Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata

I'm back!  Wow, a lot has changed since my last post.  The biggest thing is that Hunter Edwin Tutterrow was born on June 12th!  He has been such a blessing to our lives these past four months.

My blog has always had a personal touch to it, but it is going to increase.  I want to document, for my own sake, this ever changing little boy!  So if you are here just for the recipes, feel free to scroll on down.

Hunter weighed 7lbs 11 oz and was 21 inches long.  At four months, he is 17  lbs. 3 oz. and 26 1/2 inches long!  He is absolutely precious in our eyes.  We love every minute with him!  I get to spend a lot of time with this growing boy as I have decided to stay home as my full time job.  I will still be doing PRN (as needed) work in my field of Physical Therapy occasionally.

Here is a look at my growing angel!

Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata
Source:  Modified from the Plain Chicken blog http://www.plainchicken.com/2010/08/creamy-grilled-chicken-piccata.html

Ingredients:

Chicken

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. basil
• 2 chicken breasts

Pasta

• 2 cups of penne pasta (I used GF macaroni  noodles)
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup of half and half or heavy cream
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 2 Tbsp. capers (I omitted because my picky husband doesn't like them:))
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Combine the first 6 ingredients.  Place in a ziplock bag with the chicken and marinate all day or overnight.  When you are ready to prepare dinner, grill chicken until cooked.

While the chicken is grilling prepare the pasta.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Melt butter over medium heat in the same pan you cooked the pasta.  Whisk in garlic and lemon juice.  Pour in half and half or cream and cook until hot.  Add some salt and pepper to taste. Next, add the cheese, basil, and capers.  Heat until cheese is melted.  

Toss in pasta and top with grilled chicken and Parmesan.  Enjoy! 

Roasted chicken breast and veggies

Here are some LONG overdue pictures from the holidays:

My sweet husband took me to the mountains for a weekend away!

View of our cabin.

We got some apple cider at The Apple Barn after dinner...yum!

Neighborhood we stayed in.

Co-workers

Hubby and me before my 10 year HS reunion!

This is my SIL helping to decorate our Christmas tree

This is less of a recipe and more of an inspiration for all you guys who throw out all those unused veggies at the end of the week.  I threw this together when I looked in our fridge and had a ton of left overs.  Be creative and use whatever you have!

Roasted Chicken Breast and Veggies

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 4 carrots
• 1 zucchini
• 2.5 lbs. red potatoes
• 1/2 red onion
• Olive oil
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• salt
• pepper
• all purpose seasoning
• garlic powder

Bake at 375-400.  Cut all your veggies and coat in olive oil.  Spread out on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, all purpose seasoning, and garlic powder to your liking.  Top with chicken breasts that are also covered in olive and oil and the same seasonings.  Finally sprinkle fresh garlic on top of it all.  Bake until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Chicken Salad

I had the pleasure of going to the beach with my mom, Aunt Georgiana, and her two kids, Grayson and Mackenzie, over Labor Day weekend.

Georgiana, Grayson, Mackenzie, Me, Mom

 It was nice to catch up with family members that you don't get to see as often as you like.  I learned that my little cousins have some awesome dance moves, not something that runs in our side of the family!

Kenzie and Grayson about to show off their dance skills on the beach at night

Love these two!

Brother & sister love :)

We were down there for a total of 6 days and 5 nights.  We had three great days of sun and then a tropical storm started to make things rainy and cloudy.  We weren't able to get into the ocean because of the double red flags.

These guys decided to stop for a drink of water

My awesome Mom!

We were all on a budget so we made some yummy chicken salad to take down to the pool/beach each day.  It was easy to throw on some bread or crackers.  I found this from Paula Deen, but I have to say it is very basic.  I followed the recipe, but next time will probably add in a few more things for a kick, like grapes.  Make it your own or if you like it plain then this will be perfect as is.

By the way, head over to, my dear friend, Lauren's blog for an awesome giveaway that ends today!

