Skillet Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

• Ground Beef (about the size of six decks of cards)-- sorry I have a hard time measuring meat
• 3 eggs (whisked)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 onion (minced)
• 1/2 bell pepper (diced)
• 3 large mushrooms (chopped)
• salt and pepper
• two cloves garlic (minced)
• tsp cayenne
• tsp chili powder
• tsp thyme
• tsp parsley
• 2 pieces of whole wheat bread
• 1/2 lemon
• ketchup

Directions

1. Saute the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic in a large skillet. Add all the seasons and spices and let it cook until wilted.
2. Meanwhile, get the thawed but raw ground beef and add it to the whisked eggs and flour.  Mush it around with a fork or your hands until mixed.  
3. Once the veggies are cooked add them into the bowl with the beef and mix.  Squeeze the lemon into the mixture too and tear up the bread into small pieces and  mix.
4. Poor the mixture back into the large skillet you used to cook the veggies, and smoosh it flat on the pan and evenly.  Cook on each side on a medium high heat.  Kind of like a hamburger.  Before you flip the first time squirt ketchup all over the top, once you flip it after five or so minutes squirt it on the new side that's up.  
5. Continue flipping Until the meat and egg is cooked.  Wait as long as you like to flip.  The longer you wait the more of a crust it will form and look more like a meat loaf.  

Notes

I made this recipe up today, and it is one of my favorite ground beef recipes.  It will feed about three adults.  It tasted pretty fresh for a ground beef dish.  I don't like ground beef much, but I've been making chicken every night for two weeks straight so we needed to change. But  I'm so sick of cream of mushrooms/chickens, and spaghetti, and lasagnas.  So it was a nice change.  LOVED the zest.  Enjoy.  

Lemon Angel Hair with Chicken and Spinach

Lemon Angel Hair with Chicken and Spinach

1/2 lb angel hair pasta
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
Perfect Chicken, cut into chunks
2 lemons, zested and juiced
3/4 c. half-and-half
1 c. Parmesan, grated (or shredded)
1 c. baby spinach, stems removed
3 T. extra virgin olive oil

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt the water well, and add pasta. Heat a large skillet over low heat. Add oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook until the oil sizzles (about 7-10 minutes). Add lemon juice, half-and-half, and a ladle of the pasta water to the garlic oil mixture. Raise the heat to med-low to med heat until the sauce begins to bubble. Drain pasta - DO NOT RINSE. Add the pasta, zest, and 1/2 c. Parmesan to the cream sauce. Toss for a minute or two. Add chicken and spinach, and toss until well distributed. Top with remaining cheese. Enjoy!

**Notes:
-Be sure to use the Perfect Chicken recipe.  Its delish.  
-We do not like spicy food in our family, and the red pepper was too much for us. Next time I would just do a few dashes of red pepper so it isnt as spicy.

Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccine (Our Best Bites)

Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccine 

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 lemons
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
1/2 lb Fettuccine
2 medium zucchini
1 C shredded parmesan cheese
5-6 cloves garlic
Fresh Basil (about 1/2 C)
Fresh Oregano (about 1/4 C)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Prepare grill. You could also do this on the stove top in a skillet, or a grill pan.

Place chicken in a zip-lock bag with the juice of one lemon, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and a couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Smoosh around and set bag aside while you get your other things ready. (If you’ve got time to spare, let the chicken marinade for 30 minutes, if you don’t, just take what you can get. I did mine for 15 min and it was great.)

Put the pot on the stove to boil water for the pasta. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half length-wise. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Press, or finely mince garlic cloves. In a small sauce pan on the stove, place 1/4 C olive oil and add garlic. Turn burner onto low-med heat. It shouldn’t be popping and frying, it should just slowly warm, infusing the oil with the garlic and removing that zing fresh garlic has.

When water boils, add pasta and a spoonfull of salt

Remove chicken from bag and salt and pepper both sides. Place chicken, and zucchini on grill.

While chicky and zuchs are grilling and pasta is boiling, chop herbs and get out cheese. Zest both lemons and juice the one that hasn’t been juiced.

