This weeks recipe was brought to you by Wendie Kennedy! Thank you Wendie, for participating and for bringing us this awesome pin! Her pin caught my eye because 1) There is cheese in the name... and who doesn't LOVE cheese? and 2) I was curious about the lemon in this recipe! I wanted to know if it was a light lemony yum, or a heavy lemony yum. :) Guys, this recipe is really good! There are a few changes I would make to it, and a few tips I have for you guys in making this. Which is the beautiful purpose of this blog! So be sure to continue reading all the steps!
I am also including my recipe for a lemon alfredo cream sauce. This can be used for anything, I swear. If you take out the lemon and add a few spices, this can also be used as a regular alfredo sauce. So take this recipe from my kitchen and begin to use it in yours! No butter, no heavy cream. It's amazing.
I had a few guest tasters for this recipe! My husband John and his brother Michael were over getting ready for a guys night of video games at our home, and so I thought it would be a perfect night to try out this recipe. So you will see their faces in this post, as well as a few quotes from them regarding the tastiness of the dish!
Another tip, the recipe calls for romano cheese. Romano is a very flavorful and hearty cheese. VERY YUMMY. Romano also tends to be a bit more pricey when in block or shredded form. Ever see the parmesean and romano combo's at the store? That's because parmesean, while slightly saltier tasting, is very similar to romano cheese. So if you are looking for a cheaper substitute, grab some parmesean or one of the combo packs. I used a finely shredded parmesean pack.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. The recipe wants you to lightly salt each side of the chicken and let it rest. Since I was a using a slightly saltier cheese, I did not salt them. Save on the sodium where ever you can folks. So set your chicken aside, then combine your mozzerella and parmesean/romano cheeses in a bowl then set aside for later use.
In a shallow dish, mix together 1 egg and a tablespoon of flour. When I mixed mine together, I was worried that it wouldn't be enough for my 7 chicken tenders. But believe you me, there will be enough. In a seperate bowl, combine 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs, 1 and 1/2 ounces of the parmesean cheese, 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped oregano, the zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, and a dash of salt and pepper.
As far as what to serve it with, I asked my husband if he wanted pasta. Which is what you would typically serve something like this with. He did NOT want pasta. So I opted for mashed potatoes with my lemon alfredo cream sauce. I can't get enough lemon... ;) If you do decide to go the pasta route, I would suggest not using a marinara. The acidity of the tomato would take away from the lemon taste of the chicken and then your hero of the meal would be the marinara and not the lemon. Don't do it. The sauce I used on the mashed potatoes would be perfect over pasta and was a great compliment to the chicken.
As we all ate, we decided the chicken could actually do with more lemon. I would suggest zesting 2 lemons instead of the one the recipe asks for. I ended up squeezing my lemon slice over the chicken to give it more flavor, as well as using my oregano sprig. But overall, this one is a WIN! I mean, look at the resulting faces of these men!
I will continue to be looking over the pins in the Pinterest board for this coming week's recipe! Then a new post with be up on Sunday!
Until next post, send me your pins and I'll send you the wins!
Servings: 3 (2 tenders each serving)
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
6 thawed chicken tenderloins
2 oz mozzerella cheese
3 1/2 oz parmesean/romano cheese (divided)
1 large egg
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano
Zest of 1 lemon (Jess suggests 2)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 1/2 Tbsp each olive and vegetable oil
dash of salt and pepper
lemon slices and oregano for serving (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix mozzerella cheese and 2 oz parmesean/romano cheese in bowl. set aside.
2.Mix together egg and flour in shallow dish. In seperate dish, combine Panko, oregano, lemon zest, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Pat chicken with peper towels to remove excess liquid, then dredge first in egg mix, then in panko mix, pressing gently on each side to ensure coverage. Place breaded chicken on plate ready for the pan.
3. Heat oils in pan over medium heat. When oil begins to ripple, place two pieces of chicken in pan. DO NOT MOVE for 2 minutes. Gently flip chicken over when desired color is reached, then leave untouched for 2 minutes. Once done, removed from oil and place on plate with paper towels to remove excess oil.
4. Place browned chicken on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet, to avoid juices getting the chicken soggy. Sprinkle mozzerella mix over top of chicken and bake for about 12 minutes. Place under broiler if desired.
5. Remove from oven and garnish with lemon slices and oregano. Serve over pasta or mashed potatoes with lemon alfredo cream sauce (recipe below).
6. ENJOY!
Lemon Alfredo Cream Sauce
Serving Size: 3 servings (about 1/3 cup each serving)
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp greek yogurt/light sour cream
1 oz parmesean cheese
dash salt and pepper
1 1/2 tsp lemon
1. Saute minced garlic in oil about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add flour and whisk together to make a rue.
2. Add chicken broth and whisk until rue breaks up into broth. Add greek yogurt/light sour cream and continue whisking. Add parmesean cheese and mix until melted.
3. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Add lemon at the end. If you add it before, the longer it cooks the more bitter it will become. Serve over pasta or potatoes.
4. Enjoy!