Crispy Chicken Marinara

A new recipe tonight that I found in my Cooking Light magazine! Chicken was juicy and crispy. I would say this recipe was a success. The kids liked the chicken but refused to eat the orzo. They like pasta and rice, but new shapes take awhile. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 TBS olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 carrot, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups marinara (I used my leftover sauce from my meatballs and polenta)
5 TBS water
20 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 oz Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup panko
2 cups hot cooked orzo

Directions:
1. Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a pan over med-high heat. Add onions and carrot and saute for 3 minutes. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute. Add wine and cook 2 minutes. Stir in sauce and 1/4 cup water. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Nestle chicken in sauce. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is almost done. Remove chicken from pan.

2. Pre-heat broiler to high

3. Combine remaining 1 TBS water and egg in shallow dish. Combine panko and one ounce of Parmesan cheese. Coat chicken in egg mixture and then dredge in breadcrumb mixture.

4. Heat remaining olive oil in oven proof skillet over med-high heat. Place chicken in pan and saute for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn chicken over. Place skillet in the oven and broil for 3 minutes or until golden and done..

5. Arrange 1/2 cup orzo in one of 4 bowls, top with 1/2 cup sauce, and 5 oz of chicken. Top with remaining cheese and serve.

We enjoyed this with a fabulous side of steamed spinach and feta!

Mama Mia Meatballs with Polenta

This meal is so yummy and old fashioned. So simple to make and so satisfying, this is a home run every time. Lucky me this is also a Weight Watchers recipe from their magazine! I am sorry I forgot to take a picture...I was so excited to eat! The kids eat everything here, except I make them noodles instead of polenta. I don't look at it as making multiple dinners. Consistency is a big deal at 2 and 3 years old. We always offer them to taste ours and sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. However, they still enjoy all the flavors we do!

Ingredients:
Meatballs
1/2 lb 95/5 ground beef
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated sweet onion

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg 

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Sauce
2 tsp olive oil
10oz sliced mushrooms
28oz crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup water
3 strips orange zest
1/2 cup chopped basil

Polenta
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. In a large bowl mix all the ingredients for the meatballs and mix well. Shape into 28 TBS sized meatballs. Set aside.

2. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a Dutch oven and add mushrooms. Cook until they start to release their water, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in tomatoes, water, orange zest and basil. Bring to a simmer.

4. Drop in the meatballs and make sure they are covered in sauce. Cover and let simmer until meatballs are cooked through. About 20-25 minutes.

5. Right before you are ready to serve make the polenta. Boil the water and salt. Slowly add the cornmeal and stir continuously to avoid clumps. Once all the cornmeal is added and blended. Stir in all the Parmesan cheese. Stir until blended.

6. Serve polenta topped with sauce and meatballs. Serving is 7 meatballs, 1/2 cup polenta and 3/4 cup of sauce - 7 Weight Watchers points

No-Bake Zucchini Lasagna

I found this amazing recipe on Pinterest...it's from the Fauxmartha website. I try really hard to have a meatless night once a week...mainly for weight control reasons. This is so easy to make and so clean and refreshing to eat. The kids eat this in a different form. I make theirs just the same, but instead of layering with lasagana noodles I make them penne. The veggies in the sauce and the zucchini on the side guarantee they will get their dose of veggies at dinner.

Ingredients:
Sauce 
1/4 sweet onion diced
1/2 carrot, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 TBS olive oil
3 cups pearl tomatoes, diced
1 TBS fresh basil, chopped
dash of thyme
sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Filling
8 lasagna noodles, broken in half crosswise
2 zucchinis, halved then chopped
2 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup light ricotta
3 TBS grated Parmesean
1 TBS fresh chopped basil
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Bring salted water to a boil in a shallow pan.

2. Meanwhile, make sauce. In a medium skillet on medium-high heat, add olive oil. Saute onion, carrot, and garlic for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil and thyme. Cook for another 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. In a food processor lightly pulse sauce and set aside (I like to keep it on the stove on low).

3. Cook noodles according to package directions.

4. Heat 1 TBS olive oil in skillet and cook zucchini for about 12 minutes on medium-high heat or until desired tenderness. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Meanwhile stir together ricotta, parmesean, basil and 1 TBS olive oil. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

6. To prepare, add a little sauce to each plate (4). Top with a noodle, then thin layer of ricotta mixture, then zucchini. Top with a little sauce and then another noodle and so on. Repeat 2 times total. Garnish with remaining sauce, parmesean and basil. Serve.

