Lemon-Dijon Chicken with Rosemary

This is a recipe of mine that came about as a result of my trying to copy a recipe my husband found in Joy of Cooking when we were first married. I never could get it down, and I hated using Joy of Cooking (too big and bulky), but I think this one is much better and the method always produces perfectly moist chicken. You will never have dry chicken again if you follow this method.

Lemon-Dijon Chicken with Rosemary

4 boneless, skin-on chicken breasts (if you can't get these, use bone-in split breasts)
1 cup olive oil
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
3 cloves of garlic peeled and smashed
1 heaping tablespoon of dijon mustard
1 sprig of rosemary chopped
1/2 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt
fresh cracked pepper


1. Take your chicken, rinse and pat dry. 
2. Sprinkle generously with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Set aside in a small baking dish, just large enough to hold the chicken. 
3. In a small bowl or liquid measure, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, zest, garlic, dijon, rosemary, sea salt and pepper. Whisk until combined. You should have about 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups liquid. 
4. Pour all but 1/4 cup over your chicken and let sit for 2 hours. Reserve that last quarter cup. You'll use this once the chicken is done cooking. 


You can grill this or bake in the oven. The two methods are below: 
1. To grill- Heat your grill to about 400 degrees. Sear both sides and then turn the heat down to low. Let it cook until the chicken feels firm and the juices run clear. 
2. Remove from the grill, pour the remaining 1/4 cup of marinade over the chicken and then cover with foil. Let it sit for 15 minutes before cutting. 


1. To bake- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put chicken in baking dish, cover with foil and bake until chicken is firm and juices run clear. 
2. Transfer chicken to serving plate and then pour your remaining 1/4 cup of marinade over chicken, cover with foil and let sit for 15 minutes before cutting. 

Blueberry Cobbler Muffins

These muffins began as a recipe for Blueberry Cobbler from my mom, who I believe got it from a church recipe book. These aren't true cobblers, more of a buckle muffin, but I'm sticking with tradition and calling them cobbler.

I adapted them into muffins because my husband, who grew up in southern New Jersey, the blueberry capital of the world, is obsessed with all things blueberry and the muffins are good for portion control. They are great for breakfast, dessert or whatever.

Blueberry Cobbler Muffins
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees


4 cups blueberries (fresh is best, but frozen is fine)
1 stick butter softened but still cool
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt


1. Line muffin tins with paper liners- 
2. Cream together butter and sugar.
3. Add egg, milk, flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Fold in blueberries and set aside while you prepare the topping (recipe below)


Topping
1 stick of soft butter
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg


1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and use a fork or pastry blender to combine until it is blended but still in pea-sized chunks.
2. Top each muffin with a generous portion of strudel topping.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Bakers note: I make these in the big texas-sized muffin tins, and it makes 12. If you use regular muffin tins, it will make 24 - 36. But, if you don't want that many you can half the recipe or, you can use the leftover to make little individual cobblers. Just pour them into small ramekins or french white dishes. Aren't you fancy!?

Crunchy Granola

This granola is a recipe of mine that I developed after much trial and error. I change it almost every time I make it. Feel free to change the nuts to ones you like, or add dried cherries or cranberries instead of raisins. Granola is one of those things that you really can't mess up and it makes SO much, that you can have it for weeks. It is great on top of yogurt with fresh fruit.

Crunchy Granola
6 cups old fashioned or quick oats
1 cup wheat germ
2 cups sliced almonds
7 oz. (1 bag) shredded coconut
2 cups chopped pecans
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups maple syrup - grade a medium amber
1 cup canola oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups raisins


Preheat oven to 325 and cover two half-sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside. 
In a VERY large bowl combine all your dry ingredients, except for your raisins, and mix together with your hands.

In a 4 cup liquid measure, combine your syrup and canola oil. Whisk until combined. Pour over your dry ingredients and mix it all together until your oats mixture is covered with the syrup mixture.

Spread over two separate half sheet pans.

 Bake at 325 for about an hour or until it is golden brown throughout, stirring it around every 15-20 minutes so it doesn't burn.

