Saturday, January 22, 2011

Chicken Picatta


















Recipe & picture from ourfamilyeats.com.


Ingredients:
-2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
-salt
-black pepper
-1.5 cups all purpose flour
-4 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 cup chicken broth (I used Swanson's reduced sodium broth)
-2 lemons
-2 tbsp capers, drained
-1/4 cup parsley, chopped
-3 tbsp unsalted butter


Rinse chicken breasts under cold water & pat dry.
Season both sides of chicken with salt & pepper.
Place a baking dish in the oven & preheat to 200 degrees.
Place flour in a bowl & set aside.
Slice one lemon lengthwise & trim off the ends of one half. Slice the lemon half into small slices & set aside.
Juice the other lemon half & the whole lemon into a small dish & set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Lightly coat chicken breasts in flour & shake the excess off of each piece.
Place chicken in skillet & cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
As each batch of chicken is cooked, transfer to oven dish to keep warm.

Once all the chicken is cooked, add 2 more tbsp oil to empty skillet & reduce heat to medium.
Add garlic & cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, careful not to let it brown.
Add chicken broth & lemon slices.
Cook on medium heat 3-4 minutes or until liquid has reduced by half.
Add lemon juice, capers & parsley.
Cook until liquid has reduced by 1/3.. about another 2 minutes.
Remove pan from heat, add butter & stir until it melts.

Pour sauce over chicken breasts, garnish with lemon slices & serve immediately.


Friday, January 21, 2011

Tortellini Alfredo





















Recipe & picture from http://joelens.blogspot.com :]


Ingredients:

-1.5 cups heavy cream
-2 tbsp unsalted butter
-Salt
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-9 oz. fresh tortellini (I used Bertolli's 3 cheese)
-3/4 cup (or more) shredded Kraft Parmesan/Romano/Asiago cheese
-1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
-1 cup frozen peas, slightly thawed
-7 or 8 pieces of bacon, chopped


Bring 1 cup of heavy cream & the butter to a simmer in a 3-4 quart sauce pan over medium heat.
Reduce heat to low & simmer until mixture reduces to 2/3 cup.. about 12-14 minutes.
Turn off the heat & stir in 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp black pepper.

While cream is reducing, bring 4.5 quarts water to a boil in a large pot.
Add 1 tbsp salt & tortellini to the boiling water & cook until just shy of al dente.
Set aside 1/4 cup pasta water & drain.

Return cream mixture to a simmer over medium high heat.
Reduce heat to low & add pasta, cheese, nutmeg, peas & bacon to the mixture.
Cook on low 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted, pasta is coated & cooked al dente.
Serve immediately.

:D So delicious.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

I love finding recipes with kale.

UM.

Next time I make shrimp & grits I'm definitely going to try this recipe:


DO. WANT.

Shrimp & Grits!!!






















Obviously I didn't take this picture. I haven't taken any of these pics. I haz no camera at the moment!

Anyway, believe it or not, last night I was my first attempt at making shrimp & grits. I'm a little ashamed that I've never made it before.
They were delicious & Bailey-approved! Very much so actually.

I got the original recipe from lanascooking.com.

Ingredients - Shrimp & Sauce:
- 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled & halved lengthwise
- 6-7 drops of Tabasco Sauce
- 4 slices chopped bacon
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 clove minced garlic (I added a little more because I love love love garlic)
- 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup chicken broth

Ingredients - Cheese Grits: (I may have made a little too much.. but oh well)
- 1 1/3 cup quick cooking (NOT INSTANT) grits. I used Jim Dandy.
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 5 1/3 cups water
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- a couple dashes of garlic powder
- 3-4 oz. grated sharp cheddar

GO!!!

Shrimp & Sauce
-Put shrimp in a bowl, squeeze the juice of one lemon over them & add tabasco sauce. Set aside.
-Chop onion, green pepper and garlic & set aside.
-Start on the grits! (recipe below)
-Cook chopped bacon in a large pan on medium heat until brown but not yet crisp.
-Add onion, green pepper & garlic. Cook about 3-4 minutes or until veggies are tender.
-Sprinkle flour over mixture & stir until coated. Let cook another 3-4 minutes.
-Stir in chicken broth & salt. Cook for a couple of minutes until sauce thickens.
-Add shrimp & cook until completely opaque. 3-4 minutes.


Grits
-In a saucepan bring water & salt to a boil. Add grits using a whisk or you will definitely get clumps.
-Cover pot & simmer on low heat. Cook according to package directions.
-When they are done, stir in pepper & garlic powder.
-Add grated cheddar & stir until well blended.


Ladle a generous amount of grits & cover with shrimp & sauce! Enjoy!

Let me know what yall think!