Decontructed chicken taco casserole

I know, I know....I've really been MIA this time! I'm not sure what happened, I've just been running and running and not been cooking much at home and running and running. Only one night of dinner made at home this week, now that might be some kind of record. Anywho...I'm going to try to update you on some of the activities I've been running and running to and from so you can see how much fun I've been having while putting you on the back burner. Because I feel like the neglect is less offensive if I get you to want to try some of the things we've been up to....right? Now that we've got that settled...

 

This was actually in April, but that's neither here nor there. What kind of a word is 'nor' anyway? Can't we just say 'or'? Why do we have to fancify it? Seems like 'nor' is trying to be all uppity or something. And I'm far from uppity. If the Duck Dynasty guys knew me, they would not call me a yuppy. Or maybe they would. Holy tangent! Let's circle back...a bunch of ladies got together to do a painting at The Social Canvas in Waukee and it was so. much. fun! I'm really not superbly artistic....I would maybe classify myself as crafty, but artistic is not in the same realm as me. But in these classes they stand up and take you through the paintings step by step so you really can't mess it up...that's my kind of art class! Plus you get wine, and you can't beat wine and painting.

 

Here's my finished masterpiece. I even had a friend on Facebook offer me money for it...how cool is that?! But it was such a fun experience that I want to keep the memory of it and shall hang it at the lake house to smile at all Summer...so no sale. Although it would've been fun to say I've sold a painting before. That does sound yuppy, doesn't it?

 

The whole group with our finished products...some are a lot better than others. I'm glad this picture isn't taken any more up close to see all the ones that beat mine out of the running of halfway good.

 

What's ladies night without a margarita the size of your head afterwards? The waiter asked me how big I wanted it, and I said "as big as you've got". I learned my lesson...it took three of us to finish it!

 

While on the Mexican theme, I will actually share a recipe with you today too! I mean, this is a food blog, I guess I can throw you a bone. This is super duper simple, and very nummy yummy to boot. It was a throw-together-make-ahead if that makes any sense? I was meal planning on Sunday and got all lazy about it. Found all these ingredients and threw them together to bake in happiness and merriment. But first to sit in the fridge for a day until we were ready for said happiness and merriment. Because everyone knows happiness and merriment is best on nights when you have dinner to throw in the oven when you get home. Ok, let's go....

1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can shoepeg corn
3 wheat tortillas, ripped up into pieces
2 large chicken breasts, seasoned with Lawry's, baked, and diced
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2-1 cup taco sauce
2 cups Mexican cheese (1 cup to mix in, 1 cup to top with)
cilantro to taste
crushed red pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except 1 cup of cheese together. You could even add some halved cherry tomatoes, or use enchilada sauce instead of taco sauce. Your boat floats one way, mine floats another. I guess that's what makes the world go 'round. I actually would've added maters if I had some on hand. My world doesn't go 'round much if I don't hit the grocery store.

Pour into a baking dish and cover with leftover cup of cheese. Top with more cilantro if you feel the need. And I did. The need was felt. The need was met. The need was legit.

Throw in the fridge until ready to bake and throw it in the oven for 30 minutes at 425 degrees. It just needs to be warmed throughout and get the cheese all melty, since everything is pretty much cooked. Remember, we're just baking the happiness and merriment together. Top with greek yogurt, taco sauce, guacamole, and whatever else your little heart desires. Then eat.

It was good to dip chips with, it was great on its own. One of those versatile weeknight meals that leaves you saying "mmmmm" in front of the tv after it's been demolished. Yeah, one of those.

Spaghetti squash alfredo

I suppose I had better start sharing these spaghetti squash recipes with you before you have to get like five of them in a week. This stuff is my new obsession. We have it once a week if that tells you anything. Just like quinoa, and subbing cauliflower for potatoes, I'm not sure why I waited so long to try this!! I told you about me trying Rachel's spaghetti squash, and since then I've made it 3 different ways on my own. I'm telling you...if you're a pasta lover, this is life changing. Carbless pasta. I'm here for the sole purpose of making sure you don't walk the same path of mistakes as I have....and I'm telling you, don't wait another night to try this. Grab one on the way home and get to it!

