Boullion Chicken

This super easy, week night meal comes together in a flash - leaving you time for more important things, like playing with the family!

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use 3, cut in half = 6 total)
4 Tbsp butter
1.5 tsp beef base/3 boullion cubes
1 sweet onion, sliced long

Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add beef base and stir to combine. Sprinkle chicken with black pepper and place in frying pan. Allow to cook over med-high heat until you get a nice browned color on the first side of the breasts. Flip chicken and add onions to pan. Leave chicken to brown on 2nd side, once desired color is attained, turn heat down to med-low and cover. Allow to simmer for 5-10 more minutes until chicken is opaque throughout.

Remove chicken, taste onions and add addl seasoning (usually a pinch of salt is plenty) as needed. Serve onions as the base under the chicken...

YUM!

Basil Lime Pork Chops

Slightly tart and tangy - a great recipe for the summer when the garden is overflowing with fresh basil and you don't want to heat up your kitchen by cooking over the stove! YUM

3-4 thick cut, boneless pork chops
1 Handful of fresh basil (approximately 20-25 leaves)
3 Limes, juiced
Large pinch of salt
15-20 turns of a pepper mill
2 Cloves (1 Tbsp) minced garlic
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/4 c. canola oil
3 Tbsp Heavy Cream

Layer porkchops in a bowl or dish to marinade. Mix remaining ingredients, minus the heavy cream, in a food processor and process until liquefied. Pour marinade over chops and put back in the fridge for 1-3 hours (you don't want to do this overnight, because the limes will actually begin to cook the chops). Remove from fridge approximately 20 minutes before you are ready to cook.

Sauce:
(Start sauce when you put the chops on the grill) Pour leftover marinade into a small saucepan and heat to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and continue to simmer. When you pull the chops off the grill, turn all the way down to low and add the heavy cream, stir to combine. Allow to heat through, and taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste.

Chops:
Grill chops on high, 8 minutes on first side and approx 5 minutes on second side, turn grill down and allow chops to remain on the grill on medium low until cooked throughout, approximately 8 addl minutes. Pull chops from grill and allow to rest, covered with foil, for 10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute.

Serving:
Serve chops, topped with sauce. Goes well with grilled eggplant and steamed broccoli.

Stuffed Chicken Thighs

6 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 roll Sage Sausage
1/2 onion
4 oz. pepper jack cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 Tbsp garlic
2 Tbsp diced poblano pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil - just enough to coat.

Heat oven to 350

Heat a frying pan on medium, add a little bit of olive oil, the onion and garlic and allow them to sweat and soften a little bit. Throw in the poblano pepper at the last minute for just a few seconds. Mix the cheese, cooked sausage, and onion mixture in a small bowl. Add a large pinch of salt and a couple turns of a pepper mill.

Return pan to heat and crank it to med high. Add olive oil on the bottom and salt and pepper both sides of the chicken thighs. Brown the thighs on both sides for approximately 2-3 minutes each, just until they have some color. Remove from heat and one at a time, take the thigh, stretch it out and put approximately 2 Tbsp of stuffing in the middle of it. Roll, like a jelly roll, around the stuffing and secure with 2 toothpicks. Try to restuff anything that falls out once you get the toothpicks in place. Place into oven safe frying pan, seam and stuffing sides up.

Place into preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.