Tag Archives: lemon

Lemon Yogurt Cake

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This didn’t last long at our house!

Lemon Yogurt Cake – adapted from Ina Garten

  •  1 1/2 cups King Arthur Self-Rising flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions –

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

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Pan Seared Mahi with Lemon Butter Sauce

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This was really good and the lemon butter sauce was an amazing addition to this simple but elegant meal. I will use this sauce recipe again and again because it would compliment vegetables, fish and chicken wonderfully! My husband gave this an “8”, which I agreed with –  but the best compliment was from my picky six-year-old daughter…she ate it all without complaining! 😉 Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Pan Seared Mahi-Mahi –

  • 1 pound Mahi Mahi or other firm, white fish
  • flour to coat
  • 3 TBSP butter
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 TBSP oil

Directions –

Dry the fish fillets well. Dust with flour on one side. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and brush the floured side of the fish. Season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Place the fish on the skillet floured-side down and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until it is just cooked through. Remove the fish to a serving plate.

Lemon Butter Sauce – adapted from Food Network 

*This is half the original recipe, and we had more than enough for a pound of fish*

  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1.5 lemons, peeled and segmented
  • 1 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon minced shallots
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 turns freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 dash Tabasco sauce
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream (*I used half and half*)
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cut up, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Heat a large nonreactive skillet over high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the wine, lemons, garlic, and shallots. Cook for 3 minutes, breaking up and mashing the lemons with a wire whisk. Stir in the salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and hot sauce and cook until the mixture is somewhat syrupy, for about 3 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook for 1 minute. Over low heat, whisk in the butter a few pats at a time. When all of the butter has been added, remove from the heat, but continue whisking until all of the butter is incorporated into the sauce. Strain the sauce, pressing all of the liquid into a bowl. Stir in the parsley. Serve immediately, or keep warm for a few minutes until ready to use.

Lemon Thyme Chicken

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Quick Post: I made this awhile back and forgot to post! It’s from Annie’s Eats, so if you’re a fan of hers, you know that she wont steer you wrong. This dinner is cheap, quick and flavorful and tasted great with this garlic rice pilaf – which is also one of Annie’s recipes. Pair it with a nice green salad and you’ve got a complete meal that is good enough to share with company. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Lemon Thyme Chicken – adapted from Annie’s Eats

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied into halves (4 pieces total)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1½ tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, minced
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 tbsp. butter

Directions

  • Season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  Place the flour in a shallow bowl, and dredge the chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off the excess.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute until lightly golden, about 2-3 minutes per side, and an instant-read thermometer reads 160˚ F in the thickest part of the chicken.  (Keep in mind that pieces of different sizes will finish cooking at different times to avoid overcooking.)  Remove the chicken pieces to a plate, tent with foil, and set aside.
  • Add the garlic and thyme leaves to the pan and sauté  just until fragrant, about 1 minute.  (If necessary, add an additional small drizzle of olive oil if most of the oil was absorbed by the chicken.)  Off the heat, add the wine to the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits.  Return the pan to the heat and bring the liquid to a simmer.  Stir in the chicken broth.  Reduce until the sauce has thickened, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the lemon juice to the pan.  Add in the butter and whisk until completely melted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately, spooning the sauce over the chicken.

Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake

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I promised M I would make him this a long time ago, so I decided it was best to make good on that promise. Besides, he’s been giving me many guilt-trips these past few days about wanting something sweet. I hope he appreciates this! 🙂 I love lemon zest and the step where you have to rub the zest and sugar together – it smells amazing! While it’s baking is smells buttery and sweet…swoon!

Verdict: I thought it best to cut this recipe in half so the extra loaf wouldn’t tempt me! The crumb is dense, but when I bit into it; it was like a cloud 😉 It’s so light and airy – totally unexpected. It was sweet, lemony (of course) and the texture is so unique. It’s great – if you love lemon, try this!

Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake – adapted from Joy the Baker 

Cake:

  • 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2-1/2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 2-1/3 cups sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 6 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
  • 1 stick, plus 7 tbsp unsalted butter (15 tbsp total), melted and cooled

Syrup:

