Key Lime Chicken and Peppers and Peas Salad

Last week we forgot to make a new recipe, so we doubled up this week. Both of these recipes appeared in the food section of The Birmingham News a few weeks ago.

Sarah made the chicken and I made the salad.

Key Lime Chicken

8 oz. chicken cutlets (we used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

2 T. unsalted butter, divided (we used salted butter)

1 T. minced green onion, white part only

1 T. grated fresh ginger

2 T. fresh Key lime juice (alas, we had to use regular limes because we could not find Key limes anywhere!)

1 t. soy sauce

minced fresh cilantro

Sprinkle chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Melt 1 T. butter in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken cutlets; cook until browned on both sides and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. (Sarah cooked the chicken breasts a little longer to make certain they were cooked through.) Transfer to a serving plate; keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium; add remaining tablespoon of butter to skillet. Add onion and saute until golden, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add ginger; stir in lime juice and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; spoon over chicken. Sprinkle with cilantro to serve. Makes 2 servings. (We tripled the recipe and had no leftovers.)

This was a winner, and we'll make it again.

Peppers and Peas Salad

2 bell peppers, yellow, red or orange

1 t. olive oil

4 strips bacon

1/2 can cannelloni beans, drained

1/2 can cooked peas, drained

3 T. snipped dill weed (fresh)

1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese

white pepper and salt to taste

1 T. lemon juice (fresh)

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

3 T. pine nuts, toasted

Slice peppers in half lengthwise, discarding seeds and membrane. Set aside. Heat 1 t. olive oil in skillet and cook bacon until crisp. Combine beans, peas, dill, crumbled bacon, feta, salt and pepper. Add lemon juice and olive oil. Toss and mix well. Carefully spoon mixture into pepper halves and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.

We doubled this recipe, and I mixed in the nuts and sprinkled the feta on top. I liked it a lot. That's good, because I will be eating it for the next several meals as no one else was thrilled with it. Steve would call this "lady food."