Apparently Trader Joe's does not carry spaghetti squash, but Hy-Vee and Wal-Mart both did so there are options. I just bought the biggest ones I could find the first time, I wasn't sure how much they would yield. Turns out they put out more than you would think!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Chop the squash in half lengthwise. I hate to admit that I had to have Main Man take care of this part, those suckers are tough! I didn't want to cut myself hacking away at the thing due to my sheer stubbornness, so I gave in. I hate when I have to ask him to open jars or lift things...I work out, I'm not a wuss!!

Use a spoon to get all the seeds and cruckas out of the center of the squash, and then place facedown on a cookie sheet that is sprayed with Pam. Bake for 45 minutes.

 

 

Remove from the oven and take a fork to it. I'm serious that I thought this was going to be sooooo much more complicated. Just fork that shizz outta there and it turns all noodley looking. Pretty sweet stuff. And kinda fun if I'm not lying to you. I was amazed at how easy it was.

 

I even ate some plain and was impressed. I didn't know I was a squash lover!

 

For the rest of it, I just whipped together a standard alfredo that I would normally do for pasta. You can use whatever you want to throw in. You could use asparagus, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, spinach...whatever you've got in the fridge that you need rid of. That's how I cook :)

 

2 chicken breasts, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

2 cups broccoli

1 cup cherry tomatoes

crushed red pepper to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 T italian seasoning

1 jar your favorite alfredo sauce (I use Classico light alfredo)

 

Warm your olive oil in your skillet and throw your minced garlic in to brown for 30 seconds, stirring continuously. Add the diced chicken in to cook. Cook till there's no pink left and then add the broccoli and tomatoes (or whatever other fun veggies you're throwing into the party). After all veggies are softened, add your jar of alfredo sauce and your seasonings. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to combine all the flavas!

 

I have been baking my spaghetti squash on the weekends and putting it in a container in the fridge so its ready to go for the weeknight dinner bell. If you do as I do, throw a helping of spaghetti squash on a plate and into the microwave to warm, before covering with this luscious sauce of skinnied up goodness. You can even throw some garlic bread in the mix, because you're being SO good on carbs skipping the pasta noods. We do what we can :) I hope you enjoy as much as I do...stay tuned for the next couple installments of "Spaghetti squash, how do we love you, let us count the ways..." where I show you how I did a lasagna (yep, I went there and it was heavenly) and a shrimp scampi pasta (with no pasta)!

 

Chicken and pesto stuffed alfredo shells

You know how I always tell you when a recipe is bad? I don't want you getting all jacked up about something, drooling over pictures, go to the store to get ingredients, spend time cooking, and then go into a deep depression because it flopped. That wouldn't be good for any of us, now would it? Well, I'm here to tell you today that this recipe does NOT suck and you should most definitely make this...soon. I feel I should be just as forceful with my "do make this" recommendations as I am with my "don't make this" advice. So here it is: make this, and make this soon. Main Man will vouch, and he'll vouch hard. He's a man of few words around good food, but what I could get from his mumbles between mouthfuls was all good. He actually asked me to make this again. That doesn't happen too often in a bloggers house...I have to keep the recipes a comin' you know. He knows a repeat dinner is a seldom occurrence, so he must really have liked this.

 

And guess what! You'll never guess. It has pesto in it...and he loved it!! My work here is done. I've finally broken him. I've continually tried to sneak it into his diet before with some of my favorites, pesto shrimp gnocchi being my most recent try. It didn't work. So you have no idea how excited I was that he loved this dish so much...especially since I just threw it together with stuff I had in the house. I think the turkey pepperoni was a big part of the success...gave it a little extra oomph in the flava flav department. This meal would be great for kids and husbands alike...give it a shot!

 

1 container of pesto

1 container of fat free cream cheese

1/2 package turkey pepperoni, snipped into small pieces

2 large chicken breasts, baked and shredded

1 t crushed red pepper

1 t italian seasoning

16 large pasta shells, boiled, drained, and cooled

1 jar light alfredo sauce (I used Classico)

 

I like the Buitoni brand but you can buy whatever kind you like. You can also make it yourself like I do in the Summer months when I have a full basil plant giving me love on the deck. Click the link above for the gnocchi recipe to get the directions on how to make your own pesto. It's a staple in the warmer months...and so easy!

 

Turkey pepperoni is the bomb dizzy...no grease, not much fat or cals, and awesome peppy taste. Try it if you haven't yet, our household is fully converted.

Mix all your ingredients up thoroughly (besides the shells and the alfredo sauce) and stuff your shells with the mixture.

