Recipe Tuesday!

Are you catching on yet?....

Today we are going to check out some new recipes!
Did a lot of cooking last weekend.  I have certainly been in the mood lately.  Which is a great thing. I am a happy girl in the kitchen!

I know I tend to do a LOT of meals on the Lime/Cilantro flavor theme.  For those cilantro haters out there, I am sorry. I hope some things you feel courageous enough to substitute and adapt rather than just pass by.  However I don't want to give the impression those are the only flavors I care about.  I actually love all unique and interesting combos of flavors especially when you are talking about using natural seasonings like herbs.  God gave us such a rich and exciting world full of things to season our food with.  I always wonder about that moment, when someone first bit into a basil leaf or a garlic clove and discovered it was not only palatable but could add richness and depth to our food.  Does anyone else think about such nerdy kitchen discoveries?

One combo I really love is lemon and garlic.  So this meal is ode to lemon and garlic. 

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Zest of 2 lemons, juice of 2 lemons
1 bulb of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp Italian herbs
1 tsp dried crushed oregano
4 sprigs of rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Mrs Dash Lemon Pepper
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
4 Tbsp butter

Mix together first 8 ingredients.  Place chicken in a baking dish.  Pour sauce over and put 1/2 Tbsp butter on each piece of chicken.  Place dish in 350 deg oven and bake for 55 min.

I had Elephant Garlic on hand. Seriously every clove was bigger than my teaspoon.  I chopped up the whole bulb and added it to the marinade. 

 

One weird thing the roasted garlic came out tender and lemony and wonderful however it turned green.  No idea why. Still tasted good and my husband and I both like garlic so we knew there wouldn't be a bad breath issue.  Hilariously my daughter was gobbling it up and said, "Why is there grass in my food?" They weren't about to eat the rosemary leaves.

 

I served it with asparagus steamed in water with a splash of lemon juice and some rice.  I added some of the juice from around the cooked chicken to the rice and drizzled it over the asparagus and then I added a Tbsp of feta crumbles. 

 

My husband and I had an extra treat. :)

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

 

Destemed 6 portabella mushrooms.  Mixed 8 oz fat free cream cheese, 1 tsp minced garlic, 3 pieces crumbled cooked turkey bacon, green onion, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, dash salt and pepper.  Spread it inside the mushrooms and stuck them in the oven for 15 min.  Oh my word.  Yummy.  My kids told us we are "gusting" for eating mushrooms.  Mmmmm, fine. More for us!

 

Love these meals when the same flavors drift from dish to dish.  This was especially delicious and I am already looking forward to the leftovers.  Bon Appetite'