Monday Meal Plan: Healthy Chicken Parm

Happy Monday friends & Happy March!

I can honestly TASTE Spring around the corner! Its been a little bit since I came on here (we were in Florida and since I’ve been back its been so busy with the kiddos!) so I thought I would hop on and share a recipe that we all love as a family. I actually can’t believe I haven’t shared it!! I was racking my brain the other day for a good family friendly Sunday night dinner and it popped in my head! When I realized that I didn’t share with you all yet I knew I had to make it!

Normally when you think of chicken parm, you think of fried, and heavy! This meal is the total OPPOSITE and it tastes just as good!

Ingredients

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs (f you need more you can always add more!)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Panko crumbs
1 egg, beaten
Chicken cutlets
Mozarella cheese (or cheddar cheese
Jar of red sauce (or if you prefer homemade make that!)
Pasta of your choice (or zucchini noodles)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Boil water in pot. Once boiling, cook pasta.

2. Combine both breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in dish. Beat egg in dish. Dip chicken cutlet in egg, then in mixture. Place on baking sheet with parchment paper (this is important!!! If you use foil it will stick!!). Repeat with all pieces of chicken.

3. Bake the chicken for 12-15 minutes or until browned. Flip chicken. Whe both sides are fully cooked, place cheese on top of chicken and broil on HIGH for 4-6 minutes. While chicken is getting “crispy”, warm sauce.

4. Take chicken out of oven, let cool. Spoon sauce over chicken and pasta. Enjoy!

   Notes:

   -I served this with salad, and sauteed green beans and mushrooms with minced garlic!
   -I happened to use cheddar cheese, but most people would probably prefer mozarella!
   -My kids are obsessed with this meal!
   -I’ll mention again how important the parchment paper is!
   
   

xo

Alex

Meal Plan Monday: Chicken Piccata

Happy Monday!

I’ve been on a roll experimenting with recipes and changing things up for dinnertime! #soproud ! I love playing around with ingredients and putting a healthy spin on meals & sharing them with you all!

I made a really nice Chicken Piccata meal last night for the whole family and everyone loved it!

Ingredients:

Whole grain or Protein pasta
Olive Oil
Butter (optional)
Chicken Cutlets
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup Flour (I try to use Unbleached white flour-they were all sold out yesterday)
2 cloves garlic, minced
pre-sliced mushrooms
1.5 cup chicken stock
Capers, to taste
1 lemon

Notes:

Pasta: I usually pick something easier to eat for the kids- angel hair or any other long noodle is a little bit harder for us with the age of our boys so I usually pick ziti, penne or bows! But if you don’t have young kids, angel hair is awesome!
-I definitely recommend buying cutlets of chicken! Much quicker to cook!
-We also made a side of a salad to go with this!

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

2. Mince garlic; warm oil in frying pan. Sautee 1 clove garlic on low.

3. While pasta is cooking & garlic is becoming fragrant, place 3/4 cup flour in dish with salt, pepper. In a separate dish, pour 2 tablespoons oil & 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Dip chicken in oil/lemon mixture. Then dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess.

4. Place chicken in frying pan with garlic . Cook 3 min on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan. (I added butter when I flipped the chicken for a little more flavor)

5. In same pan, warm other clove garlic with oil. Cook until fragrant. Add mushrooms. Cook until browned. Add 1 tablespoon flour and 1/4 cup stock to pan, stirring with whisk. Add remaining 1 1/4 cup stock and capers, bring to boil. Tip: if it is too runny, add more flour. Add chicken back to the pan and cook for another 3-5 mins.

6. Top pasta with chicken & sauce. Enjoy!
   

xo
Alex

Meal Plan Monday: Chicken Tetrazzini

Fall is officially here which means saying hello to crockpots and easy oven meals! I wanted to share this meal that is super easy and convenient to make (read: you can make most of it ahead of time)

Most importantly, this is kid and family friendly.

Now, before I get into the recipe, I want to let you all know that…YES. I do eat this with my family. I feel like sometimes there is a misconception that I only eat salads and grilled chicken! News flash…I DON’T! Carbs are good. Period. It is important to know that. The biggest piece of advice I could give anyone is be smart about when you eat them! I choose to eat a dish like this on a day that I’ve trained hard (ie. leg day or a longer run) to make sure these carbs go to good use!

