DINNER TIME! Lemon Garlic Chicken and Potatoes

We have a lot of chicken thighs frozen in our freezer. Letty had some leftover lemon garlic marinade. Taylor made for a quick, easy, and delicious dinner.

First, I better give you the marinade. I used leftover but use the juice of a lemon, 6 garlic cloves minced, a tablespoon of olive oil, a sprinkle of Kosher salt and pepper.  Use this as a rub on your chicken and, when you cook it, save the drippings...that's how we ended up with leftover marinade.

Take three thighs, put in a ziploc bag with the marinade (fresh or leftover...only difference is that the leftover also has chicken stock), and let sit in the fridge for 6 hours.

Dice up some yellow potatoes.

Put in a ziploc bag, sprinkle in about a quarter teaspoon of Kosher salt, a few sprinkles of black pepper, and a teaspoon of olive oil. Shake well in sealed bag.

Smear olive oil on a baking pan, put the potatoes in the bottom of the pan.

Put the thighs on top of the potatoes, skin side up. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I'm also cooking a little broccoli for the side. Prepare the same way as the potatoes and wrap in foil with a little opening at the top.

Put the baking dish with the potatoes and chicken in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes. Turn chicken, put back in oven for another 30 minutes. Put the broccoli in the oven at this time, also.

At the end of the second 30 minutes, turn the chicken skin side up again. Increase heat to 475 and cook for another 15 minutes to crisp the skin.

It should look like the picture above when done.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

SUPER SIDE: Broccoli Au Gratin

Eating healthy can be a bit daunting sometimes but here's a cheat even my son loves. A creamy, cheesy, broccoli side dish.

We're serving this on the side of some pork chops with a port wine, mushroom reduction sauce.

INGREDIENTS (3 servings)

1 large head of broccoli
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup low fat mile
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper.

In a small sauce pan, melt the cream cheese into the milk.

Break up the head of broccoli and put into a casserole dish. Salt and pepper the broccoli. Cover with the cream cheese and milk sauce. Sprinkle the cheddar on top.

Bake, covered,  for 20 minutes at 300 degrees.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2016 - All Rights Reserved

Pasta Parma Verde

You know the dilemma...what'll we have for dinner? That one question causes so much stress for a family cook. What will I do for my family for dinner?

We all want to cook a great meal and not just serve the same thing, time after time...no matter how good it is.

That was my quandary this Sunday morning as I perused the freezer for something to thaw for dinner. At first, I pulled out a smoked ham hock but I just wasn't feeling it.

Before I resigned myself to ordering a pizza or going out for burgers, I went to Claros', our local Italian deli, to see if I could get some inspiration.

Claro's never lets me down, and today is no exception.  

With a package of some super premium Parma ham in my hand, I headed home to make the following dish for dinner.

INGREDIENTS

4 oz. egg noodles

4 oz. casarecce noodles

1/2 pound Parma ham, thinly sliced

half a bunch of spinach leaves

2 stalks of broccolini finely chopped

4 small,green onions finely chopped

1/4 cup quattro formagio or parmesan

1 ounce (quarter stick) butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup half and half

2 tablespoons soft goat cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Put water in a large pot (5 quarts or so) and start heating towards a boil.

Put a sheet of wax paper over a plate.  Hand-tear the Parma ham into small pieces and place on the was paper.

Spread the ham out evenly. Save this for later.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan on high heat.  When hot, add the spinach.

Put the pasta into the boiling water. Cook until al dente (about 9 minutes)

Add the green onions and broccolini. Cook until the broccolini softens.

Turn the heat down to low/medium and add the garlic and quattro formagio. Mix in thoroughly.

Add the goat cheese.  

When the goat cheese is melted, add the ham and mix in very thoroughly.  

Turn off the heat, wait two minutes. Add the cream and stir in.

When the pasta is done, drain and mix into the sauce.

Darryl
Copyright - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Intercontinental Egg Scramble

I had a late lunch with an old high school friend recently. A very good dish of chilaquiles and eggs overlooking a harbor a bit north of Los Angeles.

The next morning, the mix of the eggs and tortilla chips stayed with me and helped inspire this dish, which pulls a bit from Mexico, France, and the good 'ol USA.

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs
1 merguez sausage
1/4 cup bacon bits (leftover from another breakfast)
6 leaves of spinach
1 teaspoon half and half.
1 stalk of broccolini or broccoli
2 tablespoons soft goat cheese
2 cloves fresh garlic
pinch of salt
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 corn tortillas

Cut the tortillas into small triangles.  Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan on high heat. When very hot, cook the tortilla triangles until crispy. Remove and set on a plate with paper towels to drain and save for later.

Chop up the merguez sausage into small bits. Add another 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. 

Cook the sausage and spinach together until the spinach is well wilted.

Chop the garlic finely. Do the same with the broccolini. 

Add to the pan and stir until the broccolini begins to soften.

Add the bacon and goat cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Put the eggs into a bowl. Add the half and half plus a pinch of salt and stir until well combined. 

Add the tortilla chops to the pan and pour the egg mixture over the top. Stir with a spatula until done.

Darryl
Copyright 2015 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved