Penne with Chicken, Asparagus, and Lemon

From The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.

This cookbook has some of the recipes from the best light recipes book that I love, but not all of the recipes are light.  Most are quick and family-friendly.  I also like that it's in a binder and so lays flat when you're trying to read them/cook.

This will be a new recipe for me this week.

Ingredients: 
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2-3), trimmed and sliced thin
1 leek, whte and green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin, and washed thoroughly
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp minced fresh thyme
2 tsp all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 oz)
2 tsp grated lemon zest plus 1/4 cup lemon juice from 2 lemons
1 bunch medium-size asparagus (about 1 lb), tough ends trimmed, and sliced on the bias into 1-inch lengths
12 oz whole-wheat pasta
2 tbsp shredded fresh basil

1.  Heat 1 1/2 tsp of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken, break up any clumps, and cook until lightly browned but not fully cooked, about 3 min.  Transfer to a bowl.

2.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil to the skillet and return to medium heat until shimmering.  Add the leek and cook until softened, about 5 min.  Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3.  Stir in the flour and cook for 1 min.  Slowly whisk in the broth and wine and bring to a simmer, scraping up and browned bits.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, about 15 min.

4.  While that is cooking, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot.  Add the asparagus and 1 tbsp salt and cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, 2-4 min.  With a slotted spoon, transfer asparagus to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Return the water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook, stirring often, until al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

5.  Return the chicken with any accumulated juice to the skillet.  Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 min.  Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6.  Add the chicken-broth mixture, asparagus, and basil to the pasta and toss to combine.  Before serving, add the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce.

Per 1 2/3 cup serving:  380 cal, 7g fat, 1.5 g sat fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 44g carb, 29 g protein, 8 g fiber, 540 mg sodium.  9 pts plus.

Chicken, Lemon, and Dill with Orzo

This is another dish I tried during our trip to Oklahoma this summer. I've been waiting for it to be cool enough to make for dinner, and since it's currently 71 I'd say we've hit the right time. The recipe is originally from PBS Everyday Food.

This is quick to toss together (although it needs 40 minutes to cook) and has a nice, lemony flavor. If your kids refuse to eat anything "combined," as mine currently do, then just make the chicken a bit larger and serve it as "chicken and rice." They'll never know. :)

The recipe calls for chicken tenderloins, but I had some boneless, skinless thighs I needed to use instead.

Ingredients:

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth. I used the broth I made from trash and froze in 1 cup portions.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (I left out 1/4 tsp salt and used salted butter)

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 pound chicken tenderloins, cut into 1-inch pieces (used chicken thighs, left them whole)

1 pound orzo

2 cups crumbled feta (4 ounces)

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup grated Parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan, bring broth, 3/4 cup water, butter, salt, and pepper to a boil. Spray 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
   
2. While the liquid is coming to a boil, combine chicken, orzo, feta, dill, lemon zest and juice in the baking dish. Pour boiling broth mixture over orzo and stir once to incorporate.
3. Bake until orzo is tender and cooking liquid is creamy, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

That's it--super easy, tasty, walk-away while it cooks convenience, and usually eaten by picky little geeks.

Buttermilk Lemon Pie

I've wanted to try this pie for a while, but only finally got around to it last week. I liked it, but I don't think I'll make it again. It's good, and if you enjoy buttermilk I'd encourage you to try it, but I think we'd rather have a regular lemon pie.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup water
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
6 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp butter

Meringue:
3 egg whites
6 Tbsp sugar

1 pastry shell, prepared

Filling:
In large saucepan, combine sugar and flour. Gradually stir in buttermilk and water until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 4 minutes. REduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.

Stir a small amount of filling into the egg yolks. Return all to the pan, stirring constantly and return to heat. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir in lemon juice and butter until butter is melted. Keep warm.

In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, on high until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved.

Pour hot filling into pastry shell. Spread meringue evenly over hot filling, sealing edges to crust. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until the meringue is golden brown.

