Dinner has arrived! While not quite as you still need to cook it, but this Chicken Piccata over Creamy Lemon Orzo is the perfect recipe for an easy and cozy meal that everyone will love. We’re sautéing chicken cutlets and coating them with a fresh lemon and caper sauce. The best part is that the juicy chicken cutlets are sitting over a warm orzo and leek dish that’s bursting with lemon flavor.

The smell of this meal cooking is going to have you sneaking bites off the stove. And by sneaking bites I mean scooping out a bowlful of the orzo and shoving it into your mouth like you haven’t eaten in five days.

This is my favorite savory dish I’ve made in a while and I plan on making it many more times. It’s simple enough that I can whip it up for Matt and I on a weeknight, but I would also totally make this for company. Add in a green salad and your meal is complete!

Matt and I like to have Valentine’s Day dinner at home, so if you’re like us and staying in tonight then I recommend making a quick trip to the store to get everything to make this Chicken Piccata over Creamy Lemon Orzo. Other than the bright lemon flavor, my favorite part of this dish is that it tastes rich and indulgent, but feels very light. You would never guess there’s less than two tablespoons of butter across all four servings!

I hope you all enjoy this one and have a lovely Valentine’s Day weekend!

Chicken Piccata over Creamy Lemon Orzo

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise to have 8 cutlets
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided
• 1 bay leaf
• 1½ tablespoons butter, divided
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 leek (white and light green parts), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (see note)
• 1 cup orzo
• ¼ cup half and half
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3½ tablespoons lemon juice, divided
• 3 tablespoons white wine
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Zest from ½ a lemon

Directions

1. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Add the flour to a shallow bowl then coat the chicken cutlets completely, shaking off the excess. Put aside until ready to use.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave, heat 2 cups of the chicken broth, ½ cup of water and the bay leaf until simmering.
3. Melt ½ tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sliced leeks and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the orzo then season with salt and pepper. Add the warmed broth mixture and bring it to a simmer. Add the half and half then keep at a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
4. While the orzo is simmering, start the chicken. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached. If your skillet is not big enough you will have to do this in two batches, just remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly in between the batches. Remove the chicken once it’s been cooked and set aside.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and a tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in the skillet from the chicken. Sauté the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the remaining cup of the chicken broth, 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice and the white wine. Season with salt to taste. Whisk together and let come to a simmer. Add the capers. Add the chicken back to the skillet and let simmer for 5 more minutes.
6. When the orzo is done, remove the bay leaf. Stir in the remaining ½ tablespoon of butter, parsley and lemon zest. Serve with the chicken and sauce poured overtop.

Notes

Leeks harbor a lot of dirt so they need to be cleaned really well. Add the sliced leeks to a medium mixing bowl filled with water to separate and move around so the dirt sinks to the bottom and the leeks stay floating on the top. Scoop the sliced leeks out with your hand and place in a colander to lightly drain before putting in the saucepan.

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 Orzo recipe adapted from December 2019 issue of Food Network Magazine.

Recipe adapted from Eat This, Not That!.

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Lauren Uncategorized 2 Comments

This is one of those simple recipes that I make regularly at our house and I’m finally getting around to sharing with you all. Whether you’re a kid or an adult it’s hard to beat a satisfying quick meal of crunchy chicken nuggets!

Although grocery stores are loaded with plenty of chicken nugget options, it’s super easy to make a batch of homemade chicken nuggets to stash in your freezer for quick lunches and weeknight dinners. Baking them ourselves is also healthier and cleaner eating since we’re using just four ingredients (if you don’t count the seasonings).

These little baked nuggets are crunchy, tender and ready for dipping into ketchup, honey mustard or whatever your preferred chicken nugget dipping sauce is! Now I’m sure most of you are curious about the crispiness and the freezing aspect so let’s dive right in.

Are the chicken nuggets crispy?

Yes! So, so crispy! The nuggets get cooked on a wire cooling rack set on a baking sheet. The reason we do this is that, much like an air fryer, it allows the heat from the oven to circulate all around the chicken nuggets. This ensures the whole nugget is crispy. The nuggets are also crispy from the whole wheat panko breadcrumbs. Panko breadcrumbs are bigger, flakier and airier than regular breadcrumbs, giving the coating a great crunch. I like using whole wheat panko breadcrumbs for the chicken nuggets because they’re a little healthier and because they have a nice golden color to them. If you use regular panko breadcrumbs the chicken nuggets will still taste just as good, but they will be very pale.

How do you freeze and reheat the chicken nuggets?

