Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

Chicken and broccoli happens to be one of my favorite take out foods! However;   I find that most times there is way to much salt added and it's also way to oily.  So I decided that I would make my own take out for dinner! It's clearly less expensive, I made it quicker then if I placed an order from the Chinese restaurant, it's healthier and it's budget friendly as well.  My family really enjoyed this and I hope yours will too!!  Happy eating from my kitchen to yours! 

Delightfully adapted from WW 360

Ingredients

	2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
	1/2 tsp table salt, divided
	1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
	12 oz uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast(s), thinly sliced
	2 tsp olive oil
	1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free, reduced sodium, chicken broth, divided
	2 tsp minced garlic
	2 1/2 cup(s) uncooked broccoli, small florets
	2 tsp lemon zest, or more to taste*
	2 Tbsp fresh parsley, fresh, chopped
	1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

• On a plate, combine 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper; add chicken and turn to coat.
  
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning as needed, until lightly browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes; remove to a plate.
  
• Put 1 cup of broth and garlic in same skillet; bring to a boil over high heat, scrapping up browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Add broccoli; cover and cook 1 minute.
  
• In a small cup, stir together remaining 1/2 cup of broth, 1/2 tablespoon of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt; add to skillet and bring to a simmer over low heat.
  
• Cover and cook until broccoli is crisp-tender and sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in chicken and lemon zest; heat through.
  
• Remove skillet from heat and stir in parsley and lemon juice; toss to coat. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Creamy Orzo with Butternut Squash

Pasta is always a family favorite around here, I can get away serving just about any vegetable with pasta, even to my husband whom isn't a really big fan of many vegetables.  I made this and I thought to myself "well I may not have many takers because I put butternut squash in here" However that was on the contrary. I was able to sneak in the butternut squash and no one even complained or most importantly noticed!!  I made a massive portion of this dish and it was gone the same night.  That is typically my best indicator if a dish has been "family approved"  I hope you enjoy this dish as much as my family did!  Happy Eating, from my kitchen to yours!  

Delightfully adapted from: WW weekly

Ingredients

	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	2 cup(s) uncooked butternut squash, cut into small cubes
	1/2 tsp olive oil
	1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
	1 cup(s) uncooked orzo
	1 1/2 fl oz water
	1 cup(s) canned, chicken broth
	1 tsp fresh thyme, fresh, or 8 whole sprigs (sprigs preferred)
	2 Tbsp fat-free half-and-half
	1/3 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano
	1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a small rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. 
  
• In a medium bowl, toss squash with oil and salt; spread in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, leaving space between squash cubes. Roast, stirring halfway through, until squash is tender and lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
  
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add orzo. Stir constantly until orzo begins to smell toasty, about 3 minutes. Add water, broth and thyme sprigs; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is nearly absorbed, about 15 minutes.
  
• Remove thyme sprigs; stir in half-and-half, cheese and roasted squash. Season well with salt and pepper; serve. Yields about 3/4 cup per serving.

Notes

• A medium-sized, 2 pound squash will yield approximately 3 1/2 cups of diced squash cubes. 
  
  Peel the outside of a whole butternut squash with a sturdy vegetable peeler. Trim the ends and cut it in half lengthwise. Use an ice cream scoop or melon baller to easily scoop seeds and membrane from each half. 
  
  Pre-cut butternut squash is widely available in supermarkets and is a great shortcut for time-pressed cooks. Be sure to trim down the pieces to small, even-sized cubes or slices before roasting to allow for better browning.

Tomato and Feta Frittata

After I went to the gym this morning I was STARVING!!! So, I decided to make this figure friendly; yet absolutely amazing frittata.  It really has all the essential elements you would want in a dish, protein,  veggies, and a tiny smidgen of carbs for those of us who NEED our carbs! (I happen to be one of those people!)  Anyhow it was really quick and easy to make...actually quite effortless.  This dish is great for all meals, and it's also great for a make ahead meal as well.  It keeps well in the fridge and it's great for a high protein snack!  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  Happy eating from my kitchen to yours!! 

Delightfully adapted from Weight watchers 360

Ingredients

1 small shallot, chopped

2 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half if large
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons dried panko
Directions:
Preheat broiler to low heat

Coat a large heavy-bottomed ovenproof skillet with cooking spray; set over medium heat. Add shallot to skillet; cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper; stir in tomatoes and shallot.

Coat bottom and sides of same skillet with cooking spray; set over medium heat. Pour egg mixture into skillet; cook until almost set, loosening edges of frittata occasionally, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over eggs; top with panko.

Place skillet under broiler, 4 inches from heat; broil until cooked through and panko browns, about 30 seconds to 1 minute (watch carefully to avoid burning). Remove from broiler immediately and let sit for 1 minute; cut into 4 wedges.  Garnish with fresh basil.

