Lemon Chicken with Thyme

I didn't like the sauce on this chicken, and will not keep this recipe. The texture of the sauce may have been affected by the fact that I used grated onion rather than chopped onion. I also was confused with the directions and made the sauce in another pan.

Lemon Chicken with Thyme

3 T flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion
1 T butter
1 c. chicken broth
2 T lemon juice
1/2 t. thyme
1 T lemon juice
2 T chopped parsley
lemon wedges

1. Place flour, salt, and pepper into a bag. Shake the chicken in this flour mixture. Save the flour.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 T olive oil. Add chicken and brown on one side (about 5 min.) Add remaining olive oil and brown the other side of the chicken. Set aside chicken.
3. Chop onion coarsely and add butter to skillet. When butter melts, add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in extra flour and cook about 1 minute.
5. Add chicken broth, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice and thyme. Boil.
6. Return chicken to the pan, cover and cook about 5 minutes on medium-low.
7. Remove chicken to serving platter. Stir remaining lemon juice into sauce and pour over chicken. Serve with lemon wedges and sprinkling of parsley. Serves 4.

Baked Potato Layer

These potatoes should have been called "Au Gratin", due to the cream and cheese. I was not too impressed with this recipe, although I will keep it until I find a better one. The cream and milk curdled a bit, don't know if that was due to the egg or the fact that I used watered down half & half instead of milk.

Baked Potato Layer

2 lb. medium-size potatoes
2 T butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese ( 4 oz.)
1 1/4 c. milk
2/3 c. half and half
1 large egg, beaten
parsley sprigs to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Peel potatoes and slice very thinly.
3. Lightly butter a 9-inch shallow oven-proof dish using 1 Tablespoon of the butter.
4. In a small bowl, stir garlic, salt, and pepper into the shredded cheese.
5. Arrange a layer of potato slices over the bottom and up the sides of the dish.
6. Sprinkle potato layer with some of the cheese mixture.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6, ending with cheese.
8. In a medium bowl, whisk milk, half & half, and egg until smooth. Pour over potato layers and dot with remaining 1 T butter.
9. Bake 1 hour or until golden brown and potatoes are tender.
10. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve hot. Serves 4.

Chicken Alfredo Linguine

I have never made my own Alfredo sauce before, usually buying pre-made sauce or those little envelopes of powder!! I had some leftover chicken and some linguine in the fridge, so I thought this would be a good time to try out the Alfredo sauce. I made the white sauce from one recipe, and added some ingredients to make it Alfredo. I used half-and-half because that is what I had in my fridge. This is definitely a keeper recipe, although I am not sure how it will reheat later as leftovers.

Chicken Alfredo Linguine

1 T corn starch
1 c. cold milk
2 T butter
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 t. dried basil
1/4 t. garlic powder
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
9 oz. linguine, cooked according to package instructions

1. In a saucepan, gradually stir milk into corn starch.
2. Add butter, salt, and pepper.
3. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.
4. Boil 1 minute.
5. Add Parmesan cheese, basil, and garlic powder.
6. Stir quickly until cheese melts and ingredients are evenly distributed.
7. Stir in chicken and linguine. Makes 2-3 servings.

Herb-Marinated Chicken

This marinade was too strong, with the dried herbs. It might taste better with fresh herbs, I don't know. I used white vinegar (got my recipe ingredients mixed up) and I baked it at 375 degrees instead of grilling or broiling. I will use the leftovers from this chicken in my Chicken Alfredo Linguine tomorrow.

Herb-Marinated Chicken

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar (oops, I used white)
1 T (about 3 cloves) minced garlic
1/2 t. dry parsley
1 t. dry rosemary
3/4 t. dry sage
1 t. dry thyme
1 t. salt
1/2 t. coarse ground pepper

1. Place chicken in a zip-top bag.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.
3. Seal bag tightly and shake gently to coat chicken well. Allow chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, shaking bag gently twice during marinating to recoat chicken.
4. After chicken has marinated, discard remaining marinade. Preheat grill to medium-high heat, or preheat oven broiler.
5. Grill or broil chicken about 8-10 minutes per side, or until chicken is no longer pink and the juices are clear (cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the meat).

Potato Salad

This salad was ok, I will keep it because it is so different from the other one I tried. This recipe is really simple, no extra ingredients. I have a couple of other recipes to try and I may end up getting rid of this one if I find a better one.

Potato Salad

9 medium-sized potatoes (about 3 pounds)
2 large celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 c. milk
2 T white vinegar
1 T grated onion
2 t. salt
1 t. sugar
1/4 t. coarsely ground black pepper

1. At least 1 hour before serving, in a 4-quart saucepan over high heat, heat unpeeled potatoes and enough water to cover to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes and cool slightly. Peel and cut potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes.
2. In a large bowl, gently toss potatoes with celery and remaining ingredients. If not served right away, cover and refrigerate. Makes 8 side servings.

