The Doctor Will See You Now (Lemon Baked Chicken Breasts)

Carol discovered this recipe while waiting for a dermatologist appointment. It came out of Gourmet magazine. She wrote it down on the back of a receipt.
We got home tonight at 5:30 and sat down for dinner at 6:30.

LEMON BAKED CHICKEN BREASTS

4 split chicken breasts
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp thyme, crumbled
Salt and pepper

In a cast iron skillet heat butter and oil over medium heat till foam subsides. Add chicken and sauté, turn till golden brown.

Remove chicken to baking dish and pour off excess fat. Add wine and thyme to hot skillet and deglaze. Pour the pan juices over chicken and salt and pepper. Sprinkle with lemon juice and bake in lower 1/3 of oven at 400 F for 30 minutes or until tender. Baste the chicken with the juices.

We served this with brown rice and green beans.







We had dessert, too! My niece, Leah, helped make the brownies.

5th Grade Chef Class ( Lemon Cheescake)

I remember taking a "Chef" class in 5th grade. One of the elementary school teachers gave the class. It met on Friday afternoons and it was just for the boys. I volunteered to make cheescake.


LEMON CHEESECAKE

8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 pkg instant lemon pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk
9 inch graham cracker pie crust

Slowly blend 1/2 cup milk into cream cheese and stir until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups milk and pudding mix; beat with egg beater for 1 minute. Pour at once into graham cracker crust. Chill 1 hour until set.

Cara me a way (Kielbasa and Cabbage)

I did a word search in Mom and Dad's cook book. I only have four more recipes that call for caraway seeds. Of course, I didn't have any caraway. So it was off to the store. Now I'm set for the next decade. This was very good. I'd cut back the red pepper to 1/8 tsp next time, though.
KIELBASA AND CABBAGE

6 slices bacon
1 head cabbage (2 lb) cut in 8 wedges
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tsp caraway seed
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp red pepper, crushed (optional)
1 lb Polish Kielbasa, cut in 6 pieces (3 inches each)

Fry bacon until crisp in a large skillet and set bacon aside. Secure outer leaves of each wedge with a toothpick. Add cabbage wedges, onion, water, sugar and all the spices to the bacon drippings. Cook covered 15 minutes, turning cabbage wedges at least once. Add Kielbasa and continue cooking covered an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until cabbage is at desired tenderness.


Do not allow to cook dry, add water as needed. Top with crumbled bacon. Serve with salt water potatoes and a pat of butter. Serves 6.

I Found A Leek(Cream of Broccoli Soup)

I made soup for dinner. Carol did all the chopping. This was the first time we'd ever cooked with leeks. They are a lot bigger than I imagined.

I used light butter, only 3 Tbsp of flour and fat free half and half. It cuts the calories in half and it still tasted great. I also pureed the soup before serving.


CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP

1/4 cup butter or oleo
2/3 cup diced leek, white and some green tops
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced celery
3 to 3 1/2 cups chopped broccoli flowerets
6 tbsp flour
2 cans (10 oz ea) chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 cup half and half
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

In a 4 quart pot, melt butter over medium heat. Sauté leek, onion and celery 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp. Add broccoli, reduce heat to low, cover and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until broccoli is almost tender. Blend in flour until evenly distributed, and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in broth and water. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Continue to cook until broccoli is tender. Slowly stir in half and half and heat until soup is hot. Do not boil. Makes 1 1/2 quarts. May be frozen.

Rainy Days And Saturdays(Dijon Pork Chops)

This is a great recipe to make when you have a little extra time. It was a windy, rainy day here so it seemed to be just the right time to try this one. I doubled this recipe because I had five chops. I used 1" chops. I was a little concerned that they would need to cook longer than the time shown. It worked out great though. I used the second to the lowest level in the oven.


DIJON PORK CHOPS


2 pork chops
Shortening
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard, divided
1/2 small onion, minced
1 pkg McCormicks pork gravy mix with 1 cup water
1/4 tsp marjoram
3 tbsp sour cream
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp white wine
1/2 can (4 oz) mushroom pieces, drained
1/2 tsp parsley flakes

Trim fat from pork chops and render in frying pan or use shortening to brown the pork chops. Salt and pepper pork chops and spread both sides with half of the mustard. Place in a cooking-spray coated baking dish in a single layer.
Sauté onion in frying pan juices for about 5 minutes. Prepare the gravy in the frying pan and add the remaining ingredients and heat. Pour sauce over pork chops and cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Heat in a 350 F oven for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve with sauce over steamed rice.

Carol and I were enjoying a glass of malbec wine while I prepared this. So rather than using white wine I used the bottle that was open. I think I liked the flavor of the red wine rather than the white. I also used fresh mushrooms. I sauted them along with the onions.

Welcome Home Dinner (Chicken Marsals)

Carol was in Baltimore with her friends this weekend. I thought this would be a nice meal to have when she got back on Sunday.
What I liked about this recipe is that it sounds fancy, but it was really easy.
I adjusted the portions and used six thighs. We have some leftovers. I'll saute some mushrooms and add when we have the encore later this week.

CHICKEN MARSALA

4 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, pounded to 1/8 inch
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp minced green onions
2/3 cup Marsala
1 tsp lemon juice
4 thin slices lemon
Minced Parsley

Preheat oven to 225 F. Mix flour, salt and pepper and dredge chicken pieces. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil and butter. Brown chicken about 2 minutes on each side and remove to preheated oven.
Add minced onion to frying pan and saute for 1 minute. Add Marsala to deglaze pan and simmer for 4 minutes. Add lemon juice, stir and return chicken to pan for about 2 minutes. Serve with fettuccine tossed with Parmesan cheese. Serves 2.

Nor'easter Supper (Flank Steak Roll Ups)

This is one of my all time favorites from Mom and Dad's cook book.
I used the marinade shown below. This marinade is from a Michael Field cookbook. The Adolph's meat marinade is a little salty. I knew we were going to get a lot of snow this evening. So I made the marinade this morning.

The recipe for the roll ups is a little different from what was originally in the book. Mom and Dad made some updates to the soft copy and I didn't update my book.
I didn't pre-cook the bacon. I used a strip for each roll up and cut off the excess. Make sure the bacon doesn't overlap or it won't cook as well. I fried the extra bacon ends and put it on the salad we served with the meal.

FLANK STEAK ROLL-UPS

1 flank steak
1 envelope Adolph's meat marinade*
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
2 tbsp water
6-8 strips bacon, precooked in 375 F oven for 10 minutes
1 can (4 oz) mushrooms

Mix dry marinade, salad dressing and water and pour into large Pyrex baking dish. Moderately pound flank steak on both sides and marinate for at least an hour.
Cut flank steak across grain in 1 inch strips. Roll up strips, wrap with bacon and skewer with two toothpicks. (If this results in rolls larger than 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut strips in half and re-roll.)

Stand rolls on end on broiler pan and broil 4 ½ minutes on one side then 3 minutes on other side. If bacon is not done to desired crispness, turn on edge for a minute or so. For medium rare, total time should not exceed 7 1/2 minutes. Heat mushrooms and drain; add tbsp butter and drippings from broiler pan. Serve with the steak roll-ups. Serves 2. (Rev. 9/12/92)

*If time allows (6-8 hrs) use this marinade:
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 Large Bay Leaf, crumbled
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley