So, I’ve got to admit, now that I’ve joined society and am no longer working from home, putting together meals that take longer than about 45 mins (start to finish) gets a little tricky.  However, I’m still bound and determined to put healthy, yummy meals on the table at least 4 nights a week.  In honor of this new chapter (and cooking learning curve), I’m starting a new series – “MM” aka Minute Meals.  I’ll be adding “30MM” 0r “45MM” to recipes that are under 1 hour, from start to finish.  Remember, the right side bar has all kinds of categories in case you’re looking for something specific.  You’ll also now find “30MM” and “45MM” – so if you’ve got tighter timelines, you can hop in there and check out some great quickies. (Side note: Did that make you think of inappropriate things?  My mind is always in the gutter.)

Geez Court, GET ON WITH THE MEAL.  30MM, 3 hour long story.  Story. Of. My. Life.

Ya’ll, we’ve officially been Austin residents for three weeks.  My how time flies when you’re eating BBQ.  I thought I’d take the southern food festival down a notch and fix up something fresh.  These California Greek Chicken Bowls are delish and can be customized.  Hopefully my version will give you a good launching point to create your own:

Have you ever heard the saying, “The things you own, end up owning you”?  I heard that once from one of my Southern California hippie friends who shared a studio apartment and had lawn chairs for furniture.  I might have looked down my nose at that comment a few days ago, but I suddenly understand it all.  After these last two weeks, I have understood so clearly the pros of only having a lawn chair couch and a dream.  You guys, WE HAVE SO MUCH F’N STUFF.  We’re close to the end, but we have been unpacking, organizing, setting-up for daaaaaaaaays.

I’m finally in a place where I can take a few moments to make some dinner and share the ridiculousness of my life with you (albeit, dinner was eaten on TV trays surrounded by packing paper and boxes).  But regardless, it’s good to be back in the saddle.  I wanted to share a recipe I made right before we left San Diego when we had a few friends over.  It was bright and super flavorful.  A perfect Friday evening meal with your lova or your favorite ‘Bachelor’-watching gal pal.

Today called for a family favorite for dinner.  It was a tough one, Gidget had to go to the emergency room and we found out she has pancreatitis.   Poor little thing is staying overnight at the hospital.  And, let me tell ya, that’s like staying at the Four Seasons… in the penthouse suite.  For that price I can only hope that she is getting champagne pumped into her with her fluids.  If you don’t have a pet, the things we do for our pets makes us sound like crazy people.  But, when you have one, you are absolutely aware of your pet on-set insanity and you don’t apologize for it one bit. My non-pet-owning bank account thinks I’m crazy.  And I agree.

After all this drama, for dinner tonight I wanted something comforting.  One of this house’s favorite dishes, esp. Adam’s, is this chicken pocket of goodness. I asked Adam what we should name it as I began to write this post, and his first suggestion was all we needed, “Chicken Delisiousness”. Yep, nailed it. This dish is super easy to make, it’s the perfect comfort dish and it’s still not going to blow your calorie budget.

This one is not necessarily the best photo, unless you see the dish for all it is.  Hopefully these photos help tell the story.  And the story is deeeeelisssh.

This medium chicken breast is stuffed with bacon, light cream cheese, green onions, parsley, salt and pepper and wrapped in a light flaky dough.  Unfortunately, we don’t live in food heaven, so we can’t have bacon everyday.  When a recipe, like this, calls for 1-2 pieces of bacon, I’ve found that you can buy just two slices from the meat counter.  Rather than buying a whole pack, you can get just what you need, save some cash [I'll take anything I can get with The Gidge at the Four Seasons (re:VCA Hospital)], and not be tempted to eat bacon every morning. Oh.. but that would be great, wouldn’t it?

Recipe for this family fave below. But first, story time..

*After you finish stuffing the chicken and wrapping it in pastry – this should be about what it looks like. I cut the sheet horizontally, placed a 1/3 of it on the bottom, laid the chicken down and then wrapped the other 2/3 over the top and pinched the two together*

 *Insert perfectly crispy/ flaky breaking sound here*

*an inside look at what heaven looks like*

]]> http://lemonsandlunges.com/2013/09/14/comfort-food-alert-chicken-deliciousness/feed/ 1 http://lemonsandlunges.com/2013/08/28/inspiration-labor-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=inspiration-labor-day http://lemonsandlunges.com/2013/08/28/inspiration-labor-day/#comments Wed, 28 Aug 2013 04:56:40 +0000 http://lemonsandlunges.com/?p=221

One reason why I love summer cooking so much is the easy clean-up when you grill up your dinner.  Today was suuuuper hot in San Diego and after an extra sweaty session of boot camp, all I could think about was eating a light, fresh dinner.   Adam is back from another out of town trip and the last thing I wanted to do was waste any time cleaning dishes, so this dinner hit the spot and checked all the boxes – Clean Eating, Low Carb, Fresh Ingredients, Easy Clean-up.  CHECK!