My kids LOVE this meal- in fact when I made it last week my oldest asked if we could eat it every night! ha! Both of my older sons had seconds! He also asked for it again today!

I love oven meals because once you get them set up, you have the time they are in the oven to do other things and not stand in front of the stove. This is so important with three small kiddos.

For this particular recipe, the chicken, bacon, pasta and mushrooms can all be made earlier in the day. This is totally clutch for me. If you have kids at school, or who nap (naptime is a great time to prep), this is a great meal to bust out. Yes, I know that time is “yours” but I don’t know about you…but the stress I get cooking when the three kids are running around…making it ahead of time is worth it!

Once everything is made, all you have to do is dump it in the pan, make the sauce (which literally takes 4 minutes) and throw it in the oven. BINGO.

I think pairing this with a simple salad would really complete the meal!

Ingredients:

1 lb spaghetti noodles (I use wheat or barilla protein)
1 container mushrooms
1 lb bacon cut in pieces (I use turkey bacon)
4-5 lb chicken breasts
Shredded mozarella

Sauce:
2 tablespoons melted butter
2-4 tablespoons of flour
1/2 pint Heavy cream
1 cup Chicken broth
Pepper

1. Boil Water & cook pasta. Cut bacon & dice chicken.

2. While pasta is cooking, sautee mushrooms in frying pan. In different pan, cook chicken. Place in dish.

3. Preheat oven to 375 F.

4. When mushrooms are finished sauteeing, brown bacon.

5. Place cooked pasta in 9 x 12 pan. Put cooked chicken, bacon and mushrooms on top of noodles.

6. Make Sauce: Add flour to melted butter and stir until there are no lumps. Pour into pot and add 1 cup chicken broth. Add 1/2 pint of cream. Heat over stovetop until thickened. (you may have to add more flour/more broth depending on thickness. More flour if it is too watery, more broth if too thick)

7. Stir sauce and pour over pasta mixture.

8. Put motzarella cheese on top and cook for 25-30 minutes or until browned. (sometimes I put the broiler on at the end to make it crispy)

   Enjoy! Happy Monday!

   xo

   Alex

Fast & Easy Family Friendly Recipe: Turkey Pepperoni Chicken

Recipe: Pepperoni Chicken

I wanted to hop on and share a quick recipe that our whole family enjoys…I know how it can be a struggle to make only one meal (thats somewhat healthy!) for the whole family, especially with toddlers/kids in tow!

For this meal, our boys love the pepperoni and they LOVE pasta. My oldest son loves this meal and requested it for his birthday!

I put a healthier, lower carb spin on it for my husband and I with the zucchini noodles, but you can totally make yours with pasta.

This meal is kind of like pizza…minus the carbs and packs a mean protein punch with a little zing with the pepperoni. I usually get this in the oven, and steam so veggies and I’m good to go! You could even make this ahead of time and throw it in the fridge in the morning, and when you’re ready to cook or get home from work, just put in the oven and you’re good to go. I’ll definitely be using this trick when baby 3 comes along because…#witchinghour !!!!

Pepperoni Chicken

Ingredients:

Turkey Pepperoni Slices
Breadcrumbs of your choice (1/4 or 1/2 cup)
1 egg, mixed
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Chicken (I use cutlets, if i happen to use breasts I slice and pound them so they cook faster)
Motzarella Cheese
Pasta of your choice (you can subsitute zucchini noodles)
Red jarred sauce (any kind you like, I happened to use Chefs)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Put parchment paper on cookie sheet or pyrex dish ( I always use parchment paper, the breading never sticks to it!)

2. Slice/Pound the chicken if needed. Crack the egg in a medium sized bowl, beat.

3. Pour breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a different bigger size plate or dish.

4. Dip Chicken in egg, then in breadcrumb and cheese mixture, coating.

5. Place on baking sheet and continue until all chicken is on sheet. Put in oven.

6. Cook for 25-30 mins, flipping halfway. (at the halfway point I throw my veggies in the steamer and cook my zucchini noodles & pasta)

7. The last 5 minutes, pull out of oven and place pepperoni on chicken breast. I usually do 3-4. Sprinkle cheese over. Place back in oven for 3-5 more minutes. (If you like it crunchy you can broil it!)

