picture below)  and I actually had several lemons that needed to be used so I started throwing things together to make some lemon chicken.  No recipe, just my imagination, I hope I can remember what I put in it since I made it 4 days ago!

Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders

salt and pepper to taste

small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (14 oz) can chicken broth

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1 1/2 teaspoon corn starch

Cooked rice

Directions

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes, until soft, about 3 minutes.  Salt and pepper both sides of chicken tenders.  Add chicken to onions and garlic, cook for about 3-4 minutes per side.

2. Remove chicken from pan, add most of the chicken broth (reserve about 1/4 cup to mix with the corn starch).  Bring broth to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix reserved broth and corn starch in a small bowl.  Add starch mixture to the simmering broth and allow to thicken.  

3. Add chicken back into pan with lemon juice and zest, cook until chicken is completely cook through.

4. Serve chicken over rice with lemon gravy.

Pork Saltimbocca w/Polenta

Honestly I have no idea what Saltimbocca is.  I was looking through my Cooking Light cookbook one day to try and find some new recipes to make and I saw the picture of Pork Saltimbocca and it looked really yummy so I made it.  My family (the husband and my 13 yo son) don't really like it when I try something new like this.  Their comments were "what's sage?  what's prosciutto?  what's polenta?"  LOL I guess until lately they have been pretty stuck in their comfort zone.  In the end I thought it was really tasty, both my husband and son said it was different but good.

Pork Saltimbocca w/Polenta
adapted from Cooking Light Pork Saltimbocca

Ingredients
Pork:
6 boneless center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed
6 very thing slices prosciutto
6 large fresh sage leaves
1/3 cup shredded sharp provolone cheese (recipe says fontina but I didn't have any)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh sage

Polenta:
2 cups milk
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 cup instant polenta
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. To prepare the pork, place each chop between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, pound to 1/4 inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.  Arrange 1 prosciutto slice over each chop, top with 1 sage leaf and about 1 tablespoon cheese.  Fold chops in half to sandwich filling, secure with wooden picks.  Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with pepper and salt.  Place flour in a shallow dish, dredge stuffed chops in flour.
2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skilled over medium-high heat.  Add chops, cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.  Remove chops from pan, cover and set aside.
3. Add chicken broth to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits, cook until reduced by half, about 8 minutes.  Stir in 1 tablespoon sliced sage.  Reduce heat to medium. Return chops to pan, cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, turning once.  Removed wooden picks from chops.
4. To prepare polenta, bring milk and chicken broth to boil.  Gradually stir in polenta and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 2 minutes.
5. To serve arrange 1/2 cup polenta on plate, top with a chop and drizzle with sauce.

Chicken Parmesan w/orzo

I don't make chicken parmesan very often.  I'm not really sure why.  It's just not one of those dishes that come to me when I'm in the kitchen opening and closing my refrigerator and pantry trying desperately to find something to make for dinner.  You know you do it too!  I'll open the refrigerator, glance, close it, open the freezer, glance, close it, walk to the pantry, open the doors, glance, close it and start all over again.  I'll do this 3 or 4 times before I finally figure out something to make!  This chicken parmesan recipe is pretty quick to get it together and its tasty.  I hope you enjoy it like I do.

Chicken Parmesan
adapted from Cooking Light's Herbed Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (of course I use more, I'm a cheese addict!)
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 pound chicken tenders
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups your favorite jarred tomato-basil pasta sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup shredded provolone cheese (I had provolone slices that I used instead of shredding it)
Cooked Orzo (follow package directions)


Directions
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, basil, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish.  Place egg whites in a shallow dish.  Dip each chicken tender in egg whites, dredge in breadcrumb mixture.  Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken, cook 3 minutes on each side or until done.  Set aside.
3. Combine 1/8 teaspoon salt, pasta sauce, vinegar, and pepper in a microwave-safe bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap, vent.  Microwave mixture at High 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Pour over chicken in pan.  Sprinkle evenly with remaining Parmesan and provolone cheese.  Wrap handle of pan with foil, broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts.
4. Serve over cooked orzo.

Black Bean Enchiladas

A little while ago I was on a kick to not eat any meat.  I read the book "Skinny Bitch" and it totally turned me off of animal products for about 2 months.  LOL, until I forgot what I read and started eating meat again.  During that time I was looking for recipes without meat and found one called White Bean Enchiladas from Cooking Light.  This recipe is a variation of that.  Just as a quick note, I almost forgot to take a picture of the dish!  Please forgive me for the not so appealing picture.

Black Bean Enchiladas
adapted by Cooking Light White Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons sour cream
1 16oz can white beans, rinsed and drained
1 16oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (I'll be honest, I use about twice this much!)
1 4oz can chopped green chiles
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1 10oz can enchilada sauce (I only had green on hand but the first time I made it I used red and liked it better with red)
1/4 cup water
6 corn tortillas
Cooking Spray

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine sour cream and beans in a food processor; process until almost smooth.  Stir in 1/4 cup cheese, chiles, onions, cilantro, and cumin.
3. Combine 1/3 cup enchilada sauce and 1/4 cup water in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat.  Dip 1 tortilla in sauce mixture to soften, and transfer to a plate.  Spread 1/4 cup bean mixture down center of tortilla, roll up.  Place roll, seam side down, in a 11 x 7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas and bean mixture.  Add remaining sauce to pan, cook 1 minute.  Spoon over enchiladas, sprinkle with cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  Sprinkle with cilantro if desired.

