Chicken Vesuvio

The best thing about this recipe is that you can cook the ENTIRE meal stove-top in ONE POT. That means only one thing to wash! It is a great meal for when you have company over because it is a complete meal that looks really fancy even though it is super easy. All you'd need to add is a loaf of crusty bread and some glasses of wine! It is a Cook's Illustrated recipe from their "Skillet Supers" cookbook which I am newly obsessed with. I suggest having everything out and ready because this meal cooks up really fast.

Here is how you make it-

Chicken Vesuvio

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt & pepper
2T olive oil
1 1/2 lb. baby red potatoes, scrubbed and halved
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup white wine (and then drink the rest with your meal!)
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 T unsalted butter
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Pat chicken dry and season w/salt & pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large 12" skillet over medium/high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. (The chicken will not be fully cooked at this point, you are just browning it to seal in the juices/flavor)

Add remaining oil to the skillet and cook potatoes, cut side down until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, rosemary, oregano and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add wine and broth, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon and bring to a boil. Make sure the potatoes are flipped at this point so they can cook all the way though. Return the chicken breast to the skillet on top of the potatoes. (They will just sort of hang out on top of the potatoes and broth and the steam will cook them the rest of the way through) Reduce heat to medium/low, cover and simmer for about 12 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are tender.

Using a slotted spoon transfer the chicken and potatoes to a serving platter and tent with foil while you finish the sauce.

Increase the heat to medium/high and cook the sauce, uncovered until it is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Take the skillet off the heat and whisk in the butter and lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Pour sauce over the chicken and potatoes. Serve and devour. (:

Quesadilla Pie

So easy and so yummy. I got this recipe from a different blog but here is the edited version for how we made it. This will be a new Lucht family staple. Brad loved it and it was a great way to use up left-overs. Enjoy!

Quesadilla Pie

Ingredients:

4 large flour tortillas (9-10 inches diameter)
Butter
1/2 pound grated cheese- sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack
3/4-1 cup of cooked black beans
1/2 a tomato, chopped and seeds removed
1/4 cup onion
1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1/4 corn & chili salsa (from Trader Joes! It is a tomato-less salsa)
Cumin and/or chili powder for extra heat

Garnishes:
Chopped avocado
Chopped cilantro
Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce dressed with vinegar and salt
Sour cream
Salsa

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the bottoms and sides of a pie dish with butter, approximately the same size as your tortillas (I used a 10-inch pyrex pie dish for 10-inch wide tortillas). *Don't skip the butter! It is what makes the tortillas crispy, not soggy

2 Place one tortilla on the bottom of the pie dish. Sprinkle some shredded cheese over the tortilla. At this point, you will begin to add your chosen filling ingredients, and layering the tortillas. Just make sure each layer has a generous sprinkling of cheese.

Here is what I did but you can do whatever you like:

Layer 1: cheese, black beans, corn & chili salsa (I used a slotted spoon w/the salsa to remove the liquid)
Layer 2: cheese, chicken, sprinkle with cumin and chili powder
Layer 3: cheese, tomato, onion

3 Place your last tortilla on top and give it a generous brush with butter. (For real, don't skip the butter!) Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Put in oven for 30 minutes on 350°F. Then remove the foil and increase the heat to 400°F. Cook for another 15 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Cut into quarters.

Serve with garnishes.

Ruby's Baptism

So sweet little Ruby got baptized last weekend. We had some friends over after the service for brunch and I made this, this and this. All were delicious and could be made the night before and then just popped in the oven the morning of. This made for a stress-free morning. (: We also had cinnamon rolls, melon and coffee. It was a special day for us because not only was it the first day of Spring but it was also the 20 year anniversary of my mom's death. 20 years. That just seems like such a long time. We wanted to celebrate her life and talk to William about her. It is hard to explain death to a 2 year old. We just told him that his grandma Jean lives with God in heaven and that he'll get to meet her someday when all of our family is together in heaven. We wanted to create a sort of memorial day for her so we took out pictures and planned activities that reminded me of her. My mom was an English teacher and loved to read. I have many fond memories of her reading to my sister and I. She wrote me a letter when she knew she was dying and in it she told me to spend special cuddle-time reading to my children. This is something I try to do with them every night. As kids we would often go to the bookstore and pick out new books to read so we decided to take William to get a new book about Spring. My mom also loved to garden so we went and bought some plants and Will helped me plant them. While we were putting dirt in the pot Brad said "Will do you remember why we are planting these?" and he sweetly answered "For Jean in heaven!". It was a sweet day and I am excited to start this new tradition for the first day of Spring.

Almond Crusted Chicken

This is a simple twist on regular old oven-roasted chicken. It tastes great and is high in protein. It is also super quick to whip together on a busy night. Serve with oven-roasted red potatoes and steamed green beans.

Almond Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup unblanched almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 large eggs whites
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Finely chop the almonds in a mini-chopper or food processor. Transfer the nuts to a shallow dish and stir in the paprika. Lightly whisk the egg whites in another shallow dish. Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg. Press both sides of the chicken into the nuts to coat. Place on a baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to set the crust.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and add the oil and the butter. Place the chicken smooth-side down in the pan and then raise the heat to medium-high. Place the baking sheet in the oven on the rack to get warm. Cook chicken turning once, until the nuts set and turn golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to the prepared baking sheet and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the sides of the chicken registers 160 degrees F, about 20-25 minutes.

*For extra tender chicken and a faster cooking time you could pound the chicken flat to 1/4 inch thickness

Anthro Inspired Magnets

These were my inspiration but there is no reason anyone should pay $32 for six magnets. Brad and I love going to thrift stores and antique shops so I made it my mission to look for cool old clip-on earrings and pins. I bought each pair for about $1 and pulled the clips off with some pliers. I then hot glued 3/4" magnets to the back. These are great to give as gifts and so easy to make. The hardest part is finding cool earrings! :)

Cutest Valentines

Valentine's Day Craftiness~Burlap Hoops

I made these last year and decided to hang them on my ladder with some cute ribbon this year. I think I'll make a few tissue flowers to add to the display later this week.

Supplies:
Embroidery Thread
Fabric Scraps
Embroidery Hoops
Burlap
Needle w/a large hole

Instructions:
Place the burlap in the hoop and trim off excess. Cut the fabric into whatever shapes you like. Stitch around the shapes.

*Please note I have no prior embroidery experience or skills. I just sort of free-handed it when I stitched it onto the burlap. :)