8. Warm the sauce, and drizzle it on the chicken and/or pasta. My boys don’t really have the red sauce but I do!

9. Enjoy!

   
   Have a great day!
   xo Alex
   

Make your own Panera Bread: Family friendly Chicken Avo Panini

Happy Monday! I’m dragging a little this morning and not sure why. I feel like last week is finally catching up with me. Sometimes I get on a high and work on adrenaline and that might be the case after our big trip last week!

I wanted to share a favorite recipe of ours that I’ve modified in a couple of ways to make more healthy! It is honestly one of our go-to weekend meals because its quick and easy; but also satisfies us like we’ve gone out for a meal even though we are too tired to go out! ha! #thatparentlife Also, bonus, the kids like it!

I am so obsessed with paninis and if you love them too, you NEED to try this recipe. We have a KRUPS panini machine that my mom got us for Christmas but I think you could probably cook this on the stovetop or even in a George Foreman. Looks like you can panini presses at all levels of price including like $20 so its a good investment if you have kids & want to make sandwches, paninis or even a fancy grilled cheese!

Chicken Avo Panini

Ingredients:

Chicken Cutlets
Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil
1 Lemon juiced
2 garlic minced
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
3 tablespoons mayo
1 tomato sliced
1 avocado sliced in pieces
Cheddar cheese (shredded)
Bread: we use soft sided Italian (a lot easier for the kids to bite down than regular Italian. I have tried to find wheat but haven’t found it yet! That could also work!)

Also: those who DON’T like Mayo: please do not let this scare you away from the meal! I don’t ever eat mayo and I LOVE this sandwich :)

1. Marinate the chicken in a ziploc bag- put the cutlets in a bag with olive oil, italian seasoning (to taste), 1/2 lemon juiced and 1 garlic minced. Make sure you mix it around so it all gets covered. Place in fridge. You can do this 8 hours before or 20 minutes before!

2. Make the sauce. Combine garlic, the other half of the lemon, the greek yogurt and mayo. Stir and put saran wrap over the bowl and place in the fridge.

3. When you’re ready, put some olive oil in a bowl and cook the chicken in a frying pan. Slice your tomato and prepare the avocado while the chicken cooks.

4. Turn your panini machine on.

5. Take the sauce out of the fridge. Spread on the bread, add chicken, 2 slices tomato, avocado, and desired amount of cheese. Spray machine & put sandwich under panini press.

6. Remove from press and repeat process with any other slices of bread. Let cool. Enjoy!!

So, there you go! What I love about this is its pretty quick and you can either prep before you are gone for the day (before work or a weekend day) and throw in the fridge, or you can make it right before! To me there is really no taste difference it just depends on how much time you have!

I also always use cutlets; if I have breasts than I cut them in half and pound them because it cooks so much faster & you need it thin for the sandwiches!

Hope you all enjoy!!

xo
Alex

30 minute meal: Chicken Arugula Salad

Hey guys! I thought I would hop on here real quick and share one of my favorite recipes!  Now that I'm a mom I try and find ONE meal I can cook for the whole fam. There is nothing worse than cooking two different dinners....Who's with me on that???!! And lets be honest we can't be eating the same four meals that our kids eat LOL. This meal is SUPER easy to make and fast and changes things up!! 

Ok..so whenever I go out to dinner I am such a sucker for Chicken Arugula Salad. I love the balsamic, fresh tomatoes and the fact that it has some greens in it. So freaking good. Its definitely a "healthier" option when eating out. However, I don't love the fact that its made in the frying pan...so I thought to myself..hm. I can totally make this at home. Just without the extra grease!

