Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta -Instant Pot Inspirations #1

I have had an Instant Pot for almost 2 years now. It literally took me a year and a half from when I got it to take it out of the box and use it. I was nervous about how the whole pressure thing would work. I am so glad I finally got up the courage because I absolutely love it! I have the 6 quart IP-DUO model. After watching endless YouTube videos, mostly from Pressure Luck, I have ventured into pressure cooking and it is going well. I made this particular recipe this week and both hubs and I loved it. He said it was the most tender chicken we've ever made. That's a pretty big deal! You definitely have to have an Instant Pot to exactly replicate this recipe. But you could also use the ingredients as a guideline to make a delicious pasta dish using traditional cooking methods. But really, get yourself an Instant Pot because it is really fun to cook in and does SO many things! You can find the original recipe, by Pressure Luck, HERE.

Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta -Instant Pot Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, diced into bite size chunks
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups garlic broth ***see note
• 1 box (12 oz) penne
• 1 tbs capers
• 1-2 cans artichoke hearts (I omitted this because hubs is not a fan)
• 4 tbs butter
• 1 shallot, diced (I used a small onion)
• 1 tbs garlic, minced (about 3 cloves)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• salt and pepper

***note - to make garlic broth you use a tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon garlic flavor in 2 cups of water. If you don't want to go to the trouble, just sub 2 more cups of chicken broth and add a sprinkly of garlic powder

Directions:
Add butter to your Instant Pot and hit "saute". The saute function should be on the high setting. Once the butter melts, add your shallot/onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the garlic and the chicken. Cook an additional 2 minutes (the chicken will not be cooked through at this point. That's ok, the pressure cooking finishes the chicken completely). Add your broth and lemon juice. Add in your box of pasta on top and gently press down into the broth/chicken mixture but DO NOT STIR. Put your Instant Pot on the Pressure Cook setting on high for 6 minutes. Use the Quick Release when the 6 minutes is up. At this point stir in your artichoke hearts (if using), cream, and capers. Stir well. Serve with additional Parmesan. Enjoy!

Lemon Pepper Chicken - Pinterest Pick #13 BONUS RECIPE TOO

A post where you get TWO recipes at one time?  Yup, it's happening!  I was reviewing all my recipes to make that I had pinned on Pinterest, and I found two that complimented each other to make a great dinner.  So one night, I made them both!  The tangy lemon pepper chicken breaks up the creaminess and richness of the pasta.  This chicken is simple, and great for any dinner or lunch.  You don't have to serve it with pasta.  It would be great on a salad, with rice, or whatever side you want to serve it with. You can find the original pin for the chicken HERE and the original pin for the pasta HERE.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbs lemon pepper seasoning (I use Lawry's)
• 1 lemon juiced
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs grated parmesan

Directions:
Place all ingredients except parmesan in a ziploc bag or airtight container and mix well.  Marinate chicken for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
Place chicken on foil-lined backing sheet and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 30-45 minutes.
Enjoy!

BONUS!!!
Four Cheese Garlic Spaghetti
Ingredients:

• 8 oz thin spaghetti
• 1 cup cooking water
• mix of chicken and broth in water to cook pasta in 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 cups four cheese Italian cheese blend (shredded)

Directions:
Cook pasta in mix of chicken broth and water until pasta is al dente.  Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Drain pasta.
Saute garlic in olive oil and butter for 1 minute.  Add in pasta, pasta water, and heavy cream.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and stir in cheese.  Cook for a couple of minutes so sauce can thicken.
Enjoy!

We Made Room For Dessert 18 - Lemon Quick Bread

We made room for dessert this week! And it's another quick bread!  We all know by now I am not a good baker, but if there is one thing I am not bad at baking, it's a quick bread (i.e. banana bread, zucchini bread, etc).  This week I have been craving a lemon quick bread my mom used to make.  So I made it and here's the recipe!

Lemon Quick Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• zest of 1 lemon 
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup sugar

Topping:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 lemon, juiced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a loaf pan (I just used cooking spray).
Combine eggs, sugar, oil, and zest until very well blended.  Sift in flour and baking powder, and slowly stir in.  Pour batter into greased loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean (note, I start checking at 45 minutes and every 5 minutes thereafter).
Meanwhile, combine sugar and lemon juice over medium heat and let simmer until sugar is dissolved. 
Also, combine cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice.  Refrigerate.
When bread is done, poke holes in bread an pour lemon juice/sugar mixture over it while bread is still warm.  Let bread finish cooling.  Serve with cream cheese mixture.
Enjoy!!!

Simply Sides 2 - Lemon Parmesan Orzo

This week I wanted to bring you another side dish recipe for our new sublabel.  As I stated in the last post about side dishes, I think the sides to a meal are a crucial part of making your meal delicious, and special, and often side dishes can be used as a main meal.  This week the recipe is for Lemon Parmesan Orzo, and it is a pasta side that can brighten up your chicken or fish dinner.

Finished Orzo

Lemon Parmesan Orzo

Ingredients:
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup grated parmesan
2 tbs butter
salt and pepper
3 cups broth (whatever variety you like, I used chicken broth, you can also use water)
1 1/2 cups orzo

Directions:

Orzo Toasting

Melt butter in the bottom of a saucepan.  Add in orzo and lightly saute until slightly toasted.  Add broth, bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes (make sure ALL broth is absorbed in to the pasta). Remove from heat, stir in salt and pepper, lemon, and parmesan.  You can serve this as a hot OR cold side dish.  Enjoy!