Almond Chicken Salad
Source:  Paula Deen

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 1/2 cups of diced cooked chicken (make it as chunky as you like)
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 1/3 slivered almonds

Mix together and serve with bread, crackers, or on lettuce.  Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Topped with all the good stuff!

Alex and I are blessed to have the best married small group ever!  We meet on Tuesday nights and enjoy growing stronger in our faith with these amazing people!  They are such a great support group, especially with all we have been through.  I love that we have found a group where the guys and girls equally enjoy each others company.  You know what I mean?  It seems like up to this point it was always a group of "Alex's friends" or "my friends", but these are definitely "our friends"!

Small group girls:  Mary, Tara, Lauren, Beth, and Me in the Roswell Square after dinner at Ceviche (highly recommend)

We had the group over for a cook out a few weeks ago.  The weather was AWESOME!  It was like a small sneak peak into fall, my favorite time of year.

Brody was just chillin' in the grass...

Grace wanted to see what was so fun...

Such a sweetie pie!

Scott and Alex vs. Jordan and Jon

The Musselman family...love them!

I know I have posted a few different taquito recipes, but I do believe this is by far my favorite!  Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Source:  Adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ cup salsa

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. onion powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp. chopped cilantro

1-2 green onions, chopped

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

10-12 corn tortillas

Cooking spray

Kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, spices, cilantro, green onions, chicken and shredded cheese.  Mix thoroughly until well combined.  

Briefly heat the tortillas in the microwave to make them soft enough to roll easily, about 20-30 seconds.

Place a tortilla on a work surface.  Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the filling mixture down the middle of the tortilla.  Roll the tortilla up tightly around the filling.  Place seam-side down on a baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling, spacing the assembled taquitos evenly on the baking sheet.  Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.  

Bake 15-20 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.   Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and salsa, if desired.

Chicken Sausage and Veggie Bowl

One of Alex's best friends, Scott, and his wife, Katie, are having a baby!  Alex always gets frustrated when I say "they are having a baby" and quickly reminds me that "they" are not having a baby, but "she" is having a baby.  Details, details.  I was so excited when I heard the news and couldn't wait to start planning a shower.  With the help of a few other girls, we put on a good spread of food and Katie got many of the essentials for their new baby boy!

 What is a baby shower without a diaper cake?

 The food table:  we served brie bake, veggie platter, chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, sausage balls, hamburger sliders, pasta salad, and my spinach artichoke dip.

Summer and Jessica

Scott's mom (soon to be grandma to baby Buchholz) and my wonderful mother-in-law, Susan

Joanna, who is due one month after Katie, Jessica, and Summer

Yummy desserts!  We decorated with blue hydrangeas since it is a boy!

Katie's friends

There's the mom to be, Katie, Mrs. Kimberlin, and Kay (another one of the grandma's to be)

Unfortunately, the next night I came down with a stomach bug and couldn't enjoy all the left over food.  It was a rough experience.  My stomach took a full week to recover, but only missed one day of work thank goodness.

Since I wasn't feeling so hot the next week, we kept our meals simple.  I grabbed a package of Trader Joe's chicken sausage and figured we could mix it in with some veggies from the garden.  

This recipe was super easy and quick!  Feel free to change it up with whatever veggies you have in the refrigerator.  

Chicken Sausage and Veggie Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 of an onion, chopped
• 2 zucchini's, chopped
• 1 squash, chopped  
• 2 chicken sausage links, sliced
• 1-2 tsp. minced garlic (your preference depending on how much garlic you like, I did 2 tsp.:)) 
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat pan over medium heat.  Add olive oil.  Add onions and garlic, saute for 1 minute; add zucchini and squash, saute for 5 minutes; add sausage and cook until sausage is browned.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Chipotle-Orange Chicken Drumsticks with Coleslaw

I could not be more thrilled at how fast the garden is growing.  Before you know it we will have squash, zucchini, tomatoes (if I don't pick them while they are green), and cucumbers.

