61 posts tagged “chicken”
Susan the FoodBlogga has one of my favorite blogs. Everything is always so fresh, simple, and beautiful. When I saw she was hosting a blog event, Beautiful Bones, I knew I wanted to participate. The event asks bloggers to make a calcium-rich dish to bring awareness to osteoporosis.
I was actually planning on thinking something up and making it next week for the event, since I already had my dinners planned out for the week. But, as I was reviewing the event on Susan's blog (and also inputting my meal into SparkPeople), I realized the chicken salad I was making was mighty high in calcium. Cheese? Check. Sour cream? Check. Avocado? Check. Black beans? Check. Lime? Check. Corn tortillas? Check. Tomatoes? Check. Oregano? Check. Tequila? Okay, that's not high in calcium but it's good to have.
When it was all said, calculated, eaten and done for, this salad provides you with a shade under 40% of the recommended calcium intake for the day. w00t! It's good to know I am naturally planning calcium rich foods without really thinking about it.
I suppose this is what is called a "Santa Fe Chicken Salad." Honestly, I have never had one of these concoctions before in a restaurant, but that goes without reason. I love all the components in this salad and it's a nice twist on a boring ol' grilled chicken salad. I haven't calculated the nutritional value for this (other than the chicken itself) because it will really vary based on whether you use full fat cheese, sour cream, ranch, etc. If you don't, this is definitely a light, healthy and filling salad. Take that, osteoporosis!
Santa Fe Chicken Salad
Serves 2
Tequila Lime Chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 4.5 oz. each)
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 Tbsp. Tequila
2 Tbsp. orange juice
2 tsp. canola oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. chili powder
2 cloves garlic, smashed
salt and pepper
Combine the lime juice and zest, tequila, orange juice, canola oil, spices and garlic and whisk together. Pour into a dish or resealable bag along with the chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes - 2 hours (any longer and the acid in the citrus could start to "cook" the chicken).
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and then grill or saute the chicken, basting with the marinade, until cooked through (about 4-5 minutes per side).
Nutritional information per piece, if consuming all marinade (which, you probably won't): Calories: 225 / Fat: 7g / Carbs: 4g / Protein: 29g
Dressing
1/4 cup salsa
2 heaping Tbsp. sour cream
2 Tbsp. ranch dressing
hot sauce (optional)
Combine all ingredients (and a few dashes of hot sauce, if you'd like) and refrigerate as you make the rest of the salad.
Salad
3-4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 avocado, diced
1/3 cup black beans, drained/rinsed
1/3 cup corn
1/3 cup cheddar jack cheese
2 corn tortillas
cooking spray
Cut the corn tortillas into squares and spray with oil. Bake at 350 in your oven (or toaster oven, as I like to use for these small jobs) until crispy.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing and then stir in the crispy corn tortillas. Top with chicken.
I love lo mein. It's one of those things I love to eat at a Chinese restaurant (or for take out), but I've never actually made at home. A few weeks ago, I was doing my usual aimless wandering around Whole Foods when I saw some lo mein noodles. I decided to pick some up and, well, here we are.
I made this almost exactly like I make my stir fry and I thought it turned out quite tasty. One of the great things about this is that it's a way to curb your craving for Chinese food without all the fat and oil that is typical of restaurant Chinese restaurant food. In fact, one of my favorite places to get lo mein is SO oily that when I reheat the dish the next day, I usually pour out a good 1/4 cup of grease that has accumulated at the bottom of the container. Ick. Any by "ick" I mean "mmmm tasty, but I really shouldn't eat this."
This is meant to be a healthier version of the dish, so I didn't use a lot of oil but you could definitely add more if you'd like. The addition of the sesame oil at the end gives it a nice extra nutty flavor in addition to making it a little more fatty and luxurious without being horrible :) Some fresh ginger would be great in this, but unfortunately I didn't have any around. And, of course, you can use any vegetables you want, have around, or like.
I am submitting this over to Ruth for Presto Pasta Night.
Chicken Lo Mein
Serves 2
4 oz. lo mein noodles
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 medium chicken breast, cut into strips or bite sized pieces
1/2 small onion, sliced or diced
1 large carrot, cut into coins or matchsticks
1 large celery stalk, sliced
4 oz. mushrooms (I used a combo of shiitake and oyster)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup peapods, whole or sliced
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add lo mein noodles and cook, then drain and rinse under cold water. In a bowl, make your sauce by combining the oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken broth and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Bring canola oil to just under a smoking point in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until done.
