Super Simple Weeknight Lo Mein

I've been exerimenting with this recipe for a while and finally came up with a good balance of ingredients to make a healthy lo mein in a hurry. It usually takes me about 30 minutes tops to make this, so it's perfect after a busy day at work. It's also easy to customize this lo mein to suit your tastes. You can add different vegetables for some variety; use beef, shrimp, or pork instead of chicken, or you can make it a vegetarian meal. The only thing I would not recommend is using whole wheat spaghetti noodles, they can get gooey when you're frying them up in your wok. Otherwise, feel free to get creative!

Super Simple Weeknight Lo Mein

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
2 tbsp teriyaki marinade
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups sliced carrot
2 cups frozen broccoli
1 cup sliced mushroom
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 box spaghetti noodles
1/4 -1/2 cup soy sauce

Directions

1. Mix chicken with teriyaki marinade, set aside for 5-10 minutes (or longer if possible). While the meat is marinating, start cooking the spaghetti noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat oil in wok or large saucepan on medium-high heat.

3. Add chicken and stir fry until brown, about 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.

4. Move chicken to the sides of the pan and add sliced carrot and broccoli. Stir fry for 5 minutes.

5. Add mushrooms and garlic and stir fry for about 3 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked through



6. Add pasta noodles and soy sauce and mix thoroughly to combine ingredients. Serve and enjoy!

Baked Whole Wheat Chicken Taquitos with Grilled Corn

My family loves Tex-Mex food but I hate how fattening all of the recipes are. It seems like everything is fried or covered in cheese. I found this recipe on another blog and changed it to use whole wheat flour tortillas. You can use corn tortillas as well but I've never been a big fan. To get shredded chicken, I usually boil 1 cup of chic

ken stock (1 cup water plus a bouillon cube) in a skillet, cover and simmer the chicken breasts for 7 minutes per side. They are fully cooked and shred easily when done.

I loved the way these turned out, they were really crispy on the outside and soft and melty on the inside. There was just enough cheese to make it rich without being overly fattening. We dipped them in salsa and sour cream. I served these with yellow rice and grilled corn.

Baked Whole Wheat Chicken Taquitos

Adapted from Pennies on a Platter

Ingredients

3 ounces cream cheese, softened (low fat optional)
1/4 cup salsa (green or red)1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
2 Tbsp sliced green onions (optional)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese16 small whole wheat tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 425˚F.

2. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly. (If you decided to prep this in advance, refrigerate the mixture at this point until ready to continue.)

3. Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat t

hem in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).

4. Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.

5. Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone. Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle wi

th kosher salt.

6. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

7. Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

**To freeze: Before baking, chill the taquitos on the baking sheet in the fridge. Once completely cooled, wrap each taquito individually with plastic wrap. Place in a labeled freezer bag and freeze. To bake a frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425˚F and bake for 20 minutes

Grilled Corn

Ingredients

4 fresh cobs of corn, husks and silk removed

oil (for grates)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the grill to HIGH

2. Cook corn in boiling water for 5 minutes or until cooked, but not too soft.

3. Oil the grill grates

4. Cook the corn on the grill for about 5-10 minutes or until slightly charred.

I like to cut the corn off of the cob, that's the way our family likes it. You an also leave the corn on the cob and season them with butter and salt and pepper.

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

This recipe is a copycat version of the Chicken and Gnocchi soup at Olive Garden. I had that soup for the first time last week while at lunch with my friend Tiffany and I knew I had to find the recipe. This did taste a lot like the restaurant version, it was a big hit with the boys so I will definitely be making it again. I followed the recipe I found, which called for heavy cream, but I will make it with whole milk next time to reduce the fat content.

I meant to make homemade focaccia bread with the soup but I didn't have time, but I will make it next time. I think bread would go really well with this soup, but it was fine on it's own. I also had a glass of Bogle Chardonnay, it was a great dinner.

Ingredients

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

2 cups heavy cream (or whole milk, for lower fat)

4 cups chicken broth

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 vidalia onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

16 oz package potato gnocchi

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and saute carrots, onion, and garlic until soft and translucent.

2. Add chicken stock, thyme, salt and pepper, cream, and chicken and bring to a boil.

3. Add gnocchi and boil for 4 minutes

4. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes

5. Add spinach and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.

Chicken Souvlaki with Fresh Pita Bread

I have seen this recipe on so many blogs that I just had to try it for myself. Every time I go out to lunch with coworkers to a diner near the Space Center, I order the chicken souvlaki, so I decided to make this version I got from Joelen's Culinary Adventures.

I did make my own pita bread but I wasn't thrilled with how it came out. I like a crispier pita and these were very soft. They tasted great, but I will experiment a bit more before post the recipe. The yogurt sauce can be a taziki sauce or a yogurt dressing. I mixed plain yogurt with red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a dill spice blend.

