Chicken Pillards with Lemon Butter Sauce

There it is again. The word “pillard” that keeps putting my spellcheck in a tizzy. Martha Stewart says it’s a word spellcheck, so just go with it!

This recipe is very similar to Chicken Piccata and Chicken Breasts in Pan Gravy. The chicken cooks quickly and the pounding of the meat is an excellent stress reliever. I do think there is maybe a little too much butter in this (my great grandmother may be rolling in her grave right now to think of anything having TOO MUCH butter) but that is always something you can easily adjust to fit your tastes.

I made two adjustments to the recipe. Since I would consider this a pantry meal I didn’t use fresh lemons like the original recipe called for. I was supposed to the segments and juice of two lemons. Instead I used a quarter cup of lemon juice. The sauce had a very lemony taste to it, which husband and I just loved. Next, I had a container of shrimp stock in the fridge and I used that in place of the chicken stock. Surprisingly, I couldn’t taste any shrimp at all. I’m sure that has to do with the amount of lemon juice.

I served this with mashed potatoes and a side salad. Even with all of the butter, this sauce is really light so anything that would take on some of the flavor of the sauce would be a great side. This is also a great dish to fool your eyes. Once the chicken is pounded out it looks like you are getting a huge piece of chicken but it’s really half a chicken breast. Along those lines…this is a dish to impress as well. The sauce is so yummy and the chicken is so tender.

Martha encourages trying some other flavorings in your sauce: mushrooms, garlic, capers, Dijon, tarragon, parsley or chives. She also recommends deglazing the pan with white wine or vermouth. Be creative, use what you have. This is a great odds and ends dish!

Enjoy!

4 chicken pillards
Salt and pepper
1 T. olive oil
3 T. butter
¼ cup shallots, minced
¼ cup lemon juice
¾ cup chicken stock

Season the chicken pillards with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat until the butter foams. Add two pillards and cook until golden on one side, about two minutes, Reduce heat to medium and flip the chicken. Sauté until cooked through and golden, about two minutes. Transfer to a plate. Return heat to medium high and repeat process with two remaining pillards.

Add shallots to skillet and cook until golden. Add more olive oil if needed. Add lemon juice, stock and any plate juices to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom. Simmer until sauce has reduced by half. Stir in remaining butter and stir until melted.

Serve chicken topped with sauce.

Adapted from www.marthastewart.com/356032/chicken-paillards-lemon-butter-sauce

Pumpkin Cornmeal Pancakes

The freezer clean out is going very well. I have successfully crossed several items off the inventory list. My storage containers are slowly making it back into the cupboards. Unfortunately I have also been adding to the freezer list. But I take comfort in the fact that I am using the older stuff faster than I am putting new stuff in.

I know that many families love to have breakfast for dinner. It’s easy, quick food and the novelty makes dinner fun for kids. I’ve never really been a big breakfast food fan. In college I would rather have leftover Chinese or a turkey sandwich for breakfast than traditional breakfast food. Now that I’m getting older and starting to eat more eggs, I am coming around to breakfast food and the idea of breakfast for dinner.

I had about a cup of pumpkin puree in the freezer waiting to be used up. I didn’t want to make cookies or bread out of it. I wanted to do something different. Then I thought about pancakes. I looked up a recipe for pumpkin pancakes and found one that looked tasty. I was a little put off by the powdered sugar but I was intrigued by the cornmeal. I decided to throw caution to the wind try the recipe. The good vitamins in the pumpkin totally cancels out all the bad in the powdered sugar right?

I really like these pancakes. They aren’t too sweet (I’m munching on them as I write) and the cornmeal gives a fun little dash of texture. The original recipe called for butter instead of cooking spray, but I decided I wanted to cut back on the fat and calories just a bit. I’m sure the butter would have been heavenly though. I also cut back on the amount of milk I used in the recipe. The amount of milk the original recipe calls for makes really thin crepe-like pancakes.

I am usually pumpkin crazy in October. Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin bread, pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin. It’s been a while since I’ve had anything pumpkin so these were a fun spring treat. I’m not sure if we will start having breakfast for dinner on a regular basis, but I might throw it into the mix a little bit more often. I’m sure if I pair these with bacon husband will happy to eat these any night.

