Marinated Lemon Rosemary Chicken Recipe

So here we are March 30th and guess what?? It is snowing again! Another 15 cm plus high winds!!! I'm starting to think we will skip spring and summer in 2014... Even though this is my favourite season I can't wait for spring to kick in because I want to start running and I don't want to do that on snowy streets. I am very clumsy when it comes to walking on ice so imagine running!

Last week I was craving a roasted chicken but all I had was chicken breasts so I thought I would transform my roasted rosemary chicken recipe into a marinade. It turned out pretty good and the flavours satisfied my craving. Here is the recipe!

Marinated Lemon Rosemary Chicken Recipe

You will need:
- 2 chicken breasts
- a lemon
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 3 rosemary sprigs
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut the chicken breasts into 2 inch pieces, and about a half inch thick. Put them in a freezer bag. 

For the marinade, combine the olive oil, the zest of a lemon, 3 chopped rosemary sprigs, 3 grated garlic cloves (I always grate my garlic on a fine grater), the juice of half the lemon, salt and pepper.

Whisk away!

Pour over the chicken in the freezer bag.

Before you close the freezer bag make sure you work the marinade in between all the chicken pieces. Remove all the air you can from the bag before sealing it. Put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Once marinated cook the chicken pieces in a hot pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. I cooked it in batches to make sure the chicken does not start boiling because it is too crowded in the pan. When cooking in batches I keep the oven turned on at 200 degrees and in it I put the cooked pieces of chicken or whatever I am cooking in a pyrex dish to keep them warm. 

Once all the chicken is cooked through, deglaze the pan with the juice of half a lemon and about a 1/4 cup of water. Add 2-3 tablespoons of butter and let reduce making a delicious tangy sauce. 

Drizzle over the chicken to serve! Enjoy!

I will also share my roasted rosemary chicken recipe very soon. Feel free to link some of your favourite chicken marinades down below and I will give them a try! 

Dutch Baby Pancake for Two

 It's finally saturday and I'm off for the weekend... Even though chores are waiting for me and also grocery shopping and all that jazz I am so looking forward to something other than having my head filled with numbers (work).  Spring has arrived on the calendar but when I look out my window I see huge snowflakes falling from the sky! Winter has been very snowy and very cold... just like I love it!

My weekend mornings always start with a big breakfast (favourite meal of the day) which usually consists  in oatmeal with caramelized apples, or a cheese and veggie omelette or fresh out of the oven buttermilk biscuits. But since I did not go grocery shopping last night I don't have many options left... Only 3 eggs in the refrigerator, no bacon in sight, no more apples and low on the oats.... but 3 eggs are enough for a dutch baby... and all I need is a little flour, a little milk, a little butter and maple sirup for serving... so I decided to cut in half my recipe and whip up a Dutch Baby Pancake for Two... So simple, so tasty and I can make this in the toaster oven (please note that since this baby will fluff up while cooking I recommend you use the traditional oven for the full recipe to make sure it does not touch the toaster oven elements).

Dutch Baby Pancake for Two

You will need:
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup flour
- a pinch of salt
- maple sirup for serving 

Directions:

Preheat your toaster oven or oven to 400 degrees.

Put your butter in a Pyrex 9x9 baking dish. Put the dish in the oven to make the butter melt. Meanwhile make the batter (see below)

In a bowl combine the eggs, milk and vanilla extract.

Whisk until frothy.

Add the flour and salt, whisk again for a minute. Small clumps can remain in your batter. It's never good to over mix pancake batter.

Pour the batter over the melted butter. Do not mix.. Leave it as it is. The butter will end up on top of the batter and that's ok. Put in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Once you reach 20 minutes I recommend you stay close to make sure nothing burns. You will see your pancake fluff and rise on the sides. Drizzle maple syrup on your pancake, serve it with fresh fruit and you will be in breakfast heaven!

This is soooo good!! A delicious weekend treat!! I feel so happy now I can attack with a smile the boring stuff I have on my to do list for the day...

Easy Coleslaw Recipe

Oh boy! Time flies by! I have not been able to post anything in a couple weeks! I just don't have enough time each day to do everything I love doing... like write blog posts! Between work (40 hrs / week ), crossfit (4 times / week ), cooking and cleaning, there just isn't any hours left for hobbies... But I ain't giving up! I have to adjust! I wanted to be posting 3 times / week but it is clearly not realistic. So let's do something, let's change the numbers: to write a blog post once every week can be done! I have many ideas ahead so being inspired is not the problem here. I will be committing to this blog! It's something I want! It's something I will achieve! Only in a different way than what was planned in the beginning.

Now I have a little recipe for you... This is a recipe for those days you have leftover chicken or even the ones you buy a rotisserie chicken on the way home from work... It take 10 minutes to whip up and 30 minutes if you have the time for the flavours to soak in... It can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and unless you are a family of 10 you will have left overs for school and work lunches! Here for you is my favourite coleslaw recipe!

EASY COLESLAW RECIPE

You will need:
- one medium cabbage
- 5-6 medium carrots
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup white vinegar 
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion salt
- salt and pepper

Directions:
- Peel and grate the carrots
- Chop the cabbage finely ( keep in mind bite size )
- Put in a large bowl

- In another bowl whisk together all the remaining  ingredients. Whisk long enough for the sugar and salt to dissolve. 

- Add the vinaigrette to the cabbage and carrot. Toss to coat everything evenly.
- Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes at least (to let the flavours soak in) and enjoy! 

The next day the coleslaw will be at its best so make to ahead if chicken is on the menu! Simple, easy, fast... and pretty tasty! Voilà!