Chicken piccata with rice and asparagus. 6/16/26

Chicken piccata with rice and asparagus

Another new dish this week! John found this AI generated recipe while he was looking for hints for making chicken piccata. John said his chicken was a little tough but mine was perfect.

I think I would like a thicker sauce. We will have to work on that for next time.

Chicken piccata

Ingredients

  • Chicken: 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (butterflied and pounded to 1/4-inch thickness) 
  • Dredge: ½ cup all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper 
  • Frying: 3 tbsp unsalted butter and 2 tbsp olive oil 
  • Sauce:
    • 3 tbsp butter,
    • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice,
    • ½ cup chicken stock (or dry white wine like Pinot Grigio/Chardonnay),
    • 3 tbsp brined capers (rinsed and drained) 
  • Garnish: Freshly chopped parsley 

Instructions

Prep the chicken: Slice your chicken breasts in half horizontally (butterfly them) and use a meat mallet to pound them to an even ¼ inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper, then lightly dredge in flour, shaking off any excess. 

Sear: Heat the oil and 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for about 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and transfer to a serving plate. 

Build the sauce: In the same skillet, whisk in the lemon juice, stock (or wine), and capers. Bring to a boil, scraping up the flavorful brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the sauce reduce for about 3–4 minutes. 

Finish: Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the remaining 3 tablespoons of cold butter until the sauce is glossy and emulsified. Return the chicken to the skillet to coat in the sauce, garnish with parsley, and serve. 

Posted in Poultry, Recipes, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Leave a comment

Cumin-lime shrimp with ginger over rice. 6/15/26

Cumin-lime shrimp with ginger

This is a new recipe for us. It turned out tasting quite good although we wished there were more sauce. Next time we might augment the existing sauce with some shrimp stock or bottled clam juice.

The recipe comes from NYTimes Cooking.

Posted in Hot weather meals, pescatarian, Shellfish, Weeknight dinners | Leave a comment

Corn Chex in vanilla almond milk. 6/14/26

Bowl of cereal with milk and a spoon, coffee cup and a small plant on table
Photo is AI generated

Our usual Sunday fare is an egg in some form. Since I was not feeling like an egg I fixed myself a bowl of Corn Chex with vanilla almond milk. It’s a lactose and gluten free treat!

Posted in Easy, Hot weather meals | Leave a comment

Hummus, pita, and salad. 6/13/26

Hummus, pita, and salad

Hopefully this is our last really hot day for a while. Tonight we simply had pita with hummus and a salad.

Posted in Easy, Hot weather meals, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Leave a comment

Chicken burrito bowl. 6/12/26

Chicken burrito bowl

For tonight’s no-cook dinner I made a chicken burrito bowl. What’s that you ask? It is everything you might find in a burrito served on rice! Mine included rotisserie chicken, black beans, corn, cabbage, salsa, avocado, green onion, and cilantro with a side of tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream. Yum! It was really good!

Posted in American, Easy, Hot weather meals, Mexican, Poultry, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Leave a comment

Asian tofu bowl. 6/11/26

Asian tofu bowl

It is really hot here. Really, really hot. On Wednesday it was 97F and today it is over 100F. There will not be significant cooling until maybe Sunday. It is early in the season (it is not even summer yet!) for me to be trotting out my cool dinner entrees. But trying to keep the house cool and not run the downstairs A/C is paramount if we want reasonable electric bills.

Sarah made our Asian tofu bowls. It consists of extra firm tofu, rice, cabbage, edamame, cucumber, scallions, avocado, almonds, and nori all dressed with a gingery dressing. We also make this bowl with salmon and shrimp but this is the totally non-cooking edition. I imagine the summer will have many of these types of dinners.

Posted in Asian, Easy, Hot weather meals, Legumes, rice, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Open-faced tuna salad sandwich and Asian salad. 6/10/26

This is the first of a series of HOT days. Our dinners for tonight are open-faced tuna salad sandwiches and an Asian salad.

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Hot weather meals, pescatarian, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Classic chicken. 6/9/26

Forgot to take a picture of Monday’s dinner which was hot dogs with spicy white beans and sauerkraut. I bought some Costco hot dogs and I was well satisfied with them. They were tasty and filled the length of the bun.

Now on to Tuesday…

Chicken breast meat with mashed potatoes and asparagus

Sarah and I were at Costco today and picked up a rotisserie chicken. Sarah disassembled it. We used a breast piece for tonight’s classic chicken and we will save the other breast for a chicken burrito bowl on Saturday. I found some asparagus on sale and cooked it with a little butter and water. It turned out great and was a nice change from broccoli.

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Pizza and arugula. 6/7/26

Pizza and arugula

On Saturday we ordered a pizza that we ate half of. On Sunday we had leftover pizza. I jazzed my piece up with an arugula salad. Very enjoyable!

Posted in Easy, Italian, take-out | Tagged | Leave a comment

Grilled California burger and salad 6/5/26

California burger with salad

When I was growing up in New Jersey we would frequently go to the Palace Diner that was within walking distance of our house. My favorite thing to order was their California burger and fries. A California burger consists of a burger patty and bun plus mayo and ketchup, tomatoes, raw onion, and lettuce.

In looking up why this is called a California burger I find that in mid-20th century, fresh produce was not available year-round in many parts of the U.S. Having tomato and lettuce on your burger was not common. In California itself they would put on avocado slices instead of the onion. I find that avocado on a sandwich makes it too slippery so I stick with the East Coast version. I am just a Jersey shore girl enjoying the bounty of California.

John did a perfect job grilling the burgers. Being from the mid-west he eschews the lettuce and tomato and just goes for mayo and ketchup. Sarah puts blue cheese on hers. We are definitely an ALL-American family.

Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Grilling, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment