Best Roasted Chicken Breasts

Sometimes I find that roasted chicken can be a little too bland and boring so one night while I was making dinner I remembered that I had some white truffle butter in the refrigerator from Thanksgiving. I had used the butter on the turkey using an Barefoot Contessa recipe. I smothered the butter underneath the skin of the chicken and it turned out great. This is my new way of making roasted chicken breasts.

Roasted Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

2 skin-on bone-in chicken breasts
2 tbs. white truffle butter
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Using your fingers gently separate the skin from the breasts not removing the skin. Smother each breast with the white truffle butter. Drizzle breast with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or until juices run clear.

Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Fun at the Carolina Cup

This past weekend Adam and I packed the car and headed to Camden, S.C. for the annual Carolina Cup. It was my very first horse race and Adam's first time to this event. Not knowing what to expect was exciting, but not knowing what type of food to bring was a little frustrating. Usually at tailgates we pack the grill and throw on some hamburger patties, but unfortunately grills are not allowed at the horse race. So I decided to get creative and make a little something different than I normally would for a tailgate.



Carolina Cup Menu

Chicken Club Sandwiches
Spinach Salad with Dijon-Lemon Vinaigrette
Mini-Derby Pies


Chicken Club Sandwiches

Ingredients:

12-pack butter rolls
3 Roasted Chicken Breasts, sliced
12 slices of bacon, sliced into two pieces
1 cup of ranch cream cheese spread
(Mix 1/2 cup of ranch dressing with 4 ounces of cream cheese)

Directions:

Assemble sandwiches and serve.

Makes 12 sandwiches


Spinach Salad with Dijon-Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:


6 cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 toasted slivered almonds
1/2 crumbled goat cheese
1/4 bacon bits
1/2 cup of Dijon-lemon vinaigrette


Directions:


Toss together and serve immediately.


Serves 6



Dijon-Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:


1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbs. white wine vinegar
1 tbs. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:


Whisk together all ingredients and drizzle over salad.



Mini-Derby Pies

*Note: I took this recipe from the Bluegrass Winners Cookbook that Adam got from his mom at Christmas. I just put the mixture into mini-pie shells.*


Ingredients:


2 cup sugar
6 tbs. flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
24 mini-pie shells

Directions:

Combine first 7 ingredients. Place mini-pie shells in a 24 cup mini-muffin pan. Pour mixture into pie shells. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until brown.

Makes 24

Rainy Day Soup

This morning I woke up to a cold rainy day. It's days like this one that makes me want to put on my comfy pants and stay in. Instead of standing over the stove for an hour cooking up a big lunch, I decided to raid the pantry and create something simple. After searching the cabinets, I found a can of golden mushroom soup and away I went!

Simple Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbs. butter
1/2 cup of baby Bella mushrooms
2 tbs. minced shallots
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1/2 milk


Directions:

Melt butter in 4-quart sauce pan on medium heat. Once melted, add shallots. Cook for 2 minutes and then add mushrooms. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Next add the can of golden mushroom soup along with the water and milk. Stir until fully combined and cook to heat through. Serve with toast and enjoy!


Servings: 2

Chicken with a Twist

It seems that chicken is often the staple of any successful dish we create and the Campbell's famous martinis are always a hit with a twist of lemon. So we decided to pair the two together to make a very simple dish and really turn up the volume.

Chicken with a Twist

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 lemon zested and juiced
1 tbs. butter

Directions:

Begin by salting and peppering the breasts. Next coat the breasts with olive oil. Place in pan on medium to high heat cooking 5 minutes on each side. When chicken is done (you can test this by touching the chicken to see if it is firm) remove to a plate and cover with foil.

Return pan to medium heat and add wine to deglaze. Reduce by half and add chicken stock, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Once again reduce by half and remove from heat. Add butter to thicken sauce. Plate chicken and serve.

We served this chicken with roasted potatoes.

Servings: 2