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 tablespoon dried dill

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed into bit sized pieces

Directions

1. In a bowl or freezer bag, combine ingredients and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

2. Soak wooden skewers in water to prevent charring on the grill.

3. Skewer marinated chicken and discard excess marinade. Grill on high, 5-7 minutes for each side until juices run clear.

4. Serve with pita bread, yogurt sauce, and greek salad.

Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken

Since being on maternity leave, I have had a hard time getting a healthy lunch in the afternoons. I don't want to cook something because it takes way too long. I also don't want to have a lean cuisine or other processed meal because they are usually full of sodium and aren't very tasty. I went to Park Avenue in Winter Park last week on a shopping trip and had a bit of my little Sister's lunch at a restaurant called The Briar Patch. She had a salad with spinach, blue cheese, bacon, and grilled chicken with a balsamic vinaigrette. I liked it so much that I decided to create my own recipe with stuff that I like.

My salad has the spinach and a very small amount of bacon, feta cheese, Apple, grilled marinated chicken, and my favorite vinaigrette recipe. I plan on experimenting with the ingredients in the future, maybe using blue cheese or adding walnuts or almonds. Either way, it came out great! I will definitely be making this again.

Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken

1 Marinated chicken breast, grilled

1/2 Apple, sliced into small pieces

2 cups fresh spinach

2 tablespoons feta or blue cheese (such as gorgonzola)

Crumbled bacon (optional)

Balsamic Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Directions

1. Toss spinach in with salad greens.

2. Sprinkle salad with cheese and bacon

3. Slice chicken breast on a bias and place on top of the spinach.

Balsamic Vinaigrette ( makes 1 cup)

3/4 cups Olive Oil

1/4 cups Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Mix balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.

2. Slowly add olive oil while mixing with a whisk or wooden spoon.

Salsa Chicken in the Crockpot

I have heard a lot about how good this recipe was so I thought I’d give it a try. It was very easy to put together in the morning before I left for work. I let the chicken sit out overnight and just poured on the other ingredients in the crockpot before I left. When I got home, the house smelled great!

Pulling the chicken with a fork was very easy and I let it sit and warm while I made some black beans to go with the meal. We just spooned this chicken into some whole wheat tortillas with some toppings and we were good to go. The only change I would make is to use frozen chicken instead of thawed, the chicken was a bit burnt after 10 hours in the slow cooker.

I will definitely be making this again.

Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts
1 cup Medium Salsa
1 package taco seasoning
1 can reduced fat condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream


Directions:

1. Add chicken to the bottom of the slow cooker.

2. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.

3. Mix salsa, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup; pour over chicken.

4. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

5. Shred Chicken with two forks and mix back in with all the sauce.

Easy Weeknight Paella

I have been wanting to make paella for a long time but the usual recipes call for a lot of work and expensive ingredients. I saw this recipe for weeknight paella and thought I’d give it a try. I am so glad I did! This was a huge hit with my husband and my toddler gobbled it up too. I altered the recipe by using chicken instead of shrimp since my husband is allergic them. I also added some white wine to the preparation (optional) and I cooked the meats before I added the rice.

Ingredients:

2/3 cups yellow rice (Goya)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 breasts chicken, cut in chunks
1/2 pound chorizo, sliced

½ cup white wine
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
½ cup frozen peas

Directions:

1. Cook the chorizo and brown the chicken on medium heat in a large skillet. Remove meats to a separate plate and slice chorizo.

2. Heat olive oil in the large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add shallot and garlic and continue to saute until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add rice and cook until it begins to toast, about 1-2 minutes.

4. Add white wine and scrape the bottom of the skillet (optional)

5. Add broth. Cover pan tightly and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 18 minutes.

6. Remove lid, add parsley and peas and cook until heated through. Continue cooking uncovered until all liquid is absorbed.

Healthy Chicken Pot Pie

Here’s another guest blog from one of my other cubemates, Katie

My name is Katie. I am a busy working mom of a very busy toddler and pregnant with #2 currently, so cooking needs to be something I can make for my family that is quick and healthy and still tastes great! Most of my dishes I substitute to make a “lighter” version…shhh…don’t tell my husband!  I have been able to make great meals and still keep the flavor with not as much of the fat. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup cubed chicken breast
1 2/3 cup frozen mixed veggies thawed (carrots, corn, green beans, peas)
1 ½ cans (10 ¾ oz) Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
1 ¼ cup Healthy Heart Bisquick
½ cup milk (skim or 1% to lower fat) **give or take a splash for consistency**
1 egg
Nature’s Seasons Seasoning Salt, to taste

Instructions:

1. PreHeat Oven to 400°F

2. Cut raw chicken breast into small cubes- enough to fill a measuring cup to 1 ½ cups of chicken

3. In a frying pan on medium heat, use a tsp of olive oil and sauté the chicken with season salt until cooked thoroughly. Then set aside.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together Bisquick, milk, and egg to create the crust.
Once oven is ready, take a small amount of the Bisquick and line the bottom of the pie pan with batter.

