Lovely Lemon Chicken

My mom is a culinary master.  Seriously.  The woman is a genius.  I’ve been begging her to open her own wedding cakery ever since my brother’s wedding.  She made these beautiful wedding cake cookies that also functioned as place cards.  My mom also made my wedding cake.  3 layers of absolutely delicious cake with a raspberry layer, covered from top to bottom with gorgeous purple flowers.  My cake was awesome.

But she can do more than just bake. She also makes some amazing dinners.  I only wish I could cook and bake half as well as she does.  Usually, I end up calling her in tears, wondering why my chicken is so rubbery.  Or why my sauce is so thin.  How come my vegetables don’t taste roasted? Is rice supposed to look like that?  How can I fix this disaster?

She always has a solution for me.  She is always e-mailing me recipes that are idiot-proof for novices such as myself.  But my absolute favorite is when she sends me family recipes.  I love to make her creamy cheesy pasta.  And I can’t resist my grandmother’s pound cake recipe, topping with a little bit of chocolate frosting.  And oh! The pierogies and kielbasa and czarnina and chrusciki.  It reminds me so much of my childhood.

Lemon chicken is one of my favorite family recipes.  I took this family classic and gave it a little twist by layering it with quinoa and asparagus.  It’s healthy and  tasty and delicious.  You can make your own lemon curd if you’d like.  I used store bought simply because it took less time.  I only wish I had some left over for lemon tarts.

Lemon Chicken

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast, cut into chunks

1/4 cup flour

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup lemon curd

1/4 cup hot water

Coat your chicken in flour and season it with a little salt and pepper.  Heat the skillet to medium high.  Stir fry your chicken in a little bit of oil until golden brown.  Remove it from the pan and set it aside.

Return the pan to heat.  Add a splash of vinegar and let it almost evaporate.  Add the broth to the pan and scrape up the drippings.  Add the lemon curd to the broth and whisk it.  Add a little hot water if you need to thin out the sauce.  Add your chicken back to the pan and let it simmer until cooked through.

Quinoa

1 1/4 cup boiling water

1 cup quinoa

Add 1 cup of quinoa to your boiling water, cover and reduce heat.  Let it simmer for 12 minutes, then fluff it with a fork.

Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus

Olive Oil

Salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.   Trim the ends of your asparagus.  On a foil lined baking sheet, toss your asparagus with some salt and olive oil.  Bake for around 15 to 20 minutes.

To assemble, layer your plate first with some quinoa.  Top that with asparagus.  Finally, put your chicken on top and add a little extra sauce if you would like.  Enjoy!