Tag Archives: lemon

Mixed Greens Chicken Avocado Salad with Lemon Poppy-seed Dressing

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Mondays…. I made this salad last night. You know the movie “Office Space”?

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I seriously LOVE that movie. I really do. I’ve seen it quite a few times, and it’s still funny every time!

I was thinking about that quote yesterday. The day seemed endless. In South Carolina, there is a yellow haze of pollen floating through the air, and coating my throat and lungs causing swelling and coughing and overall miserable feelings in our house. What is the need for this much pollen? I mean, you look outside and you can SEE THE BREEZE. I’m not joking. We have enough pine trees. The pollen needs to dial it back a bit.

I know this rant will do nothing. But I felt the need to whine. And then I had a glass of wine. HA!

Anyways… back to my salad. My husband said that he was craving his chinese food leftovers last night and wanted to eat that, and was going to be coming home late. I, however, was NOT craving that. So… I looked at my meal plan and decided on a yummy and filling salad!

This one is seriously soo good! I did have popcorn later that evening as a nighttime snack, but this one was filling, sweet yet tangy, and really fresh. You have your crunch, chewy, sweet, tart… everything!

Try this one out for sure!

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Ingredients

Dressing
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/4 cup canola oil (or any light oil)
    • 2 tsp lemon zest
    • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
    • 2 Tbsp honey
    • 2 tsp spicy brown mustard, OR dijon mustard
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • dash of fresh ground pepper
    • 2 tsp poppy seeds (or more if you desire)
  • Mix it in a 2 cup measuring cup with a whisk, or you can mix it in a Salad Dressing Mixer.

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Salad
  • 4-6 chicken tenderloins cooked (or leftover grilled chicken on a Cast Iron Pan) thru and sliced. (I cooked mine in the skillet with a bit of olive oil, oregano and salt and pepper. The more basic the chicken, the better. You’re gonna have the flavor in the salad and the dressing)
  • 5 oz baby spinach
  • 5 oz. Artisan salad mix (or spring greens)
  • 1 avocado, cored and diced
  • 1/2 cup shaved or grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 sliced and halved cucumber (I prefer English or “hothouse” cucumbers)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • Optional: You can add some almonds or pecans as well if you’d like!!!

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ENJOY!!!!!!

And now, for the quote of the day:

one of my all time favorite quotes

Quick Shrimp and Avocado Salad

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I needed a quick dinner… something using fresh foods, and low in carbs. Something yummy but also filling, and this salad definitely did the trick! I LOVED it! The natural fats in the avocado and the high protein in the shrimp were exactly what I needed! So fresh and yummy! If you want a nice salad to go with dinner, a quick lunch with leftover shrimp, or even something to put on a hoagie roll, this is it! Try this salad out!

This is for the dressing and the salad.
Also… I usually use this cute little wish when I’m making salad dressing:

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Cute huh? It fits easily into bowls and measuring cups, or whatever I need to fit it into to mix something. Perfect size for little jobs. 🙂

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INGREDIENTS

1 lb. Baked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 avocado, cut into large pieces
1/2 sweet onion chopped
1/2 cup sweet white corn (thawed frozen or fresh)
1/2 to 1 English cucumber sliced and quartered
Optional handful of grape tomatoes

For the Dressing

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
Dash white balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
Dash hot sauce

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INSTRUCTIONS

Bake shrimp for 12 min at 350 with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Remove, set aside. After cooled (10 min), either leave whole, or chop into bite size pieces.
Add shrimp, avocado, and onion, corn, cucumber and tomatoes to a large bowl.
In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together ingredients for the dressing. Whisk until well-combined.
Add dressing to shrimp avocado salad until it has the amount you desire. Top with a bit of parmesan cheese if you’d like!
Serve additional dressing on the side. I put leftover dressings in washed glass jelly jars and save it for up to a week in the fridge.
And now, for the quote of the day:

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Shrimp Alfredo

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I’ve decided I am going to try my best to restrict most of my carbs to dinner. I, personally, cannot give up carbs without going a little bit crazy. So, in trying to tone of my slightly soft figure… carbs and sugars are being lowered and I am making choices using healthy fats… as much as possible. I am also watching my portions.
This alfredo recipe uses all natural ingredients, it’s inexpensive to make, delicious, and if you’ve been good all day, a great treat at the end of the night! And… if you want to eliminate the carbs… remove the pasta and use spaghetti squash! I got this from food network, and it’s one of Giada’s recipes. I made a few changes, but this is a really really good one! Giadas Alfredo

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Ingredients

10-12 ounces fresh pasta
2 cups half&half
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cups grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper

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Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Drain.