 

Lay your stuffed masterpieces in a greased baking dish and cover with alfredo sauce when all are finished. I topped with some extra hits of italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and fresh black pepper. Cover with tin foil and throw in the oven at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until warmed through. Or put it in the fridge and throw it in for dinner for a quick weeknight pasta fix like I did.

 

 

These were sooooo rich and creamy...they just tasted decadent. There's no other way to put it. I hope you get to put some in your mouth soon so we can talk about it.

 

I'm starting the week off pretty well in my book...got all my meals made for the week yesterday all my evenings are open to hit the gym and get other household fun done while dinner cooks each night. That's the "I win" card right there. Happy Monday, all!

Jalapeno cheddar chicken burgers

We meet again, Monday. I'm not really much of a Monday hater, to be honest. I actually enjoy my routine, and as long as I feel I got everything I wanted to done throughout my weekend (groceries, meal planning, laundry, workouts, house cleanup) I feel pretty good about starting a fresh new week. So no Monday gripes round here. I will say that Friday most definitely trumps Monday though, and that will never change. Just like Spring trumps Winter...some things are just the way they are. Ask me how I feel about Fridays in the Spring!

 

This weekend was a busy one, but I did manage to get my life in order with a couple big grocery trips to Trader Joe's and Wal-Mart, as well as get a couple great sweat seshes on the books to keep up with my new found motivation on MyFitnessPal. By the way, today is day 1 of Tuff Butt April so I just completed the required lunges, squats, and lunge holds to check today off the list. This first week will be fairly simple and take minimal time, but it shall get challenging soon. Who's joining me??

 

As you know, we've been battling Main Man's cholesterol numbers lately and trying to find workarounds for some of his favorite foods. Enter: chicken burgers. They don't necessarily sound all that great when you have a big, juicy burger in mind, but I pinky swear these babies leave you satisfied beyond the normal greasy patty burger world. They weren't tough to throw together either...

 

Start with 1 lb ground chicken (you want to go with breast meat or it won't be as lean)

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 t chopped jalapeno

1 t ground cumin

1 t paprika

1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

 

hamburger buns

guacamole

cheese (I used 2% pepperjack)

lettuce (I used spinach)

tomato

mayo (I used olive oil mayo)

 

Add all ingredients in the first group to a large mixing bowl and....mix. Duh!

 

 

Patty the burgers out. I did 3 patties because a 1/3 pound burger is plenty for this chicky poo. If you feel the need for 1/4 pounders or 1/2 pounders, feel free to make them as large or small as your appetite calls for. Per usual, I made these on a Sunday afternoon to throw in the fridge for a quick grilled weeknight dinner...and they worked splendidly!

 

Throw them on the Griddler or the grill (spray your grill with non fat cooking spray first to avoid stickage) and grill like you would any other burger. Just make sure these are cooked through before eating, rather than rare like you can do bovine burgers. Chicken needs to be cooked, yo. I sliced into mine to make sure it was done, I can't give you cooking times as all grills differ in their temperatures.

I chose a slice of Pepperjack love to melt on top and then added our burgers to their final resting places on a toasted bun layered with spinach and tomato and spread with spicy quacamole and olive oil mayonnaise. To. Die. For.

Drink in a look at that first bite. These will be a Summer staple at the lake without a doubt! Main Man tested, Main Man approved.

I have to give a HUGE shoutout to my good friend Brandy, who got engaged this morning on the beach!! Brandy is one of my oldest friends, she used to keep me out of trouble and I used to do her Geometry tests in high school...we're a good match :)

I know you all thought the "Wedding Schtuff" tag would be forgotten after our recent nuptuals but I'm sure there will be lots more fun projects to share with you in the coming year helping her prepare to become Mrs. Rizer! SO EXCITED!! See what I mean...Mondays can be awesome! :)

Tomato and feta stuffed chicken

Meal planning 101: Do everything that is possible to do ahead of time, ahead of time. Some people may say its not worth it to them to spend an afternoon shucking, cooking, bagging, and freezing sweet corn once a year so they have a whole year's supply of the stuff at their finger tips to thaw and gobble on any time they so choose. I would wholeheartedly disagree.

 

Making my sweet corn and green beans each year seriously saves me more time and dollar signs than you would imagine in grocery shopping, cooking, and preparation each week. It's all about the little things, folks...

