Lemons & Lunges » lemons http://lemonsandlunges.com abs are made in the kitchen Fri, 12 Dec 2014 03:43:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.41 Lightened Up Chicken Piccata http://lemonsandlunges.com/2014/01/22/lightened-up-chicken-piccata/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lightened-up-chicken-piccata http://lemonsandlunges.com/2014/01/22/lightened-up-chicken-piccata/#comments Wed, 22 Jan 2014 04:00:27 +0000 http://lemonsandlunges.com/?p=652 Lightened Up Chicken Picatta via L&L

Have you ever heard the saying, “The things you own, end up owning you”?  I heard that once from one of my Southern California hippie friends who shared a studio apartment and had lawn chairs for furniture.  I might have looked down my nose at that comment a few days ago, but I suddenly understand it all.  After these last two weeks, I have understood so clearly the pros of only having a lawn chair couch and a dream.  You guys, WE HAVE SO MUCH F’N STUFF.  We’re close to the end, but we have been unpacking, organizing, setting-up for daaaaaaaaays.

I’m finally in a place where I can take a few moments to make some dinner and share the ridiculousness of my life with you (albeit, dinner was eaten on TV trays surrounded by packing paper and boxes).  But regardless, it’s good to be back in the saddle.  I wanted to share a recipe I made right before we left San Diego when we had a few friends over.  It was bright and super flavorful.  A perfect Friday evening meal with your lova or your favorite ‘Bachelor’-watching gal pal.

Chicken Piccata

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Lightened Up Chicken Piccata
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
  • 1 c panko bread crumbs, or ½ cup flour
  • 1 pinch salt and pepper
  • 2T coconut or grape seed oil
  • 3T butter, unsalted and divided
  • 2 medium lemons
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 2 c chicken stock (I use low sodium)
  • 1 T chicken stock concentrate (located next to the broth in the grocery store)
  • 2 T capers, drained
  • 3 T parsley, finely chopped and divided
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 180 degrees
  2. Juice one whole lemon, reserving juice. Cut the second lemon from pole to pole and cut off the end pieces. Fruit side down, slice ONE lemon half into very slender slices, reserve. Use the other cut half for additional juice to make ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice or plate garnish.
  3. Butterfly each chicken breast into two pieces, then cut each piece in half. Pound chicken to about ½ inch thick. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Salt and pepper both sides lightly.
  4. In a large skillet, add 2 Tbsp oil and 2 Tbsp butter. Heat to medium high. Dredge chicken pieces in panko bread crumbs or flour. Fry half the chicken pieces until browned, about 2 minutes. Flip chicken pieces and brown on the other side for an additional few minutes until they are cooked through. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp oil and 2 Tbsp butter for the second batch of chicken and repeat. Plate the pieces as they cook, wrap with foil and keep in a warm oven. NOTE: If chicken is browning too quickly, reduce heat to avoid burning.
  5. While chicken stays warm in oven, add the shallots to the skillet. If more butter is needed to sautee the shallots, feel free to add a bit. Stir quickly for about a minute until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chicken broth, stock concentrate, lemon juice and lemon slices. Bring liquid to a simmer and continue simmering until the broth reduces to about 1½ cups – around 10 minutes. Add the capers and parsley to the stock, then add 3 TBS of the remaining butter and swirl the pan off the heat until the butter is melted. Plate the chicken and ladle the sauce on top. Sprinkle with a bit of leftover parsley if you wish.
Notes
You can certainly add some noodles on the side. We did and paired it with a lovely little salad to resist the urge to carb overload.

 

]]> http://lemonsandlunges.com/2014/01/22/lightened-up-chicken-piccata/feed/ 0 Skewer? I Just Met Her! http://lemonsandlunges.com/2013/08/13/skewer-i-just-met-her/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=skewer-i-just-met-her http://lemonsandlunges.com/2013/08/13/skewer-i-just-met-her/#comments Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:32:24 +0000 http://lemonsandlunges.com/?p=122 I’ve never met a skewer I didn’t love.  They are fun to put together, you can do most of the prep work ahead of time and you can get everyone involved in the party – “Stab Monkeys!  Stab!” I’m going to keep it pretty short and sweet tonight, Adam just got back from a business trip and I gotta get to catching up with him.  And reminding him why he loves me.  Exhibit A is below:

Sweet and Spicy Salmon Skewers

Sweet & Spicy Salmon Skewers

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. raw salmon, cut into 1.5 inch cubes
  • 8 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 large yellow pepper, cored; seeded and cut into 1 in pieces
  • 1/2 onion, cut into 1 in pieces
  • 4 wooden skewers

Marinade:

  • 1 tsp each: cayenne pepper, sea salt, parsley
  • 2 tsp chopped garlic
  • 1 TB light brown sugar
  • 1 TB reduced-sugar ketchup

Directions:

Mix the marinade together and set aside.  Prepare all the vegetables and fish. Place all the ingredients (minus the skewers, duh.) in a gallon bag and shake that sucker up.  Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.  Preheat the oven to broil.

Cover broiler pan with foil and arrange skewers on top. Put in oven for approximately 3 min. Turn kabobs and broil for an additional 3 to 4 min or until salmon is no longer pink and veggies are well-browned

I added some delicious Baked Lemon and Thyme Mushrooms (Super easy and delicious!)

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