This would be a great meal for this weekend as well!  Any fun plans for Labor Day?  Not laboring, I hope. That’s unpatriotic, tell your boss I said so and proceed to your bbq/pool party/etc.. Adam and I are going to Joshua Tree for some hiking, camping and off-the-gridding, I’m really excited to figure out some creative camping food.  This gal doesn’t do hot dogs more than once a year.  And I’ve already been to a baseball game, so…. you do the math.

Chicken Chipotle Skewers with Avocado Creme

Ingredients:

Chicken

• juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1/2t  chili powder
• 1/2t paprika
• 1/4t  cumin
• 1/8t cayenne pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2t light brown sugar
• 1 1/2t minced chipotle in adobo
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• minced fresh parsley, to garnish

Avocado Cream Sauce

• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
• 1 clove garlic
• Juice of 1 lime

Directions

Whisk together the lime juice, canola oil, salt, chili powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic, brown sugar, and chipotle in a pie plate. Add the pieces of chicken and toss to coat. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to an hour), stirring and turning the chicken once at the halfway point as it marinates. (OR just toss it all in a gallon ziplock, shake it up and lay flat on in the fridge – turning once)

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. While it’s heating up, thread the chicken onto skewers (throw away any remaining marinade). Transfer the kebabs to the grill, and cook, turning every few minutes so all sides are browned, until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 F. Transfer the kebabs to a plate, tent with foil to keep warm, and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the avocado sauce: Split the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh and add to the bowl of a food processor along with the yogurt, garlic, and lime juice. Process until the sauce is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the kebabs with the minced parsley to garnish, and serve with the avocado sauce for dipping.

Side: I added a tomato, avocado, cherry tomato and bacon salad.  Just chop everything up; add salt, pepper, a drop of Tabasco and a tiny bit of olive oil and you’ve got a perfect summer side!

My junior year of college our school built a new gym that got national attention for how state of the art it was.  I was back earlier than most from winter break and was excited to be able to check out the new digs before it was overrun by the rest of the returning students.  Let me preface this story with the fact that I was no gym rat and was very unfamiliar with most of the equipment.  So, obviously, I pretended to know EXACTLY what I was doing as I made my way down to the the weight area.  I saddled up to a machine and began working on my stretching.  About one minute later, one of the more popular guys in our school locks eyes with me from across the gym… and STARTS APPROACHING.  ”Clearly, he’s impressed by my fitness level and knowledge and is coming over to ask me to be partners… in the gym and out ;)” were my exact thoughts.

Well, JK (we’ll call him that for now), finally gets over to me and asks if I know that the machine (that my foot is in the strap of, with my leg is over my head), is an arm machine.  AN ARM MACHINE. Well, no I did not. Thanks.  So, I did what any other girl in my position would do, I immediately shot back with, “Yeah, I know.  This is just a stretching technique my trainer taught me.” 

Then, I removed my foot from the hand strap, after a three minute struggle because shoes are bigger than hands, and left the weight area with my butt cheeks clenched in horror.

That moment when you realize you’ve been doing something wrong the whole time… awwkkkkarrd.  Well, I just recently found out that I’ve been doing something else wrong the whole time, thanks to my friend Matt (hheyyyyy Matt!!).  For years, I’ve been diligent about making sure I clean and prepare chicken properly to avoid cross contamination and last week I found out,  my efforts have been more dangerous than helpful!

So, I wanted to share with all of you, so you no longer find yourself putting your foot in the hand strap of chicken preparation.

BIG LESSON: Don’t wash that chicken!  Food safety experts have recently found that when you wash raw chicken, something called aerosolization happens — an invisible spray that’s going to potentially carry that bacteria for a foot or two feet. That means your cutting surfaces, food on the counter, utensils, etc. could all be getting hit with the spray.

You’re better to just pat the chicken down with a paper towel and the cooking process with take care of the rest.  Can you believe we’ve been doing it wrong all along??  How awkward.

Now that we know, let’s not kill ourselves with e-coli spraying around the kitchen and enjoy this skinny chicken alfredo “spaghetti”.  The recipe is made with spaghetti squash – and while it’s no noodle impostor as some people want to trick you into thinking – it IS a great alternative for a super healthy dinner. And this has tons of flavor and none of the guilt.  THAT’S doing dinner right, if you ask me.

Skinny Chicken Alfredo with Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
• 1T light butter
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2T flour
• 1.5 cups of fat free milk
• 1T reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
• 2 small grilled chicken breasts (I seasoned them with salt, pepper, cayannne pepper and lemon & garlic Old Bay)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and place in a shallow pan cut side down with 1-2T of water.  Cook for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Once cooled,  use a fork to gently scrape the “spaghetti” strands into the center.  Set aside.

