My journey of cooking, gardening, preserving and more
What? You don’t like Brussels sprouts? How can you not love them? If the only way you’ve ever had Brussels sprouts is from a frozen package and then boiled to death, I’d like to think you’re in for a treat. But the reality is, some …
I do a lot of canning but Sunday was my first attempt at canning tomatillo salsa. Last year I roasted them and then froze them, but we have such an overload this year that I thought canning them was a longer lasting solution. It came …
Looking for an easy, delicious lamb shoulder chop marinade recipe? If you don’t believe me, be sure to read the comments. This is one of my favorite ways to make lamb and I’m sorry, but here’s the only photo I captured from this dinner:
This is quick and easy – it doesn’t take long because the acidity of the lemons makes quick work out of the marinade. This is an easy lamb shoulder chop recipe but of course, the marinade works well with any cut of lamb.
If you don’t have fresh oregano, make sure you use the highest-quality dried oregano that you can
Place your lamb shoulder chops in a shallow dish or pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and rub both sides of chops well. Let sit at room temperature for about 35-45 minutes or cover and refrigerate overnight. Be sure if you refrigerate to bring back to room temperature for 30 minutes or so, before cooking.
Preheat oven to 375
Heat a heavy, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Drain the marinade from your lamb chops into the pan and heat, about 3-4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add the chops. Let sear about 4 minutes, turn and brown lightly on the other side, about 3 minutes.
Place pan with chops in oven and finish off, about 8-10 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Don’t over-think this…the lemon, oregano, garlic, and oil come together beautifully with the lamb. Even if you overcook the chops a bit, this marinade (due to the acidity of the lemon) is very forgiving.
It’s quick, easy and flavorful and you all know how much I love that. In fact, I love it so much that we were halfway through dinner before I realized I forgot to take a photo of the finished chops.
If you love lamb, be sure and check out my other lamb recipes!
As you can see, lamb can be very easy to prepare. Enjoy!
Zucchini bread is a must-make for me come the end of summer. It’s a great way to use some of my zucchini overload and, bonus, it freezes really well. This comes in handy when the days are cold and I’m craving some. Zucchini Bread Recipe …
If you grow green beans, you know how quickly they can overwhelm you with their bounty. Here’s one of my go-to, easy ways to serve them. Did I mention this is really, really easy? Sesame Green Bean Salad Recipe Take a couple of cups of …
Want to impress your friends and family with a super easy and delicious recipe? I never considered making my own ricotta cheese until I stumbled across it in one of my food magazines a few years ago.
I’m dying to try my hand at using it in homemade ravioli, but I haven’t yet. It’s great with sliced fresh tomatoes from you garden though, and I love it just schmeared on a slice of toasted French or Italian bread. Add some diced roasted tomatoes and a couple of slivers of fresh basil and you’ll fall in love. It’s also a great crostini appetizer schmeared on toasted baguette slices, with a spread of homemade pesto put on first. Of course, it’s also great in homemade lasagna or any type of stuffed pasta you’re craving.
I think people are impressed by this recipe because, like me, it’s not something you really think about making yourself. But the results are DIVINE. Seriously delicious. It’s so much creamier and flavorful than store-bought ricotta and I think once you try it, you’ll be hooked too.
I think the only thing you’ll need for this that you may not already have is cheesecloth. If you don’t have it and don’t know where to find it, it’s usually with the kitchen utensils at the grocery store or department store.
First, get your cheese strainer ready to go. You’ll need:
Here are the ingredients:
Depending on how I’m going to use it will depend on the amount of lemon juice. 4 tablespoons add more of a definite lemon flavor, whereas 3 just acts as more of a fresh acidity. In this batch, I used 4 tablespoons.
Juice your lemons so the juice is ready to use when you need it. I used about 2 lemons for the 4 tablespoons I wanted, but of course, this will depend on the lemon.
Add the milk, cream and salt to a large pan. Bring to a slow boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching the milk and cream. This step takes about 20 minutes or so for me, as I’d rather err on the safe side and not have the heat too hot.
When it’s reached a slow boil, reduce to a simmer and add the fresh lemon juice. With a large spoon, stir to incorporate the lemon juice into the dairy mixture.
After 2-3 minutes or so, it should look like this:
I don’t like to stir mine too much, as I like mine with larger, softer curds. If you want smaller, tighter curds, then stir more often while it’s cooking.
After your 2-3 minutes is up, gently and carefully pour into your prepared strainer:
Wait 60 seconds and, over a sink, carefully drain off the liquid that’s accumulated in the bottom bowl then place back under the colander. Refrigerate for one hour, letting the rest of the liquid drain off the cheese.
This is a little bowl of nirvana right here:
A couple of notes from making this a lot:
Don’t be discouraged if it takes longer than 2-3 minutes for your cheese to form curds. It’s going to depend on the temperature of the dairy mixture and how much lemon juice you add. I’ve also used half lemon juice and half white vinegar for this, due to being low on lemons, and it worked great. Either way, it’s the acidity that’s making your dairy curdle. Sometimes, it takes longer than others.
Also, don’t expect the entire batch to curdle – there’s going to be some liquid left over – probably more than you expected – which is why you strain it.
Last but not least – I’ve used organic milk for this and non-organic and it’s worked great no matter which one I use. I have not, however, tried it with skim or low-fat milk so if you have, I’d love to hear your results.
If you love ricotta cheese, I hope you’ll try this! It really is a simple process that’s totally worth the end result. Enjoy!
Pesto is pretty versatile – I serve it over hot pasta or make a cold pasta salad with it, I spread it on toasted baguette slices for an easy appetizer, I brush a bit of it on chicken before roasting…the possibilities seem endless. Pesto is …