Stir 1 1/2 cups of the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy large skillet to blend. Add the butter and garlic, and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Add the pasta and toss. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, and Parmesan to the cream sauce in the skillet. Add the lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Toss the pasta mixture over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.
Serve immediately and enjoy this lemony, creamy, fresh dish!
I added shrimp to mine! I follow Ina Garten’s recipe and drizzle with olive oil, and salt and pepper and then roast them at 350 in the oven  for 10-12 minutes. They always come out PERFECT!

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We all know food is important. Some of us get what is called “hangry” like I do. When I’m hungry… sometimes I act a little crazy. I’m ashamed… but it’s true. Gotta remember to keep snacks with me for me AND the kids! Here’s a shirt to go with this statement! I may need to purchase it!

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Lemony Bacon Avocado Pasta

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Do you ever look in your fridge and see all these separate components and wonder how in the world you’re going to make dinner out of them?? This is one of those. Bacon? Avocado? Lemon? Parmesan? Spinach? Basil? Peppers? Doesn’t that just SOUND like a winning combination?

When I’m having a cruddy day, I always crave pasta. Today was actually a pretty GOOD day. But, really, when does a good day stop you from wanting pasta with bacon? I mean, really.

I’m actually quite picky about my bacon though. As my previous post states, my son has a lot of food allergies and sensitivities. I found out that he is QUITE sensitive to a lot of preservatives. It can range from a rash to hives! So, when we buy bacon, we buy uncured and nitrite/nitrate free. Strangely, a LOT of ham and bacon has that in it. I CAN find it, but it’s hard and expensive. Trader Joes does have a good option that isn’t too expensive. Our favorite is this: TraderJoesFullyCookedAppleSmokedUncuredBacon-Package

When I cook it in the microwave, or in a pan on the stove top, it ALWAYS comes out yummy and crispy. Unless, of course, I’m at my sister’s house who has a monster of a microwave that burns it after 30 seconds and I always forget how powerful her’s is. HA! So… watch your wattage. I am NOT going to tell you how long to cook it for, because it seems my microwave may be weaker than other peoples… lol.

So, here’s another craving for you…

baconavocadopasta

You’re welcome world. That’s right. This dish has Bacon. Avocado. Cheese. Pasta.

And… it’s delicious. 🙂

My recipe is inspired by: http://damndelicious.net/2014/06/28/bacon-avocado-pasta/

I changed a few things, so the recipe below is my own, but if you’d like to see the original, check out the link above.

INGREDIENTS

  • 12 ounces tri-color rotini pasta (or your favorite pasta)
  • 4 slices nitrite and nitrate free bacon, chopped
  • 1 avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
  • 1/3 cup diced sweet onion
  • 1/4 cup basil leaves chopped
  • 1/4 cup baby spinach leaves chopped
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup diced red pepper
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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INSTRUCTIONS

  • In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and onion cook until bacon is brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
  • In a large bowl, combine pasta, bacon, avocado, peppers, onion, spinach and basil. Stir in Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Serve hot or cold, garnished with Parmesan, if desired.

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ENJOY!

And now, for the quote of the day:

The-Reason1

Apple Thyme Lemon Chicken

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LemonThymeAppleChicken

This one has FLAVOR! I’m saying… like, chicken can be very void of flavor. Seriously. You’ve gotta try really hard to pack flavor into chicken. This one… SO flavorful and just bright! I used chicken thighs, and I think that helped keep the chicken moist also. I used skinless, but you can also use skin-on for extra moisture in the chicken.

