Lemon Pepper Chicken with Spinach Pesto Pasta

These 2 recipes are ones that I learned a long time ago in elementary school. My mom was trying to teach my sister and I the importance of giving by having us buy or make presents for people on our own. My grandmother's birthday was fast approaching and I had the perfect present for her- dinner cooked by moi! It sounds simple enough, but my grandmother had just been diagnosed with diabetes, so I would have to pick my menu carefully. After much deliberation and preparation, it was the big day. I set the table complete with the good china and stemware, our prettiest tablecloth, the nice napkins, and even candles. The menu for the night- a fresh garden salad, lemon pepper chicken, spinach pesto pasta, and a mocha mousse for dessert. The good memories and great flavors from that dinner have stayed with me and the basis of this meal has evolved into a tried and true favorite.

To start with, I made my spinach pesto. Since this requires me to lug out (and clean) my food processor, I try to make the task worth my while by tripling the recipe. It freezes amazingly and is a quick and healthy dinner when added to pasta or a protein, but also is delicious on sandwiches or mixed into quionoa. Just keep in mind that for the pesto portion of this post, all quantities are tripled from my original recipe.

You could surely do this recipe with fresh spinach but, let's face it, I'm a broke college kid and frozen spinach is way cheaper and pretty dang convenient. I started with 3 (10 oz) packages of Kroger brand frozen spinach. I usually throw mine in the fridge for a few days before making this for them to thaw but you can just defrost them in the microwave also. Most importantly, before throwing the spinach in food processor, be sure to squeeze the excess water out of the spinach.

 The other ingredients for this recipe are 3/4 cup olive oil, 1 head of garlic cloves (with skins off), 3 teaspoons lemon juice, and 2 cups Parmesan cheese. Add into the food processor with the spinach, the lemon juice, the garlic, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Normally, I use the pre-minced garlic sold in jars but I had some garlic I needed to use on hand. It doesn't matter which you choose as the food processor will mince it up for you. Keep in mind, I love lots of garlic in everything. It adds a nice zip to this pesto but if you're not a true lover of garlic, you may want to reduce this amount.

Begin by pulsing the spinach mixture in your food processor and then turn it onto a low speed of 1 or 2. As the food processor is running, add the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil slowly, as picture above. Once this is incorporated, slowly add in the 2 cups of Parmesan cheese and mix until it looks like the picture below.

Mix the pesto in with one package of cooked pasta and you have yourself a beautiful healthy dish. I personally love Ronzoni Garden Delight pasta- it has a full serving of veggies for every serving of pasta. I didn't have any on hand tonight, so I used a whole wheat angel hair.

Now onto the chicken. I have begun buying split chicken breasts and butchering it myself to save money and make homemade chicken stock. You can either use chicken breasts or tenderloins for the recipe. If you use the breasts, I do recommend cutting them into small strips. You will need about 1 pound.

 Next, mix 1/4 cup of flour with 2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning. I used whole wheat flour to keep it healthy.

Dredge you chicken in the flour until it is fully coated and looks like this. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and add chicken. Cook until chicken is white on the edges. Depending on the thickness of your chicken, this is usually around 5-8 minute marker.

Flip over your chicken pieces. They should look something like the above picture. Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice into the pan and cook until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear being careful to not overcook the chicken. The addition of the lemon juice to this recipe is a healthy method to add tons of flavor!

Next, add a splash of white wine to your skillet and reduce into a sauce making sure to stir constantly. I used a lovely Riesling as it was the wine Jacob and I were having with dinner. After thinking about it, I may add white wine in at the same time as the lemon juice when cooking the chicken next time.

Above, a picture of the fully cooked chicken.

Here is the lovely wine for the night. It is Peter Mertes Platinum Riesling Pfalz 2010 1.5 L. can be found at kroger for about $17 although it is often on sale for much less. I would highly recommend it!

Also, served dipping bread with dinner. Simply a few pieces of fresh French bread (thanks Kroger 10/$10) accompanied by dip of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and spices. I used a delicious dipping bread spice blend with toasted sesame seeds tonight that my gradnmother gave me. There are many of these blends out there but you can also just stick with course ground black pepper or italian seasoning.

For your final product, plate your chicken on a bed of the pesto pasta and drizzle with your reduction sauce. The best tip I can give for this recipe is don't skip the sauce! It's a quick way to really elevate your dish and is a flavor-packed component. Everyone will be super impressed by the words like "de-glaze" and "reduction sauce," and you'll be super happy that you already cleaned your skillet......with wine.... to make something delicious.  Let's be honest, simple sauces like this are a great excuse to always have wine on hand and, seriously, cooking is way more fun with a glass of the stuff.