 

Making a dinner so husband friendly that he can literally take it from fridge to stove, is one of the best things in life. Nothing like walking in the door and having dinner almost ready to be served, with no effort from either of you that day. I usually make a few things on Sunday, get the cleanup out of the way, and the rest of the week I have to spend no time or energy on anything but throwing the plates in the dishwasher after dinner. More quality time, less annoying housework during the week, and yummy dinners in no time...how can anyone be mad at that?

 

I'm always looking for new ways to prepare chicken, as it can get pretty boring but is one of the great lean proteins we try to eat often in our hiz-ouse. I love me some feta cheese, and I thought the half can of fire roasted tomatoes would mix well with it. Mix all that up with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste and load up your dual chicken boobs. I know...I'm well aware that my infantile obsession with the word boob over breast should've stopped when I turned 30, but age is just a number, my friends! I bought thinly sliced chicken breasts so I didn't even have to pound them out, but you could butterfly them or pound them if you need them to be larger to fit more stuffing.

 

Roll them up and secure with a few toothpicks so your insides stay inside. Make sure to remember how many you use for each one, they're not fun to accidentally get in the side cheek. I always use 3 toothpicks for everything so I always know how many I'm hunting for when I eat...makes life easy like that. Sprinkle the boobs (I know, I went there again) with italian seasoning, basil, oregano, or whatever similar spices you have on hand at the momento. Grease a baking dish and put them inside, cover and throw them in the fridge until it's time for their burning death. I guess they're already dead, and it's not fun to think of eating dead things, so just forget that last part.

 

Grab a bag of sweet corn out of the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw. When you are your Main Man or your kiddos are ready to start dinner...preheat the oven to 400 degrees and throw the chicken dish in for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through (no pink, my peeps). Empty the bag of corn into a small pot and simmer on low to warm. It's already cooked so just needs to be heated...no one like cold corn, do they?

 

Serve. Now doesn't that sound like a fun week night? Thar she blows! Dinner in a jif with so little effort, I'm trying to train my cat to do it. The opposable thumbs thing is where we get stuck...but we'll get it.

 

This chicken stayed very (ahem, I have to cover my ears to even type this word) moist. Great italian flavor, but I love me a little spice so I added a bit of crushed red pepps to my plate and it was puuuuurfect, just as if the cat had made it. OK, even I'll admit that got weird. The cat didn't really make this. Anyway, that's all for today's lesson. Next time I'll show you my crazy hoarder freezer that helps with meal planning as well...enjoy your hump day in the meantime!

I should warn you all that I shall be MIA the next few days...until next Tuesday to be exact. Main Man and I are leaving on a jet plane (and having severe anxiety about it) with some friends heading to New Orleans tomorrow for my lady friend's 30th birthday celebration (and crawfish boil). Don't worry...I'll take massive amounts of photos of all the lovely southern food I drown my face in and ruin weeks of working out for this weekend. I'll be very excited to get back and let you know I lived through the plane rides, so look for me next week. I have a very valid (in my mind) fear that I will die in a plane crash at some point in my life, just not sure which plane it will take place on, so I'm hoping it's not this one. If it is, I hope it's on the way home with a happy belly full of crawfish and not on the way there so we have to miss the party. Happy (my Friday) Wednesday, friends!

Chicken philly sandwiches

Can I tell you how lucky a gal I am that I snagged Main Man for a hubby? I mean, I've always known that, but certain moments in time make me feel it even more...like when he pushes snow all night and day and has been up since 1 am with no sleep, and I come home from yoga at 7:30 pm to have dinner all done, with him asleep on the counter waiting for me to get home so we can eat together. Makes my heart smile (and my tummy as well) just remembering that sight. Unfortunately for you, he woke up when I shut the door so I couldn't get to my camera to capture the peaceful kitchen slumber, but I'm sure you can imagine the love that was there.

 

This dinner was no accident though. We had seen a commercial a couple nights before for a new restaurant that had amazing looking philly sandwiches sizzling bigger than life on the 50 inch tv right in our faces. He was staring with his mouth agape and asked if he could have those. That's a standard question around our hood lately, since the results came back from his physical and we realized his cholesterol was high. We're trying to eat leaner, low cholesterol meals and he's joined the local gym (and actually has been going!) as well as adding fiber to his diet. We'll kick those results to the curb next time we go in for his checkup! Anyway, I was sad to inform him that we really shouldn't be eating sizzling, greasy beef BUT that we could healthify it by making chicken phillies if he really had a craving. He was in. Locked and loaded. Ready to go. Pumped.