I served this over mashed potatoes and with green beans. I am going to be trying mashed cauliflower soon… I’ll have to see how it compares!! Maybe mashed cauliflower and a salad next time… hmmm… this chicken was good… I’d definitely make this again. Two thumbs up from both my father-in-law and my huband!!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • 2 apples, cored and chopped into slices
  • 1/4 onion cut into thin, large pieces
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 1.74- 2 lbs chicken (I used 5 pieces chicken thighs skinless)… you can use skin-on or skin off
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 11/2 cup chicken broth (low sodium)
  • 1/2 cup low fat greek yogurt (or crème fraîche)
  • Juice of ½ lemon and zest of 1 whole lemon
  • 1/4 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

AppleThymeLemonChicken

Directions:

01 Melt half the butter in a saucepan over high heat, add apples and sauté, stirring carefully with a wooden spoon, until golden brown and tender. Transfer to a bowl.
02 Melt the remaining butter in the pan over medium heat and fry the onions, garlic, bay leaves and thyme for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes until golden brown. Turn over and cook for another 5 minutes. Season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the white wine, turning the heat up high to burn off the alcohol, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Lower heat to medium, add chicken stock and when stock comes to boil, lower heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is tender (Mine I only cooked for about 15 min since it was chicken thighs). Whisk in greek yogurt and add apples, raising the heat again to allow some of the cooking liquid to evaporate and the sauce to thicken. Add lemon juice and parsley then transfer the mixture to 4 plates, spooning sauce over the top and serve with boiled rice or buttery mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!!!!!

 

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Lemon Zucchini Muffins with a Lemon Glaze

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These are DELICIOUS! They are so light and fluffy, and lemony! They taste like summer! And, you get to use up a zucchini that’s been sitting in your fridge for a little bit too long! YUM!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour (then remove 2 TB and put back into bag of flour)
  • 2 Tb of corn starch ( to replace the 2 TB of flour you removed)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 cups sugar
  • 2 TB lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk (If you don’t have buttermilk, just add 1/2 TB of white vinegar to your milk and let sit for 2-3 min)
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 cup zucchini grated (on the cheese grater)

Glaze Ingredients:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 TB lemon juice
  • 1 TB skim milk (or unsweetened coconut milk)

Directions:

  1. Mix flour, salt, corn starch and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add oil and sugar until well blended. Add lemon juice, buttermilk, lemon zest to this mixture and blend all together.
  3. Fold in zucchini until it is mixed well.
  4. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend all together until well combined.
  5. Pour batter into greased muffin tin. It makes about 16 muffins.
  6. Bake at 350 for 12-15  minutes.
  7. While still warm, make glaze and spoon over the muffins and then sprinkle lemon zest over the top.

Lemon Poppyseed Chicken with Mint-Basil Couscous

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This is one of my “comfort” foods. Like, when I’ve had a long day, I like to make this and just inhale it! The chicken always turns out, and it always hits the spot.

This is my adaptation of Rachael Ray’s recipe: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/recipe/15613_Lemon_Poppy_Chicken_With_Sweet_Pea_amp_Mint_Couscous/index.html

I only changed two things, so it’s still HER recipe. Please visit her website above for her version!!!

 

  • 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock, divided
  • 1/2 bag of frozen sweet baby peas
  • 1 cup israeli couscous
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • 1 cup flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 lemons zested, 1 juiced
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins, cut into bite-size pieces(I used 6 chicken tenderloins)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 10 leaves of basil, chopped
  • 10 leaves of mint, chopped

– See more at: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/recipe/15613_Lemon_Poppy_Chicken_With_Sweet_Pea_amp_Mint_Couscous/index.html#sthash.5ikV4uxH.dpuf

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Directions:

Place a medium-size saucepot over high heat and add 1 1/2 cups of the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil then add the peas and the couscous. Place a lid on the pot and turn off the heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. (Israeli Couscous has different prep instructions. If you use this kind of coucous please follow the proper directions on the box!)

