Warm Lemon Chicken and Orzo Salad

I added some Rotisserie chicken that I bought whole in the store to some leftover cooked orzo and came up with this. It was delicious! Could easily be used as a side without the chicken. I plan to add some fresh onions in next time for a little more flavor and texture.

Warm Lemon Chicken and Orzo Salad

• 1 Rotisserie Chicken breast- shredded
• Juice of 1 medium-sized Lemon
• 1 tbsp. butter, cut into smaller sizes
• 1/4 C. Fresh Chopped Parsley (I used curly leaf)
• 1/4 C. Crumbled Feta
• 1 tbsp. Fresh Cracked Pepper
• 1 1/2 C. uncooked orzo
• 1 C. chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. Greek Dressing
• Salt to taste

1. Cook orzo according to box direction, but use chicken broth & 1/2 of the lemon juice instead of water. When tender, drain orzo.

2. In bottom of serving bowl, combine rest of lemon juice, pepper, and greek dressing. Add warm orzo and butter and mix together well. Add chicken and mix well. Add parsley and toss to distribute throughout. Add Salt and additional pepper to taste.

Tilapia in Lemon Caper & Artichoke Sauce

I had the idea for this recipe in my head after watching Bobby Flay do a similar thing with a Chicken Piccata.



Tilapia in Lemon Caper & Artichoke Sauce
Serves 2

• 2 tilapia filets
• 1/3 C. broth (can be any flavor, but I used chicken cause it's what I had)
• 4 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tbsp. Salt
• 1/2 tbsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 juice of a lemon (~1 tbsp)
• 4 tsp drained capers
• 4 tsp drained artichokes (I used the jarred ones, and just 4 big pieces ran my knife through)
• 2 tbsp. butter/margarine
• 3 tsp. olive oil

1. In small saucepan, combine capers, artichokes, broth, lemon juice, butter and 2 tablespoons flour on low heat. Once combined, bring to a low simmer, whisking often. If the sauce starts to thicken too much, add more broth.

2. In shallow dish, add remaining flour and salt and pepper. Mix together.

3. Rinse filets and pat dry with paper towel. Dredge in light coating of flour mixture to coat all surfaces. Tap off excess flour.

4. Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, cook fish until lightly browned on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side. Fish will flake easily with a fork when ready.

5. Pour sauce over fish and enjoy.

Chicken & Shroom Casserole Skillet Over Bowties

This was something I created out of things I just happened to have in my pantry. I had some chicken left to use and it worked out really well. It's now a regular go to dish. (Pictures to come soon)

Chicken & Shroom Casserole Skillet Over Bowties

• 1 lb Fresh Chicken breasts, cut into slices (can be breasts, tenders, whatever you have.)
• 1 pkg fresh mushrooms (I used leftover white pre-cut ones from Meijer and some from a jar cause I really like shrooms)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 c. Milk
• 8 oz. Bowties
• Salt
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 c. Chopped Onions
• 2 Cloves Chopped Garlic
• 1 tbsp. oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive)

1. Boil water for pasta. Complete cooking as directed on box.

2. Season your chicken pieces with salt and pepper on both sides. Add oil to large fry pan and brown chicken until no longer pink. Remove from pan.

3. Add onions, garlic and shrooms to same pan and sauté until tender (you may want to add a little bit more oil here)

4. Add chicken back to pan. Add soup and milk and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until chicken is heated through and ingredients are well combined.

6. Pour over bowties and serve.

Steambag Spicy Salmon & Veggies

I've come to really like the Ziploc Zip n Steam bags for cooking fish. It keeps it moist and delicious. So here's one of the creations I came up with a few months ago to which Patrick said "Well, sweetie, I think this is one for the books." The salmon leftovers also taste great on top of salad.

Steambag Spicy Salmon & Veggies

2 tbsp. Salmon Rub

1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 tbsp. dried Dill

4 8 oz. Fresh Salmon Pieces (I bought a whole salmon at Meijer and cut it up)

3/4 medium onion sliced

1/2 red pepper sliced

1. Mix spices together in in small bowl. Rub all over fish.

2. Add 1/2 of pepper slices, onions to steam bag. Add fish. Cover with remaining Veggies.

3. Cook according to directions on bag.

Grilled Veggies

(Note: I used my George Foreman to grill these.)

1 small Zucchini

1 small yellow squash

1/4 medium onion sliced

1/2 red pepper sliced

1 tbsp Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

1. Slice the veggies longways about a 1/4 inch thick.

2. Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Grill until tender.

Chicken Croquettes

I borrowed this recipe from one of the girls I met on The Knot, Shelly. Her food blog is partially the reason I decided to make one of my own. I thought these looked easy and wanted to do something different with chicken, so I made this. I copied her recipe from her food blog (I followed it exactly, as Patrick said I never follow recipes exactly) and we both thought they had a good flavor but they were a little dry the first time around. However, we put a little spin on the leftovers. We started with a tablespoonful of salsa and put the croquette on top, then we added a dollop of sour cream. They were delicious! I was so excited about eating them, I forgot to take a picture of the new concoction, but the above is from the first time around with brown sugar mashed sweet potatoes and grilled veggies.

Chicken Croquettes

1. Splash a little olive oil into a large pan on medium high heat and add:

About a pound of fresh chicken (I used 9 chicken tenders)

About 1.5 cups of diced onion

Salt and pepper

Cook chicken for a couple minutes each side until no longer pink in the middle and the onions begin to caramelize.

2. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl:

Lighly beat 2 eggs

Mix in 1 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning

3. Once chicken and onions are done, remove to your cutting board to cool a bit. Then with a big ol' knife, finely dice the mixture and add to the egg/bread crumb mixture.

4. Stir the whole mess together. If it appears to be too dry and won't stick together, add another lightly beaten egg. If it is too wet, add a little bit more bread crumbs. Divide into 10 balls-o-chicken.

5. Back to the same pan over medium to medium-high heat, add a little more oil, but this time veggie oil. Maybe a tablespoon or two. If you flick a LITTLE bit of water into the pan and it sizzles, you know it is ready. Careful, it might splatter and burn you. Now place 5 chicken balls into the pan and press down a bit with a turner. Fry for about 3-4 minutes until browned. Then flip and repeat. Remove the patties to a plate and pat with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Repeat with the other 5 chicken balls, adding a smidge more oil if necessary.

6. Tada!!! Now enjoy with your favorite side dishes. There will probably be leftovers. I am willing to bet they would be great on top of a salad.

Building It Up

So I love to use fresh herbs and whatnot in my dishes but I find that they are too expensive and they just don't get used fast enough.

I found little seed packets that come with their own pots in the See Spot Save section of Target, so I picked up a Basil and a Parsley. I've never had a garden before so I thought this could be a good gateway until I can get a real garden.

After about 2 weeks, here it is so far... It's even more exciting than watching the Restaurant City herbs grow (it just sucks that it takes longer than 48 hours.).

First post!

Here's to the beginning of a wonderful friendship with good food and good times.