Chicken Marinade

I made this marinade tonight and it was perfect - flavorful and juicy but not overbearing.Plus I had all the ingredients at my house. It is great for the grill or oven (we baked it this time, but will be trying it on the grill next time for sure!  Would be perfect for a summertime BBQ! I have been looking for a go-to marinade for chicken and this is now it. 

Note: I did follow some readers suggestions and cut out the salt.  The soy sauce had plenty of salt for us. 

Chicken Marinade
From: Allrecipes

Ingredients:
1 - 1 1/2 lb chicken breasts
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp minced fresh parsley (or can use dried)

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, mix together oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and lemon juice.  Stir in mustard powder, salt, pepper and parsley.

2.  Marinate chicken a couple hours up to over night (I put my chicken in the marinade in the morning before work).  The longer you marinate, the more flavor it will have.

3. Grill or bake as desired and discard marinade (I baked ours at 350 for 35 min).

Parmesan Baked Artichokes

 

When I saw this recipe on How Sweet It Is it reminded me of my mom's artichoke dip recipe.  Since I love that dip, I was pretty sure I would like this recipe especially as a side.  It was really easy and if you like artichokes it is a must try!

I realized when I was posting these that I haven't ever posted my mom's artichoke dip... I can hardly believe it.  I make this all the time with lots of variations so I will have to post this soon!

Parmesan Baked Artichokes
From: How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:
1 14oz can artichokes in water, drained
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning (I only used about 1/2 Tbsp)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 oz freshly shaved parmesan

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.  Layer artichokes in a baking dish.  Drizzle olive oil on top.  Season with salt, garlic and Italian seasoning.  Add Bread Crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan on top.

2.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove artichokes from oven and turn on broiler.  Top with shaved parmesan and broil for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.

Asparagus Soup

 

I love asparagus in the spring and I like to make this soup at least once during asparagus season.  This time it was a little more thin than normal, but still absolutely delicious.

You may have noticed I haven't been posting as much - although some of you probably don't think I post much anyway or didn't even notice! There are several reasons for this.  One, I'm in between laptops right now. Two, I'm very busy lately (as usually at this time of year), and three I am going to try to spend less time on the computer when I'm not at work.  So I will probably posting less at least for a while.

Asparagus Soup
From: Joan DeWilde
Ingredients: 
1 1/2 c. chopped leeks (about 3)

2 lbs asparagus - cleaned and cut up, tips separate
3 cans chicken broth
1 c. half & half
2 Tbs butter
Lemon

Directions:
1. Saute leeks in butter until translucent, add asparagus (except tips) and broth.

2. Bring to boil and simmer for 30 minutes.  Blanch tips in boiling water for 1 minute and cool, reserving water.

3. Puree simmered ingredients in blender or with electric hand blender.  Add 1 c. half & half and heat.  May add reserved water to blender or after to desired consistency.  Give a good squeeze of lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste.


4. When serving sprinkle reserved tips on top of bowl.