Add the vegetables and stir fry until tender-crisp, just a couple minutes. (If you want certain veggies more done, just cook them longer and stagger your vegetable additions; I often add onions around the same time as the chicken because I like my onions to be totally sauted and for their flavor to come through the whole dish).
Add the sauce, and then add the noodles. Mix everything together well. If the veggies need to cook longer, cover and steam until done. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 448 / Fat: 9.4g / Saturated Fat: 1.2g / Carbs: 58g / Fiber: 4g / Protein: 29g
You know, for a foodie, I can be pretty picky. I'm not crazy about most seafood. I hate mayonnaise. The smell of cauliflower alone is enough to make me cringe. And I don't like fruit mixed with my meat.
I'm working on the last one. I've never been one of those pork-chops-and-applesauce-people; never the fan of fruit in a salads. But, lately I have been eating a lot of salads with fresh & dried fruit in them, and I even added some raisins to my Moroccan chicken and lentils. And I loved it. So, I decided I could venture even further into the world of fruit and meat and make chicken with a fruit sauce.
This Cooking Light recipe for raspberry-balsamic chicken has gotten rave reviews, so I thought I'd start there. I changed the method very slightly and settled for blackberry preserves instead of raspberry since the blackberry preserves were seedless and I felt the deeper flavor would go even better with the thyme and balsamic.
This turned out quite tasty! Now, I am not a 100% convert. I liked this, but I still didn't LOVE it. I think if you love fruit and chicken together, this is a really great recipe, even for being so simple and basic. For me, while good, I would still rather save the preserves for my toast and the chicken for my dinner :)
Blackberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken
adapted from Cooking Light
Serves 2
1 tsp. canola oil
2 boneless/skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 cup onion, diced
1.5 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp. seedless blackberry preserves
salt and pepper
In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, heat the oil. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and thyme. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook through, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and keep warm.
Add the onions to the pan and saute until translucent. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and blackberry preserves. Stir continuously until the preserves melt. Serve the sauce over the chicken.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 241 / Fat: 3.7g / Carbs: 23g / Protein: 26.5g
Everyone falls into this trap at one point or another, don't they? You see something on sale and you buy it--because it's on sale. You probably don't need it, you may not even know what to do with it, but there it is with you in the checkout lane. Or so is the case with my package of ground chicken. It was on sale and I bought it. I had no idea what to do with it, so I stuck it in my freezer. When it eventually came out of the depths of my freezer, I had to figure out what I was going to make with this (frankly, extremely unappetizing looking) stuff that has never been in my fridge before.
We eat fairly healthily but if there is one thing I can't do, it's ground turkey. I don't know. I should probably try it again since there are so many great blogs with ground turkey recipes that actually look pretty good. But, what can I say? It's just not my thing. I'm a beef lover. Even at Thanksgiving, my dad and I often sulk over the lack of red meat. I don't eat red meat that often and when I eat it in ground form, I just make sure it's really lean and then I don't feel at all bad eating it. So really, why bother with the alternative? Well, to that point, why bother with the ground chicken!? I am telling you, it truly is because it was on sale! I am a SUCKER! Okay, that and I remembered seeing this chicken pesto burger Nikki made that looked pretty tasty. Originally, I was going to make the same burger since I have some pesto in my freezer from the last batch I made. But, I decided to go a different route (while still keeping the Mediterranean flair) and keep this Greek-inspired. I seasoned the burgers fairly simply and added some cheese (which, as you already know, makes everything better) and then topped them with a chunky tapenade of sorts made from kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes. The result was a juicy, flavorful burger. We liked it, we really liked it! Who knew?! I mean, okay, we obviously like chicken, but like I said, I am not normally one to use it where beef belongs :)
Mediterranean Chicken Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
1 lb. ground chicken (alright, alright...or turkey)
3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1.5 tsp. dried oregano
12 kalamata olives, pitted
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained and chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil (or oil from the tomatoes)
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper
Mix the chicken, feta, parsley, oregano and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Shape into 4 patties. Lightly spray a grill/grill pan with oil and cook the burgers until done, about 5-6 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, make the tapenade by putting the olives, sundried tomatoes, garlic and a little ground pepper in a food processor, pulsing until combined. While pulsing, drizzle in the oil. Top the burgers with the tapenade.
