tilapia foil packets

wow, did i make a great dinner tonight!



know what i love? when meals are healthy and easy and delicious. this one was all three! so, all you do is spray a piece of tin foil with non-stick spray and put a piece of tilapia (or your whitefish of choice) on it. season as you wish- i used basil and italian seasoning. then top with your vegetables of choice.

did i mention it's a flexible menu? cause it is.



i topped it with carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper, tomato, and green beans. then i topped with additional seasonings, along with salt, pepper, and garlic.


cook in a 425 oven for about 20 or 25 minutes. delicious! we served it with brown rice, but i bet couscous would be great also. yum!

peanut chicken and pasta

i made a really really delicious pseudo-thai meal recently. and it's easy. and like all my meals recently, not too bad for you.

cook some chicken up. it's usually faster if you cut it into bite-sized pieced ahead of time. for the last minute or two, add large-chopped red (and/or green) peppers.

meanwhile, cook an entire box of spaghetti noodles. linguini would probably be good also, but I wouldn't use something thin like angel hair pasta. reserve at least 1 cup of the pasta water to use in the sauce.

in the same pan that you cooked the chicken, put about 1/2 cup of peanut butter (i used creamy, but chunky would be awesome) and 5 tablespoons or so of soy sauce. i also sprinkled some dried onion, garlic powder (NOT garlic salt, the soy sauce is salty enough!), and ginger.



don't trust this picture. It's after everything above is added, and before this next step. add at least a cup of the pasta water to the sauce mixture, more if it needs to be thinned. as with most of my recipes, i didn't actually measure any of those things. i just wrote down approximately what i used.

after the sauce is warmed, mix the pasta, chicken and peppers, and sauce together and you have a delicious meal!



tip: it's even better the next day. i really think that when I make this again, i'll make it the day before and just heat up the "leftovers" for dinner!

healthy pizzas

i made two AWESOME pizzas last night.

and they're pretty healthy, too!

pizza #1:



whole wheat crust (boboli, not homemade)
light alfredo sauce
sliced zucchini
fresh mushrooms
roasted chicken
small amounts of mozzarella, romano cheeses
sprinkle bacon crumbles

pizza #2:



crust brushed with garlic olive oil
medium-rare steak
red and green peppers
fresh tomatoes
feta cheese


the hardest part of the night? picking a favorite! i thought the steak would be my fave, but they were both so amazing.

Skirt steak salad

how's this for a recipe:

1) make a salad
2) add steak strips, cooked to your liking
3) eat and enjoy

but really. i made an awesome salad tonight, with romaine, cucumbers, green and red peppers, tomatoes, carrots, medium-rare steak, and feta cheese. topped it with balsamic vinaigrette, and it was a great dinner!




healthy, delicious, and filling.

menu plan, week of june 6

i planned my whole month's menu again. but to avoid seeming as prepared as i am, i'm just going to post one week at a time. if it's a novel recipe, i'll post about it this week also.

all of my meals are SUPER easy, and i'll be making the "healthy" versions if the actual meal itself isn't really healthy. for example, for the weekday enchiladas, i'll be using fat-free sour cream, and less than the recipe calls for. for the pizza? we'll use lots of leftover veggies from the enchiladas and the salad, and less cheese in both the enchiladas and on the pizzas.

sounds good!

monday: weekday enchiladas
tuesday: skirt steak salad
wednesday: homemade pizza with leftover veggies from monday and tuesday
thursday: leftovers
friday: peanut chicken with pasta and green peppers
saturday: posole
sunday: leftovers

using what you have

have you been to the kraft recipes site? it's super convenient when you're sitting on your lunch break wondering what you're going to do with the chicken that is thawing, and hoping you can use at least one of the five cans of black beans you have in your pantry. but really, who has five cans of black beans? it's one of those items i buy all the time (like canned tomatoes) but don't use often (unlike canned tomatoes). all you do is input what ingredients you have, and it brings up some recipe options.

so, i went to the site and it gave me this great idea for a mexican chicken dish over rice.

i cooked two chicken breasts that i'd cut into bite-size pieces, and added about half of a diced onion. when it's all done, i added a can of rinsed black beans, a cup of salsa (or, if you're low on salsa, some salsa mixed with the leftover rotel that's in your fridge), and about a cup of frozen corn (or a can of corn, drained. i didn't have a can).

serve over rice (which was cooking in your rice cooker the whole time you were cooking the chicken), and be prepared to enjoy a delicious supper! i like mine a little spicier, so i added some red pepper flakes. but really, other than that, i didn't add any seasonings at all. the rotel/salsa mix had just what it needed. oh, and the chicken was marinated, but i don't think that made much of a difference.

stuffed chicken with bacon

well, talk about a hint!
i was cleaning the house with my husband, and he set out a new cookbook on the stand, open to the dish he hoped i'd make next. it just happened to be this delicious meal, which is extremely unhealthy, and also one of our new favorites. quite the dilemma.



here's the quick how-to:
cut a slit in the chicken breast and fill with goat cheese (per the recipe) or brie (what i did). sprinkle the outside with italian seasoning, then wrap with two or three slices of bacon, depending on the size of the chicken, and tuck the ends under. using the dutch oven with a little oil in it, cook the chicken just until the bacon is browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.

for one of them, i turned it before the bacon was cooked, and it started to fall off. no big deal, just serve it all together once it's done with the oven cooking. 

add thick slices of tomato (grape tomatoes would be good, too), garlic, and a sprinkle of olive oil, then move the dish to the oven (350 degrees) for 30-ish minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. serve with a side salad.



see, easy! and, well, it's BACON so your house smells amazing while it's cooking. i'd recommend serving it with some crusty bread, cause there's an amazing sauce in the pan that you'll surely want to soak up!