A beautiful close-up. It's so yummy, you'll never feel like it's healthy. Stay hungry my friends!

Homemade Applesauce

Jacob, my fiance, LOVES apples in all forms. Perhaps, this stems from the cases of apples his grandparents in Buena Vista buy from a local orchard for the family to enjoy. His favorite way to eat them- on his truck's tailgate cutting it with his leatherman. I, on the other hand, am a little more apprehensive. I love the flavor of apple but not the texture. In other words, I eat apple everything except fresh apple. Over the summer, I began eating lots of all-natural canned fruits and applesauce as it was a healthy and worry-free alternative even with my hectic work hours. I vowed then, that when I had more time, I would try my hand at making my own.

I started with a basic recipe I found on my favorite recipe site Allrecipes. I used Sarah's Applesauce as a starting basis as it was highly rated by over a thousand people. For my apples, I chose to used Cameo apples since they were on sale. (Kroger fans check it out- $0.99/lb this week!)

Cameo apples are a thin-skinned apple that have a sweetness level of 5 with Granny Smith, the most tart, being a one and Red Delicious and Fugi, the sweetest, ranking in at 10.

I decided to quadruple the recipe so I would have plenty for the week, so I began by peeling, coring, and chopping 16 apples. Normally a chore, I actually looked forward to this process thanks to the awesome new chopper my grandma got me for Christmas.

I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quality slicer/chopper/corer. Here's its link at Williams-Sonoma.

This baby cored these apples with ease. As with any corer, I had to go back and touch up some slices but it definitely cut down on my time and effort significantly!

After coring, I cut the apple slices into large chunks and put them into my pot. Yup, it is from the Paula Dean collection. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a nice basic set of pots on a budget. My tequila swigging comrade, Kaley, also has the same pots in black and also loves hers.

 Next, I added 3 cups of water, 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar, and a spice mixture of 3 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger. It doesn't seem like this is enough water but remind yourself that fruit is mostly made up of water. I reduced the amount of sugar significantly because Cameos are a sweeter apple and I normally buy the no sugar added applesauce. This amount could, of course, be increased for personal tastes. I also like my applesauce with plenty of cinnamon so I increased this amount by quite a bit and added in nutmeg and ground ginger, keys in any cinnamon mix, to round it out.

 Then, I covered my pot and cooked the apples on medium. The recipe calls for 18-20 minutes but, of course, with a pot this large, it increases the time a bit. I cooked my apples for about 30 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.

Once the apples are done cooking, they should look something like this. I let mine cool for about 10-15 minutes before I started mashing. You will definitely need a potato masher for this. Jacob has a nice one like the one in the link that came for who knows where. You could pull out your food processor or blender to get a smoother texture, more like the store variety, but I opted to leave mine in the more rustic state (that dirtied less dishes!)

Yum! Enjoy your freshly made applesauce! It's absolutely delicious warm and got the seal of approval from Jacob and his friend Josh, who is a rather picky eater. It's a great recipe for a rainy/snowy day and left the apartment smelling amazing! Stay hungry my friends!

New Year's Hopings

I'm not sure I believe in New Year's resolutions. They have always seemed to be a special type of promise that is made to be broken. Prime example being McComas gym to first couple weeks of the semester. For a few weeks, the place will be packed with all types of people in everything from under armour to jean shorts or even reading glasses, a chip clip, and a "Hit Me Baby One More Time" inspired tied up T. Soon enough though, the lines for ellipticals and salad bars will once again clear. So this year, I have perhaps made New Year's hopings- promises to myself that I hope to keep the best I can. This year I am hoping to return to my gym rat ways, eat healthy (but still delicious) food, cooking more often, and somehow stay organized all while planning a dream wedding and ensuring my last spring at tech is amazing.

This blog will encompass many of my New Year's hopings in it. My grandmother wisely said once, "There are those that eat to live and those that live to eat and we are certainly the latter." I have carried these words of wisdom with me from that young age and learned to not only enjoy eating but also creating great food.  After much prodding by several people, I decided it really is time for me to start writing my recipes down to share with everyone. A blog seemed the best way for all to enjoy. My recipes are inspired by family, friends, cookbooks, the internet, and my own imagination. Please cook along with me, share your favorites and interpretations, and stay hungry my friend!