 

He didn't use a recipe, but I'm telling you guys this is the best thing he's ever made me. He has standards he's perfected that I don't ever get to make, like his goulash and his stroganoff but I would put this up against any dish he's ever made me. It really hit the spot, I was super impressed with his culinary prowess....

 

2 large chicken breasts, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 small white onion, sliced

banana peppers to taste

2 T olive oil, we love 'em so there were plenty on ours

2 t Tony C's creole seasoning (or to taste)

2 t garlic powder (or to taste)

fresh wheat hoagie buns

2% pepperjack cheese slices

 

Heat the olive oil in a skillet to medium heat, add chicken and veggies and stir to saute. Add Tony C's and garlic powder to the mixture, and continue to stir until everything is cooked through. Put cheese on each hoagie, layer the meat and veggie mixture on top, and add to a pan to put in the oven on broil. Broil the sandwiches for 2-3 minutes, until the bread is toasty and the cheese is melted. Serve to your sweaty wife before you fall asleep on the table!  

 

It was seriously tough but I saved half my sandwich for lunch the next day and it even heated up well under the broiler. Roasted brussel sprouts are my faaaaavorite veggie these days (closely racing asparagus to the top). A little glass of vino and this made for a perfect Friday night dinner before hitting the couch for a movie...and a nap for him of course. Main Man hopes you enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Cajun chicken with mango salsa

This recipe makes me "happy, happy, happy".  That was for all you Duck Dynasty fans out there :) But it's also the truth...I was so happy with how this turned out. I'm a huge fan of this mango salsa from a tilapia recipe my friend Michelle gave me, and I'm not real sure how I never thought to use if for chicken before. Now I'm wondering what else I could serve this on...it's got a kick to it that is instantly satiated by the sweetness of the mango, and the cilantro just finishes it off perfectly. I always make the mango salsa the night before to allow the flavors to meld, and the heat to kick up a notch...but you can do this all in one night if you so choose. Here's what you need for the star of the show:

 

mango salsa:

1 jalapeno diced
1/2 white onion diced
2 mangoes diced (they're tough to core so I need two to get the amount off
there that I want)
1 lime's juice squeezed in
fresh cilantro if you want (I use it if I have it but skip it if I don't)

 

If you want to see how I cut my mangoes, go check out the original recipe for tilapia and mango salsa.

 

I went simple with the chicken breast and just seasoned it with some cajun seasoning and a fancy pepper blend that I got from a good friend (who knows the way to my heart is fancy spices) from one of our wedding showers.

 

Have I showed you my grill pan yet?? We got it for our wedding and I just love this bugger! It makes the most beautiful grill marks on whatever I'm preparing, just like I pulled them off the grill, except I don't have to go outside in the snow to use it. Pretty perfect for an Iowa girl, if you ask me.

Cook the chicken through and then pile on as much or as little mango salsa as you feel is needed in your life...I like a lot...and serve (with steamed asparagus if you're me)!! So fresh and seems so summery...it's right around the corner folks!! Daylight savings time is over in 13 days...and counting down! This is a perfect meal to celebrate the coming of longer days in less than 2 weeks, if you ask me...enjoy!

Chicken and gnocchi soup

If you live in the midwest, you've no doubt been hearing the rumors of the monster snowstorm that is supposed to happen upon us the end of this week. Unless you live under a rock that is, and if that's the case, I hope your rock has central heat. It's getting chilly up here, which is sad after last week's temperatures that made Spring seem just around the corner. No worries, I have a pretty exciting plan to simmer some soup and scrapbook all the livelong days away while I'm snowed in...which will happen if we get as much as they're chattering about. Twenty inches is nothing to fool with, so I won't even attempt to get anywhere besides my living room that day...

 

I get just as excited for snow days now as I did when I was a kid, but for different reasons altogether. Snow is sooooo perdy the first day it falls. After that, I could care less about the nasty stuff, but I love to sip on hot cocoa and watch the big white flakes fall out the window, as long as my house stays at a perfect 72 degrees throughout. Main Man is always out plowing, so he doesn't get to run the heat on snow days :) I do not, however, want anything to do with going sledding or building snow forts/men in the yard. Maybe I will be more fun in the cold when I have kids of my own to play with in the white stuff, but for now, I'll view the beauty from the winda.

