Rosemary Lemon Chicken & Asparagus

Here's a great complete meal idea. Relatively complete--the greens and protein go along perfectly together (the asparagus were perfect!) and I served it as the main course following a crab leek risotto (the grains), so if you were to serve this with a wild rice or some bread then that would be more complete together (if you weren't serving the appetizer). This was a pretty straight-forward recipe.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken & Asparagus
Recipe from ShopCookMake

2 Chicken Breasts, in bone, without skin
14 Asparagus Spears
1 Lemon, cut into 5 rinds
2, four inch Rosemary Sprigs
2 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Butter
1/2 cup Chicken or Vegetable Stock
Salt and Pepper

In a small pan, melt the butter in the oil with the rosemary and lemon. Over low heat, cook the seasoned chicken breasts for about 50 minutes (until done), covered. Turn a few times, to cook well in both sides. You may need to add a few pours of stock, only if necessary, to create a bit of a sauce for the chicken to cook in.

After the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan onto a plate ad cover with foil. Let it rest.

Cook the asparagus in the leftover sauce.

Crab and Leek Risotto

This recipe made a ton of risotto! It was pretty good--I'd never made risotto before but overall it was relatively easy to do. I bought a can of crab claws to make this recipe, which was pricey but a cheaper option as opposed to getting fresh crab, but it's probably better fresh.

I served this as an appetizer for a rosemary lemon chicken and asparagus main course. It's best the first day, and was pretty fun to make.

Crab and Leek Risotto
Recipe from Alyssa and Carla

5 cups chicken stock
½ cup white wine
1 cup thinly sliced leeks (white and light green parts only)
1.5 cups of risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
8 oz fresh crab meat
Parmesan cheese and parmesan rinds (optional)
Lemon zest from about ½ lemon
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the stock and wine in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of butter and the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the leeks, a sprinkle of salt and a few cracks of fresh pepper to the pan. Sauté until the leeks begin to get tender but before they start to brown. Add the rice and sauté the grains become translucent.

Using a ladle, add one scoop of the stock mixture at a time to the rice. Stir thoroughly until the stock is absorbed. Repeat until the rice is cooked through but don’t let it get mushy. This will take about 20-30 minutes. If you have parmesan rinds, add them to the rice after about 10 minutes of cooking.

Remove from the heat.

Reserve a few larger pieces of crab meat to garnish the plates. Add the crab meat, half of the lemon zest, half of the parsley and the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan. Stir gently to incorporate. Add parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish the dishes with the remaining lemon zest and parsley and the reserved crab meat.

Roasted Broccoli Alfredo

This was a great easy dish that was pretty yummy. Because I've been kind of...not really participating in eating what I cook for my boyfriend (still trying to eat somewhat healthier or cleaner), I've been trying to cook a lot of simple dishes (not because I can't eat it! Just because I occasionally have to prepare two dishes, his and my even simpler one...haha). I grabbed a jar of Trader Joe's alfredo sauce and wanted to try it out, so decided on this straightforward recipe that called for a lot of ingredients that I already had. I just used chicken apple sausages from Costco.

Roasted Broccoli Alfredo
Recipe from Simple Green Moms

1 lb. fresh or frozen broccoli florets sliced in half
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 package tortellini pasta (or other pasta of your choice)
4 to 6 links chicken Andouille sausage (optional)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup Alfredo sauce (I used Trader Joe's)
Parmesan cheese (for serving)

To roast the broccoli – Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the broccoli with 2T olive oil, salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then spread the broccoli evenly on the sheet. Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes or until they are crispy on the outside and soft of the inside. Carefully remove from the oven and set aside.

To cook the sausage - Heat remaining olive oil in a skillet on medium-high. Slice the sausage then cook, turning occasionally, for about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue cooking for another minute or so until the garlic is fragrant and the sausage is browned.

To cook the pasta – Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water then toss together in a large saucepan with the Alfredo sauce, sausage, and broccoli.

You can add a little extra milk to make it creamier, if desired. We think it is best served warm, and sprinkled with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese!

Arugula Sausage Rolls

This was a great, easy lunch to whip up for my boyfriend on the weekend. It could also be used for a simple appetizer or a yummy game-day snack! There's nothing fancy about it, but it's just too easy and too good to pass up. The cheese spread (I used Rondole) is delicious. I used chicken & apple sausages from Costco for the sausage...always a good choice.

Arugula Sausage Rolls
Recipe from The Weary Chef

1 can crescent roll dough
2 full-cooked chicken sausages, sliced into half circles
½ c. garlic and herb cheese spread (or substitute onion chive cream cheese)
1½ c. arugula

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Unroll crescent roll dough, and divide dough into eight triangles. Spread about a tablespoon of cheese spread down the center of each triangle, evenly arrange arugula leaves over the cheese, and place sausage over the greens. (You can use a large piece of sausage as shown or bite-sized pieces).Sausage Rolls with Arugula

Fold two corners to the center, and pinch to seal. Sausage Rolls with Arugula

Place sausage rolls on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper, and bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Seafood Paella

SO. MUCH. FOOD. It was pretty good. A maleable recipe. I had to add a lot more spices etc to it, but I didn't use the best stock or anything so maybe that was why. I pretty much used the recipe as a guide of what to add, and could have definitely used fresher and better seafood, but used the frozen mix at Trader Joe's since it's a decent deal.

This was very easy to make, and a great dish if you're too busy to cook for the rest of the week and don't mind eating lots of leftovers!

Seafood Paella
Recipe from Abbe's Cooking Antics

1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek - chopped
1 red bell pepper - deseeded and chopped
1 clove garlic - crushed
3.5 oz/100g spanish chorizo sausage - chopped
1 tsp turmeric
10.5oz/300g long grain rice
2 tbsp cherry tomato paste/puree
1 ltr hot fish stock
5oz/150g frozen petit pois peas
14oz/400g frozen cooked seafood mix - defrosted

Heat the oil in the pan, cook the leek, pepper and garlic for 5 mins. Add the chorizo and fry until it releases its oils. Stir in the turmeric and rice and coat with the oil.

Add the tomato paste and stir it through the rice. Pour in the fish stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.

Add the peas and cook for 5 mins, then stir in the seafood to heat through for a final couple of minutes cooking. Remember the seafood has already been cooked and will turn rubbery if you over heat it.

Avocado Shrimp

I have a bunch of recipes actually sitting around in the queue, but it's been a) so hectic that I haven't had time to post about what I feel about the recipe and b) now a long time since I've made it so I can't even remember what I felt about the recipe!

This was a pretty good one though. I loved the fresh chunks of ripe avocado. Very yummy (I mean, come on, it's shrimp) and very easy. So quick to whip up! Just a little bit of prep, a very short amount of cooking, and voila!

Avocado Shrimp
Recipe from Apple of my Eye

1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, diced
½ tbsp honey
¾ lb. Shrimp
1 avocado, diced
½ tomato, diced
2 limes, juiced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Red pepper flakes, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add in the garlic, sautéing for 1 minute.

Add in the honey, stirring to combine.

Stir in the shrimp and cook for 3-4 minutes or until just done. Don’t overcook!

Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Add in the diced avocado, tomato and lime juice.

Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Serve hot or cold!