Chicken with Lemon and Capers

This is another recipe I found in AllYou magazine. Another quick, easy one with SOME normal ingredients I usually have around.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 5 oz. each)
Salt and pepper
1/3 c flour
3 T unsalted butter
3 T vegetable oil
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 c white wine
1/4 c capers, rinsed

1. Preheat oven to 200F. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Warm 1 T butter and 2 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 chicken breast halves; cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the other side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter and tent with foil. Add 1 T oil to skillet; repeat with remaining chicken.
2. Add lemon juice and wine to skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Boil, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5minutes. Remove from heat; stir in capers and remaining 1 T butter. Cook, stirring, until butter melts. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
(387 cal, 18g fat (7g sat fat), 122mg chol, 1g fiber, 41g protein, 10g carb, 1,010mg sodium)

Pasta Carbonara Frittata

I pulled this out of an AllYou magazine. The picture looked really good, and the ingredients look like stuff that I generally have.

8 oz. spaghetti
2 T olive oil
4 oz. turkey bacon
6 large eggs
1/2 c grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook spaghetti until just tender, about 8 minutes or as package label directs. Drain, transfer to a large bowl and toss with olive oil to coat. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Cook turkey bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 6 minutes. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 1 T of fat in skillet.
3. Preheat broiler to high. Whisk together eggs, parmesan, garlic, 1/2 t. salt, and 1/4 t pepper in a large bowl. Pour over spaghetti and toss to coat. Crumble bacon into bowl and mix well.
4. Place skillet on stove over medium-low heat and add egg-and-spaghetti mixture, spreading into an even layer with a spatula. Cook until bottom is well-browned, about 8 minutes, sliding a spatula underneath frittata occasionally to loosen.
5. Place pan under broiler and cook until top is golden and set, about 3 minutes. Cut frittata into wedges and serve.
(387 cal, 23g fat (8g sat fat), 359mg Chol, 1g fiber, 22g protein, 19g carb, 663mg sodium)

Sweets

Lots o' good desserts, especially Christmas ones!! Look here....

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin

*Makes about 2 1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin, enough to serve 8-10 adults*

Rub Ingredients:
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (2 1/2 lb. total), each tenderloin cut into two chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil

Glaze ingredients:
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon tabasco sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat the pork with the spice rub. Heat the oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet that is ovenproof (I used my cast iron skillet) over medium high heat until the oil is hot and rippling. Brown the pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in the skillet.

Stir together the brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat on top of each tenderloin. Roast in the middle of the oven until a thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 140, about 25 minutes. Let pork stand in the skillet at room temperature for 10 minutes. The temperature will rise to about 155 while standing.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

I will make these cupcakes this season. I know that it's December 23 already, but I'll make them someday.

For the cupcakes:
2 eggs 1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 c sugar 3/4 t salt
3/4 c vegetable oil 1 1/2 c boiling water
2 1/4 c flour 1 1/2 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 c cocoa powder

Set oven to 350. Line two 12 cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside. Combine eggs, sugar, and oil until smooth in a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to egg mixture while alternating with boiling water. Stir in vanilla extract. Pour a scant 1/4 c of batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Completely cool cupcakes before frosting. (yields 24 cupcakes)

[bakers notes: you may not use all of the batter. do not overfill, or your cupcakes will sink.]

[bakers notes: even though you have liners, I suggest spraying the top of the

tins anyways. It will help the finished cupcakes not stick to the tins after baking]

For the frosting:

6 c powdered sugar 1 t pure vanilla extract

3/4 c butter, softened 3/4 t peppermint extract

7-9 T milk red food coloring

Fit a large pastry bag with a large star tip [kara's notes: I have a Wilton M tip that is for cupcakes] and set aside. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine powdered sugar and butter until butter is broken down into coarse crumbs. Add milk until desired consistency is achieved. Stir in vanilla and peppermint extracts. Scrape half of the finished frosting into a separate bowl. Color the other half with a few drops of the red food coloring using the hand mixer. Add large spoonfuls of frosting into the pastry bag, alternating colors. Twist the top of the bag and gently squeeze to pipe frosting onto the tops of the cupcakes. (yields enough frosting for 24 cupcakes)

Warm Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
4 celery stalks, diced
6 large carrots, peeled and diced
4 c fresh baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
4 cans chicken broth
4 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
6 oz dry chow mein noodle
Pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper

Heat oil in large dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, saute onion, bell pepper, celery, carrots, and spinach for 5 minutes or until veggies are softened. Pour in chicken broth and add chicken beast. Bring to high heat until just starting to boil. Reduce heat and add in noodles. Stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, season according to taste with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Simmer until ready to serve.
Makes 8-10 large servings.

Crock Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken

I found this here. I love me some crockpot meals, and this looks excellent.

Crock Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 chicken breasts
2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp chicken bouillon
Combine oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub onto chicken. Brown chicken in butter
on both sides. Place in crock pot. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over.
Cool on LOW for about 4 hours. (Mine was done in 3 hours.)

Freezer Friendly Friday - Sloppy Joe's

I swiped this from my sister-in-law, and we love it around here! Just make sure you've got hamburger buns on hand & enjoy!

SLOPPY JOE’S

1 lb hamburger & onion –brown together

Add:

1 can tomato soup

½ C catsup

1 T dry mustard

1 t chili powder

1 T Worcestershire sauce

½ C brown sugar

Simmer for about 20 minutes. Put into quart freezer bags & freeze!

Freezer Friendly Friday - Bean Soup

NO NAME BEAN SOUP

3 cans (14 ½ oz) kidney beans
1 pkg chili mix
2 cans (14 ½ oz) green beans, cut
1 pkg taco mix
2 cans (14 ½ oz) white beans, cut
2 large onions
1 can (14 ½ oz) butter beans (lima)
3 lb hamburger
2 cans (8 oz) tomatoes with green chilies

Brown 3 lbs hamburger and onions; drain grease. Add tomato with chilies. Mix well. Put in soup pot. Add all ingredients including their liquid. Heat and eat. Makes 6 quarts.

This is a super yummy and easy recipe for a quick dinner or lunch that is healthy too! I froze mine in quart freezer bags, which serves about 4. Feel free to change up the beans to what you have on hand!