Grilled Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients 

1 red pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced 

1 white onion, sliced

8 white mushrooms, sliced 

1 large garlic clove, chopped 

1 zuchinni, diced

1 pound chicken breast - prepare as you please! (I like to toss in olive oil and garlic and grill)

2 bags instant brown rice, prepared as directed on package

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon teriyaki

1 tablespoon olive oil

Method 

Throw all the veggies, the garlic, olive oil, and sauces in a large skillet and cook until the onion is almost translucent. Throw in chicken and brown rice! Serve with extra soy or teriyaki auce. Enjoy! 

Cinnamon Rolls!

I'm not much of a baker but recently, I am so into baked breakfast foods (really great for my wedding diet right?). I found this recipe on another blog. This recipe uses minimal ingredients which I love because I ALWAYS have all of these ingredients on hand. These ooey gooey cinnamon rolls are so good in the morning with coffee. Enjoy! 

Ingredients

1 packet instant (or rapid rise) yeast (2 1/4 tsp

1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk or 2% organic cows milk

1/2 cup butter, divided

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar, divided*

Method

Ia large sauce pan (or in a bowl in the microwave at 30 sec increments), heat the milk and 3 Tbsp butter until warm and melted, never reaching boiling. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle on yeast. Let activate for 10 minutes, then add 1 Tbsp sugar and the salt and stir. Next add in flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring as you go. The dough will be sticky. When it is too thick to stir, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or so until it forms a loose ball. Rinse your mixing bowl out, coat it with canola or grapeseed oil, and add your dough ball back in. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Brush with 3 Tbsp melted butter and top with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 - 1 Tbsp cinnamon. Starting at one end, tightly roll up the dough and situate seam side down. Then with a serrated knife or a string of floss, cut the dough into 1.5 - 2 inch sections and position in a well-buttered 8x8-inch square or comparable sized round pan (you should have about 10 rolls). Brush with remaining 2 Tbsp butter (melted) and cover with plastic wrap. Set on top of the oven to let rise again while you preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once the oven is hot, bake rolls for 25-30 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes and then serve immediately. 

Optional: Frost with a simple mixture of 1 cup organic powdered sugar and 1-2 Tbsp milk.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

This meal is so easy and so delcious! It's one of Nicks favorite things his Mom used to make as a child (except he requests that I don't mix the broccoli in on his side of the casserole!)

Ingredients

1 large bag of whole wheat egg noodles

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

5 Bella mushrooms, sliced 

2 cans chunk light tuna in water

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 bag SteamFresh microwaveable broccoli (cooked as directed on package)

Method

Preheat oven to 375. Cook noodles as package directs and drain when done. Stir all ingredients together and spoon into a large casserole dish. Top with cheese and cook for 20 minutes. 

Beef Bourguigon

Ingredients 

1 and 1/2 pounds stew beef, cut into pieces

4 pieces of bacon

5 carrots, sliced 

2 large shallots, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced 

1 tablespoon thyme 

1 small can organic tomato paste

1/2 cup flour

1 cup unsalted chicken stock 

1 and 1/2 cup Pinot noir 

4 large red potatoes, diced

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon garlic powder 

Method

Cook bacon in skillet until fully cooked, set aside. Add shallots and garlic to left over bacon grease, cook until transparent. Mix in thyme, tomato paste, flour, Pinot, and chicken stock. Stir until completely blended. It will be a very thick consistently. Add meat, carrots, and this blend to crock pot. Cook on high for 4-5 hours.

With about 30 minutes before serving, boil potatoes until soft. Mashed with potato masher, mixing in butter, garlic powder, and milk. 

Serve meat and carrots over potatoes! 

Lemon Blueberry Scones

These are so delcious! I love how it makes 8, so lots of left overs for breakfast through out the week :)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons sugar

2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Zest of one large lemon

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup blueberries

For glaze: 1 cup confectioners sugar + juice from 1 lemon

Method

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and lemon zest. Mix in butter with a fork. Set aside.

In a smaller bowl mix heavy cream, vanilla, and egg. Drizzle into flour mix. Use a spatula to mix evenly. Gently fold in blueberries.

Flour your hands and do your best to form a ball out of the dough. It will be wet and sticky. Flour a surface and put dough onto surface, press into and large circle. Use a sharpe knife and cut into 8 slices. Put on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cook at 400 for 25 minutes.

Drizzle glaze over scones right when they come out of the oven. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes then enjoy! 

Mexican grain bowl

I absolutely love the smokey flavor the chiles give to the beans & the homemade pico is always a delight. I may have made a little extra for chip dipping purposes ;)

Ingredients

2 packages of pre-package boil in the bag brown rice (cooked as directed)

1 can organic black beans

1 can chipotle chiles in abodo sauce

1/4 cup white onion, chopped

1 small package cherry tomatoes

1 jalepeno, chopped (deseed for a less spicy version)

1/2 cup purple cabbage 

1 lime, cut in half 

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons garlic powder

3 tablespoons olive oil

Queso Fresca 

Method

Pico: Mix together cherry tomatoes, white onion, & jalepeno. Squeeze half a lime over the mixture and stir. Set aside.

Cabbage: Mix together the cabbage, 1 tablespoon olive oil & squeeze the remaining half lime over & stir. Set aside.

Add beans to sauce pan. Open chipotle chiles and use 1 tablespoon of the sauce from the can to mix into the beans. Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes.

Heat a skillet and 2 tablespoons oil. Add garlic and cumin, cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in cooked rice and toss until coated. 

Add each component of the recipe to a bowl and top with cheese! 

Chicken and potatoes

THIS RECIPE. Oh my gosh this recipe. It is so delcious. It gives me a little taste of fried chicken yet is lower calorie & adding sautéed greens makes this a perfect southern inspired dish. 

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups unsalted organic chicken stock

2 large russet potatoes, chopped and boiled until soft

1/3 cup whole milk 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method

Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place 2 tablespoons flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons flour to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Add stock to pan; bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon pepper and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Combine potatoes, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, remaining 1 tablespoon butter, and milk in a medium bowl; mash to desired consistency. Serve with chicken and gravy. Sprinkle with parsley.