While the stock is coming up to a boil for the couscous, place a large skillet over high heat with 3 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 3-4 tablespoons. While the skillet is heating up, place the flour on a plate. Toss the chicken in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess. Add the chicken pieces to the hot skillet. Season the chicken liberally with salt, pepper and the lemon zest, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring every now and then to get them brown all over.

Once the chicken has browned, add the remaining cup chicken stock to the skillet. Once the stock is hot, add the butter and poppy seeds. Stir until the butter has melted and the sauce has thickened up a bit, about a minute. Turn off the heat and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the pan.

With a microplane or the smallest grade of a handheld box grater, grate in the garlic the last 2 minutes of cooking.

– See more at: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/recipe/15613_Lemon_Poppy_Chicken_With_Sweet_Pea_amp_Mint_Couscous/index.html#sthash.5ikV4uxH.dpuf

 

Quote of the Day:

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Lemon Rosemary Chicken on Sauteed Cabbage

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LemonRosemaryChicken

Ok… so, in my “About Me” I said clearly that I’m not perfect, and my recipes won’t be perfect. They won’t always turn out perfect either! Today’s dinner is one of those examples! I wasn’t sure I wanted to post anything, BUT, I know that if I had changed the cooking time that the chicken would have been really good! So: Here goes!

Ingredients:

8 Chicken tenderloins (still frozen) or 3 Chicken Breasts (frozen)
1 TB olive oil
Juice AND zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. minced garlic (or one clove)
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp rosemary (chopped, and then place the almost empty stems into broth)
2 tsp. chives
1 tsp. chopped parsley for garnish

Put into crock pot on LOW for 4 hours. 5 Hours MAX! What I need, is a crock pot with a timer…  🙂 I cooked the chicken for over 7 hours… it was a bit dry! Flavor was great though! 🙂 Better next time.

 

 

 

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And now for the cabbage! I gotta say, you have to like cabbage for this one, but I was sick of the chicken and rice recipes, so cabbage it was! I took about 1/4 of the head of cabbage and cut it into smaller pieces. Then I cut up 1/5 of the onion and chopped and put it into a skillet with 2 TB olive oil with 1 tsp of garlic (minced), or 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Sautee until translucent and slightly browned. YUM! (Season with salt and pepper to taste)

The roll is the Honey Wheat rolls that I’ve made before. The recipe is SOO easy! It only takes 30 minutes too! Here’s the recipe: http://www.ihearteating.com/2013/07/29/30-minute-honey-wheat-rolls/

Lemon Curd Blueberry Trifle

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No picture with this one…

So, I made a Trifle the other night, and it actually turned out SOO good! I combined a couple of different recipes and ideas, and really liked it. I, of course, didn’t take any pictures of it, but I’m putting the recipe on here so that I won’t forget.

Step 1: Make Angel Food Cake (Pound cake may also be good!)
I used a boxed Angel Food Cake. All I had to do was add water, mix in my mixer, and bake! 35 minutes later, you flip it over (in the angel food cake pan) and let it cool. EASY!

Step 2: Buy or make lemon curd. I bought a jar of it because I was a bit busy. BUT, you can pretty easily make it. It’s basically eggs, sugar, lemon and butter. So, if you have all of that, just make it!!! (http://www.chefscatalog.com/blog/gift-from-the-kitchen)

Step 3: Blueberries!! Blueberries are just starting to be in season here right now and are DELICIOUS!!!! I had 2 small containers. I washed them and drained them and set them to the side to dry.

Step 4: Make mousse! I got the recipe for the mousse here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/96616354480891681/
I made the recipe exactly the same, but then instead of Basil, i used mint, and refrigerated the mousse in 1 large glass bowl instead of separate dishes. http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2736718

Step 5: Assemble!
Use scissors or a serrated knife to cut the angel food cake into approx. 2-inch squares. Then, you layer. Start using 1/3 of the angel food cake pieces, and layer in the bottom of a trifle dish, or large punch bowl. Then layer in the lemon curd, blueberries and mouse. I just dolloped bits of everything in there until the layer was nicely covered, and then topped it with lemon zest. I then repeated 2 additional times until there were 3 layers, and then topped it with chopped mint.

Easy Peasy lemon squeezy!!! HAHA! 🙂