Easter is coming, the family will be here, the kids will be hungry, and you know what that means: Dinner. We need to have it made, with as few steps as possible! Any body with me? I really think that you can pull off a tasty meal and I promise to show you how.
So what's on the menu? None other than an Easter favorite Rosemary Roasted Lamb chops and Red Potatoes dish with Fresh Green Beans. (Let me start off by saying that this is not my original photo but giving credit to it's author, it serves as a guide for a really delicious and balanced meal.) Now, let move forward with our shopping list for our special dinner. You'll need:
A package of 4-6 medium cut lamb chops
A bag of red potatoes
A fresh bag of microwavable green beans
Extra virgin olive oil
Three springs of fresh rosemary (you can usually find these over the bags salads in your produce section)
One tablespoon onion powder
salt and pepper
*(This recipe adequately feeds a family of 4-6)
Directions: Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and start setting all of your ingredients.
For Easter dinner I typically like to have either a cold potato salad or a roasted potato dish. We're going with the roasted potatoes this time because it's a lot less work than potato salad but just as delicious.
Remove your lamb chops from their packaging and give them a quick rinse. Line a 11x14x 2 inch baking dish or your trusted roasted pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper (for easy clean-up;-) Drizzle your lamb chops with olive oil, salt, pepper, and two of your sprigs of fresh rosemary, un-chopped, laying across.
Add 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the pan and cover with a foil top for about 20 minutes. We want to keep the chops moist almost to the end of our cooking process. Take the foil off for the last 5-10 minutes to give them a nice little crust, but no longer as we do not want the chops dry out.
When the lamb is done remove it from the oven and sprinkle with the half tablespoon of onion powder.
Next, ( and you can do this step while you lamb is in the oven or knock them both out at once, but be sure to check the doneness of your potatoes)
Wash and quarter half of your red potatoes (about 2 pounds). In a large bowl, toss potatoes, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, rosemary sprig chopped, salt, pepper, and half a tablespoon of onion powder. Again, in on a foil lined cookie sheet (with a rim around the edge) bake in the oven at 350 for twenty minutes or until done.
Steam your bag of green beens. If you really want to get fancy make this dressing and drizzle it over your green beens and throw some silvered almonds over the top, other wise, I am sure that a little olive oil, salt and pepper to taste will do fine. (Olive oil, salt and pepper always make things taste better in my opionion!)
And there you have it...Easter dinner in a bag! Want to add a dessert to the equation? Have a guest pick something quick up on the way in. If you're like me, you've been sampling all those yummy creme & pound cakes near the bakery section at your local supermarket. After a long day of an easter egg hunt, and getting dressed up, trust me, no one will be upset that you didn't bake too!
Hoppy Easter everyone! Enjoy the ones you love,
& as always,
Happy Cooking!
Chemeeka