5. Bake for 5 minutes and then remove from the oven.

6. Meanwhile, in a larger mixing bowl, combine thawed veggies, cooked chicken cubes, and cream of chicken soup. Mix until all ingredients are well coated in the soup.

7. Pour contents of the large mixing bowl into the pie pan on top of the base you already created.

8. Take remaining Bisquick batter and pour over the top of the chicken and veggie mixture.

9. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

I bookmarked this recipe several weeks ago from Mrs. Sac’s Purple Kitchen. It looked like a recipe that could be modified easily to add different ingredients that I had on hand. I love enchiladas, but I don’t always like the assembly and the work it takes to make them. I also like poaching chicken and shredding it for recipes, so I gave this a try. This casserole came out really good, I added corn and black beans to the mix and used mostly stuff that I had in the fridge and pantry. This is a great, low cost meal that can be heated up the next day for lunch. I will definitely be making this again.

Ingredients:

1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, divided (do not include seeds/membranes or it will be HOT!)
1 3/4 pounds skinned, boned chicken breasts
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup evaporated skim milk (I used heavy cream from my fridge, it worked fine but isn’t as light that way)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup (2 ounces) light cream cheese (I used light sour cream that I had on-hand, turned out great)
1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 can black beans
1 ½ cups frozen corn
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 ounce tortilla chips, crushed (about 6 chips) ( I didn’t use any chips, the casserole still came out great)

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350°.

2.Combine broth and 1 can of chiles in a large skillet; bring to a boil. Add chicken; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken once.

3.Remove chicken from cooking liquid, reserving cooking liquid; cool chicken. Shred meat with two forks, and set aside.

4.Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 can of chiles and onion; sauté 3 minutes or until soft. Add reserved cooking liquid, milk, Monterey Jack, cream cheese, and enchilada sauce; stir well. Stir in shredded chicken, beans, and corn; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

5.Place 4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Spoon 2 1/2 cups chicken mixture over tortillas. Repeat layers twice, ending with chicken mixture.

6.Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

SPICY Chicken Tortilla Soup

My husband and Son have both been feeling a little under the weather lately so I wanted to make them some soup. Instead of making chicken noodle, I decided to make a chicken tortilla soup that would have lots of yummy broth but would also be a hearty meal. I used a recipe I saw on “Rescue Chef” and change it up a bit to make it a more balanced meal. I found the two Jalapenos to be very very spicy, so just cut out one of them or use milder chili peppers instead if you don’t like super spicy food.



•2 tablespoons vegetable oil
•1 small onion, finely diced
•2 tablespoons minced garlic
•2 jalapenos, finely diced
•6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
•1 (14.5-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes (I used Hunt’s brand)
•1 (14.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
•1 cup instant brown rice
•3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
•2 limes, juiced, plus wedges for garnish (optional)
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
•1 (8-inch) flour tortilla, grilled, cut into thin strips ( I used pita, tasted just as good)

Directions
1.In a large saucepan heat the vegetable oil. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes.

2.Once the onions have softened add the garlic and jalepenos and cook for another minute.

3.Pour the chicken broth, tomatoes and beans into the pot and bring to a boil. Once at a boil lower heat to simmer and add your chicken breasts. Cook the chicken for 20 to 25 minutes.

4.Once chicken is cooked remove from pot. When cool enough to handle, shred it and return it to the pot.

5.Add brown rice and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes until rice is cooked.

6.Add lime juice and fresh cilantro to the pot. In a serving bowl, ladle soup over chicken and top with a lime wedge, and grilled tortilla strips.

Creamy Chicken Casserole

This is an old standby, I used to have this all the time growing up and now I make it for my Husband and Son. It can be modified to make it more healthy, or you can add veggies, it’s a pretty versatile recipe. I am not sure where it originated, but I know the recipe by memory now. I usually serve this with either a salad or green beans.

Ingredients (feeds 4-5 people):

1½ hours | 1 hour prep



•4 skinless chicken breasts
•1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
•1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
•4 cups herb stuffing mix
•4 tablespoons melted butter
•Salt and pepper to taste

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.Boil chicken breasts in water for 25 minutes.



3.Let chicken sit until cool and then shred chicken.



4.Combine shredded chicken, salt and pepper, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup and spread evenly into a casserole dish.



5.Combine melted butter and stuffing mix in a bowl to soften the stuffing. Sometimes I will soften it even more using some broth from the boiled chicken.



6.Pour stuffing mix over chicken mixture and spread evenly.



7.Cover casserole dish with aluminum foil and cook for 20 minutes.

8.Remove Aluminum foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes to make the topping crispy.

9. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!