Archives for posts with tag: entree

I made this recipe on Wednesday night. I was going to post it on Thursday. However, I had my very first migraine! It was debilitating! I was down for the count from 1am until about 7pm. I was able to muster up the strength to take the boys outside so they could get their wiggles out. But the thought of sitting in front of a computer screen was even more nauseating. Yesterday I was just busy with the kiddos. Here were are on Saturday morning. Recently I have been getting cravings for asparagus. It must be what happens when you get into your 30’s! HA! I have been incorporating it into dishes here and there. Thankfully my family is enjoying it as well.

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Lemony Parm Chicken and Asparagus 

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • drizzle of olive oil to taste
  • 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • sea salt to taste
  • fresh black pepper to taste
  • 1 bunch of asparagus
  • handfuls of spinach, chopped
  • 3/4 oz container of chives
  • parmesan cheese, to taste.
  • Brown/red rice, to serve over, optional

Heat the garlic in the pan with the olive oil. Once fragrant, add the chicken. Begin to cook chicken through. Add the vinegar, lemon juice, thyme, sea salt, and black pepper. Cook until you no longer see pink. Meanwhile, cut the asparagus into smaller pieces. Once the chicken is no longer pink, add the asparagus. Cook uncovered for a few minutes. Cover, and continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through and the asparagus is tender. Remove cover, add the chopped spinach and chives. Turn heat down. Let spinach wilt. Turn off heat and serve over rice.

Have I ever mentioned that I love rice? Ha! Forbidden rice is my favorite rice. I discovered it at a restaurant a couple years ago while we were away for the weekend celebrating our wedding anniversary. I then HAD to find it for my own kitchen. I use Lotus Foods Forbidden Rice. As usual, this dish comes with lots of veggies. I had a hankering for something with ginger. It was just sitting there looking lovely at Whole Foods, so I grabbed a knob of it. Then I combined all of these flavors for this light and spicy dish.
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Sesame Ginger Chicken with Broccoli and Carrots

  • 1 clove garlic, pressed/minced
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tsp fresh minced ginger
  • 2 tsp coriander
  •  1tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp white ground pepper
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 small limes juiced (or one large lime juiced)
  • 1/2 tbsp honey
  • Broccoli. I used 3 small heads of broccoli
  • Carrots, julienned. I used 4 small/medium carrots.
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1/4 c fresh coarsely chopped basil
  • Red pepper flakes optional and to taste. I recommend them!
  • Forbidden black rice, prepared

Cut chicken into chunks. Heat the sesame oil and garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken, ginger, coriander, cumin, cardamom, white pepper, sea salt, vinegar, lime juice, and honey. Cook chicken through. Add the broccoli, carrots, and sesame seeds. I covered with a lid to help steam the veggies a bit.

Once the veggies are cooked to your liking add the basil and stir to combine. Serve over the black rice. Sprinkle each dish with red pepper flakes. This is optional but I really loved the kick it had. I sprinkled about 1/4 tsp on my bowl. I skipped it for my little guy. He isn’t so into spicy foods yet. Kid taste buds and all.

Note: I tend to cook my broccoli a little longer so that it is easier to digest. I LOVE broccoli but sometimes it doesn’t agree with me. I have found that if I make sure it is cooked through I have an easier time digesting it. Last night was no exception. I know there is debate over eating cruciferous veggies raw or steamed. As of late, the tide has been turning toward it still being very nutritional to eat them cooked. My take on it is, I want to eat them, but I simply cannot tolerate them raw. I would rather lose some nutrients than be unable to consume them at all.

Last night I wanted something simple and fast to whip up. We decided to go swimming around 5pm, which is often dinnertime in our home. We had a blast. I eventually had to get out of the pool because the baby was not napping and the monitor was going nuts. Jackson and Jason stayed swimming. I had Alex, who wanted to play and be by me in general. I kind of wanted to play too! Which I did. So simple it was. My meat sauce is the easiest!

