Do you grow your own herbs? Cooking is such a joy when you can walk to your back patio or apartment balcony or front porch or massive envy-of-the-neighborhood raised bed garden and pluck fresh tender herb leaves and stems from plants that you’ve nurtured yourself. Fresh herbs will change your cooking life! I promise!!

Basil is a relatively easy plant to grow. It needs two three things to thrive. Dirt, water, and sun. If you can give it a bed of good dirt, promise to water it pretty much daily and put it in a sunny spot – you’re almost guaranteed to have a happy basil plant. One that will continue to produce all summer long if you harvest regularly. Here’s a handy reference guide I wrote in an article about Growing, Harvesting, Using, Storing, Freezing and Drying Fresh Herbs.

This Basil & Herb Vinaigrette is everything! Truly the epitome of fresh, bright, flavor!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

Print

Italian Tossed Green Salad {with Basil & Herb Vinaigrette}

There's something so delicious about a fresh crisp Italian Tossed Green Salad. A few simple ingredients tossed with a nice herby vinaigrette is the perfect start to an Italian themed dinner.

Course Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 3 hearts of romaine chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cucumber sliced or diced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 can ripe black olives
• 1/2 cup ricotta salata cheese (or feta) crumbled
• 1 bag favorite croutons

For the Vinaigrette

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves only
• 1/3 cup fresh oregano and/or parsley and/or cilantro leaves only
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot rough chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

For the Salad

• Combine ingredients in a large salad bowl. Serve with Basil & Herb Vinaigrette.

For the Vinaigrette

• Combine ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Store in an air tight container in refrigerator for up to a week.

The post Italian Tossed Green Salad {with Basil & Herb Vinaigrette} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Swiss Sherry Chicken has become a sentimental favorite recipe in our house.  This recipe is adapted from a popular dish that’s been around for years.  Heavenly mushroom sherry sauce baked over Swiss cheese topped chicken breasts…sprinkled with buttery croutons. Trust me, it works. This is going to become my go-to meal to share with a friend in need of comfort food love.

This recipe begins with a nice thick Cream of Mushroom Soup.  Which is souper easy to make from scratch.  Chopped mushrooms, shallot and garlic sautéed in butter, dusted with flour and thyme then cooked until hot and bubbly; broth and cream whisked in until a nice thickened soup emerges.  Run on sentence I know, however illustrating that from scratch takes only a sentence to describe and not more than 15 minutes to deliver.

Two ingredients make this sauce unique.  Sour cream and sherry in equal doses take this unctuous mushroom soup/sauce to the sentimental level. I’m a girl. You probably knew that. So when someone makes a special dinner for me (us) it becomes sentimental.

Besides making the mushroom sauce from scratch, the  Homemade Croutons and Sautéed Mushrooms further elevate this Sherry Swiss Chicken.

Recipe note:  If you are facing time and/or energy constraints, add the sour cream and sherry to a can of cream of mushroom soup and get happy.  It may not be sentimental but it will still be delicious.

Sherry Swiss Chicken feels like a casserole.  Presents like comfort food.  And delivers flavors that are restaurant worthy.

Print

Swiss Sherry Chicken

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 3 -4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the mushroom sauce…

• 8 ounces mushrooms divided
• 1 shallot minced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 4 Tbl. butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 cup sherry
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• freshly cracked black pepper

For the Swiss sherry chicken…

• 1 1/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 ounces Swiss cheese sliced
• 1 1/2 cups toasted bread cubes
• 4 Tbl. melted better
• parsley for garnish

Instructions

For the mushroom sauce…

• Finely chop mushrooms, reserving 3-4 to be sliced and used later. Sauté chopped mushrooms, shallot and garlic in butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and thyme; stir constantly, cooking 2-3 minutes until thick and bubbly. Whisk in broth, cream and sherry; bring to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Season with freshly cracked black pepper.

For the Swiss sherry chicken…

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat baking dish with cooking spray.
• Pound chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap to an even thickness (about 1-inch). Depending on size, you can cut each breast in half. Place chicken in baking dish; top each piece with Swiss cheese. Pour mushroom sauce over chicken and cheese. Toss toasted croutons with melted butter and sprinkle over top.
• Bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• While chicken is baking, sauté reserved sliced mushrooms until golden brown. Serve chicken sprinkled with sautéed mushroom and chopped parsley.

The post Swiss Sherry Chicken {a sentimental favorite} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.