Baked Lemon Chicken Primavera with Spaghetti

Prepare ahead of time and just pop in the oven. Lots of colour and taste! And it serves 8! 

2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups cubed chicken breast (2 large)
1 tbsps olive oil
2 cups broccoli florets
1/2-3/4 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 large yellow pepper, chopped
1  1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
16 oz/ 454 g spaghetti

Cook spaghetti as directed on package, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside.

Drop broccoli and carrots into boiling salted water and cook 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside as well.

Cook chicken in olive oil until just cooked then add garlic and yellow pepper. Toss 1-2 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and par-boiled broccoli and carrots.

Salt and pepper to taste. (We like pepper!)

Sauce:

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 can evaporated milk, 350ml/ 12 oz size

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup parmesan

zest and juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper

1/4 cup pasta water

Whisk olive oil, butter and flour together on medium heat and whisk in evaporated milk. Cook until thickened and add the mozzarella, parmesan, zest, juice, salt and pepper. Add enough pasta water for the consistency you like. Remember the sauce will thicken while baking. I used the full 1/4 cup.

Combine the chicken/veggies, spaghetti and sauce.

Pour into a 13 X 9" baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil.  Cover with foil and bake at 400 F for 30 minutes.

Remove foil, add an additional 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and bake another 10 minutes.

Sprinkle torn basil leaves and serve.

Adapted from
http://www.recipegirl.com/2013/01/04/baked-lemon-chicken-spaghetti-primavera/

Strawberry Blueberry Roulade

I'll start this blogpost by apologizing....for all the pictures!!
I just couldn't help myself, this roulade was just so beautiful!

You'll need:

5 egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whipped cream or Cool Whip topping, divided
1  1/2 - 2 cups strawberries, cut kind of small
3-4 tbsps blueberry preserves
Strawberries, blueberries, mint leaves to garnish

First off, I was a little intimidated by this but had to try it. Turns out it was easier to make than I thought.

Beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment of your mixer, then gradually add the sugar until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold in the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla.

Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and spread the meringue out evenly.  

Bake at 325 F for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Fully cool on rack, about 10 minutes. After about 5 minutes you can gently slide the meringue off the pan to the rack using the parchment to pull it over.

Once cooled turn it onto a sugared piece of parchment and peel the top parchment off.  I thought parchment wasn't supposed to stick to anything!  It did a little, but going slowly and sometimes using a knife to help I was able to get it off without too much damage.

Spread some blueberry preserves evenly over all.

Then use 1 cup of whipped cream or topping and spread it over the preserves, followed up by the cut strawberries.

Use the parchment to lift and start rolling up the roulade on the short side.

Once you've got it all rolled up, turn it seam side down on a serving platter.  I folded a piece of parchment the size of the roulade and placed it on top.

Then I held that in place while turning it over onto my platter with the help of the bottom piece of parchment. See the folded parchment is underneath.

Use the 2nd cup of whipped cream to cover the top ...

and decorate with more berries.

And take pictures!!

Lots of pictures  : )

Serves 10

Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Gotta love these one pan dinners!

6 boneless chicken thighs
2 tbsps flour
1 egg
2 tbsps lemon juice
2 tsp garlic minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup parmesan
1  1/2 lbs new potatoes, cut in 1" cubes
2 tbsps melted butter
2 tbsps coconut oil
2 tsps garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1  lb carrots, juilienne cut

First dust chicken thighs with flour. 

Mix egg, lemon juice, 2 tsps minced garlic, salt and pepper together in a bowl. In another bowl or bag, mix bread crumbs, cornstarch and parmesan together.

Dip chicken in egg mixture, then coat in bread crumb mix.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Now mix melted butter, coconut oil and 2 tsp minced garlic together and toss the cubed potatoes in it to coat. Place the potatoes on the pan with the chicken in a single layer. Sprinkle remaining bread crumb mix on potatoes.

Bake at 400F for 20 minutes then turn chicken and potatoes over. 

Add the carrots tossed with 1 tbsps coconut oil and bake another 30-35 minutes.

