Soul Food: Kathie's Lemon Chicken

My mom is a FABULOUS cook.  We are constantly swapping new recipes, and I am always calling her for reminders of how to prepare fabulous dishes from my childhood.  Here is one of my favorite main dishes from my Momma's kitchen to yours.  :)

KATHIE'S LEMON CHICKEN

• 4 skinless chicken breasts (I use bone-in for superior flavor and extra sauce)
• 4 tbs butter, cut into thin slices
• 2 large (or 4 small) shallots, sliced
• 1 pint mushrooms, sliced
• 2 lemons, 1 juiced and one sliced
• salt & pepper

Place butter and shallots in a 9x13 baking dish.  Position seasoned chicken breasts on top of butter and shallots.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and add mushrooms and lemon juice.  Top each breast with a slice of lemon and some fresh-ground pepper, recover dish with foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.

(Serves 4)

Sorry about the vertical photo.

The Reason I Married Nick: My MIL's Chicken Risotto Recipe

If Nick married me to get a belly full of chicken enchilada casserole, then I married him to get my paws on this utterly scrumptious dish that my mother-in-law makes.

Before I go into the recipe, I want to have a quick word about risotto.  First let me say that I HATE rice.  You won't see anything served "on a bed of rice" on this blog.  I can only stomach rice if it is masked by a plethora of delicious flavors.  There is only one recipe that comes to mind in my entire culinary repertoire that involves rice.

That being said, risotto is rice.  And I LOVE risotto.  But I didn't discover my love for this "special rice" until my lovely mother-in-law made this dish.  Even though I had sworn not to eat risotto on the grounds that it is rice, the mother of my husband single-handedly introduced me to an entire category of food.  (And I would eat it in a house and with a mouse!)  I love risotto wish seafood, veggies, cheese, meat, and even fungus (naturally I mean mushrooms...there is a fungus among us!).  This recipe is my all-time favorite risotto recipe, and I can't get enough of it.  So a big shout out to Julie, my MIL, for her delicious dish.  (And no, I'm not talking about her Schwetty Balls.)

MY MIL'S CHICKEN RISOTTO RECIPE

• meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 3 tbs butter
• 1 pint baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large (or 4 small) shallots, sliced
• 1 tbs dried thyme leaves
• 2 cups risotto (arborio rice)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 6-8 cups (48-64 ounces) chicken stock
• 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 2 avocados, diced
• juice from 2 limes

In a large saucepan, heat chicken stock to just below a simmer.  (You will use this when you begin to make the risotto.)

In a very large, high sided skillet, melt butter and olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms.  Just as mushrooms start to brown (3-4 minutes), add shallots and thyme.  Cook until shallots are wilted (2-3 minutes), then add risotto.  Stir constantly until risotto begins to look a bit golden (2-3 minutes).  Add white wine.  (It will boil off very quickly -- all the alcohol will cook out, leaving a nice aroma.)  When wine is evaporated, add a couple of ladles of chicken stock.  Stir in briefly, reduce heat to medium (I set my halogen stove just a millimeter below the 7 [out of 10...oh, Star Trek, you haunt me] mark), and allow stock to simmer until it cooks almost completely off.  Just as all the stock is absorbed, stir in another two ladles.  Simmer until stock is almost completely absorbed, then add another two ladles.  Repeat until risotto is done.*

After risotto is creamy and al dente (like a perfectly cooked pasta), stir in almost all of your parmesan and all of your chicken.  Risotto should be creamy and a bit gooey from the cheese.  Plate up risotto with a tiny sprinkle of parmesan and some fresh-grated pepper.  Top with avocado and some lime juice.  Enjoy!

(Serves 4)

I know the avocado and lime sound weird, but TRUST ME.  It is delicious!

*My British chum, Jamie Oliver, told me that risotto should take about 20 minutes from the time you begin to add chicken stock.  You don't want to use too much heat or too little heat -- just enough heat to get the risotto perfectly cooked in about 20 minutes.  His advice has never failed me yet.  :)

I Told You I Love Her: Chicken With Mushroom and Balsamic Cream Sauce

I made this Rachael Ray recipe tonight at Nick's request.  (See?!  He loves her too, he just can't admit it.)  

I follow RayRay's (that's how BFF we are -- she lets me call her RayRay) recipe almost to the letter, but I use a few modifications that make it simpler and more to suit our tastes.

CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS AND BALSAMIC CREAM SAUCE

• 1/2 pound orzo pasta
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• approx 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 large portobello mushroom caps, thickly sliced
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tbs fresh thyme leaves (about 8 sprigs) or 1 tbs dried thyme leaves
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 tbs flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbs half-and-half
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper

Season chicken with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown chicken breasts (about 5 minutes on each side).  Remove chicken from pan and cover with foil to keep warm.  

Cook the orzo to al dente according to package directions in liberally salted water.  

As soon as you drop the pasta into the water, begin cooking the sauce.  (Don't begin cooking earlier or it won't all come together at the same time!)  

Add butter to the pan you used to cook the chicken. Melt over medium-high heat.  Once the butter melts, add the mushrooms and brown (about 4-5 minutes). Once the mushrooms are brown, reduce heat to medium and add the garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar, and the half-and-half.  Just before serving, stir in the parsley.  

Slice the chicken on an angle. Pile orzo on dinner plates, top with sauce, then add sliced chicken to the top of the dish.  Serve with a sliced tomato salad.

(Serves 4)

Sorry for the horrible pictures.  It tastes better than it looks.

The Reason Nick Married Me: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

My mom discovered this recipe when I was in high school and has since published it in multiple cookbooks.  It was the dish I selected for my birthday dinner for almost ten years running, and it is quite possibly Nick's favorite meal ever.

But be advised, this dish is not for the faint at heart.  If you don't like butter, cheese, and sour cream, you won't like this.  Illustrative Example:  Back in my former life (when I worked as a high school teacher) one of my coworkers asked for the recipe.  The next day she came in complaining that her casserole didn't turn out well at all.  She claimed it was dry and lacked the creamy consistency that mine had.  When I asked if she followed the recipe, she said that she followed it exactly...except she reduced the amount of butter by half, used fat-free cheese and low-sodium cream of chicken soup, and left out the sour cream entirely.  And she wondered why hers wasn't any good?!  Gag me!

Health food is for wimps.  Grow a pair and give this recipe a try.  :)

CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

• 3 bone-in chicken breasts with skin
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can chopped green chilies
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 cups shredded Mexican cheese
• 12 large (burrito size) flour tortillas, torn into bite-sized pieces

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Wrap together in foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour.  After chicken has cooled, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces and toss the bones and skin.  Reserve juices.  In a saucepan, melt butter and saute onions over medium heat until they are translucent (about 5 minutes).  Add cream of chicken soup, green chilies, reserved chicken juices, and water.  Cook until bubbly (3-5 minutes) then stir in sour cream.

In a 9x13 glass baking pan, layer half the flour tortillas and top with half the shredded chicken.  Drizzle half of the hot sour cream sauce over the tortillas and chicken.  Top with half the cheese.  Repeat with the remaining half of the tortillas, chicken, sauce, and cheese.  Bake at 350 until bubbly (about 15 minutes).  

Serves 6-8.  (Pair with an avocado, tomato, and lime salad.)

Geez louise.  I'm embarrassed to include this photo.
Nick put away our leftovers before I had a chance to take a picture,
so I had to unearth this serving from the fridge.
But I'm not gonna lie...it doesn't look that pretty.  But it is TASTY.

Chicks Dig It: Oven Barbecued Chicken Breasts

My nephew Price (age 2) adores chicken, which he refers to as "chick."  If you tell Pricey that any mystery meat is chick, he will eat it up and say, "Ummm...good chick."  Even if it's tilapia.  I should know.  I tried it.  :)


This main dish is super easy and kid-friendly.  Even Ella the two-year-old self-proclaimed vegetarian enjoyed it tonight. And, of course, Price would certainly approve of this chick.

OVER BARBECUED CHICKEN BREASTS

• 1 cup bottled barbecue sauce (I used Stubs)
• 2 tbs prepared mustard
• 2 tbs cider vinegar
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• garlic salt and pepper

Combine first four ingredients in a 9x13 glass baking pan (I lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup).  Mix well, and add seasoned chicken breasts to pan.  Coat both sides of each breast and marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, turning after 15 minutes.  Serve chicken with pan sauce drizzled over the top.  (Serves 4 if you use 4 breasts)

Not the most appetizing of photos, but you get the idea.
Note the large space reserved for my cabbage salad.
Also note the half-eaten bread...sometimes you just can't wait.