Some mornings I wake up wondering what should I make for lunch and dinner before I head out to work. There are things that some of my family members like while others don’t. I can neither keep on making the same dish over and over again, nor can I manage the right ingredients immediately when someone asks me for a certain dish. At times like these, I end up believing that choosing what to cook is far more difficult a task than cooking itself.
Dutch Oven Chicken Recipe
So, I’ve come up with an easy recipe and all you need are a dutch oven and potatoes with some lemon and chicken that might be right in your house. This makes for a good, quick morning recipe for those who are facing the early rush hours. Gathering the right ingredients would take around 20 minutes, but the cooking process would not take more than an hour. Yes, it’s that easy and simple! You can even get ready for work while it cooks. This recipe does not have much fat, so I can assure you that it will not raise your calorie intake as much as you think it would. Get ready to make juicy dutch oven chicken breast recipes with a taste that you would remember for a long time!
Ingredients
- Take 6 medium-sized potatoes that have been peeled and sliced into thin pieces
- Pick one large onion and chop it into pieces
- You’ll also need salt, lemon pepper, and pepper that you’ll add according to taste
- Take 2 small-sized lemons, each cut into half
- Take 1 pound of chicken breast pieces
- You’ll need 2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
- Take 1 tsp garlic powder and 0.5 tsp paprika
Methods
It’s time to put your dutch oven to good use. First preheat your dutch oven to 425 degrees F. You can either do it on a stove or in your oven. (Safety Tip: Don’t put it in your microwave oven). Cover the surface of the dutch oven with extra virgin oil. Then add thin slices of potatoes and chopped onions in the bottom of the oven. Also, season using salt, lemon pepper, and pepper according to your preferred taste. Additionally, add half of the paprika and garlic powder you initially took. Cover both sides of the chicken breast pieces with lemon pepper, salt, and pepper, and place them over the onions and potatoes. Ensure that the chicken pieces are facing upwards. Then add the remaining half of the paprika and garlic powder mixture. Pour lemon juice on the top and then add those lemon pieces you cut in half.
Allow the entire mixture to bake for an hour after covering your dutch oven. When the cooking process is over, check if the dutch oven potatoes are tender and the onions look caramelized. Also, check if your chicken is properly cooked. You could brown the dish more by placing the oven under a broiler. Keep it there until you see your desired color. Let the dish cool for 15 minutes approximately and then serve. If you want you can add more flavors, such as rosemary.
Dutch Oven Lasagna Recipe
While making roasted chicken early in the morning is something you can definitely try, you also want something special, especially in the wee afternoon hours. After a long tiring day, you come home and find there is nothing in the fridge. It’s a real frustration to see an empty fridge. You won’t feel like cooking something that would take hours to make. You want something quick, easy and super delicious. A good solution to your hungry tummy is a homemade lasagna! A traditional lasagna dish is difficult to make but this recipe is very easy because all you need are a stove and that handy dutch oven you have in your kitchen.
Yes, you can make this comfort food easily with a dutch oven. Preparing the ingredients should take about 15 minutes, while the cooking process should take around an hour. Once prepared, you can’t simply get over the cheesy taste. So, go ahead and satiate your thirst for something Italian with this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 beaten egg
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 9 ounces of lasagna noodles that are not boiled
- 15 ounces of cottage cheese
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley minced
- 2 cups of mozzarella cheese shredded
- Marinara sauce
- 1 pound Italian ground sausage
- 1 pound beef ground chuck
- 1 medium sized diced yellow onion
- 0.5 cup Parmesan grated
- ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes
- 0.5 cup chicken broth
- Chopped basil
Methods
Mix the beaten egg, cottage cheese, and parsley together in a small bowl set aside. Heat your dutch oven on medium temperature and allow the chuck and sausage to attain a brownish color. Set aside the meat, keeping 2 tbsps of fat. If there is not enough fat you can add 2 tbsps of olive oil. Keep the drained meat in a heatproof bowl aside.
Saute the onion on the dutch oven until it appears to be translucent and then add garlic. Continue cooking for the next 30 seconds. Then add chicken broth, red pepper flakes along with 42 ounces of marinara sauce. Cook the mixture for 5 more minutes. Now transfer this mixture into the bowl containing beef and combine all of these ingredients.
Now heat your dutch oven on low temperature and add 2 cups of marinara mixture in the bottom. Now add a layer of lasagna noodles on top of the marinara mixture and cover it. Ladle out the layer of noodles with an extra layer of marinara mixture.
Add a few spoonfuls of the cottage cheese and egg mixture over the mixture inside the dutch oven. Then add mozzarella cheese and Parmesan. Add this layer three times more with the cottage cheese mixture. Maintain the low heat and cook with the Dutch oven covered. Cook for half an hour and see if your noodles are properly cooked and softened well. Place the dutch oven under a broiler and let the cheese become brown. Remove lasagna from heat and then add basil for garnishing. Allow the dish to cool for around 10 minutes, then serve.
People often hesitate to use your dutch oven to make lasagna or cook chicken, mostly because they like to stick to old and familiar methods. Dutch ovens are made of cast iron and come with a lid that allows retaining the heat inside food for a longer period of time. Although this feature is definitely good for campfire cooking, it can also be equally handy inside home kitchens. With a dutch oven, you can roast chicken and make lasagna without wasting too much time behind the traditional and time-consuming methods that you would otherwise follow. Moreover, dutch oven allows consistent heating throughout cooking, giving you more options to cook. Try and experiment with different recipes and you’ll find yourself a very good cook.
Both these recipes are highly nutritious and perfect for quick recipes that you need in the morning and crave for during the evening. You can use your dutch oven to make other healthy recipes, such as salads, stews, soups and what not. So if you have guests coming over, you know what to do. Grab that dutch oven and get ready to cook!