You can either freeze the chicken nuggets raw or cooked. I prefer to freeze them cooked to drastically cut down on reheating time since I make these for us to have as a quick meal. If you want to freeze the cooked chicken nuggets, let them cool completely then put in a freezer bag or freezer safe container. When you’re ready to reheat the cooked nuggets, bake in a 400 degree F oven until warm, about 10 minutes. No need to do the whole cooling rack/baking sheet thing for reheating; simply reheat on a baking sheet. Or, since they’re already cooked you could reheat them in the microwave for a super quick meal, but they will lose a lot of their crispiness. If you want to the freeze the nuggets raw, place the breaded nuggets on a parchment lined baking sheet then freeze until solid. Once frozen, place in a freezer bag or freezer safe container. To bake them raw from frozen, follow the same baking instructions, but you will have to add cook time to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F since you’re baking them from frozen.

Freezer Friendly Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 2 eggs
• 1¼ cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• Salt, pepper and garlic powder for seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Set a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Set up your breading station. In one shallow bowl, beat the eggs. Place the panko in a second shallow bowl. In a third shallow bowl, add the flour then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
3. Bread the chicken nuggets. First, coat completely in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Then coat completely in the egg mixture, letting any excess drip off. Finally, coat completely in the panko mixture then place on the prepared wire rack. Repeat for the remaining chicken nuggets. I usually do about 6 pieces at a time. Bake the chicken nuggets for 20 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
4. If freezing, let the nuggets cool completely. Then store in a freezer bag or freezer safe container. When ready to eat, bake on 400 degrees F until warm, about 10 minutes.

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Lauren Uncategorized 4 Comments

Halloween is tomorrow! Yay! As I’ve mentioned on Lemon & Mocha numerous times before, I love Halloween! I have so many fun childhood memories of Halloween and I can’t wait to start making Halloween memories with our little guy on the way.

We went back and forth on whether we should put up Halloween decorations with me being just a couple weeks away from my due date, but ultimately I just couldn’t not put them up, even though I felt a little crazy for doing it. Do you decorate your house for Halloween?

I usually post a chocolatey treat for Halloween, but since Matt and I are up to our eyeballs with all the desserts I’ve been baking I busted out a cute savory treat instead.

Turkey sliders have been fashioned into silly Halloween monsters, complete with cucumber eyeballs and pickle tongues! As fun as these Halloween Monster Turkey Burger Sliders are, they’re also so good! The turkey patties are juicy and packed with flavor because we’ve added a minced mixture of mushrooms, shallot and parsley to the ground turkey.

Throw in a little olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning and then they are grilled or pan-seared to perfection. Since they’re so tiny they cook really quickly; just about four minutes on each side. Top it all off with some melty cheese and fresh veggies for a delicious dinner the whole family will love. Just don’t forget to cut pointy teeth marks into your sliced cheese! Happy Halloween, everyone!

Looking for some more Halloween treat inspiration? I have a few recipes below to get you started:

Boozy Pumpkin Nutella Hot Chocolate

Leftover Halloween Candy Chocolate Lasagna

Halloween Witch Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Marshmallow Monster Cookie Sandwiches

Halloween Witches’ Cauldron Cupcakes

Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies

Halloween Monster Turkey Burger Sliders

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 5-6 cremini mushrooms, stems removed, plus more for eyes
• ½ shallot
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1 pound ground turkey, 90% lean
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 English cucumber
• 16 toothpicks
• 4 slices deli cheddar or American cheese
• 8 slider buns
• 8 small pieces of romaine lettuce
• 8 small slices of tomato
• 4 pickle sandwich slices, cut in half
• Ketchup

Directions

1. Add the cremini mushrooms, shallot and parsley to a food processor. Process until finely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, finely chop by hand.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mushroom mixture, ground turkey, olive oil, Worcestershire, salt and pepper, being sure not to over-mix. Divide the mixture into 8 even portions and form into slider patties, roughly a little bigger than the size of your slider buns. Let patties set in the fridge, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. While the patties are in the fridge, prep your monster eyes and cheese teeth. Slice the English cucumber so you have 16 rounds. The slices can be thin, but not so thin that you’ll have difficulty securing them with a toothpick. Use extra cremini mushrooms to cut out little circles that will be the center of the eyes. Carve a little round out of the center of an English cucumber slice the size of one of your mushroom eye centers. Stick the mushroom center into the hole in the cucumber and stick a toothpick up through the cucumber and the mushroom piece securing it in place. Repeat for the remaining 15 eyes. For the cheese teeth, cut each slice of cheese in half then cut little teeth points at the edge of each slice. Repeat until you have 8 cheese teeth slices.
4. Lightly spray a grill pan or nonstick sauté pan with olive oil cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Cook the slider patties for 4 minutes on each side, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove from the heat and add a cheese teeth slice to each slider so that the teeth prongs overhang a little.
5. To assemble a slider, place a piece of lettuce on the bottom slider bun. Top with a tomato slice then the cheese-topped patty. Lift up the cheese a little to tuck the pickle half underneath so it sticks out like a tongue. Top with some ketchup then the top slider bun. Stick two cucumber toothpick eyeballs into the top. Repeat for the remaining sliders.

