Chicken with Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion Sherry Sauce

To make things easier on myself, I recently bought a huge economy-sized pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts at Costco, one of my favorite places in the world.  I discovered if I pounded the chicken into cutlets before freezing they would not only be much easier to store, they would thaw MUCH quicker and evenly.  Turns out I was correct! This is one of the recipes I made up the other night to put my frozen cutlets to use.  It's now going to be a staple in my kitchen for a go-to meal. Here are a few more chicken cutlet recipes if you want to try my pounding and freezing method:

Classic Chicken Piccata
Chicken Marsala
Chicken Diane

Ingredients:


-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1/4 cup flour (optional)
-2 Tbsp butter - divided
-2 Tbsp vegetable oil - divided
-1 large sweet yellow onion, such as Vidalia
-salt and pepper to taste
-2-3 Tbsp goat cheese (i love the garlic and herb flavor)
-1/4 cup sherry + 1 Tbsp
-1 Tbsp dried thyme

Citrus Asparagus with Sweet Red Peppers and Balsamic Glaze

I love asparagus but was looking for something a little different than my go-to recipe: Roasted Asparagus with Lemon and Sea Salt. We were in the mountains this weekend praying for snow when I mashed together a few recipes I found on the internet.  I came up with this version which is quite sweet from the Balsamic Glaze with a kick of citrus from the orange zest.  It's definitely your not-so-ordinary vegetable side dish! Try it served with the Classic Chicken Piccata.

Ingredients:


-2 bunches asparagus
-2 Tbsp olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 red pepper
-zest from 1 clementine orange
-2-3 Tbsp Balsamic glaze (or just balsamic vinegar...reduced)

Pearl Couscous with Roasted Tomatoes and Thyme

One of my favorite starch side dishes, especially with fish, is Pearl or Israeali Couscous like in this recipe with spinach.  This is a new twist on the dish I tried the other night with leftover grape tomatoes, although cherry or any other small tomato variety could also be used.  It's easy, quick, silky and flavorful.  Try it next time your looking for something to serve with meat or seafood.

Ingredients:


-1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 Tbsp olive oil + more to drizzle at the end
-1 Tbsp dried minced garlic
-2 cups pearl cousocous
-2 1/2 cups of water
-1/2 cup chicken broth
-1/2 Tbsp dried thyme (or 1 Tbsp fresh)
-salt and pepper to taste

Classic Chicken Piccata

In high school or college, if I ever tried to impress you with my narrow culinary skills this was my memorized recipe.  Now that I've been cooking more and more I nearly forgot about this classic Italian recipe! Heaven forbid, so I'm bringing it back.  I made it this weekend in the mountains with a light olive oil pasta and Citrus Asparagus with Sweet Red Peppers and Balsamic Glaze (recipe coming soon!).  You will often find Veal Piccata, which I must try soon, yet this recipe features pounded chicken breasts.  Piccata refers to the pounded or butterflied meat (veal or chicken) with a lemon, butter and caper sauce.  It looks fancy, which no doubt it is, yet uses easy techniques and ingredients!

Ingredients:


-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1 cup flour
-2 Tbsp garlic powder
-salt and pepper to taste
-3 Tbsp butter (divided)
-1 Tbsp vegetable oil
-1/4 cup white wine
-2 Tbsp capers
-juice 1 lemon
-3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Quick Tortellini Soup

I was craving a fresh yet filling soup last night so scoured the pantry and freezer just like the other night when I made the Crispy Baked Chicken with Pesto Cream Sauce.  Luckily I had some chicken broth and frozen tortellini, which is the main part of this soup.  It's probably the quickest meal I've made on the blog...15 minutes tops! It's a great throw-together-dinner after work when you need something to warm you up while still filling you up.

Ingredients:


-6 cups chicken broth (one 48-oz box)
-4 cloves garlic
-1 shallot
-1 Tbsp olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste
-small pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
-2 cups refrigerated tortellini (any filling your heart desires)
-3 Tbsp shredded Parmesan Cheese
-3 Tbsp chopped tomato
-3 Tbsp chopped parsley

Crispy Baked Chicken with Pesto Cream Sauce

I made this just tonight with a few things in the freezer, fridge and pantry.  It was an easy meal with easy ingredients.  The chicken is lightly breaded with garlic breadcrumbs and baked until crispy yet still moist. The  topping is a creamy pesto sauce that adds a bit a sweetness to the dish. This is a lighter and more elegant version of the comfort of deep fried chicken with creamy gravy!

Ingredients:

-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

-2 eggs (whites only)

-salt and pepper to taste

-1.5 cups bread crumbs (garlic roasted or herb flavored)

-1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

-3 Tbsp jarred Alfredo sauce (roasted garlic preferred)

-2 Tbsp jarred pesto sauce

-3 Tbsp milk

Light Ranch Dressing from Cottage Cheese

A fellow friend and food blogger, Hannah from Never Fail to Impress showed me a new and revolutionary way to make my all-time-favorite dressing: Ranch.  I love ranch out of the bottle, but even better is homemade buttermilk ranch.  This is a "skinnier" version than the regular ranch dressing recipe.  People either love or hate cottage cheese, but when blended in this recipe, you'll never even notice it's there!  I served it as a dip with an array of veggies for a fabulously light appetizer.

Ingredients:


-1 packet of dry ranch dressing seasoning packet
-2 cups of low-fat cottage cheese
-1/4 - 1/2 cup of water

Gadgets Needed:


-Food Processor or Blender