 

This soup came together out of an excess amount of veggies in the fridge problem...my carrots were getting to look pekid, my green onions were starting to slime up, and I have no use for celery after a veggie tray has been demolished (celery is one veggie I don't use much). So, I made soup! I've been dying to make a soup anyhow, as I went through sort of a phase this Fall where I made tonnnnnns of different varieties (check out skinny loaded baked potato, beef mushroom and quinoa soup, and cheesy veggie chowder for a few new faves) but have now eaten our way through our frozen stock. Being a food hoarder is great, but it gives me anxiety to have an empty freezer...

 

Also, I read Iowa Girl Eats religiously, and she always mentions putting a cheese rind in your soups for extra flava flav. I've never done it before, mainly because I never remember to save my cheese rinds (just pop them in a freezer bag and keep them in the deep freeze until you're ready for them), so I wanted to give it a shot now that I have a pile of rinds in my freezer. Main Man is constantly flabbergasted by the things I choose to save and freeze :)

 

 

 

Tiny little addition, tons of awesome flavor! I used a Greyere cheese rind this time...

 

Gnocchi is my new thing lately, I want to make my own sometime, but for now we're sticking with the store bought stuff. Notice it's cholesterol free for my Main Man!

Here's what you need...

4 chicken breasts, seasoned, cooked, and cubed
2 cups chopped carrots
3 cups chopped celery
1 cup diced green onion
1 cup diced white onion
4-5 cloves minced garlic
3 cups fresh spinach
1 cheese rind (if you have it)
1 package potato gnocchi (1 lb)
1 large can chicken broth
1 cup skim milk
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the broth to a boil, and add all the veggies (besides the spinach) and the cheese rind to boil until they are almost tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add the gnocchi and boil until chewy but firm, about 6 minutes. Turn the soup down to a simmer and add the spinach, salt and pepper, and skim milk. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until flavors meld. I like to let my soups simmer for a couple hours, but if you're hungry, get on in there! Soups are always better the next day, in my opinion though.

Serve with fresh cracked pepper and saltine crackers. Mmmmmm Mmmmmm Great...Campbell's has got nothin' on our snowday soup! P.S. Aren't those little soup bowls with cracker holders just adorbs?? I promise I won't say adorbs again, so you don't break my thumbs. But, gaaaahhhhhhh! My friend Bea gave them to me for Christmas and they give me a warm fuzzy in my heart region :) Happy snow week, all!!

Prosciutto and fontina chicken

Happy Monday, people! It was a phenomenal weekend around the Casa Del Stensland, at least a perfect one in my world. If you asked me what my perfect weekend would be, it would generally include some good workouts, some productive time at home, some great meals, and generally taking things at my own pace with no timeframes for nothin'!  And that's exactly what we did...

 

Friday night I came home from yoga to a meal prepared by Main Man, which is always a nice surprise, especially since I had nothing planned for dinner which doesn't happen often. Saturday we got to hit lunch and shopping at Whole Foods (his first experience there, he was less than impressed with the prices), hit a hot yoga class, get through Menards with supplies to repot a couple houseplants and start our veggie garden indoors so we're rocking the freshies earlier this year, and spend the evening making homemade whole wheat pastas to eat and freeze while taking care of a couple bottles of wine I had laying around. You pretty much can't add anything in there that I would rather be doing, especially when I get to do them with my favorite duder in the 'verse. Yesterday I planned all my meals for the week, I always feel so much better about my life when I have my week planned out. It's tough when I don't get home from my Kosama class until 7 pm, so I love having things prepared ahead of time to throw down for dinner when I get home.

 

We've been trying to stick with chicken and seafood a lot lately, we had our physicals recently and we have a bit of a cholesterol problem for the Main Man. He's been hitting the gym and we've doubled our efforts at eating healthier, so we're hoping to get his numbers down before his next appointment. Chicken can get a bit boring if you're not careful, so here's a good one to try if you're sick of the standard "marinated in Italian dressing" or "Lawry's flavored" chicken breast.

 

chicken breasts

prosciutto (2 slices per breast)

fontina cheese, grated

anaheim pepper (not spicy, tastes more like a green bell pepper), chopped

 

Pound your chicken breasts out flat and lay them over 2 overlapped slices of prosciutto, like below. Sprinkle with fontina cheese and chopped peppers before rolling up and securing with toothpicks.

 

Put them in a greased baking dish and cook for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Some of the cheese melted out so I just scooped it up like a love blanket for the crispy prosciutto wrapped chicken breast. I kinda want a cheese blanket for myself. I wouldn't even make Main Man cuddle with me if I had one of those.