Cool on wire rack for 1 hour; refrigerate at least 5 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

Lemon Risotto

As I've mentioned before, one of the Big Geek's favorite flavors is lemon. Because of that, I try to find recipes that use lemon to test out on him. I figure that at least he'll like SOMETHING about it.

This recipe came from Real Simple, and for the most part, it is. However, I should have read the entire thing before beginning, because I thought I'd be able to pour in the broth and walk away, which was NOT the case.

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup (4 oz) grated Parmesan (I used Asiago because that's what I had, and it worked, too.)
Zest of 1 lemon, grated (I used zest of 1/2 lemon) as garnish
Chopped flat-leave parsley as garnish

Melt 2 Tbsp of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat (at this point, life interfered with cooking, and my butter got browned, but it still worked). Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 min.

Reduce heat (just realized I missed that part of the instructions), add wine, and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed.

Add broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring occasionally and waiting until it's absorbed before adding more. This should take about 30 minutes total (entire recipe should take 45 minutes total). The rice should be tender but slightly firm.

Remove from heat. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, Parmesan, and the remaining butter and stir until butter melts.

Spoon into individual bowls and sprinkle with lemon zest and parsley. Or be lazy like me and stir the zest and parsley into the pot and serve.

I thought this was good, and the Big Geek ate it. The Little Geek, who I thought would love it, just played with it, but the Baby Geek (who now gets some table food) really enjoyed it.

I will make this again when I know I have 45 minutes to devote to it.

Lemon Bundt Cake

The Big Geek's favorite flavor is lemon, so this year for Father's Day the little geek and I made this lemon bundt cake from The Best Light Recipe cookbook (the one I keep saying you should buy--did you get it yet??)

I had a hard time with this (possibly because of all my "help"). Things didn't quite get mixed as well as I'd have liked, and I accidentally added an extra 1/2 cup of sugar. I also couldn't get my egg whites to form stiff peaks. After two attempts, I just gave up, used what I had, and hoped for the best.

The result was a really dense cake with a somewhat inconsistent texture (which I expected because of the egg whites). The taste is good, though, if you like lemons, and the glaze is AWESOME. I will try this again sometime when I don't have so much "help."

Nonstick baking spray wiht flour
2 cups (12 oz) cake flour
2 cups (14 oz) sugar
1/4 cup finely grated zest from 4 lemons
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
pinch cream of tartar
2 Tbsp juice from 1 lemon
Lemon Glaze (recipe follows)

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray the inside of a standard 12-cup bundt pan with the nonstick baking spray.

Whisk the flour, 1 1/2 cups (NOT ALL) of the sugar, lemon zest, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the room temperature milk, eg yolks, oil, melted and cooled butter, and vanilla together.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on low speed until just broken up and foamy. Ad the cream of tartar and increse the speed to medium-high. Continue to beat, adding the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, until all the sugar is added and the whites are shiny and form stiff peaks.

Slowly whisk the milk mixture and lemon juice into the flour mixture until smooth. Fold 1/3 (NOT ALL) of the beaten egg whites into teh batter until combined, smearing any stubborn pockets of egg white against the side of the bowl. Gently fold the remaining egg whites into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Wipe any drops of batter off the sides of the pan. Bake until deep golden brown and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40-45 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking (oops--just realized I didn't do that). Do not overbake.

Transfer cake to a wire rack and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely, 1-2 hours. When cool, dust with confectioner's sugar (if using), or drizzle with glaze and let glaze set about 15 minutes before serving.

Lemon Glaze:

1 cup (4 oz) confectioners' sugar
5 tsp juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp grated zest from 1 lemon
pinch salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a mediu bowl. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let set for 15 min. before serving.

I glazed my cake on the cooling rack, but put a plate underneat it to catch the glaze drips. Then I just kept "recycling" the glaze until it was mostly gone.

After that, if you want, you could just lick the extra glaze off that plate. Or just wash the plate. You know, whatever.

I'm sure I'll make this again, if for no other reason than to prove to myself that I CAN get it right. But really, the cake tastes good, I just need to get the texture right. And the glaze is AWESOME.