Chicken Piccata with Angel Hair Pesto

This meal was ... soooo.... good!  It was awesome in all respects.  Easy to make, cooks quickly, and the flavors are outstanding and go very nicely together.  I used to make this all the time and just recently found it again. I served this chicken piccata with pesto angel hair pasta and steamed broccoli.  The pesto angel hair is a great complement to this dish.  If you like fresh lemon, tender chicken, and a quick dinner, then this classic Italian dish will fit perfectly on your dinner plate.

Source: Adapted from Cuisine at Home

Ingredients

1 package of thinly sliced chicken (cutlets)

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2-3 tbsp capers, drained

salt

pepper

flour, to cover top of plate

Directions

1. Rinse and trim cutlets.

2. Season cutlets liberally with salt and pepper.

3. After seasoning, dust cutlets with flour.  Coat one side, then flip over to coat the other.

4. Pour olive oil into saute pan, heat over medium-high.

5. Saute cutlets 2-3 minutes on one side, flip the cutlets over and saute for 2-3 minutes with the pan covered.

6. Transfer cutlets to a warm plate.

7. Deglaze pan with wine and add minced garlic.  Cook until garlic is slightly brown, and liquid is nearly gone, about 2 minutes.

8. Add both, lemon juice, and capers.  Return cutlets to pan and cook on each side for 2 minutes. I usually cook it for a little longer while I make the side dishes.

9. SERVE!  This goes really well with broccoli, asparagus, and pesto angel hair. I used Classico pesto sauce, which we really liked and would recommend.

Teriyaki Apricot Glazed Pork

This is a really easy, delicious recipe to use on pork tenderloin.  My mom gave me this recipe, and her and my grandma have used it for years.  Its always a crowd-pleaser and one of my husband's favorites! I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Ingredients

2-2.5 lb pork tenderloin

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup teriyaki marinade or sauce

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1 squirt of dijon or spicy mustard

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Measure out all ingredients, put into small bowl, and whisk until mixed.

3. Put pork tenderloin into 5x9 (approx.) casserole.

4. Pour mixture over pork tenderloin.

5. Bake in oven, covered, for an hour and a half.  For the last 30 minutes, bake uncovered.  Baste throughout cooking.

Spicy Shredded Pork

My husband really loved this meal! The pork was very tasty and the flour tortillas, lime, and sour cream add a really nice Mexican style touch.

Spicy Shredded Pork

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

4 - 7 lb pork shoulder
1 onion
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 -2 tbsp salt
pepper
1 -2 tbsp olive oil
2 -3 tbsp white wine vinegar 
flour tortillas

lime wedges

Directions

1. Rinse the pork shoulder and pat dry. Place pork in a roasting pan. Combine all marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth  (I used a blender). 

2. Pour over pork shoulder and rub it in thoroughly. Add about 1-2 cups of water. Cover tightly and roast pork at 300 for several hours until pork is fork tender.  After 3 hours, remove cover and cook at 450 for an additional 15-20 minutes.

3. Shred with two forks. Pour the juices over the meat, sprinkle lime juice on top, and serve with warm tortillas, sour cream, salsa, or anything else you like.

Crispy Yogurt Chicken

Crispy Yogurt Chicken

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

Chicken - drumsticks, tenderloins, chicken breasts, etc.
2 c Plain, Unflavored Yogurt
2 cloves minced garlic
Handful, minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Juice from 1 lemon
Kosher Salt
Butter (optional)
Panko Bread Crumbs

Directions

1. Mix yogurt, garlic, parsley and lemon juice until combined. Thoroughly rinse chicken and salt well.

2.  Into another bowl, pour 2 c of bread crumbs - you may need more bread crumbs as you go along). Add salt and pepper.

3. Grease a small-medium baking dish and set aside. 

4. Begin by dipping chicken into yogurt mixture, then into the bread crumbs, making sure to evenly coat each piece. Lay chicken in baking dish, (place a tbsp of butter on each piece - optional), then cover with foil. 

5. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, then remove foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes or  until the pieces are golden brown.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

These muffins are absolutely delicious!  I am not a big pumpkin person at all, and this recipe has officially brought me over to the other side.  I made these for a brunch we went to this morning, and these are a definite keeper - a great fall treat, and the cream cheese center will impress (although its so easy, and not impressive at all really... lol).  This recipe is from Annie's Eats.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Yields 24 muffins

Ingredients

For the muffins:

3 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tbsp and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin puree

For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

For the streusel topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup and 1 tsp flour

4 tbsp butter, cubed

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until smooth.  Form into a log on plastic wrap or foil, making sure that the diameter is small enough to fit into the well of a muffin pan.  Wrap the log up tightly and freeze until slightly hardened, about 1-2 hours. (The direction to freeze is really just to make the cream cheese easier to work with.  If you are like me and accidentally put it in the refrigerator instead, don't panic! Its okay - just more difficult to work with.)