The trick to this meal is not to serve it cold. That is why I keep the sauce on the stove and be ready to plate as soon as zucchini is done. If need be, make and then place in 200 degree oven for about 5 minutes to heat up.

After tonight I think we will eat it the kids way. Just makes sense!

Asian Burgers

I came across this recipe in my Parents magazine, and thought what a nice change to a regular burger. The flavors in your mouth explode with this burger. So simple, but tastes complicated to make, if that makes sense. We had these with sweet potato fries and lemon garlic roasted broccoli (see roasted broccoli for that recipe)!

Ingredients:
1 lb 95/5 ground beef
2 scallions finely chopped
1/2 TBS minced fresh ginger
1 clove minced garlic
2 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 medium cucumber sliced thin
splash of rice vinegar

Directions:
1. Combine beef, scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil in a bowl. Shape into 4 patties (or smaller if you want smaller burgers).

2. Combine sliced cucumber and rice vinegar and set asisde.

3. Grill burgers until desired doneness. Top with cucumbers (discard remaining vinegar) and serve on bun of your choice. Enjoy!

Jambalaya Rice

God bless Wegmans! If you are lucky enough to live close to a Wegmans, then you know what I mean. This recipe is in their Winter 2013 MENU magazine, and as every Wegmans recipe I have ever tried it is truly amazing. This came out way to spicy for the kids, and I didn't even let them try it, and to be honest I don't think it can be toned down because the heat is just part of the dish. I make this big batch at one time and then freeze for easy dinner nights. The kids usually enjoy grilled cheese and green beans on Jambalaya Rice nights!

Ingredients:
2 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs, 1" dice
2 tsp creole seasoning
1 small sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 large celery stalks, diced
1 TBS dried thyme
12 oz fully cooked andouille pork sausage, cut into 1" bias slices
2 bay leaves
12 oz whole grain 5 grain rice blend
1 1/2 cups kitchen cut Roma tomatoes
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 TBS dried basil
3 scallions, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a dutch oven on medium high heat. Add chicken and creole seasoning. Cook about 2 minutes, until chicken browns.

2. Add onion; cook 3 minutes until softened. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add celery, thyme, andouille and bay leaves (I lay these on top before I cover so they are easy to remove); cook 1 minute. Add rice, cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, stock and peppers. Bring to a simmer on high, cover.

3. Bake 1 hour, 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let rest for 10 minutes.

4. Remove bay leaves, stir in basil and garnish with scallions. Serve.

Chicken and Arborio Rice

So a baked chicken dish has always been a staple in our home. First it was chicken and potatoes, but I wanted to cut out the starch. Mainly because all the juice was so good, a loaf of Italian bread accompanined the meal to soak up the yumminess left over. So then we went to chicken and couscous, and this was great because the couscous soaked up all the juice and had that amazing flavor. For tonights dinner I decied to try it with arborio rice, mainly because it was in the pantry and couscous was not. Arborio rice calls for much more liquid so I was not sure how this was going to come out.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 TBS garlic salt
1/2 TBS oregeno
1/2 TBS black pepper
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup arborio rice

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Pour liquid in oven safe dish and add arborio rice and mix so its all covered. Place chicken on top. Sprinkle all the seasoning over the top.

3. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake for 2 hours.

We enjoy this dish with a side of pureed butternut squash.

Review: ok so the arborio rice was very salty and sticky. Next time do 1 cup of broth and 1 cup of water instead of 3 cups of broth. Thinking that will fix it. Also will only bake for one hour in hopes the rice doesn't stick to the dish too much.

Apple Cinnamon Pork Roast

Tonight's dinner was a success for the most part. I thought the entire dinner was delicious; however the kids didn't like the slaw or cooked apples but loved the pork! Backing up with another veggie insured a complete dinner!

Ingredients:
1 lb pork tenderlion roast
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 TBS canola oil
1 medium onion sliced
1/2 cup apple cider
1 Fuji apple cored and sliced thin
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 oz of broccoli slaw mix (bagged)

Directions:
1. Sprinkle the roast with salt, pepper and thyme. Heat oil in large skillet and brown roast on all sides.

2. Layer onions on the bottom of your slow cooker. Place the roast on top and then pour the cider over the top. Cover and cook for 2 hours on high.

3. Toss the apples with lemon juice and cinnamon. Add them and the slaw to the slow cooker. Cover and heat for 30 more minutes.

4. Remove roast and let rest on platter for 10 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remove veggies and drizzle sauce over top.

We served this with sweet potato fries and butternut squash.

