Tasty Traditions we can’t live without at Christmas!

Hello, hello!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! 🙂

Can you believe Christmas is seriously only 2 days away?

Will you be tracking Santa this year?

Gosh, the internet is such a wonderful thing! Remember when we were kids and we just had to cross our fingers and hope that Santa was going to make it around the world in time, wondering where he was right at that very moment, trying to stay awake so we could hear the reindeer land on the roof?

We hoped our carefully handwritten letters were mailed on time, that the Santa in the mall remembered to pass along our whispered Christmas wishes to the elves, and boy, oh boy, what were we going to do now that we’ve moved into a house with no chimney!

Now, we can email Santa and track his every movement. Nope, that’s not creepy at all. 🙂

Do you bake cookies for Santa?

We never really did that – probably because the dogs would have eaten the cookies before Santa showed up, anyway.

Anyhoo, in honor of it being Tasty Tuesday (you almost forgot, didn’t you?!),

I thought I would share some of our Tasty Christmas Traditions.

Christmas Eve Dinner

We always go out for breakfast for dinner.

source

We’ve been doing that since Thing 2 was a tiny little Thing. It’s so fun! It’s nice and relaxing and easy. Our challenge, because we were always moving, was finding the place that both served breakfast all day and stayed open on Christmas Eve. Thanks to the internet, that’s so much easier these days. 🙂  Then, we go and check out the Christmas lights. 🙂

Christmas Morning

I don’t remember when it started but for many, many years now, I make these muffins on Christmas morning.

source

They are the Cinnamon Cobblestone Crunch Muffins from The Pampered Chef®.

I typically pre-prep the cinnamon pecan mixture the night before and get up early and get them in the oven. We eat them warm, drink OJ or mimosas and coffee (adults only!) and take our time getting to the presents. The Things didn’t enjoy the waiting so much when they were little but, after a few years, they saw how fun it was to just hang out as a family before the madness started. 🙂

Mimosas!

source

Need I say more?

Christmas Dinner

For Christmas dinner, we either do a ham or a turkey (depends on what happened at Thanksgiving) but either way, they’re ALWAYS cooked on the grill.

source

When I was growing up, I didn’t like turkey. Strange, right? Well, I didn’t. So, my mom always had a ham slice for me. Then, one year, my dad grilled the turkey.

Holy. Moly.

I was hooked and it became a thing that always had to happen. I’ve never once cooked a turkey in the oven. I don’t care if there’s a blizzard outside, if we’re having turkey, we’re grilling it. Om. Nom. Nom.

Talk to me: Do you have any tasty Christmas traditions? What are you most looking forward to?

– jennifer

Grilled Chicken Cutlets with Zucchini, Corn & Cherry Tomato Sauce

Hello!

Happy Wednesday!

I just have to say – my shoulders are SO SORE from yesterday’s workout.

HOLY. OW.

But, like I said yesterday, I’d totally do it all over again.

Anyway, I absolutely must share a recipe with you.

MUST!

I made this for dinner last night.  I seriously felt like the luckiest person in the world.

So. Flippin. Good.

It’s a Rachael Ray 30-minute meal recipe which means it’ll take you about 45 minutes unless you have a whole kitchen staff hiding behind you ready to chop things the minute the cameras are turned off.

Seriously, I have no idea how she makes things happen in a 30-minute show unless stuff is just cooked enough to look cooked.

Regardless of her witchery, this one is totally worth it!

I paired it with some roasted Yukon Gold taters (Thing 2 took over that part for me) but you could totally do sweet taters if you want.

As a matter of fact, that’s what I have in my lunch today.

Jealous?  You should be.

Om. Nom. Nom.

Grilled Chicken Cutlets with Zucchini, Corn & Cherry Tomato Sauce
serves 4

1 lemon, zested and 1/2 juiced
4 cloves garlic, grated (or pressed, if it’s easier)
5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6-8 ounces each)
Salt and pepper
2 ears corn, kernels cut from the cob (I used about 3/4 cup of frozen corn kernels)
2 small or 1 medium zucchini – halved lengthwise, seeded and diced
1 bunch scallions, whites sliced and greens reserved for another use
1 small red chile pepper, such as Fresno, seeded and finely chopped, or about 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 cup loosely packed fresh herbs, such as mint, parsley, tarragon or basil, chopped
4 cups baby arugala (I used arugula/baby spinach blend)
fresh parmesan or peccorino romano cheese, shaved into curls with a vegetable peeler, for garnish

1. In a shallow dish, combine the lemon zest and juice with half the garlic, 3-4 tablespoons of the olive oil and the thyme. *Note, if you didn’t pay attention and used ALL the garlic, it’s okay. In fact, it’s fabulous! Just grab a couple of extra cloves for later when you need more. 🙂

2. Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium-high (or use your ginormous cast iron skillet).

3. Butterfly the chicken pieces by cutting into them horizontally without going all the way through, open like a book, and then pound into thin cutlets; season with salt and pepper. Turn them in the lemon-thyme marinade. Let stand. *Unless you have a meat tenderizer, the best way is to place the chicken breast between two pieces of wax paper and use a rolling pin.  You could use a mallet, if you don’t have a rolling pin. Just make sure you wash it first.

4. Meanwhile, in a large skillet (see #2), heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn and lightly brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, scallion whites, chile pepper, and the remaining garlic to the corn; season. Cook to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the butter and stir to melt, creating a creamy sauce. Remove the zucchini-corm sauce fron the heat and toss with the tomatoes and herbs. *I added the tomatoes to the pan for about 2 minutes to give them a little sear and soften them a little. I thought it was excellent!

5. Grill the chicken 3 to 4 minutes on each side, then transfer to plates.

6. Top each chicken cutlet with a cup of the baby arugula/spinach and some of the warm zucchini-corn sauce. Top with the parmesan curls.

7. NOM!

Questions:

1. Do you own a meat tenderizer? Do you know what one looks like?

2. Are you down with leftovers for lunch the next day or do you save them for a dinner later in the week?

3. What do you think I should do with the other half of the lemon?

– jennifer