Baked Lemon Chicken with New Potatoes and Vegetables

This recipe is one of our family’s newest Sunday favorites:  Baked Lemon Chicken with New Potatoes and Vegetables.  For me, it is a perfect Sunday dinner.  It’s easy, it is flexible AND it’s delicious (the kids love it!)  Good combo. 


Even if you’re not a big fan of lemon, there’s a good chance you’ll like this one.  It’s not overly-lemony.  In fact, you are in control of just how lemony this meal will be.  I prefer to include every.  last.  bit.  of the lemon/olive oil mixture  - once everything is in the pan I pour the remaining sauce over the top.  This last time I also added some fresh thyme right as it came out of the oven.  Delightful!





The recipe calls for new potatoes, carrots and green beans.  Don’t have new potatoes?  You can substitute whatever you have.  The red skins on the new potatoes are lovely in the finished dish, but don’t make a special trip to the grocery store just for cute little red-skinned potatoes.  I also don’t usually have baby carrots on hand.  No biggie – cut up regular carrots.  This last week I also didn’t have green beans, so instead we opted for a spinach salad and roasted asparagus on the side. 









The asparagus was a quick add-on….  rinse and trim the asparagus.  put a square of foil on a baking sheet.  Add asparagus, add 2 tsp or so of olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Put the asparagus in the oven right along with the Lemon Chicken – just for the last 8-10 minutes or so.  Set the table, make the spinach salad, pull everything from the oven and voila!  Dinner is served.

Heavenly Chocolate Mousse

This stuff is amazing.  Rich.  Very rich.  But oh so good.  It doesn’t make a lot, so if you’re needing to serve more than 5 or 6 people then make a double batch.  I made the recipe as-is, and I would recommend reading some of the reviews – there’s a lot of great tips in there (for instance, how to properly whip cream without over-beating.) 


link to recipe for Heavenly Chocolate Mousse

Orange / Lemon Brownies

I tried this recipe for Orange Brownies a couple of weeks ago.  Of course I can’t leave a recipe alone, so I tried them with lemon instead of orange.  The lemon version was just okay – I found myself wishing they were just regular (and delicious) lemon bars.  Next time I’m sticking with the original orange version. 

Here is a link to a gluten free version of orange brownies.  I haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t comment on this recipe.

By the way, I saw them first here.  Thanks Jodi!

In my opinion…

Isn’t there a Seinfeld quote to go with pretty much every situation? 

Kramer: “A hot bowl of mulligatawny would hit the spot.”
Elaine: “Mulligatawny?”
Kramer: “Yes, it’s a delightful Hindu concoction simmered to perfection by one of the great soup artisans in the modern era.”


That has to be one of my all-time favorite episodes.  Ever.

Last year on a visit to one of our favorite local eateries I decided to try a bowl of Mulligatawny.  It immediately became one of my favorite soups.  It’s thick and hearty, filled with chunks of vegetables, and has just enough kick to warm you up.





I’m currently on the hunt for a perfect mulligatawny.  This recipe comes close – it has a lot of nice qualities.  First of all, I love the flavor – all of those amazing spices- oh so yummy.  I also love the creaminess of the soup.  That comes from the cream of course, but also the rice and the potato.  As the soup simmers some of the potato chunks dissolve a little and the rice continues to soften until it all blends together into creamy goodness.  In fact, I think next time I’ll try omitting the cream and adding another potato (diced small) to see if that will do the trick.  A dairy-free soup is a good thing around here.

One more thing I love about this recipe is the fact that it uses cooked chicken.  I tossed some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot last night and left them alone for about 2 1/2 hours.  I pulled them out, cut them into chunks and then put all of that in the fridge – ready for today’s soup.  Another option is to use up the leftovers from that roast chicken you had on Sunday.  The amount of chicken in this soup can be flexible – it calls for 3 lbs, but you could do less.  I really wouldn’t add more than 3 lbs or you’ll just end up with more of a casserole consistency.





This mulligatawny recipe was originally found here, but I’ve made some tweaks so I’ll type it up below.


Mulligatawny Soup
(12 servings)

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp garam masala
pinch of cayenne pepper (add up to 1/4 tsp if you like the heat)
3 lbs cooked chicken, chopped
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 large onions, chopped
3-4 carrots, diced
2 leeks, thinly sliced (white part only)
11 cups chicken stock (stock is best, but I used canned broth and it was great)
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup long grain rice (uncooked)
1 large (or 2 medium) potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup heavy cream
chopped cilantro (for garnish)

Combine minced garlic with all of the spices (cumin, cloves, curry powder, ginger, cayenne pepper, garam masala) and set aside.  In a large pot (and I mean LARGE) heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil over medium high heat.  Add celery, onions, carrots and leeks and saute until veggies are crisp-tender (about 5-8 minutes).  Add garlic and spices and stir to coat the vegetables.  Continue to saute for another 2 or 3 minutes – the garlic and spices will become fragrant.

