Tag Archives: lunch

Marinated Chicken Breast

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I came across this recipe the other day while trying to find a simple marinade for some chicken that I had sitting the fridge. This marinade has lemon zest, garlic and some dried herbs, but I decided to add two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice to go along with it. The night before I prepared the marinade in one of my dressing carafe and placed it in the fridge to let the flavors marry. Plan on marinating for at least four and up to twelve hours – any longer than that and the lemon juice will start to cook the meat. This morning I pounded the chicken breasts in a sealed, one gallon Ziploc bag – you don’t want all that chicken juice flying around your kitchen! Plus, once the chicken is nice and evenly pounded, you can pour the marinade over the chicken, mush the bag around a little and finally place it in the fridge. Whenever I marinade meat, I either put it in a Pyrex container and cover it, or as with this method I place the bag in another container. It’s just a way to be extra safe in keeping any raw meat juices from contaminating the rest of your fridge and it’s contents.

This chicken grilled up moist and flavorful and paired perfectly with the green salad. I added tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, avocado and grated carrot to the greens – the more veggies for me the better! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Perfectly Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon Zest, Garlic & Herb Marinade – adapted from Once Upon a Chef

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1¾ pounds total)
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 large garlic cloves, minced (use a garlic press)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1½ teaspoons lemon zest (you’ll need one lemon)
  • * I added 2 TBSP of lemon juice

Directions –

1. Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of wax paper and, using a meat mallet, pound to an even ½-inch thickness.

2. Mix all ingredients except chicken together in a 1 gallon zip-lock bag. Add chicken breasts and massage marinade into meat until evenly coated. Seal the bag and place in a bowl in the refrigerator (the bowl protects against leakage); let the chicken marinate at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours.

2. Clean grill and preheat to high. Lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and, using tongs, carefully rub over grates several times until glossy and coated. Place chicken breasts on the grill (make sure they are well-coated with the marinade; the more garlic, lemon zest and herbs on the chicken, the better!). Grill, covered, for 2-3 minutes per side.

Use a fine or Microplane grater to zest the lemon. Simply rub the lemon in one direction against the blades, turning the lemon as you go. Be sure to remove only the yellow part; the white pith underneath is bitter.

 

If you are using less than 4 chicken breasts, you’ll need to reduce the salt accordingly.

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup

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Just a quick post to share a yummy recipe I discovered early this year. This recipe is easily doubled, and if you’d like to stretch it even further you can add some potatoes ( I did this time ). Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Recipe found here: My Bizzy Kitchen

Carrot Cream Pasta

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I found this recipe awhile ago thinking it sounded like a tasty and healthy (minus the heavy cream) meatless meal, aka – something M wouldn’t eat. I think roasted chicken would be a good addition to this and even some peas – you can’t go wrong with peas and carrots now, can you? In my opinion, you can go wrong with too much garlic! Woo – does my breath reek of it! If you plan on making this one and raw garlic’s spiciness isn’t too much for you, then add it all, baby!;o) I only added four of the five and I’ve learned my lesson – I forgot that raw garlic can seem spicy, but it’s also much more potent when it’s not cooked. I recommend maybe adding one or two cloves instead of the recommended five. Other than that, this pasta has a nice flavor – nothing spectacular, but it’s tasty. I added some ketchup (gasp) for its sweetness to cut some of the garlic flavor which made it much easier to eat. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Carrot Cream Pasta Ingredients – adapted from Reeni

  • 1 pound of Organic Carrots, sliced in 1-inch rounds
  • 5 cloves of garlic, whole, peeled
  • 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • Sea or Kosher salt and fresh pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Thyme
  • 2/3 cup Heavy Cream
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated, plus more for serving
  • 1 pound of Pasta
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of the pasta water
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl toss the carrot rounds and garlic with the Olive oil, using your hand to thoroughly coat the carrots and garlic with oil. Season well with salt, pepper, and thyme.
2. Bake in a 9×13 inch baking pan about 45-50 minutes until carrots are tender. Take the pan out and toss halfway through the cooking time.
3. When carrots are tender, remove from oven. Cook the pasta in a generous amount of salted water to al dente according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking
make the carrot cream.
4. In a blender or food processor puree the carrots and garlic together with the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. When the pasta is done cooking reserve a cup and a half of the pasta water.
5. Drain pasta and add to a large mixing bowl. Toss with carrot cream, adding pasta water a little at a time until you get a nice consistency and the pasta is evenly coated.
6. Serve with Parmesan and crusty bread/garlic bread.

Today’s Lunch

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I love making sandwiches extra special. This has the “works” on it: baby swiss, romaine lettuce, tomato, roast beef and honey turkey. I use mustard topped with Boar’s Head deli dressing, kosher salt, pepper and dried oregano…not necessarily in that order. I’m running out of bread, so I will be sure to post one of my favorite bread recipes later on this week. I just wanted to share with you my favorite lunch – I eat this Monday through Friday and I’m not sick of it yet.