We're taking a little break from Milkshake Week, I'm so excited to share with you that I'm now a contributor to the Better Homes & Garden food blog called Delish Dish! I'm sharing the recipe for these wonderful Strawberry Sangria Popsicles today over there.

I love strawberries, don't you? I love them even more now, after using this strawberry huller. I can honestly say, it's so easy to use!

Just put the blades into the hull. Twist it…

Press the button and pop it out.

I use to cut the hull out which results in a lot of the strawberry being wasted. You can say I'm obsessed with this gadget!

Don't forget to hop over to BHG to check out the recipe for these Strawberry Sangria Popsicles!

Kitchen Tools I use for this recipe:

• Freezer Pop Maker/Popsicle Molds – My favorite popsicle molds! Pop the metal sheet on and then place the popsicle sticks. Running warm water over the metal lid and then removing it, helps make removing the popsicles way easy!
• OXO Strawberry Huller – you know how I feel about this thing!
• Pyrex Set of 3 Mixing Bowls – we received this set of mixing bowls as a wedding gift and 11 years later, they are still going strong. I love them, I use them all the time from mixing dry ingredients for baking recipes to melting chocolate in the microwave.
• Pyrex (1 Quart) 4-Cup Measuring Cup – we also received this as a wedding gift. You need at least one huge measuring cup. This helps for pouring and measuring large amounts of liquids.
• Mesh Strainer Set – I have 4 strainers, all different sizes. I don't use them every day obviously but these are super helpful. The little hook on the other side of the handle helps keep it stay on the top of your bowl.
• Le Creuset Saucepan with Lid – I love this little saucepan. Great for cooking syrups like the one for this popsicle and great for making gravy too!

Disclosure: I'm a compensated contributor to the BHG Delish Dish blog. I also received the strawberry huller a while back from OXO for the purpose of review. These are my own words and I only share my opinions with you. There are affiliate links in this post.

The post Strawberry Sangria Popsicles appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

For this recipe, once again I'm participating with Land O'Lakes on their Kitchen Conversations panel along with Ree, Maria, Brenda and Sommer! For this Kitchen Conversation, it's all about back to school and quick and easy dinner ideas for those rushed nights when you need to get dinner on the table quick.

As most of you know, I don’t have kids and I work from home, but I still struggle to make dinner sometimes because our days are so busy. For this topic, I wanted to make something that was not only quick and easy, but also full of flavor and something you’ll love. This lemon and thyme chicken dish is just that! Whether you are going back to school or just have those crazy weeknights, a basic chicken dish with fresh flavors is a good recipe to have on hand.

This recipe uses a Half Stick of Land O Lakes^® Salted Butter. I love these little half sticks because they’re so convenient. I have fewer of those little packets of folded, wadded up pieces of butter in my fridge because of them!

First, start the water boiling for the noodles. Then I start the breading for the chicken. I mix lemon zest, thyme leaves (I used fresh thyme), garlic, salt and pepper first. Then the breadcrumbs.

I picked chicken breast cutlets because they are so good and they also cook faster than a full chicken breast.

I use forks and spoons or use one hand for the wet and one hand for the dry…so you don't your hands all clumped up with wet breading. I call that claw hands!

In a non-stick skillet, melt 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Land O Lakes® Salted Butter.

Add half of the chicken cutlets and cook for 4–5 minutes on each side. Then finish up with more butter and the rest of the chicken.

Once the noodles are done, add butter, thyme and lemon to flavor them. I love buttered noodles, don't you?

This sauce is so easy. In the same pan in which you cooked the chicken, add 1 tablespoon of Land O Lakes^® Salted Butter and melt. Then add flour and allow them to cook. Add some thyme — I love the sizzle the thyme makes!

Then add chicken broth and white wine and cook for a few minutes. You can add a little bit of lemon juice after it’s all done.

Serve sauce over the egg noodles and chicken. I highly recommend serving with a side salad or your favorite vegetable for a delicious dinner!

After you print the recipe, be sure to hop on over to enter in this giveaway provided by Land O'Lakes!

Curtis loved this dish. I told him we can do some rice next time if he wanted. He said nope, I LOVE the buttered noodles with this dish. Curtis approved. There's lemon in this dish but it's not too overpowering. It's the perfect hint of lemon, along with the fresh herbs and butter…we will be making this dish for a long time! Hope you enjoy it if you try it.

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Lemon & Thyme Chicken with Buttered Egg Noodles Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lemons zested and juiced (for use in recipe below)

Chicken

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cutlets
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 small garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)
• 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Salted Butter divided

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon Land O Lakes® Salted Butter
• 1 teaspoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• fresh thyme leaves from two sprigs of fresh thyme or a sprinkle of dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• Egg noodles with butter thyme and lemon juice to taste
• Salad for serving

Instructions

Lemon & Thyme Chicken

• Bring water to a boil for the egg noodles and add noodles when water is boiling. Prepare according to instructions on the package.
• While waiting for the water to boil, prep the chicken. Beat two eggs in a shallow dish and add 1 teaspoon of the freshly squeezed lemon juice and mix. In another shallow dish, mix lemon zest, garlic, thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Then add breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly. Add chicken to the the dish with eggs and coat. Using a different hand, add chicken to the dish with the breadcrumbs and coat thoroughly. Place chicken on a plate and repeat until all chicken is coated.
• In a nonstick pan, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Salted Butter on medium heat. Add half of the chicken cutlets and cook on each side for 3–5 minutes (timing depends on thickness). Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat and cook the rest of the chicken with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoon of Land O Lakes® Salted Butter.