See, now you’re all ready. When everything is done cookin’ you can throw it together! Keep an eye on that garlic. You DON’T want it to get brown and crispy. It should still look nice and white. Give it a stir. If it starts really cooking, just take it off the heat and set aside.

When zuch and chicken are done take them off the grill and chop ‘em up.

Reserve about 1/2 C pasta water. Drain pasta and immediately place in a big bowl. Place chopped zuch and chicken on top. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, herbs, and garlic-olive oil mixture. Just pile it all in there.

Garnish with a little more Parmesan on top and another squeeze of lemon! Enjoy!

Lemon Pasta & Salmon

Lemon Pasta

1 lb of penne pasta

2 Tbs olive oil

2 cups spinach

2 cups of cherry/grape tomatoes cut in half

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Salt and Pepper

Parmesean cheese to garnish

Cook Pasta. In large skillet heat olive oil and add all cut tomatoes and minced garlic.

Cook for a few minutes, do not burn. Add cooked pasta and spinach. Stir and cook

until spinach starts to wilt. Add lemon juice (add until you reach desired taste, may need

less, may need more than 1/4 c) Add salt and pepper and parmesean cheese. Great with

chicken or salmon.

Oven baked Salmon

Start with a tinfoil cross. Place salmon in center. Put 4 slices of butter at each corner

of the salmon. Squeeze juice of two lemons on top. Then add salt, pepper, dill seeds,

Italian Seasoning, Lawrey’s garlic salt, and parsley. Then put lemon slices and a few

more slices of butter on top of the fish before sealing shut. Roll tinfoil so it seals all the

juices inside. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Get Better Chicken Vegetable Lemon Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts (or 7 small chicken tenders)
• 3 potatoes
• 12 baby carrots (or two medium carrots)
• 2 stalks celery
• head of broccoli
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 lemon
• couple Tbl Italian dressing (or olive oil and Italian dressing)
• salt and pepper for taste
• thyme
• basil
• cumin
• curry
• 2 or 3 cubes chicken bullion
• 6 to 6 1/2 cups water

Directions:

In a large bowl cook the chicken in some Italian dressing for flavor. add some salt and pepper and dice the chicken into bite sizes.  Meanwhile chop up potatoes (un-skinned), carrots, celery, and broccoli also into small bite sized pieces.  Once the meat is finished cooking, add the bullion and water, then the vegetables. Grate in the garlic, and the skin of the lemon.  Add dashes of thyme, basil, cumin, curry salt and pepper to your desire.  Then squeeze the lemon juice into the soup.  Cook until veggies are tender!

(takes about 1 hour to make, and enough food for about 4

Notes:

I  make this recipe whenever someone is sick.  I don't really like chicken noodle soup, and so this is my own version.  I usually also make mom's rolls to go with it.  The lemon really adds a nice flavor. And many of the ingredients are recommended for when you have the flu! I made it for my brother's family when they were sick and they said it was the only thing that they could eat while they were sick.  So hopefully that says something good :)

- From Heather

Lemon Muffins

Lemon Muffins

Ingredients:

First bowl, whisk together: 

• 1 ¾ C all-purpose flour
• ¾ C sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• I Tablespoon poppy seeds 
• 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel (I usually use the zest from an entire lemon) 

Second bowl: 

• 1 beaten egg
• 1 C milk
• ¼ C cooking oil or melted butter
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:

• 1/3 C sugar
• juice from one lemon

Directions: 

Line/grease muffin pan (each of 12 individual tins). Preheat oven to 400F. 

Add the wet ingredients of the second bowl all at once to the dry ingredients of the first bowl. Stir just until moistened, batter may be lumpy.

Fill each muffin tin about ¾ full, dividing all the batter evenly.

Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until slightly browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Remove muffins from tins and cool on wire rack. 

After muffins have cooled for a few minutes, dip tops in lemon juice and then roll lightly in the sugar. Serve immediately. 

Notes:

I started making these in England while pregnant with Jeffrey (not sure where I got the recipe) and they became one of our favorite breakfasts. They are not super healthy or nutrient packed, but just a simple, light, and lemony breakfast treat. Mom Toone taught me the topping and it's the perfect combination of zestiness and sweetness!