You can barely see the little squash forming.  It is like "Where's Waldo", but with squash.  

Look at those two big guys hiding, then you can see all the little ones.  

Man with his grill and dog.

This was another easy one to throw together.  You can whip up the coleslaw while the chicken is on the grill.

I liked this dish fresh vs. left-over.

Chipotle-Orange Chicken Legs

Source: Southern Living Magazine May 2011

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh orange juice, divided (I think we used about 5 oranges total)
• 5 tbsp. soy sauce, divided
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 tbsp. orange zest
• 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground chipotle chile pepper
• 2 lb. chicken drumsticks
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:

Preheat grill to 350-400 (medium-high) heat.  Combine 1/4 cup orange juice, 3 tbsp. soy sauce, 3 tbsp. brown sugar, and next 5 ingredients in a shallow dish or a large zip top plastic freezer bag; add chicken.  Cover or seal, and chill 10 minutes.  Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade.

The marinade

Drumsticks marinading 

Grill chicken, covered with grill lid, 10 to 12 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove from grill; cover with aluminum foil, and let stand 10 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk together 2 tsp. brown sugar, remaining 3/4 cup orange juice, and 2 tbsp soy sauce in a small saucepan.  Whisk together cornstarch and 2 tsp. water, and whisk into orange juice mixture.  Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute or until thickened.  Brush sauce over chicken.  

Coleslaw ingredients

Ingredients

• 16 oz. of coleslaw mix
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. salt

Mix together cover and chill until ready to serve.

Chicken Taquitos

I am back!  Back to the blogging world and back from MEXICO!  Sorry for my absence.  We had so much going on before our trip.  Blogging would have just stressed me out.

In the taxi on the way to the resort after our airport issues.

We flew in on separate flights because Alex used Delta Sky Miles points and Air Tran was cheaper for me to buy a ticket on.  Everyone told us we could just meet at baggage claim.  Well, little did we know that Delta and Air Tran fly into two separate terminals.  So Alex was waiting patiently at his terminal for my flight to arrive and I am frantic at my terminal when I find out that Delta doesn't come there!  God definitely was in control of the situation because he got me to Alex's terminal just before he left to head over to mine.  What a mess that would have been if he left before I got to his. We did not find it very funny at the time, but we can laugh now.  Lesson learned, we will never fly separately again!  

We made it to the resort, now it is time for lunch.

We went to Playa del Carmen and had the most amazing and relaxing vacation.  The weather was perfect and the resort was beautiful.  It was built into a jungle like setting.  Everything was open and exposed to all the fun sites and animals.

Can you see the flamingos in the distance?

Alex and I were there by our selves for a few days then our friends Mark and Mary joined us.  It was great vacationing with people you love to hang out with.

This little guy hung out with us while we were waiting for the restaurant to open.

We also celebrated my 28th birthday while down there.

I don't want to overwhelm this blog with tons of pictures, so I will give you a few with each entry!

I felt it was appropriate though to start back with a Mexican recipe in honor of our trip:)  This meal is super quick to make.  You can bake the chicken ahead of time so it is just ready to go.

Chicken Taquitos

Ingredients:

• 3/4  cup salsa
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. taco seasoning mix
• 2 chicken breasts
• 12 corn tortillas
• Toppings: salsa, sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese

Turn on oven to 350 degrees.  Bake two chicken breasts until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.  

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Shred chicken breasts using a fork.  Mix shredded chicken with salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and taco seasoning.  Set aside.

Place a damp paper towel on plate.  Place corn tortillas on top and cover with another damp paper towel.  Heat for ~1 minutes in microwave.  Remove and keep covered.  

Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray.  

Remove one tortilla and place ~2 tbsp. of shredded chicken mixture in the middle.  Gently roll up and place seam side down on baking sheet.  Continue with the rest of the chicken mixture.  

Bake for ~15 minutes or until golden.  Serve with desired toppings.