Sauce

• Once chicken is done, in the same nonstick pan, add 1 tablespoon Land O Lakes® Salted Butter and allow the butter to melt. Add flour and mix with a wooden spoon and cook for about 1–2 minutes. Add fresh thyme leaves; it will sizzle. Mix and cook for about 30–60 seconds. Add chicken broth and white wine; it may bubble up a little bit (turn down the heat if needed). Allow the alcohol to cook off and the sauce to thicken, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice.
• Serve sauce over egg noodles if you'd like. Flavor the noodles with Land O Lakes® Salted Butter, thyme, pepper and lemon juice. Serve with a side salad or your favorite vegetable. The leftover chicken is great on top of a salad!

Disclosure: I've partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of
Land O Lakes® Butter for their Kitchen Conversation blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.

The post {Quick & Easy} Lemon & Thyme Chicken appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

One of my most favorite things to order at an Italian restaurant is clams casino or any kind of seafood with pasta. I love it. I cannot get enough mussels, clams, lobster, whatever, you name it, I love it. When my friend, Ricky, asked me to contribute a recipe to his new guide to Orlando restaurants that highlighted local ingredients…I knew I had to make a seafood pasta dish!

The Food Lovers' Guide to Orlando is out now! It's great, it's packed full of great advice on the best places to eat in the area and includes recipes from some of my blogger friends and my favorite restaurants!

First, I start the water boiling for the pasta. Then, I prep the lobster. Cut along the bottom of the lobster tail and the top too. Then, pull out the tail and chop it up. Scrub the clams.

Melt the butter and cook the garlic. Then, add white wine and olive oil and bring to a boil. Then add the clams. Cook those until most have opened and then add the lobster. Toss in the pasta and serve with parsley and parmesan cheese.

Don't you just want to dive in? The butter adds another dimension to the white wine sauce and I'm thoroughly obsessed with this dish and I hope you will be too! Planning a visit to Orlando anytime soon, be sure to pick this guide up!

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Florida Seafood Pasta in a White Wine Sauce Recipe

Once your family and friends taste this wonderful pasta dish, they won't believe how easy it is to make! I used Florida littleneck clams and Florida lobster along with white wine made from Florida grapes. Serve with a salad made from locally grown greens and your favorite crusty bread.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 3 to 4

Ingredients

• 8 oz. linguine pasta
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup San Sebastian Reserva white wine
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 12-16 Florida littleneck clams scrubbed clean
• 1 Florida lobster tail approx. 3 oz., chopped (remove lobster from shell by cutting through the bottom of the shell with kitchen shears)
• salt and pepper
• 2 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• Parmigiano Reggiano cheese grated (optional)

Instructions

• Bring salted water to a boil and prepare linguine according to instructions.
• Meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed pot or French oven, melt butter on medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add wine and olive oil and bring to a boil on medium high to high heat. Add clams and cook for 7-10 minutes or until all clams have opened up. During the last two minutes of cooking, add the chopped lobster. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the cooked pasta to the seafood pot and mix to allow the clam sauce to coat the pasta. Add parsley and parmigiano reggiano cheese and serve immediately.

Notes

From The Little Kitchen and included in Food Lovers' Guide to Orlando: The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings by Ricky Ly, Globe Pequot 2013

Disclosure: Ricky was nice enough to send me a copy of the Food Lovers' Guide to Orlando and I included affiliate links in this post.

The post Florida Seafood Pasta in a White Wine Sauce appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

Here's what I learned about mussels from Atlantic Canada:

• They are amazingly inexpensive! I found blue mussels from Atlantic Canada sold at Whole Foods and they are sold in 2 lb bags.
• They are cultured/farmed in the ocean on ropes so there's no disruption or dredging of the ocean floor which makes it environmentally friendly and sustainable.
• Blue mussels are harvested year-round which is why they are so affordable.
• They are good for you! They are low in fat, high in protein and Omega 3s.
• They are quick and easy to cook!

I made this Steamed Mussels in White Wine dish for my sisters and brother when we hung for our sibling retreat in November. It turned out fantastic and they all loved it! When I tried mussels at home for myself, I wanted a quick and easy recipe and use olive oil. This dish turned out great and in less than 20 minutes I had it completed.

Serve with butter-garlic bread and dip it in the sauce made from the steaming liquid! It's so good and makes a light dinner! I made this whole pot and ate it all by myself…don't judge, okay?

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White Wine and Olive Oil Steamed Mussels

This appetizer or light meal can be made in less than 20 minutes and tastes amazing! Serve with butter-garlic bread and enjoy!

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 3 lbs Atlantic Canadian mussels rinsed & scrubbed, if necessary
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 bunch of fresh parsley finely chopped
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a French oven or heavy-bottomed pot on high heat for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30-45 seconds.
• Add mussels, wine, cayenne pepper, parsley and water. Stir with a wooden spoon and cover. Cook 5-7 minutes, until all mussels open. Discard any unopened mussels. Serve immediately with broth.

I love seafood and I always say I could have seafood almost every day of the week. I'm definitely going to cook with blue mussels more this year…I would love to hear about your favorite seafood and/or mussels recipes! Do you have a favorite?

Disclosure: Mussel Industry Council provided me with Atlantic Canadian mussels for this recipe. I received no compensation and all opinions are always my own!

The post White Wine and Olive Oil Steamed Mussels appeared first on The Little Kitchen.