Creamy cream-less chicken w/ grilled Cauliflower & roasted basil potatoes

Tonight's finished product:
No cream was used. Just garlic :)

Baked Lemon Chicken with Rosemary and Garlic

Baked Lemon Chicken Recipe

Prep a casserole dish with the following mixture
(garlic cloves, spice mixture (totals 1/4 cup: 50% oregano, (50% oregano leaves, 30% paprika, 20% fresh rosemary), juice of 2 lemons, juice of 1 lime.... I added an extra lemon wedged b/c it was going bad. Mix it all together!

Add seasoned chicken (however you like- I use steak seasonings). Cook covered for 45 minutes on 425. If you brown beforehand, cut that time in half!

Stovetop: Lightly glaze a grill pan with olive oil. Throw on something simple, like TJ's 21 Seasoning Salute. Stir to make sure all seasonings get in the cauliflower. Cook on Med for about 25 minutes- until desired texture is reached- somewhat soft.

Now for the prized potatoes! Dice up 2 GOLD potatoes. (they're just better!) Line pan with foil- barely glaze with olive oil to avoid stick-age. Sprinkle McCormick's garlic salt w/ parsley. Then add dried basil (usually we do Rosemary but for the sake of redundancy, I did Basil. Thyme, Dill, Tarragon or Oregano or Italian Seasonings would also work). Bake this bad boy in the toaster oven on 425 for 25 minutes.

Now that everything is done cooking, add chicken to plate (along with potatoes and cauliflower). Using your hand blender, puree the cooked garlic mixture in the casserole dish until totally pureed into a gravy. Pour it on chicken, add the cauliflower and potatoes to plate as well.

Viola!

40 clove garlic chicken. Thank you, immersion blender

40 clove garlic chicken

Tonight's problem: There are 2 huge chicken breasts in the refridgerator that need to be cooked *tonight* (or else...)
Tonight's solution: a rendition of 40-clove garlic chicken!

This picture is from Sunset Magazine- mine looked slightly different, but followed a similar enough recipe.

 

Sprinkle some onion pepper on breasts- brown chicken breasts on med heat 30 secs on each side.

Set aside.

Take 40 whole garlic cloves and throw them in a casserole baker (preferably with a lid!). Add spice mixture (50% oregano leaves, 30% paprika, 20% thyme- spices combined should total 1/4 cup), juice of 2 lemons, juice of 1 lime, and 1/4 cup olive oil.  Mix all ingredients together. Take browned chicken and place on garlic clove/spice mixture, cover with lid. Cook at 425 for 45 minutes.

Baked Chicken - what to do when it's done

When done take out chicken & set onto serving plages. Take immersion blender and blend garlic clove mixture together-makes a thick, creamy gravy (!!) Pour over chicken & enjoy (my husband sure did)

Side dish recommendations:
Steamed spinach (in chicken broth), or
Rice Pilaf, or
Roasted Zucchinis (quarter zucchini, dip a finger in olive oil and run olive on top of zucchini- sprinkle with mccormick garlic salt and roast in toaster oven for 10 minutes on 425)

Chimichurri Swordfish Trader Joe's Style

http://pinterest.com/seastar620/

 

Swordfish w/ Chimichurri (Trader Joe's style)

Aint gonna lie- it was amazing.

Took a pack of Trader Joe's Swordfish- grilled it in garlic oil in my grill pan. Sprinkled McCormick Garlic Salt on both sides (lightly). Cook for 10min or so (until sides are totally white). When finished turn off heat. Pour chimichurri over it. let simmer/cook in chimichurri for 2-3 minutes. Gives it a nice crunch.

My Trader Joe's Cheese Bread

Asagio cheese bread rolls. Cut in half. lightly dust with butter. sprinkle your favorite yellow cheese on there to your liking. Add 2 sprinkles of McCormick garlic salt. Toast in toaster oven for 1-2 minutes. Done.

Green Beans

The ultimate cheat- buy 'em in a can (french cut style) and when done sprinkle Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute.