Friday's Fave Foods***Lemon Artichoke Chicken

Being a native of the Golden State, I love artichokes. The kind you buy in the can are nothing like the ones that grow in the coastal valley's of California, but I like 'em all. And Southerners think I am weird for this. Among other things. That's another story.

Lemon-Artichoke Chicken

INGREDIENTS

*1/4 cup of whole wheat flour

*1/2 tbsp dried oregano

*Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*1/4 tsp sea salt, plus additional for seasoning

* 1 lb think chicken cutlets

*Olive oil cooking spray

*1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

* 1 medium onion, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced

*1 clove of garlic, minced

*1/4 low-sodium chicken broth

*1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and cut into sixths

*1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

*1 tsp of lemon juice

* 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

In a shallow bowl, thoroughly combine flour, oregano, pepper and 1/4 tsp salt. Dredge each chicken cutlet in flour mixture, shake off excess and place on a plate.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium to medium-high, so skillet is hot but not smoking. Add 1/2 the chicken cutlets and cook 3 to 5 minutes per side, until lightly browned and cooked thru. Transfer to clean serving plate and repeat with remaining cutlets, coating skillet once more with cooking spray. Cover your serving plate with foil to keep chicken warm.

Adjust temperature to medium-low and heat oil. Place onion in pan and cook, stirring frequently until soft and golden, 5 to 6 six minutes. Add garlic, cooking for 1 minute, stirring constantly; then chicken broth, bringing it to a simmer; followed by artichokes, lemon juice and zest, simmering for 2 to 3 minutes, until heated through and slightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour artichoke mixture over chicken cutlets, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Calories: 220 for 4 oz chicken serving, and 1/2 cup of sauce.

NOTES: You can make your own cutlets by pounding boneless chicken breast with a meat mallet.

Kitchen Redo Finally Done

5 weeks ago I started this project, and of course, we got the really important part done the first 3 days.

Before


A pretty cool old sink, and in good condition, but I thought a continuous counter top would be more efficient, so it was out with the old.

Here we go. It was a long week-end. Of course I hired someone to do the work. But it's difficult to have the kitchen torn up.

Here we are back together, with new counter, sink and a dishwasher installed.

HALLELUJAH!!!
(on so many levels!)

The sink is cast acrylic. I was nervous about this, but my plumber assured me that they were an awesome product.

(He is right about that)

Very lightweight. Not expensive. Clean up is super easy!

I really wanted to splurge on my counter top and get granite. But the counter alone would have cost me more than the entire job ended up being, so I made peace with a custom piece of laminate.

The faucet I had bought just a few months previous and had installed. I did not cut corners there, and it was about the same price as the sink.

The 'country white' cabinets were annoying the holy heck out of me up against the ultra white of the new dishwasher, so I decided it was time to repaint them. I also decided to put the cabinet doors back on the upper units. I had taken them off several years ago when I painted the cabinets white the first time. I realized when I put the doors back on the lower units that putting cabinets back together was hard. At that point I decided we were going to go with open shelving for awhile.

Then I had this problem.

I knew it was time for the cabinets doors to go back on.

I managed to get these painted during the Christmas Holiday.

(Wow, look at the difference in those 'whites'!)

AFTER

I've been working on getting it all back together for the past week. After I painted the cabinets ultra white, I decided the hardware was quite dated, and the new paint really emphasized that. It was black and looked really harsh. So, new knobs and pulls too.

YAY!

So, the final price tag, including labor?

Just a little over 12 Benjamens.

And my life is much improved. I do need to paint the walls and the ceiling in the near future, and I need a new refrigerator, but those things are not critical just yet.

I'm on to the next project. I will keep you posted!

Friday's Fave Foods***Healthy French Onion Soup

Delicious French Onion Soup does not have to be fattening. Here is a slimmed down version that I love! The homemade crouton in this recipe is so-o-o-o good!