Pork Roast - Home Cooked Recipe 38

Ok, I'll admit, I have been super lazy and haven't posted in a month!  I always mean to but then I get caught up in doing other things, such as work and social activities.  But I have been cooking and eating out, and hope to bring you a lot more posts from here on out.
Today I am going to be giving you a recipe for something I tried for the first time.  A pork roast!  I do not have much experience with cooking large pieces of meat such as roasts and whole chickens, etc.  I've decided that in 2013 part of broadening my culinary horizons is to attempt these roasts, and my ultimate goal is to roast a whole chicken (and possibly a turkey!).  Hopefully I'll discover it's not as intimidating as I think, and be able to provide you with some great recipes!
Now, I do have to say, when I came up with this recipe, it's because I got the wrong kind of pork roast.  I meant to get a pork roast (a butt - not really the butt of the animal but the name for the cut of meat!) that you can pull apart to make pulled pork.  What I ended up with was a pork loin roast, which can really only be sliced (kind of like a large pork tenderloin).
So I scrapped my original plan and decided to go with a lemon-garlic roast!  The flavor was excellent, but next time I'll be more careful to select the exact kind of roast I want.

Lemon-Garlic Pork Loin Roast

Ingredients:

• 1 2-3lb pork loin roast
• 2 lemons, 1 sliced, 1 cut in half and juiced
• 1 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth)
• 2 tbs garlic powder
• 1 tbs onion powder
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 325. Combine garlic powder, rosemary, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Place roast in pan. Rub spices all over the pork roast, massaging it into meat.    Place lemon slices all over the top of the roast.  Pour chicken broth and lemon juice over meat, letting it settle into the bottom of the pan.  Roast in oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Baste with juices from the bottom of the pan every 30 minutes or so.  Let rest 30 minutes before slicing and serving.  Enjoy!
***I served my roast with roasted potatoes and a green salad, feel free to serve with whatever sides you like.

Pan Fried Chicken With Brown Butter Caper Sauce- Home Cooked Recipe 31

I am a HUGE fan of the daytime talk show The Chew.  In fact, it's the only talk show I watch on a regular basis.  It's on ABC at 1pm (my local Orlando time) and features 5 hosts, 2 of whom are Iron Chefs, Michael Symon and Mario Batali, 1 chef who competed on Top Chef, Carla Hall, a nutrition expert, Daphne Oz, and my very favorite host, Clinton Kelly, who does recipes but is more famous for his cocktails, clothing know-how, and crafts.  The show is fun with all sorts of food themes, celebrity guests, and much more.  A few months back Clinton Kelly made a recipe called Pan Fried Chicken With Brown Butter Caper Sauce.  It looked so delicious and easy that I took it upon myself to make it at home.  I am copying the recipe exactly here for you, and am also including to the link where you can find it on The Chew's website.  

Ingredients

• 4 Chicken Cutlets (pounded thin)
• 2 cups Flour
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 Eggs
• 2 cups Breadcrumbs ***Note-(panko breadcrumbs preferred)
• 5 tablespoons Olive Oil (separated)
• 4 tablespoons Butter
• 4 teaspoons Capers (drained)
• 1/4 cup Flat-Leaf Parsley (chopped)
• 2 Blood Oranges (peeled) ***Note-I used lemons instead of the oranges
• 1 tablespoon Shallot (minced)  ***Note-You could use a small onion finely diced

 Directions

 Pound the chicken cutlets to a 1/2-inch thick.  Juice one of the blood oranges and set juice aside. Peel the white pith off the other blood orange, and then cut between the membranes to release the segments, and set aside.  Arrange three shallow dishes: in one - flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. In the second dish, lightly beat the eggs. In the third, add the breadcrumbs. Dredge the chicken cutlets lightly on each side in the flour, then eggs, then the breadcrumbs.  Heat four tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add each of the chicken cutlets, cooking for 4 minutes per side, until golden brown and juices run clear. Remove to paper towel lined, plate. Drain the pan and wipe clean.  Add the butter, and once it has foamed and subsided, add the capers, shallot and blood orange juice, stir and remove from heat.  In a bowl, combine the parsley, one tablespoon of olive oil and blood orange segments. Toss and season.  Spoon the sauce over the chicken cutlets, and top with the orange-parsley salad to serve.  

Link to recipe Clinton Kelly's Chicken

I served with mine with cheesy mashed potatoes.  Enjoy!!!

Parmesan Tilapia - Home Cooked Recipe 7

I had never eaten tilapia but it was on sale at our local Sam's Club.  We bought a package of 6 HUGE filets for only $13.  We easily could have fed 12 people!  We were browsing for tilapia recipes and found this great recipe for a creamy, cheesy tilapia that I doctored up to fit our tastes.  Below is the recipe!

Parmesan Tilapia

• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tbs mayonnaise
• 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 2 pounds tilapia fillets

Preheat the broiler on the oven.  Line a baking pan with aluminum foil.   In a bowl, mix together everything but the tilapia.  Arrange your tilapia filets on the lined pan.  Place lemon slices on tilapia filets.  Broil for 3 minutes.  Remove lemon slices, set aside, turn your filets over, and place lemon slices over the filets again.  Broil another 3 minutes.  Remove lemon slices and cover tilapia filets with parmesan mixture.  Broil another 3 minutes and remove from oven.  Place onto plates and serve.  Enjoy!

Finished Parmesan Tilapia