Allow the oats to cool. Once cool to the touch, transfer to a container and add raisins. Mix all together.

Frittata!

So what do you do when you have left over rosemary potatoes (see earlier post), extra bacon from last nights BLT and nothing for dinner? You make a Frittata! Don't let the name scare you. A Frittata is easy and fast and not at all fussy. They are also very forgiving, so play with it and add what you want. Make it your own and you'll love it.

Rosemary, Bacon and Parmesan Frittata

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
1/2 cup of your leftover rosemary roasted potatoes
3-4 strips cooked, crumbled bacon
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus more for topping
4 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon canola oil
Fresh rosemary (optional)
Salt and pepper

Add butter and canola oil to your cast iron skillet and melt gently over low heat.
Add your potatoes and bacon and heat through then turn down heat.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, salt, pepper, milk, water and rosemary and whisk vigorously until light yellow and foamy. 

Add in all but 2 Tablespoons of the parmesan cheese and whisk until combined.  Pour over the bacon and potato mixture and bake at 350 until it puffs up, about 20 minutes.

Top with remaining parmesan and slice in triangles. Serve with salad and fresh fruit.

A perfect brunch or light summer dinner. For a variation, try it with goat cheese, spinach and chives in place of rosemary, potatoes, parmesan and bacon. Do whatever you want. This is a good base to be creative. 

Herbal Iced Tea Cooler

So this is definitely an Ina inspiration. In her recipe she uses a combination of Red Zinger, Lemon Zinger and Apple Juice, but the Lemon Zinger felt too abrasive for me. I tried it with Mandarin Tangerine Zinger and changed the ratios a little and now it suits me perfectly. This is the perfect light drink on a hot day. It is so refreshing.  To add some color, slice up some oranges and throw them in.
I realize these first two entries aren't so exciting, but good stuff is coming! 

Herbal Iced Tea Cooler

Ingredients:
4 Red Zinger Tea Bags (Celestial Seasonings brand)
4 Mandarin Tangerine Zinger Tea Bags (Celestial Seasonings brand)
4 cups water
4 Cups good Apple Juice
1 cup cold filtered water (optional) 

Boil the 4 cups of water and steep the 8 teabags for about 10 minutes (You don't want them to steep too much longer than that or the tea can become bitter).

Pour your tea into a glass pitcher. Add your apple juice and the 1 cup of cold water (optional). Stir and enjoy!

Rosemary Roasted New Potatoes

Here it is. My inaugural post and it's about potatoes. Can't get much more exciting than that! Just so happens that I happened to make them for dinner and thought it would be a good, simple place to start.

I have a feeling every home cook has made these before, but since I've never had them anywhere else and I make them all the time, I'm taking credit for them.

These potatoes are simple and perfectly earthy. A great summer side dish for BLT's, chicken, steak or pretty much anything on the grill. Come to think of it, they'd also be great in the winter. They are so versatile. You'll absolutely love them.

I recommend making these in a cast iron skillet. If you don't have one you can use a stainless pan, but do not try to make these in a non-stick pan. You won't get a good crust on the potatoes if you use non-stick and these are all about the crust.

Rosemary Roasted New Potatoes
 
Ingredients:
5-6 Red skin new potatoes (you could use fingerling or Yukon, just don't use Russet)
Olive Oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (if using dried, use about 1/2 tsp)
1/4 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt (if using table salt use about 1/8 tsp)
Freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Clean and dry potatoes. Chop into small bite-sized cubes. Place in cast iron skillet. Drizzle liberally with olive oil. Strip the rosemary from the stem and throw in with the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss with your hands. Arrange potatoes so they are in a single layer.

Pop into the oven for about 20 minutes. Check to see if they are getting a good crust. If they are hard to move, then the crust hasn't formed yet and you need to let them cook longer.

When you pull them out they should have a nice golden crust to them and be fork tender. Taste one for seasoning. If they need more salt, add it while they are still hot so it sticks and sinks in.

Next Posts- Herbal Iced Cooler, Blueberry Cobbler Muffins