Foodie Friday: Lemon Thyme Chicken Thighs, Twice Baked Potatoes

This is a two part chicken dish but don't worry it's still super simple! The lemony rub with herbs and seasonings is so good and would probably work really well on the bbq as well. This recipe starts with a quick pan roast just to get the chicken nice and crispy before you finish cooking it in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Ingredients :

8 skin on chicken thighs

Lemon Rub

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tsp lemon zest

Instructions:

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.Mix all of the lemon rub ingredients together in a bowl

3.Rub the mixture onto each chicken thigh

4. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and place chicken skin side down cook for about 2-3 minutes or until skin is crispy. Flip chicken and cook for another 2-3 minutes

5.In another bowl whisk together chicken broth, lemon juice, and lemon zest and set aside

6. Add broth mixture to the pan and place in oven to continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through  about 20-30 minutes

 These twice baked potatoes are an adaptation of the loaded mashed potatoes that I make. I try to bake the potatoes ahead of time so that I don't have to wait for them to cool before I can prepare them. Throw them in the oven during the day, take 'em out and let 'em cool so they are ready to go when you want to start scooping and stuffing them in prep for the second bake .

Ingredients:

8 Russett potatoes

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cream cheese

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/2 cup shredded  cheddar cheese

2 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions:

1. wash potatoes thoroughly and wrap in foil. puncture a few times to allow steam to leave the potatoes

2. cook in 375 degree oven for about an hour or until soft when squeezed

3. Allow potatoes to cook then cut in half length wise

4. scoop out the middle of the potatoes leaving about a 1/4 inch border of potato all the way around 

5. scoop the middles into a large bowl and add all other ingredients to the potatoes and whip together

6. refill the potatoes with your loaded mash mixture and bake for 25 min at 375

Hope you enjoy the recipes! Let me know what you think :) While you are here check out the awesome BEAUTY BAG GOODIE SWAP Boy oh Mamas Boys! and I  are hosting ! This is round two of our beauty bag swap and we are looking forward to meeting some new ladies and reuniting with our first beauty bag goodie swap friends !

 Now , Back That Azz on outta here with a little Jhene Aiko ft. Kendrick Lamar

Foodie Friday: Chicken Pot Pie Casserole, Lemon Meringue Cookies

              Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

What screams rich,creamy, delicious comfort food more than Chicken Pot Pie? This recipe is for a casserole style pot pie, throw it together , add the crust, pop it in the over and voila chicken pot pie on the fly! This meal tasted as good as I imagined.I recommend making a second batch of plain crescent rolls to eat along side the casserole so you can have something to dip in your saucy mixture

Ingredients

2 cans (10.75 ounces) cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2-3 large breasts worth of cooked shredded or diced chicken
2  cups frozen mixed vegetables I used the mix with corn ,peas,and carrots-defrosted so your mix doesn't get watered down
2 cups southern style cubed frozen hash browns -defrosted to avoid  a watery mixture
1 can (8 ounces) crescent rolls (I bought a second can to cook on the side just for extra bread to dip in my pot pie casserole )

Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 350 .In a bowl whisk together soup, milk, sour cream,chicken stock, black pepper, parsley and thyme.

2. Stir in chicken, veggies and potatoes. Spray  a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish and pour mixture into dish

3.Unroll your crescent rolls (pinch perforations together so that it's seamless) Use a pizza cutter to cut 1/2 strips.Lay them in a lattice pattern on top of your mixture

4. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

                Lemon Meringue Cookies

Have you ever tried a meringue cookie and loved it but you were too intimidated to try making them? Ya, that was me.The just look so pretty and complicated but I finally gave it a shot and they were pretty simple .I used fresh lemons that needed to be used up but you could use any flavor that you like . I am slightly ashamed yet impressed that my family ate this whole batch in one day haha

Ingredients

4 egg whites at room temperature

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 cup sugar

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Zest of 1 large lemon

Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

2.Beat room temp egg whites and salt for 2 minutes until they are frothy. If your using a Kitchenaid ,use the whisk attachment. If not beat with an electric mixer

3.Add sugar in one tablespoon at a time while mixer is on med -high

4.Add lemon juice and vanilla extract

5.Turn up the mixer to high and beat for about 7 minutes until mixture holds stiff peaks.

6.Gently fold in lemon zest until combined.

7.Spoon meringue mixture into pastry bag with a large star tip and pipe meringues onto a parchment lined baking sheet.TIP: DO NOT FILL BAG TO THE TOP! The meringue is full of air and when you squeeze the piping bag the mixture will expand and spill out of the top, I learned this the hard way ....duh Brittany!