Nutrition Information (this is just for the burgers and topping, not the bun as those will vary greatly): Calories: 212 / Fat: 12.3g / Carbs: 3.1g / Protein: 28g
I'd been thinking about making my corn and pepper bisque again and the other day, I was walking in front of Whole Foods so I stopped in to buy some peppers for the soup. I couldn't remember exactly what kind or how many I used the first time I made it, so I just bought a a little of everything and ended up with an extra poblano. When in doubt of what to do with a small amount of an extra ingredient, always use it as a stuffing in some sort of meat! Or, at least, that's my motto.
I am quickly making my way through the canister of cornmeal I bought recently and specifically for my yiayia's plasto and polenta (sidenote: I didn't like polenta the few times I had it, but I think I would like it if I prepared it myself and made it firmer, as I think the dislike arises primarily from an issue of texture), but I have made neither. I have, however, enjoyed experimenting more with cornmeal, and decided I would experiment some more tonight, using the cornmeal as a crust for the chicken. This was a great change from breadcrumbs and became nice and crunchy when baked in the oven.
I had a nice picture of the chicken before slicing into it, in all its crispity crunchity glory but of course as I was trying to transfer it to my computer I somehow managed to delete it altogether. Whoops!
Cornmeal Crusted Chicken Stuffed with Poblano and Cheddar
2 chicken breast halves
1 poblano pepper
1/3 cup shredded or sliced sharp cheddar
1 egg, beaten and mixed with a Tbsp of water (buttermilk would also be great here)
1/3 cup cornmeal
salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne to taste
Preheat your broiler and then broil the poblano for a couple minutes, turning it once the skin has blistered and blackened. After all sides of the pepper look charred, remove it from the broiler and put it in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to let the pepper cool.
Preheat the oven to 400. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil (for easy clean up) and place a rack/cooling rack on top of it. Spray the rack with cooking spray.
When the pepper is cool enough to handle, peel the skin off (it should come off easily at this point) and dice the poblano. Slit a pocket into the chicken breasts. Stuff the pocket with the diced poblano and cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
Combine the cornmeal with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper to your tastes. Carefully dip the chicken breasts into the egg wash, and then dredge in the cornmeal mixture.
Place the chicken on the rack and spray the top with cooking oil. Bake about 20 minutes or until done, turning once in the middle of cooking.
Nutritional Information (using 4 oz. chicken breast halves and full fat cheddar): Calories: 310 / Fat: 10g / CarbsL 17g / Dietary Fiber: 1.7g / Protein: 35.3
I had every intention of making lasagna rolls yesterday. Aren't these supposed to be the "easier" alternative to lasagna? Me thinks not. I boiled my noodles to al dente (with some oil so that they wouldn't stick together), stirred them around as they cooked. Guess what? Half the noodles stuck together. When I tried to pry them apart from one another, I ended up with some interesting noodle shapes, definitely not suitable for the pretty lasagna rolls I had envisioned.
So, onto Plan B. A regular ol' lasagna (with the torn pieces hidden in the middle layer, of course). I decided to make a healthier-than-usual lasagna, and it turned out really well, even if it wasn't as pretty to photograph as rolls would have been. I wanted to make a vodka sauce with this, but I was out of cream, and after the noodle fiasco, I just decided to use some jarred sauce. I'm just going to say this is pretty healthful and leave it at that (without posting nutritional information), since so many things can vary that based on what you use. I personally used 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, 2% mozzarella (full fat goat & romano cheeses) and about half a jar of jarred pasta sauce. I cut my lasagna into 6 servings, at 370 calories a piece.
Whole Wheat Chicken Lasagna
1/2 box whole wheat lasagna noodles; cooked al dente (this could vary based on size of the noodles; mine were shorter than regular)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded or diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
oregano and basil, to taste
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 cups fresh spinach, coarsley chopped
4 oz. (1 small log) goat cheese
1 egg, beaten
1.5 cups pasta sauce
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded or grated romano cheese
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat a large pan over medium heat and add olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until tender. Stir in the cooked chicken, garlic, oregano, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Add the spinach and saute for a few minutes to develop the flavors and wilt the spinach. Put the mixture into a bowl and cool slightly. Stir in the goat cheese and then the beaten egg.
Spray a baking dish with some cooking oil and then pour about 1/2 cup of pasta sauce over the bottom. Layer 1/3 of the noodles over the sauce, and then pour half the chicken mixture over the noodles. Repeat layering (sauce, noodles, chicken). Add a final layer of noodles, followed by the last 1/2 cup of sauce. Top with the shredded mozzarella and parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.
