Foodie Friday--Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

This is a second lemon chicken recipe that you will find on my blog page. It’s just as good and as healthy as the other one. This lemon sauce is wonderful on broccoli . . . in fact, you could use shrimp instead of chicken if desired.

I have no idea who to give credit to as I seem to have cut the page down to fit into my notebooks and cut off the contributor. My bad. Sorry.  

Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

2 Tbls. flour

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

12 oz. chicken, thinly sliced

2 tsp. olive oil

 

1 ½ cups fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth

 

2 tsp. minced garlic

 

2 ½ cups broccoli florets

 

2 tsp. lemon zest

 

2 Tbls. fresh parsley, chopped

 

1 Tbls. lemon juice 

Toss sliced chicken in flour, salt and pepper mixture.

Heat oil in large non-stick pan over medium-high heat (I have a wok). Add chicken and cook until lightly browned and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Remove to a plate.

Pour one cup broth and garlic into wok. Bring to boil, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add broccoli; cover and cook 1 minute.

Stir 1/2 Tbls flour, ¼ tsp salt into remaining ½ cup broth; add to skillet and bring to simmer over low heat.

Cover and cook until broccoli is crisp-tender and sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 ½ minutes.

Stir in chicken and lemon zest; heat through.

Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and parsley. Toss to coat.

 

Tips & Tricks:

·         This recipe cooks quickly, in about 10-15 minutes, so have EVERYTHING ready to go. I use tiny bowls, the kind you see on cooking shows, which keeps me from having to keep measuring stuff.

·         I used two large chicken breasts, which was almost 21 ounces, double the recipe. Adjust everything accordingly.

·         Gallon-sized Ziploc bags are wonderful to use when coating anything in a flour mixture.

·         I cooked the chicken in two batches since all the chicken would overcrowd the pan if I had done it at one time.

·         When pouring the one cup of broth into the very hot pan, be careful of the steam.

·         Two cloves of minced garlic worked well for the recipe. The cloves were of an average size.

·         Two heads of broccoli was enough to make a pile of florets.

·         One lemon provided enough zest and juice for this recipe.

·         I cooked wild rice, which was a nice side dish with this recipe. Time the rice to finish a little early. Set it aside, covered, until chicken is ready. This allows the water/broth to absorb into the thick hulls of the rice grains.

 

Enjoy!

 

Foodie Friday -- Lemon Chicken

As I posted on Facebook earlier this week, I made this lemon chicken recipe -- Cuisine magazine's name--Light Chicken Francese, but I knew the title would get lost in the "what the heck is this? file" so I went with the more traditional name-- that was wonderful! I ate my lemon chicken on a bed of spinach, while my hubby and kiddo enjoyed their chicken on a bed of angel hair pasta.

See? There are ways of cutting calories without cutting flavor AND getting in a serving or two of raw veggies!

This recipe is from Cuisine magazine. My sis-in-law very generously gave me a subscription for Christmas. This magazine is awesome in the fact that it doesn't have advertising. I hate flipping through a magazine looking for recipes only to discover 60-75% of the magazine is in the form of ads. This was why I stopped taking Martha Stewart years ago--it was before she even went to jail!

Back to the recipe, sometimes chicken can be a little boring, but add a little lemon and everything brightens up!

Lemon Chicken

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, pounded flat to 1/4 -inch thick, fat removed, 5-6 ounces each
1/2 cup flour, combined with 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper
2 egg whites whisked with Tbls. skim milk
4 tsp. olive oil, divided

Sauce: 
1 Tbls. olive oil
2 shallots, minced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbls. parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1 lemon, thinly sliced, optional

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Chicken: Dredge pounded chicken in flour mixture, shake off excess. Evenly coat cutlet in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Dredge cutlets again in flour mixture.

Heat 2 tsp. oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-heat. Cook half of the cutlets (2) until golden on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer cooked chicken onto baking sheet to keep warm in the oven; repeat with remaining 2 tsp. oil and cutlets.

Sauce: In same skillet heat 1 Tbls oil over medium, add shallots and cook until softened, 2-3 minutes. Add 1 Tbls. flour and cook 1 minute.
Whisk in broth, wine, and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-high and bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium and cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture reduces slightly and thickens.
Add butter to skillet, whisk to melt. Add 1 Tbls. parsley and season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper; add lemon slices to coat with sauce. Serve cutlets with sauce and lemon slices; garnish with chopped parsley.

Serve with angel hair pasta or spinach for a healthier alternative.