8. Bake for 2 hours at 200 .At the end of the 2 hours turn the oven off and let the cookies sit for about 15 min in the oven until the meringues are dried out and have reached the perfect crispy texture

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You can find these recipes and other great blog posts on The Freedom Fridays Link Up

Foodie Friday: Chicken Rollatini, Stuffed Spaghetti Squash,Lemon Ricotta Cookies

As you can probably tell based on last weeks Foodie Friday recipes, I'm pretty much obsessed with any type of cheesy ,buttery dish (I'm pretty sure I was meant to be a southern belle), This week I tried out this Chicken Rollatini recipe which is basically an inside out Chicken Parm minus the frying . It was a big hit with the whole family. This would be a good way to disguise veggies for those of you that have picky eaters to cook for :)

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken breasts pounded thin

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp grated Parmesan

3 egg whites

1 package frozen spinach(squeeze out all of the water)

6 tbsp ricotta cheese

6 oz shredded Mozzarella

1 cup marinara sauce or fresh tomato topping

FRESH TOMATO TOPPING:

2 cups cherry tomato sliced in half

2 cups fresh spinach

1 tbsp chopped garlic

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pound chicken breasts until they are thin enough to roll ( wrap them in saran wrap when you pound them to avoid the mess) and sprinkle with salt and pepper

2. Mix breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese in a bowl and set aside

3. Whisk egg whites in a separate bowl and set aside

4. In a third bowl mix frozen spinach( with all of the water drained out of it),1/4 cup parmesan cheese,mozzarella cheese,ricotta cheese, and 3 tablespoons of your egg whites

5. spread mixture on the chicken breasts (thin and evenly)

6. Fold chicken breast over and secure with a 3 toothpicks ( each end and the middle)

7. Dipped the rolled up chicken into the egg mixture then into the bread crumbs

8. Bake at 450 for 25 minutes

9. Remove from oven and cover with sauce and more cheese if wanted . Broil until cheese is bubbly

I skipped the jar sauce and made a tomato mixture while the chicken was cooking

1. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet

2. Add chopped garlic and tomato

3. Once the tomatoes have cooked down ( about 4 minutes) add the spinach and stir together so the spinach can wilt. Top your chicken with this mixture for a fresher alternative to marinara sauce

The  later part of the week I was having a pretty bad POTS flare up and didn't feel like being creative or having to cook an elaborate meal. Plus I had a few leftover ingredients from the chicken that I made earlier in the week. I've been wanting to try out Spaghetti squash for a while and bought one last week . So since I had the spaghetti squash and leftover cheese, sauce, and tomato I decided to try to throw something together. Here's a picture of my little concoction which turned out pretty good I must say :) It's so weird how much this squash looks like a bowl of pasta when you serve it

INGREDIENTS:

1 spaghetti squash cut in half

cherry tomatoes cut in half ( I prob used about 2 cups)

mozzarella cheese-as much as you want to top it with ( you've prob already figured out that my philosophy is the more the better)

a few tablespoons of marinara sauce

dry italian seasoning

garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut the squash in half  . I cut it across the middle but I think it would cook faster if you cut it length wise ( top to bottom)

2. Drizzle each half with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder

3. Place halves flesh side down in a pan with a few inches of water

4. Bake for 30-45 min at 350 . the squash should feel soft and it will be easy to scrape the "noodles" out of the squash with a fork

5. Mix the tomato, Italian seasoning, and marina into the squash (it'd prob be even better with fresh basil or oregano)

6. Top with cheese and broil til bubbly

A few years ago for Christmas I put together a Family Cookbook for my Great Grandma. I collected recipes from all the women in my family and used www.tastebook.com . The book is bound in a beautiful hardcover  and the format is really cool because you can insert photos and stories for each recipe. For example every year we go to my Great Grandparents and the boys pick the apples with Grandpa and the girls spend the day in the kitchen with GG (great-Grandma)baking  lots of goodies ; pies, breads, applesauce, apple crisp ect. So when I put my Great Grandma's apple pie recipe in the book I mentioned this tradition and inserted a photo of her baking and next to the apple sauce recipe there is a photo of my brother climbing the apple tree to get the highest apple. It turned out to be a great gift that we all still use. I would definitely checkout the website if you have a mom, aunt, sister or grandma that you want to give something special and sentimental to for Christmas. 

So the purpose of the long ramble about the cookbook is that I remembered my cousin putting in a recipe for lemon ricotta cookies and since I had ricotta left from the chicken recipe and some lemons on hand I decided to try them. I will admit I was a little leery of how ricotta in a cookie would turn out...imagine a lemony Madeline with a glaze on time...yummmm!

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

15 oz ricotta cheese

4-5 tablespoons lemon juice

1 lemon zested

1 stick of butter softened

GLAZE:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 lemon zested

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. set aside

2. In a large bowl combine butter and sugar and mix with an electric mixture until fluffy

3. Beat in eggs one at a time

4. beat in ricotta, lemon zest, and lemon juice

5. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients

6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop spoonfuls of batter onto cookie sheet

7. Bake @375 for 20-25 minutes until edges are golden brown

8. Leave cookies on hot baking sheets for about 20 minutes before transferring to cooling rack

9. Apply glaze to cookies using the back of a spoon

GLAZE INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix lemon juice, lemon zest, and powdered sugar in a bowl with a whisk.

Enjoy these fun recipes and if you get a chance to try them let me know what you think  
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