Chicken,Mushrooms and Artichoke hearts with Cheese tortellini in a light lemon, butter sauce

This is a picture of the beginning, the beginning of a fantastic recipe from Pam, over at For the love of cooking. Her blog is one of my go to blogs when I am looking to try something new. Please go visit her, if you haven't,I guarantee you will find a thing or two to try. Anyway, on to this great dish. Like I said, this is the beginning , chicken swimming in oil,lemon zest, garlic and basil. How bad could that be?Marinade:


2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 leaves of basil, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil(for cooking )


Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, and pound them, with a mallet, until 1/4 inch thick. Place chicken in ziploc bag and add 1 tbsp olive oil,garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Mix so the chicken is evenly coated. Let marinate for 1 hour. I let mine go for at least 4 hours.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large skillet, over med heat. Once hot, add chicken breast and cook for 4 minutes, then flip and cook another 3-4 minutes, or until juices run clear. You can also grill them, which I was lucky enough to have my hubby do for me. Let the chicken cool for 5 minutes before cutting into bite size pieces.


Don' t they look great? Right here at this point you could serve them as is, with a few side dishes and you have a great alternative to regular breaded chicken cutlets. I have served them as is and they are fantastic, but we must move forward.



The Rest:

8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1 handful grape tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 package cheeses tortellini, prepared per instructions
juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp butter
5-6 basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper



Cook tortellini according to package. While pasta is cooking, add mushrooms to skillet where you cooked chicken and add more oil, if needed.Saute 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add artichoke hearts, tomatoes and garlic. Stir frequently for 1 minute. Add tortellini, chicken, lemon juice, butter, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Warm through and serve.






I love this recipe, it has so many of my favorite things in it and many of us probably have most of these things in our kitchen already. It is a light meal, great for when the weather is hot. Thanks, Pam, for a recipe that is a total keeper.

Chicken Fingers

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I am actually on vacation this week, at home, trying to potty train my 3and 1/2 year old and I am failing miserably. Any advice or tips welcome. But back to the food. These crispy,crunchy, and delicious chicken fingers are from a great blog, one I really love and have bookmarked numerous recipes to try and this is the first, and that blog is Coleen's Recipes. Coleen lives in Allaska, how cool is that, no pun intended. So, if you haven't already, please visit her. These chicken fingers were moist and extra crunchy and my whole family inhaled them. They were just as good the next day. So, in my book, these are a "keeper".




Chicken Fingers


6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
vegetable oil


Combine buttermilk, eggs and garlic powder in a large ziploc bag. Cut the chicken into long half inch strips and put them in the same ziploc bag. Refrigerate until ready to cook(at least 2 hours).
In another ziploc bag combine flour,salt,pepper and onion powder. Shake up, to mix well.

When it is time to cook, follow these steps:



1. Drain chicken(saving liquid) and coat chicken in flour mixture.

2. Shake off excess flour and put back in liquid again.

3. Repeat step one, then discard buttermilk liquid.

4. Fry chicken until golden brown. Keep warm in the oven.






Trust me, this is a great recipe and not just for everyday dinner but make a bunch, for your next party and serve them with some ranch dipping sauce or your favorite hot sauce and watch them disappear. Thanks Coleen, for a great recipe that will become a regular in my house. And a special thanks to Donna over at My Tasty Treasures, for the two awards. I appreciate them.

Tuscan Shrimp withWhite Beans

If there was ever a recipe that should be considered a "keeper"this one is it. I found this at Dragon's Kitchen.

I absolutely love this blog and this recipe blew me away. Now, I know you all know my sister, Donna, at My Tasty Treasures.

If you haven't already, check her out. Her blog is fantastic. It is for a more mature audience, but it's all fun. She is the reason I am doing this. She inspires me to want to cook more. She is my best friend and the best sister ever and the whole reason behind this, is that even she can't wait to try this recipe. TIP: Make sure you have lots of fresh,crusty bread on hand to sop up the juices. Here is my version of the recipe, just a few minor tweaks to my tatse.

Tuscan Shrimp with White Beans

3 cups canned white kidney beans

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp olive oil

16 Large Shrimp,peeled, tail on ( I used way more than 16)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup peeled, seeded and diced tomato, canned or fresh

1 cup whoile basil leaves, I rolled mine up and sliced them

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Drain the beans over a bowl and reserve the liquid. Put the beans in a large skillet with just enough of their liquid to moisten them.

2. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and bring the beans to a low simmer. Keep them warm while preparing the shrimp

3.Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook for a minute, tossing frequently. ( I cooked mine longer, like my shrimp crunchy) Remove the shrimp to a bowl.

4. Add the garlic to the pan and saute until garlic browns. Add red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute. Add tomato and basil and stir breifly, then add lemon juice.

5. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, and then stir in the shrimp. Toss well and reheat the shrimp. When shrimp is heated through stir in the beans and everything you can scrape from the pan and toss gently together. Spinkle with parsely. Serve in a bowl with lots of bread.

I hope you will all give this a try, I think you will love it as much as I do and take a visit to Dragon's Kitchen.