I'm always missing "events" on my blog. I completely forgot about my 100th post. My blogiversary came out of nowhere, so that all I could muster up was a lame post with a stock photo of a lit candle the day after. And now, I have once again wasted my 200th post on something non-food related: the memes below. Of course, I didn't realize until yesterday that I had 200 posts. D'oh!
But anyway, I'm finally back with something new. It turns out, after 200 posts about food in a little over a year's time, it starts getting difficult to think of things with which to update your blog; not to mention your husband starts asking things like, "do we ever eat anything twice?" We do, of course! That's why I haven't updated my blog. I've been making "staples!"
Tonight, I decided to make something with lentils because I was in the mood for a non-carby carb, if that makes sense (No? Well, too bad). It's nice that lentils are carby without being too caloric. Plus, I never miss rice or pasta when I eat them. They are definitely something I didn't appreciate until later in life, but I'm glad lentils and I have reconnected.
I've been meaning to make something Moroccan-inspired for weeks now and I finally got around to it. Like Greek cuisine, Moroccan food tends to pair meat with sweet flavors, like allspice and cinnamon, which I love. But Moroccan cuisine tends to have a little more heat and smokiness to it. I made the rub for the chicken thighs with things I had on hand but of course you could make your own to suit your tastes (or your pantry). This would be great with some squash or eggplant but since I didn't have any, I just used some carrots and celery to bulk up the veggies a bit. This was very tasty, filling and really healthy.
Moroccan Chicken with Lentils
Serves 2
1-1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp allspice
4 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over
1/4 cup raisins
salt and pepper
Mix the first 7 ingredients, along with some salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Pat dry the chicken thighs and rub each thigh, on both sides, with a quarter of the mixture. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the chicken and brown on both sides. Remove.
To the pan, add the onion and cook until translucent. Stir in the garlic, celery and carrots and saute for an additional minute. Add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaf, lentils, raisins and salt and pepper. Place the chicken thighs on top. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then cover. Simmer for about 35-40 minutes until the lentils are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
Nutritional Info Per Serving (two thighs, based on SparkRecipes; as I have noted before chicken thigh nutritional information is apparently impossible to keep consistent so this could be off). Calories: 395.4 / Fat: 12.7g / Carbs: 36.4g / Dietary Fiber: 7.4g / Protein: 34.6
Tonight's dinner came together in no time. In fact, if I hadn't marinated the chicken (which honestly isn't really necessary, but does help), dinner would have been on the table in well under 20 minutes.
A while back I made some za'atar mix, a popular Lebanese spice mixture made of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds. I decided to use the leftovers on some chicken thighs. I always have chicken thighs in my freezer. I LOVE dark meat chicken. It is so much more moist and flavorful than white meat and it holds up so well in braising and in broiling. And, if you skin the chicken, it's really not a whole lot worse for you than chicken breasts, just a little higher in fat.
I was planning on serving this with couscous until I realized right before dinner that we were out of couscous. D'oh! Luckily, I did have some quinoa on hand so I used that instead. Quinoa is a very healthy seed, though it's treated as a grain in cooking. It's a little larger than couscous in size with a nutty flavor somewhat similar to brown rice. Thankfully, it takes a lot less time to cook than brown rice, too, so I wasn't scrambling TOO much when I realized we were out of couscous. Plus, Tom prefers quinoa to couscous, so that's a bonus.
In addition to the quinoa, I served these with a simple cucumber and feta salad. This was a really simple, easy meal that turned out great. The chicken was so moist and flavorful, especially considering the extremely short list of ingredients.
Broiled Za'atar Chicken Thighs
Serves 2
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 lemon, juiced
1 heaping Tbsp. za'atar
salt and pepper (optional)
Mix lemon juice with za'atar mix. Rub the mixture onto the chicken thighs and refrigerate for half an hour.
Preheat the broiler and spray the broiler pan with some cooking spray. Sprinkle the chicken with a little salt and pepper if desired. Broil for approximately 6 minutes per side, or until done.
Nutritional Information per serving (2 thighs); note: I found a few different calorie counts for boneless/skinless chicken thighs. I went with the higher amount, just to be on the safe side. Calories: 233 / Fat: 11g / Carbs: 2g / Protein: 27.5g
Simple Quinoa with Pine Nuts
Serves 2
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for about one minute. Add the quinoa and the broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is cooked, about 12-15 minutes. Top with toasted pine nuts.
