Chicken Piccata (Lemon Chicken with Capers)

Ingredients

• 450g / 16oz chicken breast (2 large pieces), skinless boneless
• 4 tbsp flour (sub cornflour/cornstarch for GF)
• 2 1/2 tbsp parmesan , finely grated
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp / 15g unsalted butter

Lemon Sauce:

• 2 tbsp / 30g unsalted butter , cut into 1.5cm / 1/2" cubes
• 2/3 cup dry white wine (or chicken stock)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice , fresh
• 3 tbsp capers in brine , drained
• 1 1/2 tsp parsley , finely chopped, plus more for garnish

Instructions

1. Crispy Parmesan Chicken:
2. Cut each breast into 3 pieces. Then place between 2 pieces of cling wrap or paper and pound to 1/2 cm / 0.2" thickness.
3. Drizzle chicken with 1/2 tbsp olive oil and spread with your fingers on both sides.
4. Mix flour, parmesan, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Coat chicken, pressing to adhere, then shaking off excess.
5. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Then add butter and let it melt.
6. Place 3 pieces of chicken in the skillet. Cook 3 - 4 minutes until golden, then turn and cook the other side for 1 minute. Remove onto plate, repeat with remaining chicken.
7. Chicken Piccata Sauce:
8. Pour out and discard excess fat in skillet, then give it a quick wipe with paper towels (no need to clean thoroughly).
9. Still on medium high heat, add wine. Let it simmer rapidly until it reduces by half - around 3 minutes.
10. Add lemon and simmer 1 minute.
11. Reduce heat to low. Add cubed butter and swirl pan to make it melt but not go foamy. Sauce should be glossy, translucent and slightly thickened.
12. Stir in capers and parsley. Serve chicken with Sauce, sprinkled with extra parsley if desired!

From: https://www.recipetineats.com/chicken-piccata/

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

• 600 g / 1.2 lb scotch fillet steak / boneless rib eye (Note 1; use velveting method below for more tender beef)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil , divided
• 1 large onion (or 2 small onions), sliced
• 300 g / 10 oz mushrooms , sliced (not too thin)
• 40 g / 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 cups / 500 ml beef broth , preferably salt reduced
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 150 ml / 2/3 cup sour cream
• Salt and pepper

Serving: 8 - 10 oz pasta or egg noodles of choice
Chopped chives , for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Use your fist (or rolling pin or mallet) to flatten the steaks to about 3/4cm / 1/3" thick. Slice into 5mm / 1/5" strips (cut long ones in half), discarding excess fat.
2. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over high heat. Scatter half the beef in the skillet, QUICKLY spread it with tongs. Leave untouched for 30 seconds until browned. Turn beef quickly (as best you can!). Leave untouched for 30 seconds to brown. Immediately remove onto a plate. Don't worry about pink bits and that it will be raw inside.
4. Add remaining 1 tbsp oil and repeat with remaining beef.
5. Turn heat down to medium high. Add butter, melt. Then add onions, cook for 1 minute, then add mushrooms.
6. Cook mushrooms until golden. Scrape bottom of fry pan to get all the golden bits off (this is flavour!).
7. Add flour, cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
8. Add half the broth while stirring. Once incorporated, add remaining broth.
9. Stir, then add sour cream and mustard. Stir until incorporated (don't worry if it looks split, sour cream will "melt" as it heats).
10. Bring to simmer ,then reduce heat to medium low. Once it thickens to the consistency of pouring cream (3 - 5 minutes), adjust salt and pepper to taste.
11. Add beef back in (including plate juices). Simmer for 1 minute, then remove from stove immediately. (Note 4)
12. Serve over pasta or egg noodles, sprinkled with chives if desired.

Notes

1. Best cut of beef for stroganoff - use decent to good quality quick cooking cut of beef such as:
2. boneless rib eye (aka scotch fillet), boneless sirloin, sirloin steak tips, beef tenderloin. I don't recommend: beef round steak (aka topside), skirt, flat iron, hanger. 
3. Sauce thickness: You can make sauce thinner with touch of water if you want, but DO NOT keep simmering to thicken once the beef is added, it will overcook the beef.
4. Storage - 3 to 4 days in the fridge, also freezes fine. Thaw fully then reheat carefully, being sure not to overcook the beef!