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Red Meat Sauce for Pasta or Zoodles

  • 1lb white meat ground turkey
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, pressed
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp Italian Seasoning. I use this
  • Several handfuls of spinach, chopped
  • 1 Jar all natural pasta sauce. I use Mario Batali Tomato Basil Check out the ingredients. No junk is added. No added sugars. All natural ingredients. There are even carrots in it! So it is my go to pasta sauce.
  • Cooked pasta of your choice or zoodles. The boys had pasta I had zoodles.

Prepare a pot with boiling water for your pasta. Once boiling add your noodles and cook until al dente.

Heat garlic and olive oil in a large pan. Add the turkey. Begin to brown. Add the vinegar and Italian seasoning. Mix well. Continue to brown. Once all pieces look like they have begun to cook, add the spinach and again mix well. Let spinach wilt a bit. Add sauce and bring to a simmer. Let sauce continue to simmer until your pasta is done.

Meanwhile if you are opting for zoodles, take 2 zucchinis (more if you are feeding more than one person with them) and spiralize them with your spiralizer. 5 minutes before you’re ready to serve the meal, sauté the zucchini in a drizzle of olive oil until the zoodles are tender.

Serve sauce over your noodle of choice!

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day. My feeds were filled with images of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. I went back and forth on what I should make for dinner. Ultimately I decided I wasn’t in the mood for corned beef. I did not really want a big heavy meal. I have had a slight cold or sinus infection this week. Nothing to knock me off my feet, but enough to be a touch annoying. Jackson does not recall having corned beef before. He has. I wasn’t really in the mood to try to convince him to try a brand new meat. Or cabbage! Sometimes he is not a big fan of change.

We went to the grocery store and I did show him what corned beef looks like. He said he wanted chicken for dinner. He didn’t have to twist my arm. I still wanted to have fun with St. Patrick’s Day though! I decided to make it about COLOR!

There are two recipes in this post. Happy St. Paddy’s Day!!! A day late, but with two recipes in hand 😉

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Lemon Honey Chicken

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 lemons juiced
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 Tbsp & 1/2 tsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp dijon mustard (look for one that has the least ingredients. Mine just has mustard, vinegar, sea salt)
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • Several handfuls chopped spinach

Heat olive oil and garlic in a large pan for a couple minutes. Add chicken, and begin to cook. Add lemon juice, honey, mustard, oregano, and sea salt. Bring the sauce to a nice bubble, cooking chicken through. Reduce to a simmer so the sauce reduces and gets a little thicker. Add spinach and cook until wilted. My spinach was in there a touch too long. You can add it a minute or two before serving so it stays a brighter green.

Sautéed Orange and Green Peppers

  • 1 orange pepper, diced
  • 1 green pepper diced
  • Drizzle of olive oil

Combine the peppers in a medium sized pan. Drizzle some olive oil over them. Cook until tender.

I served the chicken over the peppers and it was a nice combination!

Nothing is quite so lovely as the smell of steak being grilled. At least that is how I felt last night. Jackson had been begging me for a few days to cook on the grill. I was finally able to whip something up out there. I can feel summer creeping in. It is cooler again today. But these warm days we keep getting are enough to hold me over. And any colder temps beat the subzero ones we had a month ago!

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Simple Steak Rub

  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp garlic powder
  • Fresh black pepper to taste. I did around 10 twists

Combine all the seasonings in a small bowl and mix well so they are blended.

I used Filet Mignon for our steak last night. I had two and I cut each in half lengthwise, so they were thinner. Then I tenderized them with this handy tool received for Christmas, the Steak Ninja. Then I sprinkled some of the rub over each steak. I rubbed in into the meat. Flip the steaks over, sprinkle more seasoning, and rub in. I ended up having a little bit leftover. You could use all of it, I am always cautious with my amount of seasoning right now because of the tiny taste buds that eat our dinners. I error on the side of caution.

I let them sit for around 5 minutes while I prepared the veggies for grilling and got the grill started.

Grill to your liking.

They turned out delicious without using ever last speck of rub. To me they almost had a sweetness to them. They smelled amazing on the grill. The meat kind of melted in my mouth.

I am going to go ahead and post the potato recipe as well. Look around for that if you want something yummy to accompany this steak.