Roasted Broccoli

So lucky me both kids love broccoli...finally! My daughter always has and can eat it like it's going out of style. My son liked it when he was younger, then refused to eat it for about a year, and now likes to eat "strong trees." I have always steamed broccoli, and recently heard about roasting it. I finally tried it, and holy wow! I will always roast my broccoli from now on. There are so many things you can do with it. I will update this post every time I try a new twist on my roasted broccoli!

My first few assortments come from my Parents magazine, and the one we tried this week was Lemon-Garlic! Note: the first 2 steps are always the same, the change comes with what you toss it in on step 3...

Lemon-Garlic Roasted Broccoli
Ingredients:
3 cups of broccoli florets (no stems)
2 TBS olive oil
juice from a slice of fresh lemon
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 clove minced garlic

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Combine broccoli and olive oil in a zip lock bag and shake until coated. Arrange florets on pan and roast for 10 minutes.

3. In the same zip lock bag combine roasted broccoli, lemon juice, and garlic. Shake and place in serving bowl. Shave lemon zest over the top and serve.

Vegetable and Rice Burritos with Quesadilla Cheese

Another oh so yummy recipe from my Cooking Light magazine! For the kids instead of burritos I used the same filling but rolled it into taquitos, sprayed with Pam, sprinkled some salt on top and then baked until crispy. Finger foods always win with Brady and Emily, and they have eaten all the veggies before they knew what it was they were eating. Yeah tortillas!

Ingredients:
4 tsp canola oil
1/3 cup uncooked basmati rice
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1 jalapeno seeded and diced
1/4 low fat sour cream
1 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 small zucchini halved and sliced
3/4 cup grape tomatoes quartered
1/2 bell pepper
4 tortillas (kids got whole wheat and we used jalepeno cheddar)
4 oz quesadilla cheese

Directions:
1. Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp canola oil, dried rice, 1 garlic clove and diced jalapeno. Saute for 1-2 minutes and then cook rice per directions (I threw it in my rice cooker).

2. Combine sour cream, chopped cilantro, lemon juice and red pepper in a bowl. Mix and place in fridge until ready to use.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 TBS oil and swirl. Add onion; saute for 2 minutes. Add second clove of garlic and mushrooms; saute 1 minute. Add corn, zucchini, tomatoes, bell pepper and salt and saute until veggies reach desired tenderness.

4. Microwave tortillas to warm them up so they are easier to fold. Divide sour cream mixture evenly on tortillas, divide rice, divide veggies and top with cheese. Roll like a jelly roll and return to skillet on medium-high heat. Seam side down brown burritos about 1 minute per side. Serve.

We enjoyed these with a side of black beans. It is always nice to have a meatless night...

Tomato Basil Soup

This soup came out absolutely amazing! It was thicker, mainly because my food processor is terrrible, but it worked. Brady loved every bite of it and Emily refused to try it. However, I also used this in the Chicken Pepperoni-Marinara recipe and Emily loved it...presentation is key.

I had a bit left over and froze it to see how it would freeze then thaw. Once I thaw it I will update so you know if you can make a big batch. I got this recipe from a Cooking Light magazine and only made a few minor changes...it thaws fantastic!

Ingredients:
1 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (one small onion)
3 garlic cloves chopped
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
28 oz of fresh roasted Wegmans tomatoes (from their Mediterranean Bar)*
4 oz low fat cream cheese
2 cups 1% milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp of black pepper
*the recipe calls for a 28oz can of fire roasted tomatoes. if you can go fresh it was delicious!!!

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and basil and bring to a boil. Stir in cream cheese until melted.

2. Dump contents into a food processor and blend until smooth.

3. Return to dutch oven and add milk, salt and pepper. Return to medium-high and cook until heated through.

We served this with Havarti and Gruyere grilled cheese sandwiches. YUMMY!

Chicken with Pepperoni-Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:
cooking spray
2 cloves minced garlic
3 oz of chopped pepperoni
1 1/2 cups of tomato basil soup (see recipe) (or you can use marinara)
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts (pounded thin)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:
1. perheat oven to 350 degrees

2. heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add garlic and pepperoni; cook 2 minutes or until garlic begins to brown, stirring frequently. Add to tomato basil soup and set aside.

3. In the same pan ad olive oil and swirl to coat (you will have all the goodness in there from the pepperoni). sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the skillet and cook until almost cooked through. Depending on thickness anywhere from 5-15 minutes, flip every few minutes.

4. place half of the soup and pepperoni mixture on the bottom of a baking dish, add chicken, cover with remaining sauce and top with cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

This is a recipe from Cooking Light magazine with my changes to it. We called it chicken pizza for the kids, and they inhaled it! I served it with a side of steamed green beans tossed in salt and butter.