Garlic Dijon Chicken

Super easy – super delicious.  Put everything in the Ziploc bag and freeze it.  Defrost on the day you’re going to cook – pan fry – and you’ve got a fantastic tasting and really quick meal in the blink of an eye!

 

Ingredients:

 

3 – 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

6 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 – 5 cloves garlic, pressed

3 tablespoons lime juice  (I didn’t have any fresh limes, so I used the key lime juice in the bottle)

1 ziploc bag

 

Directions:

 

Place the chicken breasts in the Ziploc bag.

 

Press the garlic directly into the bag.  Squeeze the Dijon directly in the bag and add the lime juice.  Mash it all together to mix thoroughly. 

 

Place in the freezer.  On the day you want to cook the chicken, defrost.

 

Drizzle some olive oil in a skillet; fry about 5 – 6 minutes on each side.

 

Serve with a salad and veggies… dinner in a flash!

 

Note:  If you don’t want to freeze, prepare the chicken in the Ziploc bag the night before and place in the fridge. 

 

2^nd Note:  I think the next time I do this I will butterfly the breasts so that they’re thinner.  This will allow them to soak up more of the marinade and cook more quickly.

Click here for printable recipe.

Glazed Lemon Lavender Cookies

While gardening today I was thinking that something sweet sounded good – but what, oh what, to make?  Lemon is usually my “go to” flavor for the summertime.  I wanted something light, refreshing and not my normal (although delicious) lemon cake.  Ah Ha!  Lemon Cookies sounded yummy!  So, I scoured the internet and pinterest and saw quite a few recipes that I liked.  Several of them began with a lemon cake mix – and while that sounded easy, I didn’t want to go to the store, so I continued looking for “from scratch” options.  This recipe is a combination of two that I found.  Refreshingly sweet and extremely satisfying.

Ingredients:

 

2 cups flour (all-purpose, spooned and leveled)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsps fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lavender buds
Lemon Glaze - recipe at the bottom

Directions:

 

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, lavender buds and lemon zest. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture.

Step 2

Scoop dough with a teaspoon and roll into balls, place 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Bake until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 2 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Spread cookies with Lemon Glaze and let set, about 1 hour.

 

Lemon Glaze

 

Ingredients

 

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

 

Directions

Step 1

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice until smooth.

 

Glaze cookies on a rack to allow excess glaze to drip off.  I actually dipped each cookie in the glaze and then spooned the excess glaze on top of each to fill in any missing spots.

Click here for printable recipe.