All Food Vibes

I will admit, when I was exploring new recipes and ran across this one I was intrigued by the name; how often do you hear of a dish called ‘Marry me chicken?’ The saying goes that if you make this dish for your partner, you should expect a marriage proposal that night. After making this, I understood why; the key to a person’s heart is through the stomach! I did make some adjustments to this to up the flavor ante.

What do I serve it with?

Marry Me Chicken can be served with pasta or risotto, but is also great with steamed asparagus or a side salad.

Start by gathering the ingredients, and mincing the garlic and grating the parmesan cheese. I recommend grating a block of parmesan cheese for this by hand as nothing beats freshly grated parmesan, and you get so much more for your money. I love my cheese grater, it’s quick to use and throw in the dishwasher after, and it comes with a guard to prevent me from cutting my hand on it (It’s sharp!) If you don’t have a grater on hand or prefer to buy your cheese pre-grated, shredded parmesan at the store works too.

Pat the whole chicken breasts dry, then slice them in half. This allows the chicken to cook evenly and prevents undercooked chicken in the middle. Season both sides of the sliced chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, add together the garlic powder, italian seasoning, and flour. Coat the chicken in the flour mixture and set aside. (Tip: I always use gallon-sized ziplock bags to shake coating onto chicken. It distributes the flour mixture more evenly than if you dredge it on a plate, and keeps the counters from having as much flour and raw chicken mess after for cleanup. Super easy!)

Heat a thin layer of oil in a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat, and place the dredged chicken on once the oil starts to shimmer. Cook on each side for about 4-5 minutes. Add the butter the last 3-4 minutes of cooking, and turn the chicken to coat in the butter as soon as it’s melted. This allows the chicken to absorb the flavors of the butter, but prevents it from burning the chicken before it finishes cooking due to butter’s lower smoke point. Once the chicken is cooked through, transfer to a plate and cover.

In the same skillet, add the garlic and cook for one minute before adding the chicken bouillon and water. I love chicken bouillon because it’s the most bang for your buck when making chicken stock, but you can purchase pre-made chicken stock at the store to use as well. If you buy premade stock, you can omit the cup of water.

Scrape the edges of the pan with the garlic and chicken bouillon mixture, then add in heavy cream and parmesan. Continuously stir until the cheese is melted.

Once the heavy cream has started to simmer, stir in the crushed red pepper, dried thyme, oregano until well blended, then add in the sundried tomatoes. While these come prechopped in a jar, make sure to chop these into smaller pieces before adding to the skillet. Add the chicken back to the sauce and continue to simmer to allow it to thicken, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Top with sliced fresh basil before serving.

‘Marry Me’ Chicken

Course: DinnerDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half

• salt

• black pepper

• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp. italian seasoning

• 1/3 cup flour

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

• 3 Tbsp. minced garlic

• 1 1/4 tsp chicken bouillon (or one cube)

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper

• 1/4 tsp. oregano

• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme

• 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes chopped

• 1 Tbsp. fresh basil leaves, sliced

Directions

• Pat dry thinly sliced chicken, and season with salt and pepper. In a gallon ziplock bag, combine flour, garlic powder, and italian seasoning. Add chicken to mixture, seal shut and shake to coat. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Once oil reaches a shimmer, add chicken and brown on each side for 4-5 minutes. Work in batches to prevent overcrowding.
• Add butter last 3-4 minutes of cooking and turn to coat. Finish cooking in skillet until cooked through and transfer onto a plate. Cover chicken and set aside.
• Saute the garlic for one minute in same skillet. Add chicken bouillon and water, and stir while scraping edges of pan with a wooden spoon.
• Adjust the heat to medium-low, and add the heavy cream and parmesan. Allow the sauce to simmer for a couple of minutes, then stir in crushed red pepper, thyme, and oregano.
• Stir in the sundried tomatoes, then add the chicken back into the sauce mixture and allow to simmer and thicken for a few more minutes. Top with basil and serve.

Notes

• Slice whole chicken breasts in half to allow them to cook more evenly.
• Coat the chicken in the flour mixture by shaking it in a ziplock bag to coat it evenly and for a quick cleanup.
• While many dishes can be frozen for meal prep, this is not one of them. The cream sauce will not freeze well and is best enjoyed within three days.

30 Minute Dinner Recipes:

• Easy Pasta alla Vodka
• Lemon Chicken Piccata with Parsley
• Chicken Marsala In Mushroom Sauce

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On a busy weeknight, sometimes the hardest thing to plan out is what I’m making for dinner. Chicken piccata is a quick 30-minute dish that provides the comfort you’d expect from a classic Italian dish, and is so easy to throw together after a long day. It’s a favorite in our house, especially with our teenager who will often go back for second or third servings.

What do I serve it with?

Chicken piccata is a versatile dish that’s great served with a variety of sides, such as roasted vegetables, pasta, smashed potatoes, risotto, or a salad. I prepared a side of risotto made with Arborio rice, white cooking wine, chicken broth, and parmesan for this recipe.

Start by gathering the ingredients, as once the chicken starts cooking, the recipe will move along and be finished fairly quickly. Mince the garlic and thinly slice the fresh parsley on a small cutting board for garnish. The white cooking wine has a fairly high alcohol content, but this will cook off on the stove. If you prefer to do without the cooking wine, you can prepare this dish with double the chicken broth in the recipe below.

Combine the flour, italian seasoning, and garlic powder in a small bowl for the chicken coating. Once combined, transfer it to a gallon-sized zipped food storage bag. Pat dry three boneless, skinless chicken breasts and slice into halves, then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place these in the zipped food storage bag with the flour mixture and seal it shut, then shake it to coat.