You can make this with couscous the same way but of course couscous only takes a couple minutes to cook.
I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I hate mayo. Loathe it, really. Just looking at the way it jiggles in the cup when someone asks for it on the side of something at a restaurant makes me ill. Ick! So, as you may have gathered, I am not too big on most picnic type foods, like chicken/egg/potato/pasta salads, deviled eggs, etc. When I make potato and pasta salads, I always use a vinaigrette-based dressing. I must admit, though, that I've never made chicken salad. When I saw a recipe for chicken salad with asparagus and sundried tomato dressing from Cook's Illustrated, I knew I had to try it.
I served this over some swiss chard and also with crostini (with goat cheese spread on it). Overall, the flavor on this was good. I think it needs more dressing (at least when it's served over greens) but I admit I did reduce the amount of olive oil slightly to make it a little lighter, so that contributed to it being underdressed, no doubt.
While I liked the asparagus and sundried tomatoes in this chicken salad (and, of course, the goat cheese and pine nuts!), I think I prefer chicken salad I had at a local coffee shop, which has since closed. Their chicken salad had pesto and hearts of palm. So, at some point, I will try to make a copycat version of that. But, overall we did like this recipe.
Chicken Salad with Asparagus and Sundried Tomato Dressing
Cook's Illustrated
Serves 5-6
3.5 lb. whole chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper (I actually just used a roasted chicken I picked up at my grocery store)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus an additional tablespoon
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained, rinsed and chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed (I used 2)
1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1 cup chopped fresh basil
3 ounces crumbled goat cheese (optional)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (I probably used closer to 1/4 cup)
If you are roasting your own chicken, season it with salt and pepper and then roast it in the middle of a 375 degree oven until done. When cool, pull the meat from the bones and set aside 5 cups. If you have more, just save it for a different use.
Puree the oil, vinegar, sundried tomatoes, garlic and 1/4 tsp salt and 1/s tsp pepper in a food processor/blender until smooth. Transfer for a bowl.
Heat the remaining oil in a skillet and cook the asparagus (seasoned with salt and pepper) until almost tender, about 3 minutes. Let cool.
Add the cooled asparagus and the basil to the vinaigrette, stirring to combine. Add the chicken to combine and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with goat cheese and pine nuts, if you want.
Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody fame has recently moved into what is probably one of the cutest houses I've seen. She has asked people to bring a dish to her virtual housewarming party, and I've been trying to figure out for a few days now what to bring. Since a lot of Peabody's blogging friends are bakers, I figure many of the dishes brought will be desserts, so I decided to "bring" something savory. The decision was made much easier by the fact that baking is not what you would call my "strong suit." In fact, you'd probably call it my weakness. So, no need to try and compete with all those wonderful bakers!
I ended up picking avgolemono (egg-lemon rice) soup, not only because I love making soups and it's Greek, but because Seattle has had its first snowfall, and I figure something warm and comforting is good. I am "serving" the soup in mugs so it's easier to eat at a potluck, and it's even served on a special trivet, just for Peabody...a hockey puck. I considered using my Lidstrom jersey under the mug, but I don't think self-proclaimed Red Wings hater Peabody would like that much. Or, maybe she would, in hopes that the soup would spill all over the jersey ;)
Avgolemono is probably the easiest soup in the world to make; not that it tastes that way. The thing is, because it has so few ingredients (4, if you're not adding chicken), you really want to use homemade stock for this soup to make sure it has good flavor. I suppose you could use a good quality store bought stock, but I'm going to be a little Ina Garten here and strongly suggest homemade stock.
Soupa Avgolemono
serves 6
8 cups homemade chicken stock or good quality store-bought stock
1 cup rice (I prefer short grain because it's starchier and will help to thicken the soup but if you don't want the rice to be as soft or the soup to be as thick, use long grain)
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken (optional)
3 eggs
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (more or less, depending on how tart you want the soup)
salt and pepper
In a stockpot or dutch oven, bring the stock to a low boil and add the rice. Simmer until the rice is cooked, and then stir in the chicken just to heat through. Season to taste. Take the dutch oven off the heat.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs together with the lemon juice. Slowly drizzle some of the broth from the soup into the egg-lemon mixture, whisking constantly so as not to scramble the egg. Do about 2 ladles full of broth. Then, slowly pour the whole mixture back into the stockpot, again whisking constantly.
Sprinkle the soup with fresh ground pepper and serve with lemons, if desired.