Tips &Tricks:

• If you've never made a recipe before and you're worried about how quickly everything will move along, then do what the cooks on the TV shows do--pre-measure, pre-chop, pre-everything! Have everything ready to toss into the pan. Yeah, you'll have lots of little dishes to wash, but it's easier than freaking out at the last minute because it's cooking too quickly for you. 
• Pound your chicken inside a resealable gallon freezer bag. Less mess. 
• I used shallots instead of 1/4 cup minced onion, as I didn't want a cut onion stinking up my fridge. The shallot is milder, plus it was easier to mince into tiny pieces
• I didn't want to open a bottle of white wine, so I used more chicken broth. 
• Lemons vary with the amounts of juice they give. It took one lemon to get 1/4 cup of juice. Sometimes it's more, sometimes less. 
• I don't buy chicken broth, or use bouillon cubes, I use Better than Bouillon chicken base, which must be refrigerated after opening. It lasts a long time, and all you need is hot water to reconstitute it. 
• I used dried parsley. It had been freeze-dried, which helped it keep its beautiful dark green color and flavor. 
• I used two pans for dredging chicken: one pan for the flour mixture, and one for the egg mixture. Use tongs to transfer chicken back and forth . . . the tongs get gummy, but not your fingers. 
• When the first side of the chicken cooked, I sprayed the floured, uncooked side with olive oil spray. 
• When you cook the chicken in two batches, place the first batch in the oven to keep warm while cooking the rest of the chicken and making the sauce. Place your dinner plates in there, too, to get them nice and warm. This way you aren't plating hot food on a cold plate, and your meal stays warmer longer. 

That's it for now. Enjoy!

Later, Peeps! 

Foodie Friday -- Lemon Fudge X2

I found a recipe for Key Lime fudge and I changed it around to make the lemon fudge. The shortbread crust is my idea. Both crusts tasted good, but they are both too thick and tough, so this is the reduced version of the recipe. The first lemon fudge was slightly too creamy and less ‘fudgy’ in texture, so I tried to use a boiled sugar type of fudge. The results were adequate, but the recipe has been tweaked to reflect the changes.

If you don’t want to make this, then by all means come by my house as I have plenty of fudge in the freezer! Or you could simply go online and buy someone else’s stuff.

Lemon Fudge with Shortbread Crust

Crust:

¾ cup flour
1/3 cups sugar
1 Tbls lemon zest
1 Tbls. lemon juice (one small lemon)
5 Tbls. butter.

Fudge:

20 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
¼ tsp. sea salt
3 Tbls. lemon zest
1/3 cup lemon juice (2-3 small lemons)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix first three ingredients together. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Cut butter into pieces and add to flour mixture. Blend with fingers until crust resembles a coarse meal. Press evenly into prepared 9 x 9 pan, lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Prepare filling

Finely chop white chocolate. Place chocolate in microwave safe bowl. Add sweetened condensed milk and salt. Microwave chocolate in 30-45 second increments, mixing after each interval, until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add zest and juice. Carefully blend in juice until incorporated. Pour fudge on top of cooled crust. Smooth top. Refrigerate 2-3 hours until firm.

Hints & suggestions:

·         Use food processor to chop chocolate

·         Zest lemon before juicing it

·         Use Baker’s (grocery store $3 for 6 oz) or Ghirardelli white chocolate (found at Sam’s Club 2.5 lbs for @$8) in 2012.

·         Set out at room temp for about 1 hour prior to cutting. Crust might be tough, but it does soften up.

Cooked Lemon Fudge with Shortbread Crust

Crust:

¾ cup flour
1/3 cups sugar
2 Tbls. corn starch
1 Tbls lemon zest
1 Tbls. lemon juice (one small lemon)
6 Tbls. butter.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix first four ingredients together. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Cut butter into pieces and add to flour mixture. Blend with fingers until crust resembles a coarse meal. Press evenly into prepared 9 x 9 pan, lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Fudge:

Zest from 4 lemons (1/2 cup zest and 2/3 cup juice)
3 cups sugar
½ cup heavy cream
20 oz. white chocolate, chopped fine

Place first 3 ingredients into medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Place candy thermometer into pan. Add white chocolate and stir until melted. Heat fudge until it reaches 240 degrees F. (firm ball stage). Remove from heat and pour into heat resistant glass bowl. Cool until temperature reaches 110-115 degrees, about 1 hour. Beat with mixer for 5-10 minutes or until mixture firms. Pour over cooled crust spread evenly. Chill in refrigerator 3-4 hours.