In saucepan, melt butter and add garlic.  Let cook on medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until soft and fragrant.  Whisk in flour, cooking for another minute while stirring. Whisk in milk until no lumps remain. Once hot, add cream cheese and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Spoon sauce equally into each spaghetti squash half. Gently pull up the spaghetti strands to coat as much as possible with the sauce. Top with extra Parmesan and place under the broiler of your oven for 2-3 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and serve with grilled chicken.

Have you ever Googled a seemingly innocent topic that brings up the most horiffic/graphic/sexual/inappropriate image results?  At that very moment, I usually want to be proactive and call my HR department and let them know that I’m not a pervert or sicko.  Just to be safe.  Well, today, before I went to the grocery store I wanted to double check if peaches were on the “Dirty Dozen” list.  If you’re not familiar – it’s a list of the top 12 produce items you should always try to buy organic, if nothing else, because they have the highest levels of pesticides used when growing.

Well, if you ever look it up, don’t be too quick to the trigger, like I was, push “Enter” on a suggested search and accidentally Google “Dirty D”. Because… there are just some things you can’t unsee.

I hope I don’t get fired for trying to look up if a peach is going to give me cancer.  Let’s at least make it worth my while… can we talk organic?  I’ve really been trying to be better with buying more organic produce.  It’s expensive, but I at least always buy the “Dirty D”…. I mean “Dozen”  (holy gross) organic and then look for sales on other items.  Do you eat all organic?  If you’re a halfy like me, what are your “organic priorities” at the store?

Tonight, the hug for my stomach, known as Restaurant Style Chicken Tortilla Soup was ALL organic (minus the chicken). Everything in the whole recipe organic?? I’m such a hippie! Get me my flower crown.

I used my leftovers from Friday’s Three Ingredient Shredded Chicken to put together this delectable little Chicken Tortilla Soup. The recipe below is for about half the shredded chicken I made on Friday.  If you have less chicken, you can adjust accordingly.  There’s no science to tonight’s meal, just adjust as you go!

Restaurant-Style Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• Three Ingredient Shredded Chicken (1/2 the recipe – use the other half for tacos!)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can of corn
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobe (or 2-3 if you like it really spicy!)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 (32 oz) Organic Chicken Broth, divided
• 1 (15 oz) black beans (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

For toppings (all optional):

• crushed tortilla chips
• chopped avocado
• pico de gallo (I left this off, because I’m lazy)
• light sour cream
• light mexican cheese
• chopped cilantro

Directions:

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder and cumin. Stir well and saute until onions are tender (about 7 minutes).  Add corn, chipotle pepper and tomato paste; stir well let blend for about 2 minutes. Add cilantro, pepper to taste, black beans, lime juice, and 3-1/2 cups chicken broth then simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop avocado, and combine remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth with masa or cornmeal in a small bowl. When soup is done simmering, drizzle in chicken broth/masa mixture, and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve topped chopped avocado, pico de gallo, cheese, crushed chips and cilantro.

Now, that I’ve slowly fooled myself into thinking exercise can be fun, I still have my cankles.  But, I also have a strong fit bod (did I just write that?), and a little case of the cankles is not going to overshadow that.  People notice that I can do 10 plyo push-ups or that I don’t give up on the burpees challenges.  I don’t think most zone in on the canks.  I think that everyone has their “sore spot”. But letting it define you, or hold you back from your true potential is such a disservice. No one will notice that one problem area if you’re fit and confident and healthy. Don’t trick yourself into thinking your cankles make you fat.  It’s the soda.  Naw’ Mean?

Tonight, I wanted to make an easy peasy dish, so I could kick-up my cankles and relax after boot camp’s “Thursday Thunder” session (ouch).  For these kind of days, nothing beats the magical powers of the Crockpot.  I tried the Pinterest favorite – Three Ingredient Mexican Shredded Chicken and it was a big success.  My house smells like a mexican cantina (minus the vomit and tequila) and dinner was put together in under ten minutes. Score one for the home team!

Shredded Chicken Tacos:

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken breasts
• 1 jar of salsa (16 oz.)
• 1 package of taco seasoning mix

For tacos:

• low carb/low calorie corn or flour tortillas (I’m a flour girl myself)
• chopped avocado
• shredded lettuce
• light sour cream
• light mexican cheese

Directions:

Dump all the ingredients (minus the taco ingredients) in the Crockpot and give it a hard stir to make sure the seasoning has mixed in. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

When ready to serve, steam or heat tortillas and top with anything your heart desires!

Bonus Points: This makes a lot of chicken.  Use the leftovers for Chicken Tortilla Soup or freeze for later. Leftovers are THE BEST “fast food”

Come back tomorrow for a new series I’m starting – Feel Good Friday!