Lemon Caper Chicken

Happy Thursday! Two nights ago we had my mother-in-law over for dinner. It was our first time having her over for dinner since we moved into our new house. It was about a 10 minutes drive for her; instead of a two hour drive to Fresno, so it was very nice. I know that she is very conscious of what her son eats; she wants her boy to be healthy since she loves him so much! So I was under a little pressure here... I wanted to hit it out of the park! I decided on this Lemon Caper Chicken recipe that my sweet friend, Mandy shared with me a few months ago. Apparently it was a hit, because I got a sweet voicemail from my mother-in-law last night saying how much she enjoyed the dinner and how she isn't worried about her son at all! ;) I hope your family enjoys it as much as we did! Bon Appetit!          

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed

Directions

1. Season chicken breasts with lemon juice, pepper, salt, dill weed, and garlic powder.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place breasts in skillet, and increase heat to medium-high. Turn chicken frequently, until brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until breasts are cooked through. Remove chicken to a warm serving platter, and cover with foil.
3. Return skillet to stove, and increase heat to high. Whisk in whipping cream, whisking continuously until reduced to sauce consistency, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in capers. Pour sauce over chicken, and serve.

Raspberry Lemon Bars

We visited Chris' mom this weekend up north. (when I say we... I mean Pookie, Chris, & I :)
She has a lemon tree that has extremely enormous lemons growing on it. So I came home with a plathera of lemons, and didn't know what to do with them! So, naturally I made Raspberry Lemon bars! (I found the recipe here: www.twopeasandtheirpod.com)
Then I made my favorite lemonade (I posted my recipe for my lemonade last week.)
Tomorrow I'll make lemon chicken... But here's the recipe for the AMAZING raspberry lemon bars!


For the crust:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
Zest of one lemon


For the filling:


2 large egg yolks
1-14 oz. can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
6 ounces fresh raspberries


directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 8 by 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.


In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist. Press crumbs into the prepared pan, pressing the crust mixture one inch up the side of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.


Once the crust is cool, combine the egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in the raspberries. Fold carefully so you don't break the raspberries.


Pour the lemon raspberry filling evenly over the graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.


Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least one hour before serving. Cut into bars and serve. Keep bars in the refrigerator-up to five days.


*Note-use fresh raspberries and make sure you gently fold the berries into the lemon filling or you will have pink bars.


PS- while we were up North we looked at homes... Please pray!

 



Refreshing Lemonade

This is my all time favorite lemonade recipe! I have made this numerous times this summer in different variations. Summer is coming to an end, but it is still HOT as ever in Fresno!

This recipe serves 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup simple syrup (boil 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water until sugar dissolves)
• 3-5 cups water depending on how tart you like your lemonade (I use 4)

Chill & enjoy

My Variations

• Instead of mixing lemon juice and simple syrup with 4 cups water I sometimes mix with tea (I use green tea, but any tea is great)
• I steep 6 tea bags in 4 cups of water for about 5 minutes
• For a fun adult beverage I mix one shot of boubon into an 8oz glass :)
• Add a few sprigs of fresh lavander for a beautiful garnish