Dinner is ready and only one pan to clean!

Serves 4-6

Sweet Cucumber and Onion Salad

Have you got tons of cucumbers in your garden? Ya, me neither, but my neighbour has been sharing his so here's an easy salad you can make with your neighbour's cucs!

2 garden cucs
1 onion
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsps sugar
2 tbsps water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery salt

Thinly slice the cucs and onion. A mandolin's the way to go!

Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over the veggies. I stored them in the fridge in a ziplock bag with as much air removed as possible so the dressing would coat all the cucs.

Chill at least 20 minutes then serve.

It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days if it lasts that long.

Strawberry Garlic Reduction for BBQ Chicken

Make this Strawberry Garlic Reduction and enhance any BBQ chicken. These legs were grilled with olive oil, Joe Beef butcher's blend plus a little extra paprika.

1 tbsp honey
1 tsp grainy or dijon mustard
2 tsps minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp red wine
1  1/2 cups chopped or sliced strawberries

Bring honey, mustard, garlic, ginger, cornstarch and red wine to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 2-4 minutes.

Add strawberries and cook another 3-5 minutes.

Served here alongside Roasted Potatoes with Bergamot
Here's the link to my recipe

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2016/10/roasted-potatoes-with-bergamot.html

Tropical Fruit Nice Cream

Nothing to feel guilty about here!

1/2 frozen banana, sliced
1/2 cup frozen honeydew melon
1/2 cup frozen mango cubes
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 serving size mango yogurt cup
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup whey powder (optional)

Dump everything in a blender or food processor...

and process until smooth. That's it!

Now get outside!

Makes 2 pretty large servings or 4 small.

Peach and Blueberry Jam

Preserve the summer any way you can!

2 lbs peaches, peeled and chopped (about 5-7 medium)
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tsp pectin
3 1/2 cups sugar

In a large pot cook peaches, blueberries and lemon juice over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil. Add the sugar.

Keep cooking until the sugar dissolves. Bring back to a boil and add the pectin. Lightly mash fruit with a potato masher and keep on a gentle boil, stirring approximately 10-15 minutes.

A drop of jam on a plate that has been kept in the freezer should run very slowly when the plate is tilted. Now it's ready.

Sterilize jam jars and pour in the jam. A large funnel will make life easier here.

Process the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes then carefully remove jars and let sit for 24 hours.

The next day check to see that all the jars have sealed. If not, simply remove the lid, wipe the lip of the jar clean, check that it is a good lid or replace it, then process again and check in the next 24 hours.  If you still don't have a good seal store that jar in the fridge.

This recipe makes 11 small jam jars, 125 ml (4 oz) size.

Egg Salad Appetizer

A light and colourful appetizer that can be made up to 6 hours ahead of time. Gotta like that!

For 1 hard boiled egg add 1 tsp mayonnaise or Miracle Whip salad dressing.  Salt and pepper to taste. Or substitue steak spice for the pepper. Mash together with a fork.

This will make enough for 1 garden cucumber sliced 3/4" thick. Use a vegetable peeler to remove some of the skin, leaving stripes. Or use an English cucumber and leave the skin on.

Scoop a little out of each slice and fill with egg salad. Add a basil leaf and half a cherry tomato.

Store in a covered container until ready to serve.

Italian Flat Green Beans

Well the green beans are coming fast and furious now! Not from my garden mind you but from the neighbour's.

1 lb flat green beans, cut in 2-3" lengths
2 tbsps olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 cup diced onion
14 oz diced canned tomatoes
2 tbsps thinly sliced garlic
1/2 tsp minced jalapĕno (that was from my garden!)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp dry oregano
6-8 fresh basil leaves to garnish (my garden too!)

                   

Add the beans to a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil, then simmer 5 or 6 minutes until tender.

In a large skillet heat olive oil and lightly brown the onion and jalapeno. Next add the garlic and cook just 1 minute until fragrant. 

Add tomatoes and seasonings, along with the green beans and cook 2-4 minutes. 

Sprinkle with torn basil leaves and serve.
Delicious!