CJ's Birthday Lunch

It's birthday week here at CJLA, as we celebrate another year of life for our founder, Carly! And on Monday, we had a team lunch to kick off the birthday festivities! And Carly's birthday lunch request... a home cooked meal with some of her favorite recipes! We had a apple pecan salad with brown butter rice and chicken, topped off with brown butter Rice Krispie Treats as a yummy dessert! And because we had one of the best meals yet, we wanted to share her favorite dishes for y'all to enjoy! 

Let's start off with the main course: Lori's Perfect Chicken!

Lori’s Perfect Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken thighs

Fresh garlic, finely chopped

Lori’s Perfect Chicken seasoning

Directions:

Cover a a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty foil. Place chicken thighs on the foil and top with garlic, seasoning and olive oil. Make sure thighs are coated in the olive oil on both sides. Cook at 365° for 20 to 30 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165°.

And of course, a great complement to this delicious chicken is Carly's favorite brown butter rice recipe!

CJ’s Brown Butter Rice

Ingredients:

6 cups dry rice, cooked— (make rice in a rice cooker or on the stove)

A stick of butter

1 Finely chopped onion

Salt, pepper and garlic seasoning OR TJ’s Greek seasoning to taste

Directions:

In a large cast iron pot, brown the butter, then add the onion + spices and sauté until onion is soft. Add cooked rice, mix and serve.

The best way to complete the trio? A delicious salad, one of Carly's all time faves!

CJ’s Maple Balsamic Salad

Ingredients:

Organic Baby greens

Blue cheese, crumbled

Candied pecans

Apple, chopped

Dressing: (shake together in a jar)

*these measurements are an estimate, so you can adjust to your liking!*

1/8 cup Maple syrup

1/3 cup Balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup Olive oil

salt + pepper to taste 

Directions:

Toss salad ingredients together! 

Needing a delicious drink to complement your meal? Try making this delicious iced tea for your guests! 

Brew Good Earth Tea, and serve in a pitcher with fresh orange slices and fresh mint. Add honey, if desired.

Now it's time for dessert! For our birthday lunch, we had some DELICIOUS brown butter Rice Krispie Treats, tossed with some sprinkles to add a pop of color! The original recipe is from this link here, however we added a slight variation by adding sprinkles!

We hope you loved reading these recipes! Should we share more of Carly's favorite dishes and meals?! Let us know in the comments down below!