Rainy Days And Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays....

This pretty much is how all of us have felt lately. Too much to do. Not enough sleep. Not enough time. And the weather has not helped. So. Much. Rain. We are about an inch away from this being the rainiest winter on record. It will be the second highest for sure.

But we soldier on. Doing the best we can. We visited this sweet baby over the weekend and I was again reminded of how hard these first days are. Some new moms get lucky and have a baby that learns to eat and sleep easily. Many more have little ones who don't. And that means the new moms don't get much sleep either. As someone said, "The days are long, but the years are short." New mamas are in the "days are long" stage. They have a hard time comprehending anything to do with "short years." But at my age I am fully aware of the "years are short" part." And I remind them that new parents manage somehow.

Because not much has happened in my own kitchen. lately, I've looked back through my food photos to find a recipe to share. And there is only one I haven't already posted here. That means I need to get busy in the kitchen. (Daddy-O will be glad.) I came home from my "Mimi duty" with a new cookbook that Jessica gave me. She and her sister have made many of the recipes from the Defined Dish cookbook and they have loved them all. I made a Defined Dish recipe back before Christmas when I stayed with Jessica. This recipe is from her blog. You might like to explore her recipes there before you decide you might want to buy the book. Her recipes are mostly Whole30 compliant. But she never skimps on flavor!

Skillet Lemon Dill Chicken

The recipes in this cookbook are not difficult at all. But they tend to have a longer list of ingredients, mostly seasonings, than I use. (More seasoning are why they are so tasty.) But the recipes are not hard. Once everything is measured, the cooking is pretty simple. I've learned to pull out the seasonings. Measure everything. Chop the garlic and dill and squeeze the lemon juice, all of this before you start cooking. Then it's a breeze.

I was making this at Jessica's house, using her pantry ingredients. I don't typically have almond flour in my own kitchen but I imagine you could probably substitute regular all-purpose flour if Whole30 or gluten-free is not a concern for you. I will say that making this WITH the almond flour was delicious. I ate a piece of leftover chicken the next day, cold, straight out of the fridge—I was in a hurry to get on the road and head home—and it was still delicious.

SKILLET LEMON DILL CHICKEN

1-1/2 lbs chicken cutlets

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup arrowroot starch

3 tablespoons almond flour

3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Season the chicken cutlets generously on both sides with kosher salt and pepper.

Combine arrowroot and almond flour on a large plate. Individually dredge each cutlet until well coated. Shake off excess and set aside on a clean plate. Continue until all chicken is coated.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. When hot (but not smoking) sear chicken until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Remove cooked chicken to a clean plate and set aside. You will likely need to do this in more than one batch. Continue until all the chicken is cooked.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add remaining teaspoon of oil to the same skillet. Add the garlic and gently cook, stirring and being careful not to burn, for 30 seconds.

Pour in broth, lemon juice, and dill. Stir to combine. Put the browned chicken back into the pan, into the sauce and let simmer until the sauce has thickened and coated the chicken, 3 to 5 more minutes.

We served this over oven roasted cauliflower rice. (Toss 1 bag frozen cauliflower rice with a little olive oil and House Seasoning--or salt & pepper--and spread on baking sheet sprayed with Pam. Roast at 375 to 400 for about 20-30 minutes until lightly browned. Stir halfway through. Be careful not to burn.) 

Let me add a comment about salt. There IS a difference between kosher salt and table salt. Table salt is "saltier" by weight. You can read more about it here. You can swap one for the other but only if you "salt to taste." The measurements are not equal.

For the record, my daughters are not on gluten-free diets or doing Whole30 now, but they are both very conscientious about cooking whole food. Clean food. And they like good food. This recipe checks all the boxes.