Lemon Butter Chicken Breasts

Recently I went to a Penzeys store and bought a bunch of new spice blends to try.  While sifting through my ridiculously huge Pinterest food boards, I found this recipe, which called for lemon pepper.  I used Florida seasoning for the first time, and it was FANTASTIC!  I also used Meyers lemons, because they were the freebie at Giant Eagle last week. :-)

I served it with roasted baby potatoes and asparagus sauteed in olive oil and Penzeys Mural of Flavor.

This recipe comes from Better Homes & Gardens.  Click here for the original link.

Lemon Butter Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

6 medium boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 pounds)

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning

1/3 cup butter

2 lemons, sliced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Hot cooked rice or pilaf (optional)

Directions

Place each chicken breast half between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound lightly into a rectangle about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Remove plastic wrap. In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and salt. Coat chicken breasts with flour mixture. Sprinkle chicken breasts with lemon pepper.

In a 12-inch skillet cook the chicken breasts in the hot butter, half at a time, over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes on each side or until brown and no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet. Add lemon slices to skillet; cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once. Return all of the chicken to the skillet, overlapping chicken breasts slightly. Drizzle lemon juice over the chicken breasts. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more or until pan juices are slightly reduced. Serve chicken, lemon slices, and pan juices over hot cooked rice or pilaf, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Garlic Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

The boyfriend found this recipe one night (on foodnetwork.com) and we've made it a few times since then. It's always a winner. Tonight was the first time I've made it, and it was still good! There's not an over amount of fussing with it, the garlic just gets crushed and the rosemary stripped off the stem. No minute chopping and mincing involved. Which is always a plus.


Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
6 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves stripped from stems
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning) or, coarse salt and black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Arrange chicken in a baking dish, 9 by 13-inch. Add garlic, rosemary, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon zest and grill seasoning or salt and pepper to the dish. Toss and coat the chicken with all ingredients, then place in oven. Roast 20 minutes. Add wine and lemon juice to the dish and combine with pan juices. Return to oven and turn oven off. Let stand 5 minutes longer then remove chicken from the oven. Place baking dish on trivet and serve, spooning pan juices over the chicken pieces.

Turkey Penne with Lemon Cream Sauce

This was an easy recipe to prepare with lots and lots of flavor!  Sauteeing the vegetables leaves them crisp-tender, which really adds to this dish.  I used chicken instead of turkey and it came out just fine.

This recipe is from the August/September issue of Simple and Delicious.

Turkey Penne with Lemon Cream Sauce

2 cups uncooked penne pasta

1/2 lb turkey breast cutlets, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

3 Tbsp butter, divided

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

2 small carrots, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups half and half

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I used halved grape tomatoes instead)

Cook pasta according to the package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet (next time I would use my Dutch oven), saute turkey in 1 Tbsp butter until no longer pink.  Remove and keep warm.

Saute broccoli and carrots in the same skillet until crisp-tender.  Add garlic.  Cook 1 minute longer.  Strin in the flour, bouillon granules, thyme, pepper and salt until well blended.  Combine half and half and lemon juice.  Gradually stir into broccoli mixture.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until thickened.

Drain pasta.  Add to the skillet.  Stir in turkey and tomatoes and heat through.

Pockets of Lemon Cake

This cake is a perfect summer dessert!  I've been making it for years, but recently rediscovered it to make for our housewarming party.  Everyone loved it so much, there wasn't time to get a photo!

I cut this recipe out of a Pillsbury ad.

Pockets of Lemon Cake

Cake

1 package white cake mix
1 1/4 water
1/3 cup oil
4 egg whites (to keep the cake white)
1 can lemon pie filling (I always make instant lemon pudding* instead)

Topping

1 can lemon frosting
1 container Cool Whip, thawed

Heat oven to 350.  Prepare 13x9 cake pan (grease and flour or spray with cooking spray).  Prepare cake mix as directed using the above measurements of water, oil, and egg whites.  Spread batter into prepared pan.  Drop the pie filling or pudding by heaping teasponfuls evenly onto batter (I usually end up with four rows of three).  Bake 30-40 minutes or until edges pull away from pan and top is golden brown.  Allow cake to cool in pan for 45 minutes or until completely cooled.