The trick is that I throw it in the oven which gives you crispy chicken without the oil! WIN! And...you can give the kids the SAME crispy breaded chicken. I mean, who doesn't love breaded chicken? You can enjoy your Arugula salad...and Give the kids some ketchup, BBQ, or hot sauce (if they're old enough to like sauces, my two toddlers just eat it plain) and bingo...you have a meal for the whole fam. If you want extra credit, you could honestly cut the chicken into smaller pieces for the kids so they look like nuggets! Steam some veggies on the side for them and donezo. You have dinner in 30 mins...and a majority of the time its in the oven which means time to do something else..like play with the kids, clean up, un -wind from work..whatever it may be. 

Ingredients: 

Chicken Breasts (however many you need)
4 cups Arugula
Breading:
1 cup Breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs (I like Edward and Sons)
1 egg
2-3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Topping:
1/2 tomato (the firmer the better)
chopped onion
Balsamic Vinegar to taste
Olive Oil to taste

*I've been pretty loose with the amounts of the above only because everyone is different in terms of how much they prefer. If you love onion, use a 1/2 of an onion. If you don't like it as much, use a 1/3 or 1/4 of an onion. Same with the parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar(I'm obsessed..so I use a ton), and olive oil. 

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Pound the chicken breasts so they are flat (this is super important. It cuts down on the cooking time). Put a sheet of parchment paper on a oven safe baking sheet. 
2. Crack the egg and whisk in a bowl. Place the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a separate deep dish or bowl. 

3. Dip the chicken in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs making sure the breast is covered with the crumbs. Place on the parchment paper on baking sheet. Repeat until all breasts are on the baking sheet. Cook for 10-12 mins per side. Flip when they reach your desired "crisp level."

4. While the chicken is cooking, rinse the arugula. Chop the onion and tomato. Place all three in a large bowl. 
5. When chicken is complete, take out of oven to cool. Add your balsamic vinegar and olive oil to the salad. 

6. Serve Arugula salad over the chicken. Enjoy :) 

xo
Alex

Easy Chicken Bake

So I just absolutely have to share one of my favorite meals right now. Easy, low prep work, and pretty healthy. I know that at first glance you are probably not going to believe that last statement. The trick of this recipe is to swap sour cream for plain greek yogurt, and use half the amount of mayo. 

Yes. Mayo. For those of you who aren't mayo fans {like me}, I promise you it doesn't taste like mayo. In fact, my mom tricked me and did not tell me that it was an ingredient when she made it for me. Good thing because I probably woulden't have tried it! 

I like to use earth balance mindful mayo made with olive oil and of course the standard chobani plain greek yogurt. After all is said and done, you can bang this meal out in about 500-600 calories depending on the size of your breast (this is based on a 6 ouncer) and how much cheese you garnish it with at the end of baking! Not bad, huh? 

I usually steam up some veggies and serve with them but I do think serving this over brown rice or some tortellini would also be exceptional especially for growing and active kids! 

Ingredients shown above and slices of cheese on chicken in dish with foil

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless chicken breasts
6-8 slices of swiss or motz. cheese-I usually use two slices/chicken breast
1/4 cup mayo + 1 tablespoon
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Optional: salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Motz cheese or mild cheddar cheese to garnish
 

Right before the chicken hits the oven!

Instructions: 
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Place chicken in pyrex dish either greased with olive oil, or place foil in it. Today I used foil and there was NO difference in taste and it was an easier clean up. #nobrainer
3. Add sliced cheese on top of chicken
4. In a bowl, mix mayo, parm cheese, greek yogurt and optional salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste. Spread over chicken with spatula. 
5. Bake for 45 min-1 hour. Optional but I recommend: At the end I sprinkle a little moz or mild cheddar cheese on the top and broil for 3-5 mins. 

Enjoy!! 

Hot Chicken Recipe: The healthy alternative to Chicken Wings

Morning everyone! I thought I would share a super yummy recipe thats been one of my favorites for years {{courtesy of my late aunt Qui...we miss you!}} For lack of a better name we call it "Hot Chicken." 

So Yummy......

When I was a kid I LOVED chicken wings. I mean, ate them by the bucket. literally. When I got older I realized they weren't the healthiest for you so I stopped eating them cold turkey. Haven't had a wing in about 20 years. I haven't stopped my *love* of chicken wing TASTE though. This recipe can fill this void and is a lot healthier {{read: #guiltfree }} Warning: You must like spicy/hot food to like this. I would recommend this dish to anyone who like medium, hot, or extra hot wings! I am so obsessed with hot sauce that I add Franks to my plate as well ha ha! 