Hints & suggestions:

·         I never could get it to firm up and gave up about 10 minutes. Don't worry about it if it stays liquidy.

·         White chocolate isn’t really chocolate, it’s cocoa butter and it doesn’t always play by the same rules

·         White chocolate tends to be a little ‘softer’ than regular chocolate, resulting in a creamier and stickier fudge.

 

Enjoy, Peeps!

 

Foodie Friday -- Chicken Piccata

I love chicken piccata. I think it’s the lemon part of the equation, or maybe it’s the tiny bits of salty from the capers. I don’t know what it is, but if I want a special meal this is what I make. Well, or the hubs will make, because he’s made this recipe for my birthday, mother’s day, or just because day. The only problem with his cooking for me is that I become his sous chef. I prepare everything ahead of time, ready to go in their little glass cups, and then I have to do the clean up . . . and there is a lot to clean up!

Things to remember:

--this recipe cooks quickly. Have everything ready to go, including your side dishes, salad, pasta, etc.  

Chicken Piccata

4 chicken cutlets

2 Tbls. vegetable oil
¼ cup dry white wine
1 tsp. garlic, minced

½ cup chicken broth

2 Tbls. lemon juice
1 Tbls. capers, drained
2 Tbls. butter
Fresh lemon slices, thinly sliced

If using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then they need to be pounded thinly prior to cooking. Place chicken breast on plastic wrap, cover with another piece of plastic wrap, pound until thin cutlet. I’ve used a kitchen hammer to do this or bottom of a pot.

Season cutlets with salt and pepper, dust with flour, shaking off excess. Spray pan with non-stick spray, add vegetable oil, and heat over medium high.

Sauté cutlets 2-3 minutes on one side. Flip the cutlets and sauté the other side 1-2 minutes. Transfer cutlets to warm plate, and tent with foil.

Deglaze pan with wine and add minced garlic. Cook until garlic is slightly brown (do NOT burn) and liquid is nearly gone, about 2 minutes.

Add broth, lemon juice, and capers. Return cutlets to pan and cook on each side 1 minute. Transfer cutlets to warm plate.

Finish sauce with butter and lemon slices. Once butter melts, pour sauce over cutlets. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

 

Enjoy, Peeps!  

 

Foodie Friday -- Lemon Curd Cake--Redo

Today is my hubster's birthday!

EDIT note: I took pictures, but obviously the light wasn't nearly bright enough! Hopefully, I'll get better!
Happy Birthday, Sweetie!! I LOVE you! You are my sooooouuuul-mate. *snork* *inside joke*

In honor of his birthday, he requested Fleming's Chipolte Mac n' Cheese for dinner . . . and nothing else, except Lemon Curd Cake . . . which I am currently making.

So for today's Foodie Friday we are playing REDO Day. Here are those recipe links:

Fleming's Chipolte Mac n' Cheese

Lemon Curd Cake

Enjoy, Peeps!

FOODIE FRIDAY-- Lemon Krackles (cookies)

I have been busy baking over the last three days. I made a pumpkin cheesecake that I cooked as a custard and spooned in little plastic shot glasses over a gingersnap crust, and then placed a layer of sweetened sour cream on top. It still had too much of a bite, but when I nuked it in the microwave, my plastic cups started to collapse. I'll work on it in a week or so. I know enough about what I want to do to make it work.

Thursday, I wanted to make lemon cookies (new recipe) that I could glaze and draw a witch on a broom--it didn't work out. The cookies were lemon crackle cookies. Hmm. The cookies are for a Halloween party Friday night.

What to do?

I nixed the original idea, for now.

And decided to call the lemon cookies, Goblin Brains. Goblins aren't known for their intelligence and they are cowards, which explains the yellow brain . . . right? So then my thoughts morphed to Brownie Snot, Faerie Poop, Elf Guts and Banshee Heart. On Thursday, I made all the dough and started baking. Goblin (lemon), Faerie (pink and purple mint) and Brownie (chocolate, of course!) cookies are done. Today, I'll make Elf (snickerdoodle cinnamon) and Banshee (ginger spice).

Here's the recipe for Goblin Brains, okay, you can just call them Lemon Krackles.

Lemon Krackles

1 pkg. lemon cake mix

2 cups Cool Whip
1 large egg, beaten
½ cup powdered sugar, to roll cookie dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine dry cake mix, Cool Whip, and beaten egg in large bowl. Stir until it’s well mixed. It will be very sticky.
Drop by teaspoonful’s (I use a small cookie scoop) into bowl of powdered sugar and roll to coat the cookie dough. Place the coated cookie drops on greased cookie sheet, 12 cookies per sheet.
Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F., for 10 minutes. Let them cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes, before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Yield: 4-5 dozen. Store in airtight container.

