Milk's Favorite Cookie

Do you remember your first oreo cookie?

Lemon Thyme Chicken

Recipe


1 tablespoon olive oil
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 lemon, cut in half
1/2 cup dry white wine


In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with thyme, salt, and pepper. Place garlic in heated oil and saute 1 minute. Add chicken, seasoned-side down, and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Turn chicken and squeeze lemon over chicken.  Place lemon halves face down in skillet. Pour wine over chicken and reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until chicken is done.  Serve immediately.


Serve with....


I would serve this with wild rice, and asparagus, 0r maybe over some orzo. The sauce is delicious.  

Reasons why...

-I say 4 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts because I like to use the smaller chicken breasts, but I know some grocery stores have monsters, so this recipe would work for just 4 of those. 

-I use freshly dried thyme because I like the flavor better. 

-To crush garlic, simply place garlic clove on a cutting board, turn chef's knife to the side and hit it with your hand. You can use almost anything to do this.  The idea is to open the garlic and release the flavor.  

   

Red Wine Rice

I had made plain jasmine rice the night before and I didn't want the same ole thing, so I created Red Wine Rice.  Super simple, but totally different.


Recipe....


1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups cold cooked rice
1/2 cup to 1 cup dry red wine


In a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, and garlic and saute until lightly browned. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper, and saute 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Remove mushroom mixture from skillet and and keep warm.  In the same skillet, add 1 teaspoon oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add rice and cook, without stirring, until hot. Stir in wine and let bubble. Add mushroom mixture back into pan and saute until hot and wine absorbs or evaporates.  Taste and decide if you need to add more salt, pepper, or wine.  Serve immediately.


Serve with...


Steak is my first choice with this rice, something different than potatoes.
Could go with pork, chicken, or any fish, however, it's a richer side-dish, so I like a richer protein.  I would balance it with a simpler, lighter side-dish, such as a salad.

Reasons why...

-I finely chopped the onion so it would be around the same size as the rice.

-I used baby bella mushrooms because I like them, but any will work here.

-When cooking any mushrooms, let them cook.  Toss them after a few minutes, but try not to move them around too much so they get that good browned look, which is flavor.  If they start to leach out juices (and they will because the salt pulls the water out of the mushrooms), keep cooking until that water is gone...then add your rice and wine.

-I like to use jasmine rice.  I like the flavor and the texture. Any rice will work here, though.  The reason you don't stir the rice, is so that no more starches are released.  If rice is touched too much, the end result is mushy.

-I choose dry red wine because I like a deeper savory flavor here.  You could use a sweet red wine, but keep in mind that the flavor of the rice will sweeten a bit.

-Always taste and be the final judge.  If you would add salt or pepper at the table, add it here, a little at a time so that it doesn't get too seasoned.  If you want more wine flavor, add it here.

And So It Starts...

I'm finally getting this thing going. My husband gave me a blog for Christmas (yes, it's September!) and I am ready to start. He got me another blog that was a bit too complicated for my beginner blogging skills, so this will have to do for now. This is going to be a place I keep a record of our little girl, Annie, (just turned a year...again, oops on timing) and a place where I can post food ideas, recipes, or just something good I have eaten. I'll start this post by catching you up on Annie's first year.

-jane