Easy Healthy Baked Lemon Chicken from lecremedelacrumb.com

Easy Healthy Baked Lemon Chicken

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Easy healthy baked lemon chicken that is loaded with yummy flavor and you can make in a hurry with just a few simple ingredients.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: baked, Lemon, savory

Servings: 4

Author: Tiffany

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste (I used 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper)
• optional: fresh rosemary and lemon slices for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking sheet or large casserole dish.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook chicken 2-3 minutes on each side just until browned. Transfer chicken to prepared baking sheet.
3. In a small bowl whisk together chicken broth, lemon juice, honey, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper.
4. Pour sauce over chicken. Bake 20-30 minutes (closer to 20 for smaller chicken breasts, closer to 30 for larger) until chicken is cooked through. Every 5-10 minutes spoon the sauce from the pan over the chicken.
5. Garnish with fresh rosemary and lemon slices if desired and serve.

   
   

   All four of us loved this!  I did leave the Italian seasoning off of Beth's and Andrew's.  Even Cole gobbled some up.

Japchae from cookincanuck.com

1. 
   

2. Asian Sweet Potato Noodles Recipe with Chicken & Vegetables

   If you've never tried Korean glass noodles, now's the time! This sweet potato noodle recipe, called Japchae, is filled with chicken, vegetables & tons of flavor! 284 calories and 7 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP
   Prep Time15 mins

   Cook Time10 mins

   Total Time25 mins
   Course: Entrees

   Cuisine: Asian

   Keyword: Poultry Recipes
    
   Servings: 4 Servings
    
   Calories: 283.7kcal
    
   Author: Dara Michalski | Cookin' Canuck

   Ingredients

   • 8 ounces sweet potato noodles
   • 1 teaspoon sesame oil divided
   • 1/4 cup soy sauce
   • 2 teaspoons agave nectar or honey
   • 1 teaspoon canola oil
   • 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
   • 1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced & cut in half
   • 2 medium carrots peeled & cut into matchsticks
   • 2 garlic cloves minced
   • 1 cup packed fresh spinach

   Instructions

   • (Nico---I followed the soaking method that I added to the end of this post instead of boiling them, I think it worked better to keep the noodles less sticky.) Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add the sweet potato noodles. Cook until the noodles are tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water until they are cool. Toss with ½ teaspoon sesame oil.
   • In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and agave nectar.
   • Heat the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is barely cooked through.
   • Add the red bell pepper and carrots, and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and spinach, and cook until the spinach is just wilted.
   • Add the cooked noodles, soy sauce mixture and ½ teaspoon sesame oil to the skillet and cook, tossing with tongs, until the noodles are heated through, about 1 minute. Serve hot.
   • Alternatively, toss the noodles, sauce and sesame oil with the vegetables, but don’t reheat the mixture. Serve at room temperature.

   Notes

   Weight Watchers: 7 (Freestyle SmartPoints)

   Nutrition

   Serving: 0.25of Recipe | Calories: 283.7kcal | Carbohydrates: 53.8g | Protein: 11.1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20.3mg | Sodium: 1013mg | Potassium: 204.2mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 5.8g
3. https://www.cookincanuck.com/asian-sweet-potato-noodles-recipe-with-chicken-vegetables/
4. 
   
5. Soaking Method:
6. In a large bowl, add hot water (tap or kettle boiled). Add noodles in for 20 mins to soak. [If you are using kettle boiled water, let it cool for 5-10 mins before soaking].
7. After 20 mins, when the noodles are soft, cut them roughly 4 inches long and sprinkle some (sesame) oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.
8. A link to the noodles I used: https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/p/chung-jung-one-sweet-potato-glass-noodle/0085232000020

I did not use spinach but did use a whole zucchini cut into matchsticks and a whole red pepper because I wanted more vegetables.  I also added 2 T of fresh orange juice that I had seen in another recipe to give it a little more flavor.  (I forgot to add the garlic.) This was delicious.

Buttercream Frosting from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

THE BEST VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

PREP TIME 15 MINUTES

 

TOTAL TIME 15 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  1 cup (16 tablespoons, 8 ounces) butter, softened to room temperature (see note) 
•  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
•  4 cups (16 ounces) powdered sugar 
•  2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and vanilla extract until the butter is light in color and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
2. Add the powdered sugar gradually, about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing completely after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl often.
3. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and continue mixing while adding the heavy cream (start with the lesser amount and add more as needed until the desired consistency is reached). Add more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting.
4. Whip until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
5. If using food coloring, add it now (gel coloring is preferred so it doesn't thin out the frosting), and mix until combined.

NOTES

Because this is an all-butter frosting recipe (the only way to go!), it's hard to get it completely white, but it will definitely whiten more as it is whipped and mixed. Using clear vanilla extract in place of the pure vanilla extract can also help if you are after a whiter frosting.