Mix lemon frosting and Cool Whip, blend well.  Spread over cooled cake.  Serve cake chilled.

* We drink 1% milk, which doesn't make good pudding --  it comes out too thin.  The box calls for 2 cups of milk, so I always use 1 1/2 cups instead, to make it thicker, instead of buying a small container of whole milk just to make the pudding.

Lemonade Fruit Salad

What a fantastic version of fruit salad!  The sauce makes it very sweet and yummy.  This is excellent as a side dish, dessert, or breakfast/brunch option. 

While it is POSSIBLE to pit a cherry without a cherry pitter, it isn't your best option.  It's easy enough, but my fingers are stained with cherry juice now!  Since we liked this so much, I see a cherry pitter purchase in my future.

Lemonade Fruit Salad

1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 fresh pineapple, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 lbs seedless red grapes
1lb fresh dark sweet cherries, pitted

In a small sauce pan, bring water and sugar to a boil.  Add lemon and orange peels.  Remove from heat and cool completely.  Stir in lemon juice.

In a large bowl, combine fruit and drizzle with syrup and toss gently to coat.

Lemon Sage Chicken

I saw this while flipping through the new issue of Taste of Home and it sounded fantastic!  And you know what?  It WAS!

Yes, you really do need 3 eggs for the egg wash.  Because you dip the chicken in flour first, a lot of the egg sticks to the chicken.  I thought it was too much, but I actually could have used a little more.

One tip -- make sure the oil is HOT.  If you don't, the coating will not stick like you want it to.

Lemon Sage Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesean
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced (I used 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

2 Tbsp chopped shallot
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup white wine
4 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced (I used 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp sage
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp cold butter, cubed

1.  Flatten chicken to 1/2 inch thick.  In shallow bowl, combine eggs, cheese and seasonings.  Place flour in another shallow bowl.  Coat chicken with flour, then dip in egg mixture.

2.  In large skillet, brown chicken in oil in batches (don't cook it completely -- you will bake it).  Transfer chicken to greased 13 x 9 inch pan.  Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until done.  (Our oven may be off a bit -- I had to cook it for about 25 minutes)

3.  In another skillet, sautee shallot until tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Add wine, lemon juice, herbs and lemon peel.  Cook over medium heat until liquid is reduced by half.  Add cream.  Cook until thickened, stirring ocassionally.  Stir in butter until melted.  Serve sauce over the chicken.

Fettuccine al Limone (Lemon Fettuccine)

I have been the Museums Editor at BellaOnline for six years.  We have over 400 sites, including several food topics.  This recipe comes from Paula Laurita, the Italian Food Editor.  I originally posted just the link to her recipe, but she recently announced she was leaving BellaOnline and I decided I better copy and paste it here so we didn't lose it!  It's a gem of a recipe.

I like mine a little creamier, so I use half a pound of linguine instead of a whole pound of fettucine.  And I add the Parmesan cheese right into the sauce, because I rarely buy it and grate it myself.  The store bought stuff melts into the sauce better that way.

I also add chicken to mine.  I saute bite-sized pieces in olive oil and minced garlic after sprinkling them with a little salt and pepper.  I have also made it with shrimp and that is extra delicious.

This recipe is SO GOOD we eat it for special occasions (like Valentine's Day!) and just a regular weeknight dinner.  You'll love it.  Trust me.  My printed copy is covered in butter and lemon juice splatters from years of enjoying it!

Fettucine al Limone

Ingredients

• 1 pound fettuccine
• 3 Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 tsp lemon zest, finely chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt
• black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions

1. Boil the water for the pasta.
2. Put butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a skillet over a medium-high heat. After the butter has melted, let the mixture bubble for 30 seconds. Do not let the butter brown.
3. Pour in the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is reduced by half.
4. Remove from the heat.
5. After the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into the skillet. Return the skillet to a medium heat and toss the pasta with the sauce.
6. Add the grated cheese and toss.
7. Serve immediately.

Note:  For a special touch add cooked shrimp or lobster to the sauce. Serve with a green salad and a white Italian wine.