Peek-a-Bleu Chicken Cutlets

I have been meaning to try this recipe for a long time, but I didn't have any loose bleu cheese. I liked the taste of this dish, but I will make sure that I keep the skillet on medium while I cook the chicken so the butter doesn't get too brown. There were lots of ingredients for this recipe, but it all came together fine. I didn't have seasoned salt, so I made my own by mixing some salt with some Mrs. Dash I had. I also didn't have any milk, so I watered down some heavy cream for the first part of the sauce. My sauce may have been thicker than was intended by the recipe, but it was good and I was able to dip the chicken in it. Even the darker sauce from the dark butter was good.

Peek-a-Bleu Chicken Cutlets

2 whole chicken breasts, halved, boned, skinned
2 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. seasoned salt
1/16 t. white pepper
3 T unsalted butter
2 ounces bleu cheese, crumbled
1/3 c. milk
1 T flour
4 T butter
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. white pepper
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 T finely chopped parsley
1 T finely chopped parsley

1. On a hard surface, pound chicken to 1/4-inch thickness.
2. Brush chicken with lemon juice. Sprinkle chicken with salt and 1/16 teaspoon white pepper.
3. In frying pan, melt 3 Tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until fork tender. Remove frying pan from heat, cover chicken, and set aside.
4. Place bleu cheese in a smaller frying pan to melt, stirring constantly, over low heat.
5. In a bowl, mix milk and flour, stir until smooth.
6. Add flour mixture, 4 Tablespoons butter, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper, and nutmeg to melted cheese and cook, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes or until thickened.
7. Gradually stir in cream and 1 Tablespoon parsley. Cook 1 minute longer.
8. Place frying pan with chicken over medium heat. Pour sauce over chicken and cook about 3 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tablespoon parsley. Serves 4.

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

I have never made hollandaise sauce, and I liked this recipe. It was simple, but as you can see by the next photo it cannot be reheated!! I prepared the asparagus the way that Julia Child says the French do it. They peel the ends of the asparagus all the way up to where the tip starts. Be careful not too peel too deeply. She recommended using a paring knife and starting at the end. They boiled up nice and green, and I have found another vegetable that I can tolerate (at least with the sauce)!!

Hollandaise Sauce

1 stick of butter
3 egg yolks
1 T lemon juice
pinch cayenne pepper
dash salt

1. In a saucepan, heat butter until very hot but not browned.
2. While butter is heating, place egg yolks, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt into a blender.
3. Blend the contents of the blender until just blended.
4. Pour hot butter slowly into blender container while blender is running. Makes 3/4 cup.

Peanut Butter Crunch Candy

This recipe had such promise!! They were supposed to be like a Butterfinger -- NOT!! I will not be keeping this recipe, I would rather just go out and buy a Butterfinger or a 5th Avenue candy bar!!

I don't know what went wrong. The first attempt I happily left the sugar bubbling away for supposedly 16 minutes, but the next time I looked at it is was brown and stinky!! So, the second batch I stayed and watched while it approached "hard crack" stage. My thermometer said "hard crack" stage was 300ºF, the recipe said 310ºF. So, I let it get to 305ºF as a compromise. I followed the directions exactly and the consistency of the candy was powdery instead of like it should be. I found it difficult to cut because it crumbled. I was lucky to get even some to cover in chocolate that were shaped properly!! I didn't like the semi-sweet chocolate as the coating, should have used the milk chocolate instead. Perhaps it didn't cook up properly because I halved the recipe?

Peanut Butter Crunch Candy

1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. water
1/3 c. light corn syrup
12 oz. semisweet chocolate morsels, melted

1. Butter an 8" square pan.
2. Heat peanut butter in top of a double boiler or on low heat in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly, until softened, set aside.
3. Combine sugar, water, and syrup in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes to wash the crystals from sides of pan. Uncover and cook, without stirring, to 310ºF (hard-crack stage), about 16 minutes.
4. Working quickly, pour syrup mixture immediately into peanut butter, stirring constantly, just until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Let cool 1 minute. Score (cut through but not to bottom of pan) into 1-inch squares. Cool completely.
5. Cut candy with a sharp knife along scored lines. Dip candy in melted chocolate, allowing excess chocolate to drip back into pan. Cool completely on wax paper. Place candy in decorative candy liners, if desired. Makes 1 pound.

Brandy Chicken

This was a nice recipe. I don't usually like wine in my cooking, but I used some apple brandy to flavor this dish and I liked the flavor. If I had to change anything, it would be to strain the liquid before I scraped the bottom of the pan, I didn't like the little pieces of onion in my gravy. I used light olive oil and too much butter (by accident), and ground marjoram. I also didn't add additional water when making the gravy because I think I added too much when the chicken was simmering. I also removed the chicken to the serving plate and covered with the lid of the skillet while I made the gravy.