Note: If you don't have Panko bread crumbs plain or Italian bread crumbs work fine as well. 

Sticky Honey Garlic chicken wings

This weekend we were super busy we went to Santa's Enchanted Forest which is huge Christmas themed carnival down in Miami Florida, and while we were there I saw a food truck that made a variation of chicken wings.  I said to myself after I paid a whopping $15 bucks for the wings "I could totally make these myself and better"! so here they are! my take on these yummy honey garlic wings! which are by the way a new family favorite! Enjoy!  Happy eating from my kitchen to yours! 

Even the hubs and kids helped with the prep work!

Marinade getting sticky!

Delightfully adapted from www.foodness.com

• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 3/4 cup honey
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 3 lbs chicken wings

1. Double-line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, garlic, sesame oil (if using), and cayenne. Add chicken wings and toss to coat. Marinate for 1 hour, (or up to overnight).

3. Remove wings from marinade and spread in a single layer on foil-lined baking sheet. Reserve marinade. Bake wings for 35 minutes, brushing with sauce twice (after 10 minutes and 20 minutes – but not during last 10 minutes of cooking because the marinate will not have long enough to cook properly, having touched raw chicken).

4. Boil remaining marinade over high heat until thick and syrupy – pay close attention, it goes from syrupy to burnt very quickly. Toss with chicken wings. Sprinkle with chopped green onions and serve.

Oatmeal- Raisin Bites

My daughter and I love to bake together, it's one of our favorite hobbies to do and being that she is 3 it's the easiest way to keep her little hands busy and not writing on my walls!;  so we decided to make these yummy oatmeal raisin bites.  I don't know about you but I have this really bad tendency of eating more then just one, when something is mini or bite sized. For some reason I lack self control in that department when it comes to mini food.  However the good thing about these sweet little treats is that they are not that bad for you they contain oats whole grain flour and raisins.  I hope you enjoy these as much as my family did, we gobbled them up!  Happy eating from my kitchen to yours! 

delightfully adapted from: Meet Points plus 2012

Ingredients needed:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup whole-grain wheat flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1tsp vanilla extract

1 cup raisins chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

in a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.  Using an electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars until incorporated   Add egg and vanilla; mix thoroughly. Add oat mixture and mix until just combined; fold in raisins.

Drop rounded teaspoons of batter onto greased cookie sheet ( I used pam) about 1 inch apart.  Bake 9-10 minutes for chewy cookies or 11-12 minutes for crispy cookies.  Remove from oven and let cookies rest about 3 minutes, then remove to wire rack to let cool completely.   

Eat and enjoy!!!

Creamy Vegetable soup (hold the cream)

This week has been pretty trying; the kids got some sort of a stomach bug and they have been on the ever so wonderful (BRAT) diet for the past week.  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it it's a variation of bananas applesauce rice and toast. Anyhow, the kids tummy's were still a bit sensitive so I wanted to make them a really healthful yet tasty meal that would be easy on their belly's.  This is how I came up with this fab soup and it was something that the entire family enjoyed, including the baby!  I hope you all enjoy delish dish! Happy Eating!!

Ingredients:

2- 32 ounce box of chicken stock (or if your a vegetarian you can certainly substitute this will vegetable broth)

4 cups of water

drizzle of olive oil

10 garlic cloves

baby carrots chopped

2 onions chopped

1 zucchini chopped

1 yellow squash chopped

4 stalks of celery chopped

2 cups of raw broccoli

1 yellow bell pepper chopped

1 table spoon dried parsley

1 table spoon dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups of brown rice

Heat the pot that you will be making the entire soup in on medium.  Drizzle your olive oil on the bottom of the pot. Then add onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, squash, yellow bell pepper, celery and let them caramelize (this should take about 5-8 minutes.)  After the vegetables have caramelized add your chicken stock.  Next add broccoli  dried parsley and dried basil and salt and pepper.  Cover pot and turn stove on high for about 20 minutes and let all the vegetable get happy together (this process makes vegetable tender) .  Lastly add the brown rice about 40 minutes before serving

(Tip) You may need to add more water to soup while the rice is cooking, keep an eye on it to make sure the rice does not absorb all the liquid, I had to add about 4 cups of water during this process.

This past Sunday we had the fam over for our usual Sunday indulge fest.  They like to come over and I make all my famous foods, goodies, and salads.  But this salad I just threw together because I realized that I hadn't made a salad for our main course!  It's super easy unique and delish!  Enjoy! Happy Eating!!!

1 pack of prosciutto

1 cantaloupe cut and cubed

2 cups of mixed greens

1 cup of red grapes

Cut and cube your cantaloupe, thereafter wrap the cubed pieces of cantaloupe with one piece of prosciutto each.  Lay they cantatloupe on a bed of mixed greens, and garnish with red grapes.  Serve chilled for best taste. Emjoy!