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

*2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

*2 cups of red onion, finely sliced

*1&1/4 cups of sweet yellow onion, finely sliced

*2 TBSP unfiltered, fresh apple cider

*1 TBSP of flour

*8 cups of low sodium chicken broth

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

*1 tsp honey

Heat a large pot over medium-high hear for 1 minute. Add oil and heat for another minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and add onions, saute, stirring occasionally with lid half-covering pot, about 10 minutes. Onions will slowly caramelize.

Add apple cider and stir to deglaze. Add flour and stir to thicken. Add broth, vanilla and honey. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a simmer, about 10 minutes. Reduce hear to low or turn off until ready to serve,

Croutons

INGREDIENTS

*1 loaf of multigrain French bread, sliced very thinly into a minimum of 24 slices

* 12 oz fresh chevre, or grated low-fat Swiss cheese.

Preheat broiler to high.

Lay bread slices on cookie sheet and broil for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly toasted.

TO SERVE

*Preheat broiler to high. Ladle 3/4 cup warm soup into ovenproof ceramic bowls or soup tureens.

*Spread chevre onto the 24 croutons, each crouton receiving about .5 oz of cheese. If using grated cheese, place .5 oz cheese on crouton.

*Place 2 croutons into each soup bowl.

*Place soup bowl under broiler. Broil for 5 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Remove and serve immediately.

Calories per 1 cup of soup and 2 croutons: 220

Nutrients: Onions=vitamin C Onions= quercetin, a flavonoid which studies have shown helps eliminate free radicals in the body.

Friday's Fave Foods***Zucchini Fries

Well, it's that time of year again, when so many of us resolve to eat better. For myself, I have at least 40 lbs to lose, so for the most part, I will be posting healthy recipes in the foreseeable future. Bear with me, meat and potato people. You know I'll throw one in, here and there!

I do like vegetables, and they do like me, (red meat, not so much) so I am always looking for a new way to use them.

Roasted Zucchini Fries

INGREDIENTS

Cooking Spray, olive oil is preferable

4 small zucchini, approx. 1.5#, trimmed and cut into 3 wedges

1/4 teaspoon salt (sea salt or Kosher salt is preferable)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 TBSP of olive oil, extra virgin

2 TBSP of Parmigiana, freshly grated

INSTRUCTIONS

*Preheat oven to 450 degrees

*Line a rimmed baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray

*In a large bowl, combine zucchini, salt, pepper and oil. Toss to coat thoroughly

*Arrange zucchini on prepared baking sheet in a single layer and roast, tossing once halfway thru cooking, for 18-20 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Calories, 1 cup serving = 60

Notes: The nutritional bonus in zucchini is a healthy dose of vitamin C, as well as manganese, a mineral that helps keep bones strong and protects cells from free radical damage.

Friday's Fave Foods***New York Strips in a Scotch Marinade

Happy New Year!

Let me first clarify that this is not a post about New York strippers, in spite of that racy title! It is a post about New York Strip Steak. We do not eat a lot of steak, or even beef at Camp Osceola, but this year for Christmas Dinner we were looking to do something different than the average fare. While a rib roast is certainly traditional, I did not want to cook too much food. Also a rib roast (prime rib) has so much fat in it---which is why it tastes so good---I could not justify doing that to myself or my kids. I think this would also be a good choice for a formal New Year's Eve Menu. Or if you have a meat and potatoes kind of guy. (And most guys are, even if they won't admit it!) This marinade also works on other cuts of beef, but is particularly good for a strip steak because of it's density, and it's natural flavor.

New York Strip Steaks in a Scotch Whiskey Marinade


1/3 c. Scotch whiskey

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. soy sauce

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 onion, chopped

4 New York strip sirloin steaks


In a container large enough to hold the steaks, combine all ingredients for marinade. Place steaks in marinade and leave in refrigerator overnight. Remove steaks from marinade and broil as desired.

NOTES: I grilled mine on the Weber, so that's an option too. Yep, standing out there in my Santa Hat, cookin' Christmas dinner.


Your good scotch will work, but I'm not a scotch drinker, so I had to go to the package store on Christmas Eve (it was busier than Walmart!) and buy a (relatively) cheap bottle. Which might be your best option too if you don't want your guy to know you used his good scotch!