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Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

Sometimes I have brainstorming sessions where I’ll think about meals I would want to eat, without putting much thought into how to go about the actual recipe. Or sometimes an idea for a dish just pops into my head and I’ll write it down and hope I know later what the heck I was even thinking about. I have little notes with food ideas in my phone, scattered on post-its and in random notebooks. One note that I wrote (who knows when) said, “provolone and pesto turkey meatloaf.” I would see it every now and then and think, “that sounds so good!” and then move on with whatever I was doing.

When I was looking through my Lemon & Mocha calendar trying to think of more dinner dishes I figured it was time to tackle my pesto and provolone meatloaf idea. I’m so glad I did because this turkey meatloaf is incredible! Forget whatever notions you have about ground turkey being dry or flavorless. This meatloaf is tender, moist and packed with creamy pesto and pockets of oozing cheese. Oh, and it’s decently healthy, which is always a fun bonus!

I took tips from two of my favorite ground turkey recipes: my Turkey Veggie Mushroom Burgers and my Baked Turkey Pesto Meatballs. We’re taking a cue from the burgers and swapping out the usual breadcrumbs for a healthy whole grain. Using quinoa as one of the binders is a healthy alternative that also helps the meatloaf be really moist.

As for the tip from the meatballs, we’re going right ahead and adding a whole bunch of pesto to the meatloaf mixture. Whether you use homemade or store-bought pesto, it’s hard to beat that fresh, garlicky flavor. Adding some to the ground turkey ensures flavor in every bite as well as helping to create a tender meatloaf.

But we can’t forget about the provolone part! I bought a block of provolone, cut some of it into chunks and worked those right into the meatloaf. While it was cooking I could see the little pockets of provolone oozing out and it smelled ridiculously good in our kitchen. I already know this recipe is going to get a lot of use with our family! I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did!

Pesto and Provolone Turkey Meatloaf

 

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Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground turkey, 90% lean
• ½ cup cooked quinoa
• ½ cup pesto
• ½ cup chopped provolone cheese
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil and set aside
2. Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Be sure not to over-mix. Freeform the meatloaf onto the baking sheet. I usually make mine 4-5 inches wide and about 3-4 inches tall.
3. Bake for 1 hour or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Let rest a couple minutes before taking the internal temperature. If desired, top with additional pesto and some shredded provolone during the last few minutes of baking time. Once the meatloaf is done, let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

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Lauren Uncategorized 2 Comments

I love a good lettuce wrap, especially when it has fresh and tangy flavors like these Asian Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps. Today I’m sharing another healthy dinner recipe with you all, this time from my favorite little cookbook, the Cook This, Not That! cookbook. This is one that I’ve made sporadically over the years ever since buying that cookbook and every time I make it we talk about how we should have it more often.

The chicken meatballs only have six ingredients, but they are packed with flavor. You can grill them on a grill or grill pan for a nice char. I’ve also baked them successfully. Just like with any good lettuce wrap or taco the key to keep you diving back in for more is a layering of flavors. In addition to the grilled chicken meatballs these wraps are also stuffed with a simple pickled cucumber salad and a delicious ginger scallion sauce. I cannot say enough good things about this sauce! I want to drizzle it over all my protein and rice dishes forever.

If you don’t feel like fussing with the lettuce wraps you could always just serve this as a plated meal over the brown rice, but the lettuce does add some welcome freshness to the dish. Sometimes I have trouble finding ground chicken in the store so I’ve also made this dish with ground pork, which goes incredibly well with the pickled and ginger flavors. I hope you all enjoy this one!

Asian Chicken Meatball Lettuce Wraps

 

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Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

for the pickled cucumber salad

• ½ large English cucumber, sliced into thin rounds
• ⅓ small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1½ teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1½ teaspoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes, optional

for the ginger scallion sauce

• 6-8 scallions, bottoms removed and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

for the lettuce wraps

• 1 pound ground chicken or pork
• ½ red onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 jalapeño pepper, minced (if you don’t like spicy food remove all seeds and pith)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Boston lettuce leaves, for serving
• Steamed brown rice, for serving

Directions

for the pickled cucumber salad

1. Combine the cucumber, onion, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) in a mixing bowl. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving. Or make ahead as it will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

for the ginger scallion sauce

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the scallions, ginger, soy sauce, oil and vinegar. Letting the sauce sit in the fridge for 30 minutes before eating will deepen the flavor.

for the lettuce wraps

1. Preheat a lightly oiled grill pan or grill over medium-high heat. If using a grill you might want to skewer the meatballs to make them easier to turn and cook.
2. Combine the ground chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeño, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl until just combined. Be sure not to over-mix. Divide into 12 evenly sized meatballs. Grill for 4-5 minutes per side until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove from the heat and use the lettuce to make wraps stuffed with the rice, grilled meatballs, pickled cucumber salad and ginger scallion sauce.

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Lauren Uncategorized 6 Comments