Chicken Piccata (Creamy Lemon Parmesan)

4 large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 tbsp Flour (all-purpose)

2 tbsp fresh Parmesan Cheese, finely grated

1 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

1 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Butter

2 tbsp Garlic, minced

1 can Chicken Broth

1/2 cup Milk

1/3 cup fresh Parmesan Cheese, finely grated

4 tbsp Black Olives, sliced thin

1 tsp Cornstarch

1 tbsp Water

3 tbsp Lemon Juice

1 tbsp Parsley

1) Lightly spray pan/skillet with a light coating of Pam and heat over medium-high heat. In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour mixture. Shake off excess and set aside.

2) Heat the 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 teaspoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until butter is melted and pan is hot. Fry the chicken until golden on each side and cooked through and no longer pink (about 3-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken). Transfer onto a warm plate.

3) Add the garlic to the oil in the pan (add a little more oil if needed) and fry until fragrant (about 1 minute). Reduce head to low-medium heat, add the broth and milk. Bring the sauce to a boil; season with salt and pepper to your taste; add in the Parmesan cheese and 2 tbsp olives and allow sauce to simmer for about 2 minutes until thicker. (If the sauce is too runny for your liking, add the cornstarch/water mixture into the center of the pan and combine into the sauce. It will begin to thicken immediately.)

4) Pour in the lemon juice, allow to simmer for a further minute to combine. Add the chicken back into the pan to serve, or serve over steamed vegetables, zucchini noodles or cooked pasta with the sauce. Top with extra mushrooms to garnish, add lemon slices and parsley.

Roasted Potatoes with Dill

4 lb small Red Potatoes - quartered

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 tsp Salt

6 TBSP Dill

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a baking pan toss together potatoes, oil, salt and dill.  Roast in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are golden, about 25 minutes. 

Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast

This recipe is from my Pioneer Woman Cooks Cookbook.

Perfect Pot Roast pg. 120

You can see PW's post of this recipe on her blog with delicious photos!

Ingredients

1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 whole Onions

6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots) - I cheated and used baby carrots

Salt To Taste

Pepper To Taste

1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead) - I didn't use wine

2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock

3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste

3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste

Preparation Instructions

(check out the bargain for this roast... Original price 12.24, I paid 5.11... Lucked out on mark down day!)

First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).

Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (I cheated and used baby carrots!). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.

Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.

With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up. (I used broth and didn't use wine)

When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.

Here is my roast before going into the oven (above) and when it came out of the oven (below). 

The roast just fell to pieces (above), this is what was left in the pot once I pulled out the roast (below) my first thought was the leftovers will make great soup!

This roast was so good!!! I also made PW's Creamy Mashed potatoes to go with the roast. (see previous post)

Stuffed Shells - from Cook Yourself Thin

This recipe is from the Cook Yourself Thin cookbook. It has some great recipes that are healthy yet delicious meals.



Yummy!



Stuffed Shells (according to the book it makes 10 servings and a serving contains 331 calories)

The Players

12 ounces (1 box) Jumbo pasta shells (Approximately 40 shells)

For the tomato sauce:
1 (28-ounce) can peeled plum tomatoes in juice
1 (14-ounce) can peeled plum tomatoes in juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup roughly chopped red onion
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
Salt
2 sprigs fresh basil
Pepper

For the stuffing:
1-pound bag baby spinach
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil, plus extra for serving
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise, and sliced thin
2 scallions, chopped *didn't use in ours
2 cups (16 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat, part skim mozzarella cheese
1 thin slice ham, chopped *didn't use for ours, made it a meatless meal
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch grated nutmeg *didn't use... Do you know how hard it is to find whole nutmeg!

Cooling Shells

 For the shells, spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray. (I used foil to cover the pan then sprayed the foil... less dishes later!). Put shells in boiling salted water. Partially cook, 6-7 minutes, until slightly tender but still firm. Drain, spread on baking sheet in single layer, allow to cool.

Tomatoes in the blender

The recipe in the cookbook says to make the sauce, then the stuffing in the same pan but I decided to work on them at the same time since the sauce had to simmer 20+ minutes.

For the sauce, mash tomatoes in a bowl or blender/food processor. 

Red Onion and garlic

Heat oil in pan on med-low heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring.

Saute Onions and Garlic

 Cover, reduce heat to very low and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Onions and garlic turning a beautiful done color

Add tomatoes with juice, basil, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes. (I did this on medium low heat.)

Tomatoes, basil, and salt added to the garlic and onions

 Then simmer very gently (I did it on lowest heat), partially covered, until thick, about 20 minutes. season with 1/8 teaspoon of pepper.

Spinach and Salt

Add spinach and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a skillet. Cook over medium heat, covered, stirring until wilted, 5-6 minutes. Drain, cool, squeeze out liquid, chop, and set in bowl.

Mandolin helped slice the zucchini thin

 Cut zucchini in half length wise and slice thin. To help with slicing thin, I used a mandolin.

Saute in olive oil

 Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add zucchini and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden brown. Add scallions and saute another minute.

Parsley, Spinach, & Zucchini

Add zucchini to bowl with spinach and parsley.

All mixed up

 Mix zucchini, spinach, parsley, ricotta, ham, 1/2 cup of mozzarella, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Assembly Line time

Place a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of 2 9x13 pans. Fill the cooked shells with cheese mixture.

It makes ALOT

 Arrange shells side by side in a single layer.

Stuffed Shells

 Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells.

Add Sauce

 Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Top with Cheese

 Cover with foil and bake until filling is heated and cheese is melted. 25-30 minutes.

All done

 Doesn't that look delicious!

Melted Cheese

 Verdict: I would add a little bit more salt. Since I didn't use the ham I think it was missing a little salt. But other than that is was wonderful!