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Friday, February 25, 2011

Chicken Piccata with Sauteed Mushrooms


The classic Chicken Piccata gets a delicious twist in this version.

I've been playing with leftovers and little bits of this and that I find in my fridge to make creative dinners during my time off due to the recent heavy snow which gave me several days off to play house husband. This easy and quick main came out beautiful and yummy!
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Chicken Piccata with Sauteed Mushrooms


2--boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1--gallon ziplock bag
1 egg
1/2 c flour
1 T salt
1 t black pepper


1/2 lemon, juiced
1--lime, cut and juiced
1--juice from mandarin orange
1 c--sliced mushrooms
1/2 sliced red onion
2 T--capers
3 T--olive oil

Place the chicken breasts in the ziplock along with the flour, egg and salt and pepper. Shake the bag and squeeze the ingredients until well blended.

Meanwhile, slice onions and mushrooms. Heat a pan adding olive oil. When hot, place the chicken breasts into the pan (shake off excess coating in the bag) and brown each side. Add mushrooms and onions and saute as the chicken finishes. When the mushrooms and onions are caramelized add in the capers and the juice from the lime and lemon. Toss in the lemon and 1/2 a lime. Add in orange juice. Let the juices meld with the chicken.

Remove the chicken from the pan and spoon out the vegetable mixture over the chicken. Toss the lemon and lime halves. Serve over rice, pasta or salad greens.

Bon apetit!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Asparagus-Stuffed Chicken Breast

Home all day today. No school. Snow Day. So, I made a quick trip out to Fred Meyer to pick up a few items, just in case the snow storm turns into a multi-day event.

I found some locally grown, fresh, chicken breasts on sale. Got 'em home and tossed a couple into a zip lock. Then I started looking through the fridge for some likely ingredients for a marinade. There on the self were bottles of tamari, Sriracha sauce and some peanut sauce. Rubbing my chin and scanning the fridge shelves, behind, underneath, tucked way back, I found the rest of my ingredients and began formulating my plan. Here is what I came up with for dinner tonight.

Asparagus-Stuffed Chicken Breast

2--skinless, boneless chicken breasts, butterflied
6--large white mushrooms, sliced
1/4 small red onion, sliced into rings
6 green onion tops, sliced
6-8 small fresh asparagus spears
4 pats of butter
olive oil
1/4 c cooking sherry

Marinade for Chicken
1/2 cup Tamari Sauce
2 T Sriracha Sauce
2 T Peanut sauce
1 t salt
1 T black pepper

Place chicken breasts in a gallon zip lock bag. Pour marinade ingredients into bag. Zip closed. Slosh chicken and marinade together coating the chicken. Turn the bag several times during marinade period. Allow to marinade for at least 3-4 hours. The longer the better.

When ready to put the dish together, remove the chicken from the bag and let drain. Butterfly each breast.

In a frying pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 pat of butter. Toss in onions and mushrooms. Saute, stirring until mushrooms are golden brown. Add sherry and continue cooking a couple more minutes. Remove from heat.

Spoon 1/2 of mushroom mixture into each butterflied chicken breast. Place 1/2 of the asparagus along the length of each breast. Place pieces of butter around the vegetable mixture and fold over the butterflied half of the breast to cover the mixture. Place in a 9 X 12 casserole. Cover lightly with olive oil and salt and pepper.

Place in a pre-heated 375 degree convection oven and roast for 1/2 hour. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Pour pan juices over the breast and any sides.

Serve each breast over a bed of rice, mashed or boiled potatoes.
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This dish went over well with my wife. She had been working on our taxes all day, so I would have to say that the least I could do was to make a nice dinner. Thanks sweetie for all you do for us.