From: https://www.recipetineats.com/beef-stroganoff/

Velveting method: https://www.recipetineats.com/how-to-tenderise-beef-velveting-beef/

Tzatziki Sauce

INGREDIENTS 

• ½ cup finely grated cucumber
• 1 cup thick whole milk Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the cucumber on a towel and gently squeeze out a bit of the excess water.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, dill, and mint, if using. Chill until ready to use.

From: https://www.loveandlemons.com/tzatziki-sauce/

Easy Salmon Patty

INGREDIENTS

• 3 six oz cans of skinless, boneless salmon drained (reserve the liquid)
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 3/4 C breadcrumbs
• 1/12 C dried parsley (or 3/8 C fresh parsley chopped)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine salmon, green onion, breadcrumbs, parsley, eggs, salt, and pepper.
2. Form mixture into patties.
3. Add some reserved liquid as needed to make patty stick together well
4. Brown salmon patties on both sides

Based on: https://www.food.com/recipe/so-easy-salmon-patties-433523

Chickpea and Beef Curry With Spinach And Rice

INGREDIENTS

• 2lbs Stew beef
• 1/2T curry powder
• 1 t sea salt
• 1 T avocado oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T brown sugar (more to taste)
• 1 1/2 T red curry paste
• one 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk
• 1 1/2 T soy sauce
• one 14-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2–3 C fresh spinach, chopped
• 1/2 C cilantro, chopped
• 1 1/2 C jasmine rice, uncooked

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. Marinate Beef in curry and sea salt for at least 1 hour
3. Sautee the beef for 15 - 20min; then add enough water to cover the beef. Cover and simmer for 1hr or until the beef is fall apart tender. 
4. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and curry paste; sauté until softened and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the brown sugar, coconut milk, and soy sauce. Add cooked beef. Bring to a low simmer until thickened slightly.
6. Add chickpeas, spinach, and cilantro; cook until chickpeas are heated through and spinach is wilted. Mash the chickpeas ever so slightly with the back of a wooden spoon if you want to change up the texture and make it more creamy.
7. Taste and adjust to your liking – we often add a squeeze of lime or some extra ginger or lemongrass, but it’s really not necessary. The flavor is totally there even with the most basic ingredient list. Serve over rice with a dollop of chili crisp (affiliate link) and a side of pickled cucumber salad if you want (and I promise you do want this – see notes). Top with more cilantro, if you want! 

Adapted from: https://pinchofyum.com/chickpea-curry

Chicken Avocado Soup

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts,* or 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups chopped green onions (including whites, mince the whites)
• 2 jalapeños, seeded and minced**
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth***
• 2 Roma tomatoes,**** seeded and diced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 medium avocados , peeled, cored and diced
• Tortilla chips , monterrey jack cheese, sour cream for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large pot heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add green onions and jalapenos and saute until tender, about 2 minutes, adding garlic during last 30 seconds of sauteing.
2. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, cumin, season with salt and pepper to taste and add chicken breasts if using (otherwise wait to add rotisserie chicken until the end). Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Then reduce heat to medium, cover with lid and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken has cooked through 10 - 15 minutes (cook time will vary based on thickness of chicken breasts).
4. Reduce burner to warm heat, remove chicken from pan and let rest on a cutting board 5 minutes, then shred chicken and return to soup. Stir in cilantro and lime juice, and rotisserie chicken now if using.
5. Add avocados to soup just before serving (if you don't plan on serving the soup right away, I would recommend adding the avocados to each bowl individually, about 1/2 an avocado per serving). Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream if desired.

Notes
*For thicker chicken breasts, cut breasts in half through the length (thickness) of the breasts, they will cook faster and more evenly.
**You can leave seeds if you want soup spicy, replace jalapeños with 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper if you don't like heat.
***For a less brothy soup you can reduce to 3 cans chicken broth if desired.
****1 (14.5 oz) can canned tomatoes (regular, petite cut, or fire roasted may be used) in place of fresh tomatoes.

From: https://www.cookingclassy.com/chicken-avocado-lime-soup/

Garlic Butter Steak Bites

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 pounds thick-cut New York strip steaks
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mince 4 garlic cloves. Transfer to a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Chop until you have 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, then transfer to a small bowl. Cut 2 pounds New York strip steak into 1-inch cubes, then season them with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
2. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium high-heat. Add the steak cubes and sear until browned, flipping them halfway through, 6 to 8 minutes total. Add the garlic and pepper and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and garnish with the parsley.

From: https://www.thekitchn.com/garlic-butter-steak-bites-22947830