Tip: (If you prefer to dip the chicken directly into the flour mixture in a mixing bowl you can definitely do so! However, I usually recommend using a zipped bag as not only does it allow all parts of the chicken to be thoroughly coated, but it greatly cuts down on the mess when cleaning up.)

Once the chicken has been coated in the flour mixture, heat a thin layer of oil in a nonstick skillet. I love my Granitestone 14″ skillet as it reduces the amount of oil needed for cooking, but you can use what skillet you prefer for this step. Place the chicken in the skillet on medium-high heat once the oil starts to shimmer. Cook on one side until browned, then flip over to finish cooking. (Be careful not to burn yourself from the oil splatter when turning the chicken.) Add the butter to the skillet halfway through the browning process and turn the chicken to coat it in butter for a fuller flavor, but also to prevent the chicken from burning due to butter’s lower smoke point.

Place the cooked chicken on a plate and set aside. Add the garlic and cook for one minute, then add in the chicken broth, wine, and lemon juice. Continuously stir to prevent the garlic from burning, but to allow the cooking process to release the full flavor of the garlic.

Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat to low and return the chicken to the pan. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes before adding the drained capers, and cook for two minutes before the garnish. Top the piccata with the sliced parsley and thinly sliced lemons if desired.

Lemon Chicken Piccata with Parsley

Course: DinnerCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp. butter

• olive oil

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3 breasts)

• salt, to taste

• black pepper, to taste

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 cloves minced garlic

• 1/4 cup chicken broth

• 1/4 cup white cooking wine

• 6 Tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice, or regular lemon juice

• 2 Tbsp capers, (drained, optional)

• 3 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Directions

• Mince the garlic and thinly slice parsley. Cut chicken breasts in half to allow to cook more evenly. Sprinkle both sides of thinly sliced chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
• Combine flour, garlic powder, and italian seasoning in small bowl. Pour into gallon-sized zipped bag. Add chicken breasts, seal shut and shake to coat.
• Coat large skillet in thin layer of oil, turn heat to medium-high until oil starts to shimmer slightly. Place chicken in skillet and cook in batches, turning over until browned on both sides and cooked through. Add butter halfway through cooking, turning chicken to coat.
• Transfer chicken to plate and set aside. Add garlic to pan and cook for one minute. Add in chicken broth, wine, and lemon juice and stir until boiling.
• Return chicken to pan with broth mixture and reduce heat to low, cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add capers and cook for additional 2 minutes.
• Garnish with parsley and additional lemon slices as desired. Serve.

Notes

• Tip: Add the butter halfway through step 3 to prevent chicken from burning before fully cooked through. Butter adds flavor, but has a lower smoke point than oil and can burn at high heat.

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I love camping. Everything from the campfire smells and staying up late sharing stories, to making s’mores and coffee from a percolator. One of the key questions when getting ready for a trip though is food. Certain foods fare better than others when cooking outdoors, and while hotdogs are great, it’s nice to have a variety of meals ready for a camping trip.

Foil packs are a great way to prep meals ahead of a trip, so that all you have to do is heat it over a fire. This recipe is quick to throw together and store in a cooler full of ice. I cooked this on the first night of our most recent camping trip before the shrimp had a chance to thaw out for food safety reasons. If you love buttered shrimp and low carb dinner options, this recipe is for you.

Chop the parsley, and mince the garlic for the lemon butter sauce on a cutting board, then set aside. Combine the white cooking wine, minced garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and parsley in a container with a lid. Cube the butter, and set aside.

Shake the lemon parsley mixture well to blend the ingredients, and set aside in the fridge or cooler.

For the shrimp, I recommend using frozen, deveined, peeled tail off shrimp to make things easy. Cut four 14”x12” aluminum foil sheets, and divide the shrimp among the foil. Trim the woody ends off of the asparagus, and place it next to the frozen shrimp in the center of the foil lengthwise.

Add the cubed butter on top, and crimp and fold both ends of each foil sheet. Wrap the packets inward, leaving a little space inside for the heat to circulate when cooking. Refrigerate the foil packs immediately, or place in a sealed tupperware container and surround it with ice within a cooler. These will need to stay below 40 degrees, so it’s recommended to use them fairly quickly if taking them on a long camping trip. You can also use this recipe on the grill if you plan on preparing it at home.

Before cooking, shake the Tupperware container with the lid on to redistribute the ingredients, and slightly open each foil packet. Pour the lemon butter mixture over the shrimp and asparagus, and wrap the edges together again. Cook over a grill or campfire until shrimp is cooked through.

Garlic Shrimp and Asparagus Foil Packs with Lemon Butter Sauce

Course: MainDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

This foil pack recipe with shrimp and asparagus in a garlic lemon butter sauce is great for camping or on the grill.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs frozen cooked shrimp (deveined peeled tail off)

• 1 lb asparagus

• 2 Tbsp white cooking wine

• 4 tsp minced garlic

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 6 Tbsp butter, diced into small cubes

• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions

• Chop parsley and mince garlic. Remove woody stems from asparagus.
• Combine white cooking wine, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and parsley in a small container with a lid. Shake well to mix ingredients. Cube butter and set aside.
• Prepare four 14″x12″ foil sheets, and divide shrimp evenly in middle of foil. Place asparagus next to shrimp lengthwise.
• Add butter on top. Crimp and fold ends of each foil sheet. Wrap ends together, leaving space for air to circulate when cooking. Keep foil packs and sauce below 40 degrees in fridge or cooler.
• When ready to grill or cook on campfire, slightly open foil packs. Shake lemon butter sauce in container to mix thoroughly, and pour over shrimp and asparagus.
• Wrap foil edges together again and cook until shrimp is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.

Notes

• This recipe can easily be doubled if additional servings are needed.

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