Enjoy your Goblin Brains . . . er, Lemon Krackles!

Later, Peeps!

FOODIE FRIDAY-- Shrimp Scampi

I invented this recipe last Tuesday. My hubby was out of town (he’s not a shrimp fan) so it was just the kidlet and me. I wanted to make something with shrimp and lemon. After trolling the Weight Watchers online menus, Food.com and my own plethora of recipes, I invented this recipe.

And if I do say so myself, it’s a darn good recipe!

My daughter had hers mixed with fettuccine, while I spooned my shrimp scampi over a bed of fresh spinach. For those who need gluten-free or those simply wanting to cut calories, this is the recipe for you!

I used the salad-sized shrimp available in the Frozen food section of the story, since they are shelled, cleaned and cooked. I weighed them in their frozen state, so once thawed they probably weighed less.  Prepare all your ingredients first, since this recipe cooks quickly!

Shrimp Scampi

Two servings

6 oz. cooked shrimp

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, diced finely
1 tsp. fresh lemon thyme, chopped
1 tsp. olive oil
¾ cup chicken broth
Juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbls. cornstarch

Thaw shrimp according to directions, or use cleaned, fresh shrimp. Juice lemon and add to cornstarch for thickening. Put aside.

While pasta is cooking, heat oil in large skillet or wok, add garlic, shallot and lemon thyme. Cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp. Cook one minute. Add chicken broth, boil until reduced by half. Add lemon and cornstarch mixture. Stir until thickened. If it thickens before pasta is ready, add a little pasta water to thin.

When pasta is cooked, drain and add to shrimp mixture. Toss. Salt and pepper to taste.

To lighten:

Instead of pasta, lay a bed of 2 cups of fresh spinach on a plate and spoon ½ shrimp mixture over spinach.

This is a very, very low point recipe. Trust me.

Enjoy!

Later, Peeps!

FOODIE FRIDAY--Lemon Curd Layer Cake

And here’s another Bon Appetit recipe. I made this cake numerous times in 2008/2009 from family occasions to the hubby’s work parties.  This recipe must be made in parts as they must be chilled prior to building the cake. Please read the entire recipe prior to making. Allow two days.

A word of warning: this recipe takes a DOZEN EGGS.

Lemon Curd Layer Cake

LEMON CURD: will be used in frosting AND cake

2 1/3 cups sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

FROSTING:

¾ cup powdered sugar
2 cups chilled whipping cream

CAKE:

1 ½ cups cake flour
1 ½ cups sugar
2 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
4 large egg yolks
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup orange juice
1 ½ tsp grated lemon peel
8 large egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar

Lemon slices, halved, patted dry

FOR LEMON CURD: Combine 2 1/3 cups sugar and 2 tsp cornstarch in heavy medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in fresh lemon juice. Whisk in eggs and yolks; add butter. Whisk over medium heat until curd thickens and boils, about 12 minutes. Pour (through strainer to catch cooked bits of egg) into medium bowl. Refrigerate until cold, at least 5 hours (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated).

FOR FROSTING: Beat powdered sugar and 1 ¼ cups lemon curd in large bowl just until blended. Beat cream in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Fold cream into curd mixture in 3 additions. Chill until firm, at least 4 hours.

FOR CAKE: Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour three 9-inch-round cake pans with 1½-inch sides; line bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk 1½ cups cake flour, ½ cup sugar, 2 ½ tsp. baking powder and ¾ tsp. salt in large bowl. Add 4 yolks, ¼ cup vegetable oil, orange juice, lemon peel and ¾ cup lemon curd to bowl (do not stir). Combine whites and ¼ tsp. cream of tartar in another large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1 cup sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Using same beaters, beat yolk mixture until smooth. Fold whites into yolk mixture in 3 additions.

Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; peel off parchment. Cool cakes completely.

Spoon 1 cup frosting into pastry bag fitted with plain round tip; refrigerate bag. Place 1 cake layer on cake platter. Spread top of cake layer with 1/3 cup curd, then 1 cup frosting. Top with second cake layer; spread with 1/3 cup curd and 1 cup frosting. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Spread remaining curd over top of cake, leaving ¾-inch border around edge. Pipe chilled 1 cup frosting in bag in small mounds around edge of cake. (Cake can be prepared 1 day ahead; refrigerate). Place lemon slices between mounds of frosting. Slice cake and serve.

Enjoy!