Enjoy!

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1½ cups milk
 
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the pumpkin and eggs. Add in the milk and stir until smooth. Add more milk if needed.

Heat a medium frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Spray pan/griddle with cooking spray. Pour ¼ cup to ½ cup of batter in the pan/griddle. Cook until golden on both sides.

Serve hot and topped with your favorite toppings.

Adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cooking-live/pumpkin-cornmeal-pancakes-recipe/index.html

Pepperoni Pizza Bites

I am now the proud owner of a new fun snack/appetizer recipe! I’m slowly starting to find the recipes that are just right for certain occasions (pot lucks, bridal/baby showers, family gatherings) and now I have a fun one for casual get-togethers. The pizza sauce needed for this recipe makes me put it in the casual get-together category.

I made this recipe for dinner on Friday night. I thought it would take a lot longer to assemble than it did. It was still time consuming but thankfully husband with spending time with little one so I had some time to myself in the kitchen. Little one is all about hide and seek these days. He thinks it’s so funny to walk up to you and say “BOO!” The best part – you can stand in the middle of a room and he’s still amazed that he found you!

I like to have fun foods on Friday nights. Foods that can be eaten easily, while watching a movie with friends or even outside around the bonfire. Plates and utensils aren’t always required on a Friday. This recipe completely fit that description, but it’s nowhere near healthy. Keep in mind that each bite is a whole biscuit. I felt a little guilty chowing down on these yummy bites and that’s when I decided they are much more of appetizer than a meal. A few bites could easily be paired with a huge salad for a more balanced meal.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe. The original recipe called for two pepperoni slices per bite. After making one bite following the recipe I just felt that was way too stingy so I doubled the pepperoni! The original recipe also calls for a block of cheese that needs to be cut into 30 pieces. I took the easy way out and bought a bag of Kraft cheese cubes. This little time saver didn’t cost any more than buying a block of cheese (the cubes may have been on sale).  I also gave some more exact measurements to the parmesan, pizza topping and garlic powder. The original recipe called for Italian seasoning but I had a jar of pizza topping which is just Italian seasoning with a few extra things added to it.

After putting these together I realized that you could really put anything in these yummy little bites! Use your favorite pizza toppings. Try some buffalo or BBQ chicken. Taco meat and cheese served with salsa…mmmmm. I’m starting to enjoy thinking of all the delicious possibilities!

Enjoy!

30 refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
120 pepperoni slices
8 oz. cheese cubes
Egg, beaten
¼ cup parmesan
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 jar pizza sauce

Spray a 9x13 in. pan with cooking spray.

Heat oven to 425.

Flatten out biscuits and top with two slices pepperoni, one cheese cube and two more slices of pepperoni. Seal the bites by folding the edges of the biscuit over the top of the pepperoni slices and press to secure. Place the bites into the pan, seam side down.

Brush tops of the bites with the egg.

In a small bowl mix together the parmesan, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Sprinkle the parmesan mixture over the top of the rolls.

Bake rolls for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Serve warm with pizza sauce for dipping.

Adapted from http://www.thegunnysack.com/2011/03/easy-pepperoni-rolls.html

Making Stock

My method for making stock isn’t traditional by any means. It takes me quite a long time to gather what I need for stock because my stock is made up of odds and ends. I have three gallon sized Ziploc bags in my freezer at all times that I slowly fill up with the bits of food I need to make stock. The first bag is filled up with veggies: carrot skin, celery trimmings, the ends and peels of onions. The second bag is filled with chicken bones and little pieces of chicken still clinging to those bones. The third bag is filled with shrimp tails and shells.


Making stock is completely free using this method, but that’s not the reason I do it. I get a small amount of satisfaction knowing that I am using every little scrap of food in my kitchen and not letting anything got to waste. Freezers usually run more efficiently when they are full so having bags of frozen odds and ends helps to keep my freezer full. The veggie bag always fills faster than the other two but I always only have one bag of veggies on hand.  We have a large compost container behind our garage so once the veggie bag is full I to compost veggies scraps.