Brandy Chicken

2 T butter
2 T vegetable oil
6 chicken breast halves, skinned
1 envelope (1 oz.) dry onion-mushroom soup mix
1 1/4 c. water
3/4 c. dried marjoram
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whipping cream
3 T brandy

1. Melt butter and oil in a large skillet on medium. Add chicken and brown slowly.
2. Combine soup mix, 1 1/4 cups water, and marjoram. Add to skillet. Cover and gently simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Remove chicken to heated serving platter and keep warm in oven.
4. Add 1/2 cup water to skillet and scrape up the brown bits. Mix flour, cream, and brandy. Blend into pan juices.
5. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Serve over chicken. Makes 6 servings.

Foil-Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes

This is a good recipe, but I would definitely use fresh herbs next time. The dried herbs, although I used less, were quite strong and didn't match the sweetness of the potatoes. I might use this recipe in a dutch oven over a campfire also.

Foil-Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes

2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, washed, unpeeled, and cut into 1- and 1/2-inch pieces
1 T olive oil
1 T minced fresh basil
2 t. minced fresh oregano
1 t. minced fresh thyme
1 t. paprika
1 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. lemon pepper
salt to taste (opitonal)

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Tear four sheets of aluminum foil large enough to form an envelope.
2. Divide all ingredients among the sheets of foil. Fold each sheet over to form envelopes. Place foil packets on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Place a packet on each plate. Carefully open each packet with a fork. Pour packet contents onto each plate. Discard foil. Serves 4.

Individual Beef Wellingtons

For New Year's Eve I decided to make some individual Beef Wellingtons. I don't prefer mushrooms, which is what most recipes called for, so I decided to try this recipe instead because it called for pate or cream cheese. I followed the recipe, making one with pate and one with an herb & garlic-flavored cream cheese.

I liked the taste of the cream cheese, but both the pate and the cream cheese versions had soggy bottoms!! Most of the other recipes called for the fillets to be seared on all sides and chilled before they were put into the pastry. I will do this next time, for sure. Also, the pate or mushrooms were all around the meat, some called for it to be spread onto the pastry, others called for you to spread around all sides of the meat. Some even called for bread crumbs to be added. I assume this will prevent the sogginess, but the searing could achieve this I suppose. Next time I might try the cream cheese, after searing the meat, and hope for a dry base.

Regarding the liver pate, it smelled just like wet dog food when I spread it on the meat. I was expecting not to like the flavor, and indeed I did prefer the flavor of the cream cheese version. However, it wasn't as bad as I expected!! I still have most of the little can (which was found in the canned fish section in the supermarket) and am going to see if I can find some other recipes to use it up. Or, perhaps I will give the rest to the neighbor's cat ...

2011 followup: I tried the cream cheese on both sides of the beef, as well as spreading it on the middle of the pastry. The bottom was still a bit soggy, but it seemed better than last year. The beef seemed to cook slower, though, and I ended up having to cook them longer. Don't know if the filets were thinner than last year or what. Even the pastry cooked up a bid different, not as shiny. I layered the leftovers and cut up some 2" squares and baked alongside the Beef Wellingtons as rolls.

2012 followup: I tried garlic- and herb-flavored soft rindless brie this year and was quite pleased. I seared the beef until the sides started to turn gray. I spread the cheese almost to the right and left edges of the puff pastry and folded over both sides. I trimmed off the ends a bit and folded up and over the base. Then I turned the packets over and placed the years on the top, using egg all over. I think I might go more light on the seasonings in this recipe, as it was a little too spicy for me. Success!! I saved the extra puff pastry to use later as little dinner rolls.

Individual Beef Wellington

2 sheets of frozen puff pastry
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/8 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. dried marjoram, crushed
2 beef tenderloin steaks (5-6 oz. each)
2 T liver pate or cream cheese or cheese spread of choice
1 egg white, beaten

1. Thaw puff pastry according to package directions, set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
3. In a small bowl stir together salt, pepper, garlic powder, and marjoram. Rub salt mixture over steaks, coating all sides.
4. Spread 1 Tablespoon liver pate, cream cheese, cheese spread of choice (or mushroom pate) over one side of each steak.
5. Place a steak, cream cheese side down, on the center of each pastry. Wrap pastry around the meat, trimming excess from ends. Seal with egg white.
6. Place seam side down in a greased, shallow baking pan. If desired, reroll trimmings to make cutouts. Brush with beaten egg white.
7. Bake uncovered for about 15 minutes or until pastry is golden and meat is medium rare.