Chicken with White Wine Sauce and Raspberry Vinagrette

I know, I know...it's been WAY too long since I've shared any recipes. That's not to say we haven't been cooking, but working 40+ hours a week in a preschool is certainly exhausting (I've been saving my energy for the actual cooking). (P.S. I thought I posted this about two weeks ago. I don't use my computer a lot during the summer, so when I turned it on today, it was still on the page where I'd written the post! - OOPS!) Sorry, y'all!

Anyhow...

We're getting pretty good at making quick and easy meals, and have been using the gas grill quite a bit (which is convenient since Noah is in charge of that!) ;).

A few nights ago, we decided to use up some chicken we'd bought, and the half bottle of white wine left in the fridge from quite a while ago.

Super easy recipe for Chicken in White Wine Sauce (Source):

 Combine 2 tbsp flour, 1/4 tsp each salt, paprika, and ground black pepper in a shallow dish, then coat the chicken in the mixture. (Side note: to save time, we cut the chicken into bite-sized-ish pieces). Heat a little olive oil in a pan and cook the chicken, then add 1/2 cup of white wine and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Bring it to a boil, sprinkle a few teaspoons of grated parmesan cheese, and serve with rice or pasta (we chose Bertolli cheese tortellini).

I also made a yummy Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing (Source) with some fresh raspberries we'd bought that were a bit too soft to eat:

Add 1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen), 1/4 cup apple cider or balsamic vinegar (I used apple cider because I had it on hand), 2 tsp sugar, and 2 tsp dijon mustard (or 1 tsp dry mustard) to a blender and puree until smooth. Slowly add 1/4 vegetable oil until well combined, and add salt and pepper to taste. (For the record, I added the oil with all the other ingredients and it came out fine!)

Enjoy!

-C and N

Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

For dinner tonight, Noah and I decided to try out a Weight Watchers recipe, and decided on what he called "a healthy version of Chicken Piccata" - Lemon Chicken with Broccoli! Although he was less than thrilled about the amount of broccoli going into the dish, it actually came out great! It was a pretty quick and easy recipe, too. We decided to serve the chicken with balsamic glazed green beans and rice pilaf.

 Lemon Chicken with Broccoli (Source)

You'll Need:

	2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
	1/2 tsp table salt, divided
	1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
	12 oz uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), thinly sliced
	2 tsp olive oil
	1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
	2 tsp minced garlic
	2 1/2 cup(s) uncooked broccoli, small florets
	2 tsp lemon zest, or more to taste
	2 Tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped
	1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

To start, we got the rice pilaf in the microwave (we are SUPER talented, we know!).

While we waited for that, we got started cutting up the chicken. We bought about a pound of boneless, skinless chicken and cut it up into small, a-little-larger-than-bite-sized pieces.

Next, we put a few tablespoons of flour, and about 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper on a plate to roll the chicken in before it went in the pan!

 

 Then we added a bit of olive oil to a pan, and cooked the chicken until it was lightly browned (about 5 minutes) and beautiful (see below!). Then remove it from the pan and place it on a plate.

 

Next we added 1 cup of chicken broth (we used light and fat-free) and 2 tsp of minced garlic to the pan the chicken came out of, and allowed it to come to a boil after scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

After it was boiling, we added the broccoli and let it sit for one minute.

Then we added 1/2 cup of broth, 1/2 tablespoon of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt that we had stirred together in a cup.

We then covered the pan and cooked until the broccoli was "crisp-tender" and sauce was slightly thickened, (about 1 1/2 minutes).

Next it was time to stir in the chicken and ~2 tsp lemon zest and heat it through.

Lastly we removed the skillet from heat, stirred in ~2 tbsp parsley and 1 tbsp lemon juice and mixed thoroughly! Then was time to dig in, and look how beautiful it was! And it tasted even better! Great easy meal to cook when you don't have a ton of time (or if it's too hot to be in the kitchen for long!).

Green Beans with Balsamic Glaze:

Noah sauteed pre-cut and washed green beans in the pan, but suggests that they be steamed before they are sauteed, as he had a hard time cooking them and had to add water, ruining his idea of a glaze. They were still delicious, but we didn't get the full balsamic effect. However, if you're looking to do a glaze:

1. Steam the green beans (for about 4 minutes for a pound of beans)
2. Saute a little bit of garlic and shallots (chopped) in butter in a small saucepan on medium heat
3. Add equal parts balsamic vinegar and red wine
4. Cover and reduce until thick, or until it's about a quarter of it's initial volume (usually about 20 minutes)

Overall, we had a beautiful and tasty meal! Hope you enjoy!

-C and N