If I’m making a big pot of soup I like to use homemade stock but for just about everything else I use Magi. Husband introduced me to Magi which is a type of chicken stock his mom has been using for as long as he can remember. Magi is nice in that it comes in a powder form so a little bit goes along way. Check out some of my photos and you see a little yellow container gracing most recipes. Most of the time, when a recipe calls for just a few cups of chicken stock, or less, chicken stock I use Magi. But big pots of soupy goodness deserve homemade stock.

My recipe for stock is far from exact so please feel free to adjust it to make it work for your family.

Enjoy!

Fill a large stock pot with one gallon sized Ziploc bag of chicken or shrimp and on gallon sized Ziploc bag of veggies. Add eight to ten black peppercorns, two bay leaves, and one teaspoon of salt. If using chicken, add a dash of sage. Fill with enough water to cover everything in the pot. Bring water to boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for an hour, then taste. Season as needed and continue to simmer if the flavor isn’t strong.

**You can also throw all your ingredients into a slow cooker and let it cook on high for about four hours. This is a great solution in the summer.

Once you are happy with the flavor drain into another container and discard solids. Allow to cool. Skim off any solidified fats once the stock has cooled.

Store in the fridge until needed, about two days, or pour into Ziploc bags and freeze, lying flat to save freezer space, for up to six months.

Pan Seared Salmon with Citrus Vinegar Glaze

We don’t eat enough fish in our house. Husband and I both enjoy fish but it’s not something I think about cooking very much. The sad reason behind this – we live in an old house and odors like to linger. Two or three days after I cook fish (or Indian) I can still smell it. I refuse to use commercial air fresheners since I find them too strong and some days it’s too cold to open the windows. Fish is rarely at the top of my menus. Husband and I typically have fish at my parent’s house or when we go out to eat.

I was browsing through a cookbook I got on swap.com and I found a fish recipe that I decided I had to make, lingering fish smells or not. I loved the amount of balsamic vinegar that the recipe calls for. I have a soft spot for balsamic vinegar. Also, I was thrilled that I already had most of the ingredients on hand. Salmon isn’t always the cheapest fish so it was nice that the other ingredients are low cost. I did buy frozen salmon since I put this meal at the end of the menu but I would suggest fresh salmon as fresh is best.

The recipe says that it only takes three to four minutes for the glaze to reduce. This was not the case for me or most of the people who reviewed this recipe. I decided to keep the time in the recipe below at what is suggested by Rachael Ray, but please allow yourself a little extra time with the glaze. Every stove and pan is different.

I cooked this for my parents and husband after a five hour drive from my grandparent’s house. With a very upset toddler. In my little Golf. In the back seat. Before husband went on a business trip. I was not in a good place. I rushed the salmon and served it with brown rice (which I love) and peas (which I hate) and I just wasn’t thrilled with the dinner. I almost didn’t post the recipe because I didn’t even finish my dinner. My leftovers are still hanging out in the fridge. But I realized I was taking my bad mood out on the fish. The fish was very good and the glaze was tasty, it was my mood that needed to be thrown out.

I will make this recipe again. Everyone at the table liked it. It was fast, easy and healthy. Surprisingly, my house doesn’t smell like salmon. Rachael Ray very rarely lets me down in the recipe department and this recipe is one that I will happily add to my menu rotation.

Enjoy!

4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets
1 T. olive oil
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 T. orange juice
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. brown sugar
½ tsp. pepper

Preheat a cast iron pan or heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Brush the salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook salmon until just cooked through, about three minutes on each side.

While the salmon cooks, bring wine, vinegar, citrus juices and brown sugar to a boil over high heat. Reduce glaze three or four minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper.

Plate salmon fillets and drizzle glaze over the top. Serve.

Adapted from: Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals 2 – Rachael Ray

Salsa Chicken

Back when the weather was cold and my office was participating in Warm Up Wednesdays, one of my coworkers, K, shared how she makes Salsa Chicken. Her recipe is crazy simple: some enchilada sauce, some salsa and some chicken in a slow cooker all day. Shred the chicken and serve. You could really use this chicken for Mexican inspired anything!

Since I’ve started using my slow cooker every Thursday I was anxious to try out this recipe for myself. Because K’s recipe is not set in stone (you can use any salsa and enchilada sauce you like) I was able to be creative. For the salsa I grabbed a jar of my dad’s jalapeno salsa. I made a batch of the enchilada sauce from myfavorite chicken enchilada recipe. I used all three cups of enchilada sauce that the recipe makes, but 1 ½ cups would have been enough. The chicken ended up being pretty saucy, but depending on how you want to use the chicken, that isn’t really a bad thing.  

If you have a stand mixer shredding chicken is incredibly easy. I’m good at the two fork method but I have discovered that a stand mixer is an amazing chicken shredder. Put your hot chicken in the stand mixer (just chicken, no sauce) and using the standard paddle mixer, mix the chicken on low for about ten seconds. That’s it! You have perfectly shredded chicken in a matter of seconds! I was so impressed that I let the mixer run for about 15 seconds and that was much too long.

This is a great recipe for a large gathering of people as a little bit goes a long way. I froze half the Salsa Chicken for future use. The other half I used for chicken tacos and taco salad. I’m thinking that I may make a mini batch of enchiladas with some extra corn tortillas I have in the fridge or testing my luck on an egg bake featuring salsa chicken. Like I said – Mexican inspired anything!

Enjoy!

That pot contains yummy fresh enchilada sauce.

1 ½ cups enchilada sauce
1 ½ cups salsa
2 lbs. chicken, boneless, skinless

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on low for seven to eight hours.

Remove chicken from sauce and shred. Return chicken to sauce and stir to combine.

Serve.

Southwest Chicken and Barley Soup

I find it helpful to put a few meals on the menu that have ingredients that I don’t need to cook right away. I completely agree that it’s valuable and important to eat fresh food as often as possible. Unfortunately that doesn’t work for our weekly routines so I need to have meals on hand that I can pull together without worrying about fresh ingredients.

I think I just described pantry meals…again. Forgive me.

I have romantic little daydreams of living in a cute little European town and visiting the market each day to gather the ingredients I would need to each evening’s meal. I also drive a little baby blue 50s car and wear flow-y dresses. I also speak French perfectly(apparently these daydreams happen in Belgium or France). There is nothing romantic about jumping in the Golf with my highlighted shopping list and going to Target with husband and little one and buying two weeks’ worth of groceries. On the other hand, I really do enjoy shopping as a family. Husband and I have great talks while shopping and little one gets to flirt with every little old lady he sees. Nope, not romantic, but it is good quality time.

This recipe fits nicely into our two-week shopping trips and could easily be made the night before a shopping trip when there is nothing fresh left in the fridge. I did buy a fancy herb keeper at Crate and Barrel which has helped keep my cilantro nice and fresh. It fits beautifully in the fridge door – check it out if you don’t have an herb garden and love fresh herbs. I was thrilled to have another recipe to use barley in. Barley is by far my favorite grain. Yes, I have a favorite grain.

The original recipe calls for two cups of frozen corn. I left the corn out. If you really like corn, please add it! I found the soup pretty chunky without the corn so if you do add it you may need a little extra chicken broth. I used black beans but kidney or pinto beans would work just as well. The chicken I used had been cooked and frozen beforehand so I was able to just pull it out of the freezer and that saved me a step. Pureed or crush tomatoes would work well in place of the tomato sauce depending on the texture you want. I was able to freeze half the recipe and still had a good amount for dinner and two lunches.

Now…off to find a recipe that fits beautifully into my daydream. Thankfully fresh spring and summer produce is upon us!

Enjoy!

1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. oil
3 cups water
15 oz. black beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz. tomato sauce
15 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
15 oz. chicken broth
½ cup pearl barley, uncooked
4 oz. chopped green chilies
1 T. chili powder
½ tsp. cumin
3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
3 T. lime juice

In a large soup pot sauté onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the cilantro and lime juice. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered for about 40 minutes.

Stir in cilantro and lime just before serving.

To serve, ladle into bowls and top with sour cream and shredded cheese.

Adapted from www.perrysplate.com/2012/02/southwest-chicken-and-barley-soup.html