how to incorporate lemons into your dinner...

This post is a non-dessert food post, are you shocked? And no I am not pregnant or loosing my taste buds for all things sweets. I wanted to challenge myself to find recipes that incorporated lemons into my dinner or main dishes rather than just settle for making lemony desserts. I have two dishes for you today that actually in both dishes use lemon juice and zest. Double lemon whammy is what I call it!
The first dish is what we had for our Easter dinner on Sunday, lamb shoulder chops.
All you need is some lamb shoulder chops, 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, 3 medium garlic cloves, pressed, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
In a cup combine the lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.


Pour the contents of the cup all over the lamb shoulder chops.


Turn your oven onto broil, and place a cast-iron skillet or a metal skillet in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, place the lamb shoulder chops in the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes depending on their thickness.
Then serve, eat and enjoy!
Also for our Easter dinner, we had steamed asparagus topped with lemon zest.

Last night for dinner we had lemon spaghetti to continue to use up the lots of lemons I was blessed with by my friend Laura.
It was quick and simple and produced great results.
All you need for a pound of spaghetti is 2/3 cup olive oil, 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1/3 cup chopped basil.
Cook your spaghetti noodles. In a small bowl combine the olive oil, Parmesan cheese and lemon juice.



Once the noodles are cooked, strain them but reserve the pasta water. Throw the spaghetti noodles back in the dish they were cooking and pour the olive oil lemon juice mixture over the noodles then stir to combine.

Once fully combined, season the noodles with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle the chopped basil and zest a lemon over the pasta. Now you serve, eat and enjoy!

Oh and Kip may have tried to sneak a bite or two of the spaghetti.

I have given you three different ways to incorporate either lemon juice or zest into a main or side dish. Using fresh ingredients, such as lemon juice or zest, means your dish will taste better and you don't have to load butter or salt into your meal to make it taste good. Remember, fresh is best!

30 comments:

Michelle said...

I add lemon to a lot of my meals. This all looks so yummy!

Unknown said...

We had a healthy twist on lemon chicken last night & I loved it. I'll have to try the lemon spaghetti next!

always, koru kate

Alissa said...

MM. I have such a hard time not posting dessert recipes; I have such a sweet tooth! Lemon is such a versatile ingredient and I really need to incorporate it into my savory meals.

erica said...

What great ideas! Thanks so much for sharing. I definitely will have to try to incorporate lemons more often. xx

Sarah said...

I love lemon pasta, had that the other night but with angel hair pasta, yum! Might have to make that this weekend or next week. Thanks for the dishes!

Susie Dickson said...

We had a very similar spaghetti dish for dinner last night, except instead of basil we used Italian parsley and we added garlic – so good! I love lemons in cooking and I'm definitely eager to give this lamb dish a try.

Sea and Swank

McKenna Lou said...

All of these look amazing! I would love to try that pasta dish. xx. McKenna Lou
www.lynnandlou.com

Discovery Street said...

Lemon spaghetti?! That sounds sooooo yummy!!!

Faith said...

Yum! I completely never thought of a lemon spaghetti!

I love incorporating lemons into my meals!

Unknown said...

i love seeing patterns with things people are passionate about in their blog posts. your lemon obsession always makes me smile. it also makes me want to go plant some lemongrass in my kitchen for fresh citrusy smells! yummy looking dinner!

<3becky
www.loosefromthezoo.com

Darby Hawley said...

hahaha Kip that was a great photo bomb with your mama! So cute

Meg you're on a roll with all of these lemon posts! I'm so inspired!

REBrown said...

Lemon is a great marinade - I almost always throw some in when I marinate steak.

Susannah said...

Both those dishes look absolutely fabulous!!! I love cooking with lemon juice. :-)

{The Perfect Palette} said...

Um, that pasta is looking pretty ridiculously good right about now! Doesn't hurt that it's so close to dinner and I've been eating super healthy here lately. I. miss. pasta.

xoxo,
The Perfect Palette

Anonymous said...

LOVE this. That spaghetti looks DELICIOUS. xo, Julie
www.fromproseccotoplaid.com

carrieburke said...

I love when lemon is incorporated into dishes! It gives any dish a nice little kick that you weren't expecting (:

- Carrie

Anonymous said...

LOL at that last picture!

Postcards from Rachel said...

Awww, look at your cute pup.

I always make lemon sauce for my meals! It tastes great on chicken. :)

applesandglue said...

Everything looks so delicious, wow. I love lemon in my food. :)

Betty said...

I love lemons and limes with my food (and beverages)...such a great flavor! Your recipes look fantastic!

Lindsey A. said...

All of this looks great. I will definitely be trying the lemon and basil spaghetti this summer. (Our dogs always try to take a bite at dinner too so they'll appreciate these recipes as well!)

aki! said...

Ohhh. That looks yummmmmy. I love lamb in the spring time.

7% Solution​

lauren said...

i've never had lamb chops so i don't know that i would make that (although it looks really tasty!) but the spaghetti is my type of meal! thanks for posting these recipes :)

Amy Breckenridge said...

that last photo of you and your dog made me smile!! :) i absolutely love lemon and use it baking sometimes, but i'm not so talented in the cooking department. thanks for sharing your tips!
xoamy
www.cupcakesncouture.com

Sarah Alway said...

That steamed asparagus looks delish, and I would really like to try the lemon spaghetti, too! Way to go being creative with lemon... I think all I would have thought of would be to squeeze it over fish.

Kelly said...

Yum! That all looks so good.

Jill J. said...

I make lemon spaghetti all of the time...I love it! Lemon is good on pretty much anything. We have a huge bowl at home and I go through like 10 in a week! I need a lemon tree!

Jill
Classy with a Kick

birdie to be said...

I love the added lemon! And what a cute pic of you :)

Jennifer @ Delightfully Noted said...

All of this looks delicious but I'm a sucker for pasta so that looks the best!

Carol {Everyday Delights} said...

I love cooking with lemons! Now if only I had a lemon tree...