Little Italy meet Liberty City

Our sweet little one red-light town
here in East Texas is known as Liberty City.
It's a town by name only
because you won't find that name on any map.
There is no government run post office
or police department here. . .BUT,

we are most proud to have Sonic, Dairy Queen
and Whataburger.
The residents get their mail from
two different nearby towns
and our great school district is called Sabine.
Crazy, yes. . .but, having lived here
for more than 15 years, it is now quite the norm for us.

How did we come to meet Little Italy
here in this small town?
It's all in the ingredients, ya see.
This week's Free Recipe Friday
got to meet up with Little Italy a few weeks ago
when this recipe came in contact with our taste buds.
Such a yummy, light Italian meal! Oh my.

Lemon Butter Chicken
you are my new best friend.

WHAT YOU NEED:
-- 4 boneless chicken breasts
(these will cook much better if you
can pound them out a bit - but not required)
-- salt and pepper, of course, to season chicken
-- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
-- 6 tablespoons olive oil
-- 1/2 cup good chicken stock
-- 1/2 cup good white wine
-- 1/2-1 cup pitted kalamata olives
-- 2 tablespoons capers
-- 1-2 teaspoons black pepper
-- juice and zest of one large lemon
-- a dash of oregano and chives if you have them
it won't kill the recipe if you do not
-- 4 tablespoons butter
-- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
-- 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

WHAT TO DO:

Season the chicken breasts on both sides
with salt and pepper.  Heat up a good
heavy saute pan on medium high,
add 3 tablespoons of olive oil
and quickly fry them about 3 minutes on each side.
Longer if they are not pounded out.

Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium.
In the same pan add the remaining
3 tablespoons olive oil along with the garlic
and saute for about one minute.
Next, add into the pan the broth and white wine.
Simmer for a few minutes until the liquid has
reduced by about half.
Place the chicken back in the pan and
the remaining ingredients (excluding the cheeses).
Let the chicken soak in the sauce a bit
until the butter has melted and the chicken
has warmed through.

At the last minute, toss in the cheeses
and do a quick taste check -
does it need salt?

Serve with the pasta of your choice
and enjoy a winner, winner
chicken dinner!

ENJOY!!!

Broken Scales?!

Did a few pounds happen to appear out of nowhere
and cling to you over Thanksgiving???
I heard a radio DJ say the other day that
he gained SIX pounds over the holiday.  EEK!
Thankfully, we only had ONE day of feasting around here,
but if you'd like to drop a few pounds
before the next eating fest, you might want to try
this week's Free Recipe Friday.

It's not fat-free, but carb-free? I think YES.

Baked Italian Salad is it's name,

but it actually tastes like the toppings off of a pizza.
It is DELISH!  Grrreat with a salad and a baguette?!
(IF you're not too carb conscious)

Obviously this dish would be PERRRfect
in the summer when fresh garden tomatoes
are plentiful...but store bought Roma's
work just fine here!

WHAT YOU NEED:
appx. 8 Roma tomatoes (or your fav)
Sea Salt/Black pepper
2-3 teaspoons Garlic, minced
1/4 - 1/2 cup Green olives (and/or black) sliced
1 medium Onion, sliced thinly
Fresh herbs (parsley and/or basil) opt.
Red pepper flakes, just a few
1/4 - 1/2 cup Parmesan
drizzle of Olive Oil
splash of Red wine

WHAT YOU DO:
Preheat oven to 425
Spray a shallow dish with non-stick cooking spray.
You could use a pie plate, individual dishes
or use a dish to accommodate
whatever serving amount you need.
With this recipe, you just layer
as much as you need - there's no right or wrong.

Begin layering ingredients
starting by covering the bottom of your pan
with some tomatoes, then onions, garlic

a few flakes of red pepper, salt/pepper,
and a bit of parsley and/or basil.
Now start all over again and begin
another layer of tomatoes
then onions, seasonings, herbs, etc.
Two or three layers should be plenty.
When you've reached the top,
toss on the sliced olives -
as much or as little as you'd like.
To finish, top with Parmesan,
give it a splash of red wine all over
and finish it off with a drizzle of olive oil.
Bake until golden and bubbly
approximately 30 minutes.

Mmm!  Serve this along side a salad
and maybe some good crunchy bread
and you've got an amazing meal
that will not leave you feeling deprived!

ENJOY!!!