Rachael Ray's Lemon Chicken

This is one of the first of Rachael Ray's recipes I ever saw her cook, and probably the first I ever made. I have made it before, but this time it didn't turn out as well in the past. There are several factors as to why that could be, not the least of which is that I forgot to add the vinegar, and didn't have lemon zest or scallions on hand. Also, I think I didn't brown the chicken long enough the first time it was in the pan, which contributed to a slight taste of raw flour. Still, it's a good recipe, and if you follow it better than I did, I'm sure you will have better luck than I did.

We ate this with steamed white rice and green beans. Below is the exact recipe from food network.

Rachael Ray's Lemon Chicken
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1 1/2 pounds chicken breast or chicken tenders, cut into chunks
1/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons wok or vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan (preferred brand: House of Tsang)
1 tablespoon (a splash) white or rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
8 ounces (1 cup) prepared lemon curd
1/4 cup hot water
1 lemon, zested
2 scallions, thinly sliced or 20 blades fresh chives, finely chopped

Coat the chunked chicken lightly in flour, seasoned with a little salt. Heat a large skillet or a wok-shaped nonstick pan over high heat. Stir fry chicken until golden, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan and return pan to heat. Reduce heat to medium.

Add a splash of vinegar to the pan and let it evaporate. Add stock or broth to the pan and scrape up any drippings with a whisk. Thin curd by stirring in a little hot water. Add curd to broth and whisk to combine. Add chicken back to the pan and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken sauce and finish cooking chicken pieces through. Remove the pan from heat, add the scallions or chives and zest, and toss chicken pieces well to combine zest and scallions or chives evenly throughout the sauce.
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One reason why I haven't made this in a long time is because lemon curd is hard to find around here, and even when you can find it, it's usually expensive. This time, I decided to make my own lemon curd! Below is the recipe, taken from allrecipes.com. I made only 1/3 of the following recipe and again, did not have actual lemons to zest.

Microwave Lemon Curd
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 cup fresh lemon juice
3 lemons, zested
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Cook in the microwave for one minute intervals, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the microwave, and pour into small sterile jars. Store for up to three weeks in the refrigerator.

My Favorite Soup

Back in the days before I discovered Rachael Ray, there was probably only one thing other than Hamburger Helper that I ever made regularly: this soup. I bought a cookbook from a student doing a fundraiser, and this recipe was in it. I loved that I could make it in one pot, that I always had all the ingredients on hand, and that after some initial chopping and browning of the meat, all I had to do was cover it and wait. To me, it tastes a lot like the Pasta e Fagioli from Olive Garden.

All these years later, it's still one of my favorite things to make, and as with most homemade soups, it tastes even better the next day. It's highly adaptable to your preferences. I have made it with ground turkey breast and chicken broth in place of the beef and beef broth, and it's great. It's even good without meat, as I discovered last week when I forgot to add it. Dinner rolls or thick slices of homemade bread are a lovely accompaniment. I just cant say enough good things about this soup! Enjoy!

My Favorite Soup
1-2 T olive oil
1/2 lb. extra lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
handful of baby carrots, chopped
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
1 can (15 oz) low sodium beef broth
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans
1 can (28-32 oz) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup ditalini or other small pasta
Garlic salt, papper, and/or other seasonings, to taste
Shredded mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, for topping

In a stew pot, heat olive oil over medium heat, add beef, and brown. Add vegetables and cook 5-7 minutes, until tender. Add beef broth, kidney beans, tomatoes, pasta, and seasonings. Stir and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook about 20 minutes, until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with cheese before serving, if desired. Makes approximately 4 servings.

Patty Melts

These are kind of a go-to meal in our house. They are tasty, filling, and easy. We stock up on Jennie-O turkey burgers when they go on sale, so we always have everything on had. Usually I eat them between toasted slices of whole grain bread, but that adds 2.5 Weight Watchers points, and I just wasn't in the mood to give up those points the day I made these. For anyone who is curious, the turkey patties are four points each, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese is 2 points, and onions cooked in a tiny bit of olive oil are 1-2 points, depending on how much you use. For some reason, cooked onions are 1 point, while raw onions are 0 points. One teaspoon of olive oil is 1 point.

Patty Melts
2 Turkey burger patties
Steak seasoning
1-2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced into long, thin strips
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or 2 slices provolone cheese
2-4 slices whole grain bread, toasted
Fat-free Italian dressing

In a medium-sized pan, sprinkle turkey patties lightly with steak seasoning, and cook through. Remove cooked turkey patties from pan, add olive oil, and cook onion strips until lightly browned. Meanwhile, top patties with 1/4 cup each of mozzarella cheese or one slice each of provolone. Toast bread and drizzle lightly with fat-free Italian dressing. Top patties with cooked onions and serve between two slices, open-faced, or without bread, if prefered.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

As you might be able to tell from the photo, this was not really our favorite dinner. It wasn't terrible, in fact, is was actually pretty good, just not great. For anyone who likes to customize recipes, this might be just your thing. I'm sure with a few adjustments it wouldn't be hard to get some awesome Mac-n-cheese. I'll even suggest a few things I had in mind as we ate it: add some broccoli or spinach, or even diced ham if you don't mind adding some meat. Definitely use a good, firm cheddar. And if you're going to put breadcrumbs on the top, I'm afraid the only way to keep them from looking like sand on top of your pasta (and tasting a bit that way too) is to combine them with some butter so they can get golden and toasty.

I'll write the recipe pretty much as I made it, and you can make your adjustments from there. Happy cooking!

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
1/2 box bowties or other pasta
1-2 T olive oil
1-2 T flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups Mexican blend cheese
1/3 cups seasoned bread crumbs
cooking spray

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook until just short of al dente.

Meanwhile, in a medium-sized pot, heat olive oil and add flour. Cook for a few minutes to create roux, being careful not to let it burn. Whisk in milk, then add cheeses. Stir until no lumps remain in cheese sauce.

Stir cheese sauce into slightly undercooked pasta, then pour pasta into greased baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top of pasta and coat with cooking spray. (Yeah, that was the fatal flaw. Got to have butter in those bread crumbs, I'm afraid.)

Bake in oven preheated to 350 F for 10-15 minutes, until bread crumbs are toasty. Makes 4-6 servings.