The Delights of Land and Sea

This is a feast of land and sea!  The chicken and shrimp go really well together in a lemony, buttery sauce, and the light side of veggies keeps you from feeling too laden down or heavy.  I make this meal for my husband when he's craving extra protein. :)

The Meat

- 2 fresh chicken breasts

- shaved parmesan cheese

- salt, pepper to taste

- 1 pound of wild shrimp, peeled and deveined

The Veggies

- 2 golden beets, cubed

- 1 large heirloom tomato, chopped

- 3 green onion stalks, sliced

- 4 white mushrooms, thinly sliced

- 1 cup fresh spinach, loosely chopped

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- 1 teaspoon lemon juice

- salt, pepper to taste

The Sauce

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 3 teaspoons lemon juice

- parsley, dill, mustard seed, salt, pepper to taste

You can bake or grill the chicken breasts - I fake-grilled mine on my griddle pan, but if you'd prefer to bake it, heat your oven to 400 degrees and pop the chicken in there for around 20 minutes or until the juices run clear.  Since I had such thick pieces of chicken, it took around 16-18 minutes for me to cook my chicken on the pan, turning twice.  In the last minute I placed some shaved parmesan on top of my chicken to melt onto it and make it extra tasty.

I boiled the beets in the water for around 20 minutes until they were soft and their flavor wasn't so intense.  I enjoy beets, but sometimes their earthy flavor is overwhelming.  After the beets were ready I sauteed the rest of the veggies without draining the leftover liquid from the beets.  I cooked it all on medium-low heat with the lemon juice, olive oil, and the shrimp.  Stirring continuously, I cooked the whole mixture together for around 8 more minutes, until the shrimp were pink all the way through.  

For the sauce I just threw together some lemon, butter, and a little more oil with some seasoning.  I melted down the butter in a small pan on low heat and then tossed the sauce in with the veggies and shrimp, coating everything lightly.  It's a great meal, totally satisfying.  The softness of the tomato and spinach go well with the texture of the chicken and the shrimp are a delight.  I poured the veggies and shrimp on top of the chicken, so the chicken had a chance to soak up a bit of the lemony sauce throughout the course of the meal.  Yum.