Chicken Broccoli Poppy Seed Casserole

My husband has been working up in North Dakota for the last couple of months.  He went up there the end of September and just came home November 16th.  He was home with us for 2 weeks.  The living arrangements aren't the best up there for him.  He is living in a motel and eating out (usually fast food) for most meals.  So his last night home I asked him what he wanted me to make him for his last home cooked meal.  His answer "Chicken Broccoli Poppy Seed Casserole."  Out of all the things I make this is what he wanted to eat...its no where near my favorite meal but he loves casseroles.  So, since he loves the dish so much I figured I better post it in case there are other huge casserole lovers out there.

Chicken Broccoli Poppy Seed Casserole

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1 cup uncooked rice, cooked and cooled
14 oz can cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
frozen broccoli
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 sleeve of Ritz crackers

Directions
1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Spray a 13X9 casserole pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl, pour contents into casserole pan.
3. In a ziploc bag break up the crackers into small pieces, pour melted (and slightly cooled) butter into ziploc bag and toss to coat all crackers with the butter.  Sprinkle buttered cracker crumbs on top of casserole mixture.  Bake 30-40 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and cracker crust is slightly browned.

Turkey and Cranberry Pizza

Yup...you heard me correctly...turkey pizza.  And it was really good!  If you can believe it I'm almost out of leftover turkey!  Thank goodness because I'm starting to get sick of it and its only the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Now I'm not really sure what the definition of a pizza is...does it have to have sauce?  Does it have to be on dough?  Hold on a sec while I look it up.  Oh, ok here is the definition...

pizza: a flat, open-faced baked pie of Italian origin, consisting of a thin layer ofbread dough topped with spiced tomato sauce and cheese, often garnishedwith anchovies, sausage slices, mushrooms, etc.


Ut oh...based on that definition I better change the name of my dish.  Nah!  I like to think that I had a turkey pizza, even if I didn't have the right ingredients.

Turkey Pizza


Ingredients
1 8" whole wheat tortilla
2 1/2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons soft goat cheese (or cream cheese)
2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup chopped turkey

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place tortilla on baking sheet and place in preheated oven, 4 minutes per side to get crispy.
2. Put cranberry sauce on toasted tortilla and spread around, top with turkey, crumbled goat cheese and mozzarella.
3. Place tortilla pizza back in oven until turkey is warm and cheese is melted, about 8-10 minutes.

Turkey Pot Pies

Of course we had tons of turkey leftover from Thanksgiving.  That's what happens when you cook two 12lb turkeys for 6 people!  I've always wanted to try my hand at making my own pot pies but never got around to it so last night I finally did it.  And I'm not bragging or anything but they were YUMMY!!!!!  My hubby really liked them, of course he likes most of the stuff I make :)

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients
Note:  These are estimations because I didn't measure anything as I was making the pies! 
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, diced
3/4 cup diced celery
2 medium carrots, diced
3 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart chicken broth/stock
10.5 oz can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
3 cups diced turkey
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 pre-made pie crusts

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large skillet sauté onions, celery, carrots and potatoes in butter until tender, approximately 7-9 minutes.
2. Add flour and salt and pepper, cook for a minute or two to get the flour taste cooked off.  After two minutes add approximately 2 cups of the chicken stock to the pan.  Let simmer for 5 minutes until its starts to thicken.  Once the mixture is thick add can of soup, turkey and peas.
3. In individual pie pans put a piece of pie crust on the bottom, fill with turkey mixture and top with more pie crust.  Make sure to cut a slit in the top of the pie crust so the steam has a place to escape while baking.
4. Bake pies for approximately 30 minutes, or until pie crust on top is golden brown.








Note:  I only had 2 pie crusts when I went to make these (1 box has 2 crusts in it) so when I ran out of pie crust for the tops of my pies I had to improvise.  I dug through my refrigerator trying to find something to use for the top of my pies.  I came across a can of crescent rolls that I had leftover from Thanksgiving.  I popped them open, took two of the triangles, rolled them together and put it on top of the pie.  If you do this, like I did, make sure you either turn down the temperature of your oven and/or reduce the cooking time.  My pies with the crescent rolls on top were down within 20 minutes.  I tried both pies and I preferred the ones with the crescent rolls on top, they were flakier.

Open-Faced Enchiladas

These enchiladas have been in my family since I was born, or at least as long as I can remember.  My mom learned how to make them from my Grandma Riley (her mother-in-law).  I've changed the recipe a little because, honestly, when I moved out of the house I wanted to make them and couldn't remember exactly what went into them.

Open-Faced Enchiladas

6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 lb ground beef

salt & pepper to taste

1 teaspoon cumin

1 4.5oz can diced green chilies

1 7 oz can diced olives

1 cup salsa (I used Pace)

10 oz can red enchilada sauce

12 corn tortillas

mixed shredded cheese

sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Sautee diced onions in oil for a few minutes to make them soft.  Add ground beef and brown.  Add salt, pepper and cumin.

2. Once beef is browned add green chilies, olives and salsa.  Warm through.

3. In a separate small pan warm the enchilada sauce.  Place one tortilla at a time in the sauce until soft, approximately 30 seconds.  (Personally I like to fry my tortillas to a crisp before I put them in the sauce but its a personal preference).

4. To stack the enchiladas place one tortilla on a plate, top with 1/2 cup of meat mixture and shredded cheese and then repeat with another tortilla, 1/2 cup of meat mixture and more cheese.  Top with a dollop of sour cream if you like.