Served with one of our favorite veggies, the roasted brussel sprouts, and we were in business in no time! Hope this week goes as quickly as last week did, we're supposed to get buried the end of the week with a crazy snowstorm so I'll be working hard to get all my workouts in for the 20/30 challenge (that I'm doing with my friend Leslie) and getting things done at work in case I'm stranded on Friday. Can we all do a little finger cross that we don't get the 20 inches they're predicting??

Jalapeno popper chicken chili

Happy Valentines day, blogosphere! Or, if you're Main Man, Happy E. Coli from organic baby spinach day...yeah, it's been a fun week around this joint. Did ya'll hear about the recall on certain brands of baby spinach? If you haven't, and you have some in the fridge, check HERE to make sure you don't have to throw yours out like I did. Is it bad that I'm sort of upset at having to throw out an almost $7 tub of organic spinach? I love spinach! I use it in tons of recipes and we eat spinach salads on the reg. I guess that's why this sucks so bad. But I guess I should count my blessings, as I have had no symptoms whatsoever (although I hear they can come up to a week later, but I also hear some people just don't show symptoms so I'm hoping for the latter rather than the former). Anyway, it really puts a damper on the sweet meal I had planned for the evening in with my new lover of a hubby. We also are trying reschedule our weekend getaway to a Bed & Breakfast that we were signed up to do a murder mystery dinner at on Saturday night! I have really been looking forward to this, people...so I'm really hoping they can sell our reservation and reschedule us! Stupid spinach. Here are a couple of the items we made last year for V-day...just in case you need last minute ideas:

 

Toasted quinoa salad with baby scallops

Baked parmesan tomatoes (these are seriously amazing and so easy!)

Crab legs

 

On to some more fun news...this recipe is ahhhhhmazing! We had a chili cookoff for our friend Tony's surprise 30th birthday a couple weekends ago at our place. Tony was the judge and he's not one for a lot of spice, plus I knew there would be a ton of standard chili recipes there and wanted mine to stand out. I saw this recipe a while ago on Bev Cooks, I've told you about her blog before...she's pretty much my idol. I love reading her writing and feel like she's in my head sometimes...it's weird. Anywho...her jalapeno popper chicken chili was a favorite at the party, although not by the birthday boy judge :( I had quite a few people ask for the recipe so here it is!

 

2 T olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb ground chicken

2 T taco seasoning

1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup corn (I used a can of shoepeg corn)

1 (14.5 oz) can Muir Glen diced tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

4 slices bacon

4 oz cream cheese (I used fat free)

1/2 cup shredded mexican cheese (I used 2%)

1 pinch course salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, both peppers, and garlic. Saute until the veggies start to soften, about 4 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

 

 

Add the ground chicken and brown all over, 5 minutes or so. Add the taco seasoning and continue to cook another minute. Add the beans, corn, diced tomatoes, salsa, broth, and cilantro. Bring to ta light simmer and cook 30 minutes. While the soup simmers, cook the bacon and roughly chop into crumbles. Add the cream cheese, bacon, and shredded cheese to the chili and stir until melted and creamy.

 

I simmered my chili for a bit and then added it to a crockpot to be served for the evening, and forgot to take pics of it when it was first done. The following pics are leftover so the chili appears more chunky than it was when it was originally served. It still had sinful flavor though, and don't kid yourself into thinking I didn't finish that bowl after making it to take photos. Garnish with cilantro, bacon, jalapeno, sour cream (or greek yogurt), salsa...whatever your heart of hearts wants in its caverns for the day...and enjoy! As with most chili, it's better the next day so I didn't even need toppings.

You know it's a hearty chili when it holds your spoon up in it! A lot healthier than normal chili with the subs of chicken for beef, black beans for red beans, etc. I would highly recommend this if you're looking for a chili that's outside the box!

I should mention that this didn't take a prize out of the 11 entries we had that night. But Main Man's chili recipe did take 3rd place!! I will also mention that I made Main Man's chili that day so it's really my 3rd place ribbon using his recipe...in case we're counting 3rd place ribbons, which I don't think anyone does.

Mr. Greg Loeffelholz took first prize that night though, so maybe someday I will try to finagle his recipe out of him and post it for you...I know that it included Graziano sausage and bacon. You pretty much can't lose with those two ingredients.