  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • juice of two lemons
Directions:
  1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9×5-inch loaf pans, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Even if the pans are nonstick, it’s a good idea to butter and flour them.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. Put the sugar and the lemon zest in a large bowl, working with your fingers, rub them together until the sugar is moist and thoroughly imbued with the fragrance of lemon.
  4. Add the eggs and whisk them into the sugar, beating until they are thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in the extract, then whisk in the cream. Continuing with the whisk, or switching to a large rubber spatula, gently stir in the dry ingredients in 3 or 4 additions; the batter will be smooth and thick. Finish by folding in the melted butter in 2 or 3 additions. Pour the batter into the pans, smoothing with a rubber spatula.
  5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. As soon as the cake goes into the oven, make the syrup. After about 30 minutes in the oven, check the cakes for color- if they are browning too quickly, cover them lightly with foil tents.
  6. Stir the water and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar melts, then bring to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and let cool.
  7. When the cakes test done, transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding them and turning them right side up on the rack. Place the rack over a baking sheet lined with wax paper and, using a thin skewer, cake tester or thin-bladed sharp knife, poke holes all over the cakes. Brush the cakes all over with the syrup, working slowly so that the cakes sop it up. Leave the cakes on the rack to cool to room temperature.

Whitefish with Lemon Vinaigrette

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Quick Post: I was at a loss as to what I should make for dinner…again. Last night I used my get out of jail free card, and we ordered Chinese. Tonight that wasn’t an option. Yet again, Publix was selling tilapia for $5.99 so that was what I went with. It’s seasoned simply and paired with a fantastic vinaigrette. The family enjoyed this, and I enjoyed the simplicity of the dish and the speed at which it came together; and I will definitely make this again. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Whitefish with Lemon Vinaigrette – heavily adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

  • 3 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 TBSP unsalted butter
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pounds tilapia
  • Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Directions –
Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons and butter of oil in a 14-inch (or 2 smaller) nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the fillets with salt and pepper. Fry 3 fillets in each pan until they are golden brown and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.
Drizzle the vinaigrette over and serve immediately.
Lemon Vinaigrette –
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 TBSP dried parsley flakes
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Blend the lemon juice, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper. (* I used my stick blender and it worked great*)

Tilapia with Cilantro-Lemon Butter

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Why did I wait so long to make this again? I tried this out about two years ago, so I knew it that we liked it but I still wanted to try something new with tilapia. Well, I’m glad I didn’t because this was so good! Tilapia was on sale today at Publix, then I thought “well, I haven’t cooked fish in a long time”, then I was on the hunt for recipes. It has a lot of my favorite flavors all combined in this super simple and tasty dish: cumin, lemon, cilantro, butter…those are all winners in my book!;) I recommend doubling the dry seasonings and make sure your butter is at room temperature so it’s easier to mix in your ingredients. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Tilapia with Cilantro-Lemon Butter – adapted from Gimme Some Oven

For the fish:

  • 1/2  tsp. salt
  • 1/2  tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1/4  tsp. ground red pepper
  • 4  (6-ounce) tilapia fillets (*I bought about 2 lbs)
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
Cilantro-Lemon Butter:
  • 3  tablespoons  butter, softened
  • 3  tablespoons  finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1  teaspoon  grated lemon rind
  • 1/2  teaspoon  paprika
  • 1/4  teaspoon  salt
  • 1 lemon, quartered
Directions –
To make the butter, simply combine the first five “cilantro-lime butter” ingredients together in a bowl and use a spoon to stir/mash until blended.  Store in refrigerator if not used immediately.

To prepare fish, combine first four “fish ingredients”; sprinkle over both sides of fish and then lightly coat fish with cooking spray. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add fish and cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Place fish on a serving platter and top with a dollop of cilantro-lemon butter.  Serve with a lemon wedge, to be squeezed on top of the fish

Fettuccini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken

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Quick Post: Super simple dinners that can be whipped up quickly are a mom’s best friend! I thought this one up while looking through the weeks sale items on the Publix website. I was happy to find boneless, skinless chicken on sale and snapped up a few packages. Hopefully I can come up with good ideas for the four or so pounds of chicken that I have in the fridge! Thanks for reading:)

Grilled Chicken and Fettuccini Alfredo – a Mom Makes original

  • 3 TBSP olive oil
  • juice of one whole lemon
  • salt, pepper and dried oregano to taste
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast – pounded to an even thickness
  • 1 pound fettuccini noodles
  • 1 jar of alfredo sauce (I had a few jars I needed to use, or I would have made this one)

Directions –

1. Mix the oil, lemon juice and seasonings together then pour over the chicken. Let marinade for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat your grill and cook the chicken about 10-15 minutes or until done.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a generous amount of kosher salt and add the noodles – cook to package directions, drain and set aside.

4. Take the chicken off the grill, add the alfredo sauce to your cooked and drained noodles. Slice the chicken, serve up the fettuccini alfredo and top with the grilled chicken. Serve with a nice green salad and garlic bread. Enjoy!