Add in all 11 cups of chicken stock and rice.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add potato chunks.  Simmer for another 10 minutes or until potatoes and rice are softened.  Add lemon juice and cream and heat through over medium-low heat.  Taste soup and add salt and pepper and additional curry powder and cayenne pepper if you would like. 
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Orange, Walnut & Feta salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Oranges are just so lovely and delicious right now.  I saw them all heaped up at the grocery store yesterday,  just calling my name.

Today for lunch I combined some orange segments with romaine, thinly sliced red onions, toasted walnuts and crumbled feta.  I tossed it all in a fresh citrusy vinaigrette.  It brought just a bit of sunshine to an otherwise cold and wintery day. 





Citrus Vinaigrette

2/3 cup fresh orange juice
2-3 Tablespoons granulated sugar (depending on the sweetness of the oranges)
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
salt & pepper

In a bowl or a jar with a lid (I use a mason jar) add all ingredients except salt & pepper.
Shake (or whisk) to combine.  Taste, and add salt and pepper.

Dinner for One

Recently I overheard someone say how it is more time consuming to cook healthy meals.  For the most part I disagree.  I know there are a lot of fancy-shmancy recipes out there that are healthy and quite complicated.  But cooking healthy doesn’t need to be complicated.  For me, it just takes a little planning.
For example – tonight’s dinner.  Hubby was working late and kids wanted spaghetti.  I didn’t want spaghetti.  I dug through my fridge and found some vegetables and some leftover chopped romaine. 
In the time it took me to boil the water for my kids’ spaghetti, I preheated the oven to 425 degrees and washed and chopped a few veggies (not having to peel anything was a big time saver.)
In the time it took me to put the pasta in the water, the vegetables got a quick toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
In the time it took me to cook the pasta I mixed up a quick balsamic vinaigrette and the veggies got a quick roast in the oven.
In the time it took me to drain the pasta and add the sauce, I had my salad plated and on the table. 

Need the details? 
I used: (1 serving) 4-5 brussels sprouts, 4-5 pieces of cauliflower, 8 asparagus spears, one small zuchinni
Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with foil.
Cut the tough little stem off of the brussels sprouts and slice each in half.
Slice the small zuchinni into 1 inch slices (if you cut a little on the diagonal you get nice long, pretty slices)
Chop the cauliflower into small to medium sized pieces
Cut about 1 inch off of the asparagus (just the last bit of the stem – it’s usually pretty tough)
Place vegetables on foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Toss gently with your hands.  I do like to keep my vegetables in little groups like this so that if say the asparagus is done first (which it is) then it is easy to pull out and set aside. 


Roast vegetables in oven for 8-10 minutes, possibly less.  It all depends on the size of your vegetables!  I did peek at about 5 minutes and used a pair of tongs to toss the vegetables a little.
Serve as a side dish (easy dinner = store bought rotisserie chicken + quick oven roasted vegetables) or atop a bed of chopped romaine for a delicious roasted vegetable salad. 

Poached Pears with Cinnamon-Vanilla Cream

Need a simple but impressive dessert? These babies are microwaved! I know – I was skeptical too.
Here’s a link to the original recipe. Of course I made a couple of changes. I didn’t have any vanilla ice cream on hand, but I did have heavy cream. I used 1/4 cup of heavy cream, with a bit (maybe 1/8 tsp?) of vanilla and a sprinkling of cinnamon to taste. I loved the addition of the cinnamon and we couldn’t get enough of the sauce so the next time I made these I doubled it.

Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki Skewers

Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki Skewers were a favorite with us this summer. We buy our top sirloin from Costco and it’s oh so good. Be sure to soak your wooden skewers in some water before grilling.

Serve with grilled or fresh pineapple, rice and a green salad.

Vegetarian Chili

I haven’t been in a soup-mood for quite some time. Months, actually. Something changed this week (uh, like the weather) and I’m starting to bring my soups back into the rotation. Vegetarian Chili is one of the first soups to make an appearance each fall; it uses some of those fresh garden veggies, and doesn’t have that heavy-made-from-loads-of-cream feeling. Oh and the leftovers are amazing!
Here’s two ways to get this dinner to the table quickly:
option #1: Prep all of your veggies earlier in the day. Mince and chop everything and put it in the fridge. (A friend of mine preps for dinner right after breakfast. I like to do it right after lunch.) Then when it is time for dinner heat your pot, toss in all veggies and saute. The rest is easy – open all of the cans and dump them in!
option #2: Make the entire soup that morning (or at lunch, like me). About 20 minutes before meal time, heat it up and you’re ready!


California Vegetarian Chili

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
2 cans (14-oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 can black beans, drained
1 can great northern beans, drained
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 Tbsp yellow mustard

Heat oil in a large (6 qt) kettle. Add garlic and veggies. Saute until veggies are crisp-tender.
Add all other ingredients. Stir well. Cover and simmer at least 10 minutes, and up to 30 minutes. Serve and garnish with cheese and/or avocados.