lemon garlic chicken

on this chicken i used my favourite flavours. i use them whenever i crave comfort food. lemon, garlic, bacon. i often have urges to eat them raw, but fortunately these urges never coincide with me being drunk enough to act on them. i imagine it'd be a terrible combination, in the raw version, no? but how wonderful it turns when baked, especially when you add a good glug of white wine.

preheat oven to 375F. wash the chicken and pat it dry. in a shallow baking dish combine two tb olive oil with the juice of half lemon. toss the chicken so it's coated on all sides. season with salt, pepper, paprika and herbs de provence, laying it presentation side down. scatter a few garlic cloves between the chicken pieces. chop some bacon and throw that in, too. cut the lemon you juiced in half and fit it in between. gently pour dry white wine against the side of the dish so you won't wash away the seasoning. bake until it's nicely browned, then turn it so the other side can get its turn. all in all, about 35-40 minutes, less if boneless. the juices will reduce in the most wonderful sauce.

typically i'd make mashed potatoes to fully showcase it. i'd make some ridges on top so the sauce can puddle on top and you can have some with each bite. sometimes i simply spoon it over, but on occasion i'll strain it, add some chicken stock and thicken it with some cornstarch. but that is moot cause the boss doesn't do potatoes, hence the mac and cheese. i had to mop the sauce with the homemade roasted garlic bread. poor me.

orange chicken

my princess ate an alarming quantity for dinner. she ate an alarming quantity of meat! actual, real, meat. not hot dogs, not ground meat, but chicken breast!! i prepared it a lot of different ways for her and it never hit home, until now. and that is not all: i served the chicken with an asparagus risotto, that i made more for myself, but which turned to be magical. i'll call it the speechless risotto, which is what i was, when i heard the words: 'more asparagus, please' coming out of my daughter's full mouth. aaaand, she ate a whole tomato. courtesy of the tomato flower i bothered to make.

1 boneless chicken breast

1 egg

handful of flour

salt, pepper

for the glaze:

1/2 cup apricot jam

3 tb orange juice

3 tb hoisin sauce

1 tb soy sauce

1 ts rice vinegar

pinch cayenne

cube the chicken breast, and season it. dredge through flour, then the beaten egg, then again through flour and fry on all sides until golden. remove to paper towel to drain.

mix all the ingredients for the glaze and bring to boil. simmer for a couple minutes or until it coats the back of the spoon. put the chicken in and mix. serve immediatly.

at least this once dinner was a successful affair!

Chicken Schnitzel, Two ways

quickly, while my daughter naps and i should be cleaning: this dish is one of my husband's faves, and it's gotten to be something special aroud here, as i don't make it very often because of the infamous clubhand. use tongs, you'll say. can't, impossible, incapable.
anyhoo: cut and tenderize the chicken breast and season with salt and pepper. and a bit of garlic powder and paprika if you're so inclined. beat 2 eggs with a healthy glug of milk and season that too. 2 handfuls all-purpose flour, seasoned, on a plate. mix about a cup plain breadcrumbs with 1 cup grated parmesan. take half of this mix, put it on a different plate and add 1 cup crushed/sliced/slivered almonds.
heat a thin layer of oil in the largest frying pan you've got. proceed to getting goop on your hands. dredge the chicken through the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. fry until golden. do the cheese mixture first, then the almonds.

serve with whatever sidedish and a salad. the one i like best is just a bunch of baby spinach, 1 avocado, 2 tomatoes, 1 green pepper, 1 small onion, a bit of feta cheese, lemon juice and olive oil. zap.

if you get a bit carried away and make a ton because, say, you don't make this very often, do this the next day:

a bit of cream cheese on the bottom slice, some baby spinach, the schnitzel, a blob of dijon on the top slice. throw in a cup of soup and there's lunch.