Dinner for Two

Lemon Chicken with Pasta Alfredo for Two

We love food, love growing it, cooking it, baking, eating in, eating out. I even enjoy shopping for food, especially at our wonderful Farmers Markets.

Brian does the majority of the weekday dinner prep. He's a meat and potatoes kind of guy. He does great roasts, a wonderful yorkshire pudding, a wicked meatloaf and he bakes bread, from scratch, with no bread machine.

I, on the other hand like to stray from the usual standard fare. use more herbs, spices, and sauces. I've got him to try some new things, some have stuck, some have not.

My sister introduced me to a meal of lemon chicken with a ginger linguine side that I made myself for years. I started making it for Brian and it became one of our frequent favourites.  Parmigiano Reggioano is a staple in our kitchen so we switched out the ginger linguine for the Alfredo pasta.  We did start out making the Alfredo sauce the traditional way with butter & cream. In the interest of health, we skinnied it down a bit.

Lighter Alfredo Sauce

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup 1% milk
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 4 oz pasta (We like fusilli as is holds on to the sauce nicely)

1. Cook pasta in boiling water.
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic, and saute for a minute.
3. Add flour to butter & garlic, whisk together and let cook for a minute.
4. Gradually add milk and whisk til everything combines.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thick.
6. Just before you are ready to serve, stir in Parmesan cheese until melted and sauce is smooth.
7. Drain the pasta transfer to a large bowl and toss with sauce. Alternatively spoon desired amount of sauce over individual servings of pasta.

Lemon Chicken

• 1 large or 2 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 cup chicken stock or broth
• 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried parsley

1. Heat oil in large fry pan on medium high.
2. Pound chicken til about 1/2" thick.
3. Dredge chicken in flour til coated on both sides.
4. Place chicken in heated pan and cook till a nice golden brown on each side.
5. Turn temperature down to medium low and add chicken stock, lemon juice and parsley.
6. Simmer chicken until cooked through and liquid has reduced to a nice sauce (about 15 minutes)
7. Serve hot, spoon pan sauce over chicken.