To make the muffins, combine the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.  Mix well and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil,sugar, and pumpkin puree.  Mix until well combined.  Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.  

To make the streusel topping, combine all the ingredients into a small bowl.  Mix together with a pastry blender or with two forks until crumbly.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line two muffin pans with paper liners.  To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well halfway with batter.  Remove the cream cheese log from the freeze and slice into 24 equal slices.  Place a slice in each muffin well.  Divide the remaining muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups, on top of the cream cheese.  Sprinkle the streusel topping on top of the batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Let cool completely before serving.

Steak Sandwiches

I love this meal (my husband's favorite word... long story...lol) because its so easy.  I wanted something really simple with minimal clean-up... and this is it.  Its very tasty and an all-around easy weeknight favorite!

Ingredients

Steak of your choice, grilled and sliced (I wouldn't waste a really good steak on a sandwich, so I used a london broil. I've also used tri-tip before - really whatever is on sale is good for this.)

1 French baguette

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 slices of jack cheese, or to taste

Lettuce

Garlic salt

McCormick steak seasoning or spices of your choice

Mayonnaise, if that is your thing

Mustard (I used honey dijon)

One thin slice of butter

Directions

1. Sprinkle garlic powder and McCormick steak seasoning over the steak. Grill the steak until medium or personal preference.

2. While the steak is grilling, melt the thin slice of butter in a small frying pan on the stove over medium heat. Saute the sliced red bell pepper and onions over medium heat until slightly soft.

3.  Assemble your sandwich according to what you like!  

Lakshmi Mahadevan's World Famous Masala Recipe

This was my first time making Indian food, and it was a hit!  This dish was absolutely delicious.  In July, I went to a friend's Indian wedding in Lake Tahoe.  Her favor was her mother's "world famous Masala recipe" and "super secret masala spice."  I decided to finally attempt this dish tonight.  It was so flavorful, and not to mention, spicy!  I used chicken in this dish, though you can use chicken, shrimp, tofu, or garbanzo beans.  Mrs. Mahadevan says pork and beef does not taste right in this dish.

Ingredients

2" x 2" fresh piece of ginger, shredded

3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed then minced

1-2 jalapenos, sliced in half lengthwise (use according to your spiciness preference!)

1 medium sized red onion, minced

olive oil

3 fresh roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 of a large can of crushed tomatoes

protein of your choice (chicken, fish, shrimp, tofu, garbanzo beans)

1 tablespoon on Lakshmi's super secret masala spice *Ok, so, I am pretty sure they sell "masala" in the spice section of your grocery store, or specialty grocer

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

pinch of sugar

fresh cilantro, washed, destemmed, coarsely chopped *I omitted the cilantro 

fresh lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Combine the garlic and ginger into a paste (use food prep, blender, mortar & pestle.... the only thing I have is a blender, and it didn't work well, so I just smashed it into a paste as best I could!)

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, add the garlic/ginger paste and jalapenos, and saute for 2 minutes.

3.  Add the onions and cook until they are translucent.

4.  Add the roma tomatoes, cook for one minute. Ensure heat is not too high and stir tomatoes so they don't scorch on the bottom.

5. Add half the can of crushed tomatoes.  Stir all the ingredients and cover.  Simmer for 4-5 minutes.  Monitor the heat to prevent scorching.  If you want more tomatoes, add additional crushed tomato throughout the cooking process, by the tablespoonful.

6.  Add the garam masala, turmeric, and salt.  Stir.

7. Add your protein and stir.  Add another tablespoon of olive oil and fold the olive oil into your masala.  Cover and allow the ingredients to simmer for 2-3 minutes.

8. Add a pinch of sugar - this takes away the acidity of the tomatoes.

9. Allow your curry to stew for 20-25 minutes, depending on what type of protein you have chosen.  Stir regularly.

10. Right before serving, stir a handful of chopped cilantro into the curry.  Garnish the dish with cilantro.

11. Squeeze 1-2 wedges of fresh lemon over the dish, and enjoy!

Serving suggestions

1. Serve the masala over freshly cooked basmati rice (I used brown basmati)

2.  As a side dish, mix cubed cucumber with mint, cilantro, and yogurt.  Garnish with paprika.

3.  As a side dish, shred 2-3 large carrots.  Combined with one finely chopped serrano or jalapeno pepper.  Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the mixture - this is spicy!