It's important to beat the butter by itself in the first step to lighten it in texture and color, and it can also help prevent a grainy texture in the frosting. The butter should be soft enough that it "gives" to pressure with a finger but not so soft that your finger can slide all the way through easily. And no melty spots (you microwave-softeners, you!) - butter that is too soft will lead to greasy frosting.

I prefer using heavy cream in the frosting but you can sub in half-and-half or milk (it will be slightly less rich and creamy). The frosting pipes really well (but stays soft; doesn't harden like royal icing) and works great on cakes and cookies. For cookies, I like adding slightly more heavy cream (upwards of 6 tablespoons) so the frosting is extra creamy. 

A lot depends on how heavy handed one is with frosting, but this makes enough to lightly frost a two layer 9-inch cake, but I double or triple if I'm piping decorations or the cake is bigger. 

Often I'll make this a cream cheese-style frosting by eliminating one stick (8 tablespoons) of butter and adding 4-6 ounces softened cream cheese (beating it with the butter in the first step).

**Nico's Note:  Made this for Andrew's red velvet cake on his birthday.  It was very good. I didn't have cream just 2% milk and that worked just fine.

That Sugary Sweet and Sour Sauce They Serve with Wontons

Crouton Crackerjacks

Learn how to make Chinese restaurant sweet and sour sauce! This recipe is super easy and quick and uses what you already have in your pantry. No special ingredients required! What you'll need: 1/2 cup white sugar (100g) 4 tsp cornstarch (or tapioca, arrowroot, etc.) 4 tsp white vinegar 1 tsp soy sauce pinch salt 3/4 cup water (180ml) 2 drops red gel food coloring (I use Americolor) Mix everything in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once to a boil and thickened, remove from heat and serve. Makes about 1 cup of sauce. Use for dipping sauce, on top of fried rice or to make sweet and sour chicken or pork. Enjoy!

Andrew and Beth loved it. How could they not, it's like liquid jello for your rice and chicken.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crouto...

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

Salty Oat Cookies, Gluten-Free http://artofglutenfreebaking.com   These are similar to the Teaism Salty Oat Cookies Adapted from The Washington Post, 6/13/07 Special Equipment Needed -a stand mixer is nice, but a hand mixer will do   Note: This recipe uses my gluten-free flour mix Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge): 1 1/4 C. brown rice flour 1 1/4 C. white rice flour 1 C. tapioca flour 1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko) 2 scant tsp. xanthan gum (you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture (not baking mix) of your choice--just be  sure it contains xanthan gum. Or, you can add 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour.  If you use bean flour, it will add a bean taste to the cookies)   Ingredients 12 TBL (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 C light or dark brown sugar (I used dark) 1/2 C granulated sugar 2 large or extra large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 3/4 C Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 2 C rolled oats (gluten-free)--not quick cooking Salt for sprinkling 1 C raisins (optional) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and oats.  Set aside. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for a few minutes on  medium-high until light and fluffy.  Add the two sugars, beat for a couple of minutes.   Scrape down sides.  Add the vanilla extract, beat to mix in.  Add the eggs, one at a time,  beating after each addition. Add the flour mixture to your butter mixture.  Beat just to incorporate. Make sure to scrape the  bottom of the mixing bowl--the resulting batter is thick enough that some of the dry ingredients  don't get incorporated.  Do a final mix by hand to incorporate any stray dry ingredients.   If using raisins, mix them in at this time. Form golf-ball sized balls of dough.  Even though the dough seems too sticky, you can  form them with your hands without too much mess.  Place them 2 inches apart on lined cookie sheet.   Generously sprinkle each cookie with a good pinch of salt. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Don't overbake.   The cookies should have a tender interior.  Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy! Nico's Note: I added a scant 1/2 tsp of Kosher salt instead of sprinkling them generously with salt.   I thought that added the right touch of salt.  It's better for me to make these in half batches and  freeze some so that I don't eat the entire batch at once.

Beef and Broccoli (without the Beef)

I made the recipe called "Beef with Broccoli" from Our Best Bites and the kids didn't like the way the beef turned out, but they loved the vegetables with it and have asked me to make them again so I'm just going to record the vegetable part of the recipe.

1 T oil
1/2 cup water
1 T cornstarch
1 t ground ginger--I just used the powdered kind
2 T brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
12 ounces broccoli florets broken into bite size pieces (about 4 cups)
2 carrots cut into small pieces ( I used about 1-1 1/2 cup baby carrots)

In separate bowl whisk together water, soy sauce, cornstarch, ginger, and brown sugar.  Set aside. Heat 1T oil in pan when hot and broccoli and carrots. Stir fry broccoli and carrots for 4-5 minutes until tender-crisp.  Add the sauce and cook for about 1 minute until the sauce thickens.  Serve over white rice.  (The next time I made this I doubled the recipe to have leftovers.)