What I love most about this recipe is that it is only 4 ingredients! And you can pop it in the oven and is low on prep time which is key when you have kiddies {{or you're just super busy. which is everyone!}} running around. Also, even though you do use flour, there is only 26 Carbs in the entire recipe which is a keeper for me! Divide that up between 3-4 breasts and you're looking at about 10 g carbs per breast of chicken and tons of flavor! 

Hot Chicken

1/4 cup flour (I use Arrowhead Mills enriched unbleached white flour)
3/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3-4 breasts of chicken

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in microwave in glass bowl. Mix in hot sauce and juiced lemon to melted butter. Put 1/4 cup of flour in different bowl and place next to hot sauce mixture. Line a pyrex dish with foil. (I find that foil works better than parchment paper). You can cut the chicken breasts into tenders or leave them as breasts-up to you (I do both-below they are in tenders and the above photo is just breasts). Dip chicken in flour, then into hot sauce mixture and place in pyrex dish. Repeat with all breasts of chicken. When complete, if you have extra sauce leftover, you can dish the rest on spots that may have not been covered with the hot sauce mixture.  In this photo I show using parchment paper but like I said I find it works better with foil. 

Bake for 30-40 mins. I like to broil mine the last 3-5 mins to get a little crisp on them. This is served great with mixed veggies & salad! 

Next time you have a hankering for some chicken wings...try this recipe! Have a great day everyone....

xo

Alex
 

Burrito Bowl...made at home!

Happy Weekend Everyone! 

I wanted to share one of my most FAVORITE recipes ever. Please do not think that eating clean means tupperware containers with plain chicken, fish, egg whites, raw veggies and brown rice every day all day. There are so MANY tasty recipes that you can have with tons of flavor. This recipe is on our weekly rotation. When I started the 24 Day Challenge, I asked my coach Ben if I could have burrito bowls from Chipotle. He responded yes ..just of course no cheese or sour cream which is no problem for me. I wasn't super comfortable hitting up Chipotle more than once though as I knew eating out just is not as healthy. I wanted the absolutel best results and in order for that to happen, I had to be making food in my own kitchen. This got me thinking...how can I make these exact burrito bowls at home??

Well, my friends, here is how: 

Ingredients:

 Olive oil
Your choice of 2 peppers-green, yellow, red, etc
White onion cut
Green Leaf Lettuce chopped
Homemade Guacamole or "Wholly Guacamole"
Cooked brown rice (I usually do 1 cup, depends on how many pple you are cooking for)
1 packet of simply organic fajita seasoning ( ** I get this at Wegmans; I do know Whole foods carries it as well as available online from various companies)
2 cloves of garlic (optional)
Chopped Cilantro (optional)
Chopped tomatoes (optional)

Directions: 

Begin process of cooking rice. Dice chicken breasts. Follow instructions of simply organic package. Marinate chicken in seasoning. Next slice onion and pepper. Heat olive oil in pan. Once oil is warm sautee onion and peppers until soft and then add marinated chicken. While meat and rice are finishing cooking, cut up green leaf lettuce, cilantro, and tomato to garnish. 

Once chicken and rice have completed their cooking, place cooked rice in bottom of bowl. Add desired amount of chicken/pepper mixture on top. Place chopped green leaf lettuce on top of chicken. Garnish with cilantro, tomatoes, or guacamole. 

I have never added cheese or sour cream but you definitely can for those looking for a little splurge or who are not on the 24 Day Challenge. We have added corn and black beans to this meal and it has been tasty as well. There are so many different variations that you can add it never gets old!

I will be sure to add our family guacamole recipe in the next few weeks. We absolutely love a "rustic" guac to start our meal off! Hope you guys enjoy your healthy {{24 DC approved}}  home made burrito bowl! 

xo

Alex

The finished product: 

All chopped up and ready to go!

 

Below, rice brewing, chicken marinating and veggies cooking! 
Note: I only placed the rice and chicken on stove for photo purpose

The chicken and veggie mixture completed! Let's dig in!